While this may be between China and Japan, the petitions themselves to keep Japan off of the UN security counsel are coming from the Web. To be even more accurate, they are being handled by a group of interested Web portals; each with their own agendas.

Chinese Internet users have turned to the Web to voice their displeasure over Japan’s bid for a permanent seat on the United Nations (UN) Security Council, with millions of users signing their names to online petitions in recent days.

The UN Security Council currently has five permanent members who can exercise the power to veto any resolution by the council. The five permanent members are: the U.S., China, France, the U.K., and Russia. Japan is hoping to secure a permanent seat to reflect its position as one of the world’s largest economies.

At 3:00 p.m. local time on Wednesday, 6.1 million people had signed their name to a Sina Corp. petition opposing Japan’s bid for a permanent seat on the UN Security Council. Online petitions by rival portal operators Netease.com Inc. and Sohu.com Inc. had garnered 4.4 million and 2.3 million signatures, respectively. To sign these petitions, users must submit their name and place of residence.

Sina has been collecting signatures of those opposed to Japan’s bid for a permanent seat on the U.N. Security Council since March 23, according to the company. The collected signatures will be presented to the UN and the Japanese and Chinese governments, it said. [Read the rest]