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2016年05月15日
米大統領・広島へ ／下 被爆者、訪問の意義評価 謝罪なき「和解」に懸念も
May 14, 2016 (Mainichi Japan)
Hibakusha praise Obama Hiroshima visit, but fear history will go unquestioned
米大統領・広島へ ／下 被爆者、訪問の意義評価 謝罪なき「和解」に懸念も
It was fall of 2009, about six months after U.S. President Barack Obama made his historic speech about seeking a world without nuclear weapons, that U.S. Ambassador John Roos, who had just been posted to Japan, visited Hiroshima with his family. The purpose of the visit was to meet with then Hiroshima Mayor Tadatoshi Akiba, to sound out a possible visit to the city by President Obama.
オバマ米大統領がチェコの首都プラハで「核兵器なき世界」を提唱して半年後の２００９年秋。就任したばかりのルース米駐日大使が家族と広島を訪れた。オバマ氏の広島訪問を視野に、当時の秋葉忠利・広島市長に会うためだった。
"We want President Obama to come to Hiroshima," Akiba told Roos over lunch. "We are not seeking an apology. We will welcome him." On Aug. 6 the following year, Roos attended the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Ceremony, marking the first such visit by a serving U.S. ambassador. There were no strong objections to the visit from American politicians or the American public.
昼食を取りながら、秋葉氏は「オバマ大統領に広島に来てほしい。広島は謝罪を求めていないし、歓迎するだろう」と語った。翌年８月６日、ルース氏は広島の平和記念式典に米大使として初めて参列した。米側で大きな反発はなかった。
The Japanese government has since sent out the message that it would not demand an apology if Obama were to visit Hiroshima, and both the governor of Hiroshima Prefecture and the mayor of the city of Hiroshima have told press conferences that they are not intent on getting one.
オバマ氏の広島訪問にあたり、日本政府は「謝罪は求めない」とメッセージを送り、広島県知事や広島市長も「こだわらない」と記者会見で表明した。
Has the White House's announcement that Obama will make a visit to Hiroshima later this month resolved the bad blood felt by those who lost their families to the A-bomb and continue to suffer the effects of the bombing?
では、家族を失い病気で苦しむ被爆者の怒りや憎しみは消えたのか。
Sunao Tsuboi, 91, co-chairman of Hiroshima Hidankyo, a confederation of groups of Hiroshima A-bomb survivors, admits that deep down, he still feels enmity toward the U.S. However, he adds, "I've started to realize that we must use the power of reason to overcome such loathing."
広島県被団協の坪井直理事長（９１）は「米国を憎む気持ちは腹にある」と認めたうえで、「理性の力で憎しみを乗り越えないといけないと思うようになった」と話す。
According to Kazumi Mizumoto, deputy chief of Hiroshima City University's Hiroshima Peace Institute, anger toward the atomic bombings was more visible 10 to 20 years ago compared to today. When the 9.11 terrorist attacks took place in the U.S. in 2001, one hibakusha -- or A-bomb survivor -- told a newspaper reporter, "I shouldn't say this, but I feel as though I've had a weight taken off my chest." Mizumoto says there were other hibakusha who felt the same way.
広島市立大広島平和研究所の水本和実副所長によると、１０〜２０年前までは今よりも怒りが前面に出ていたという。０１年９月１１日の米同時多発テロの際、ある被爆者は新聞の取材に「言うべきことではないが、胸のつかえが取れたのも事実」などと答えた。水本氏は「同じように感じた被爆者は他にもいた」と話す。
Meanwhile, an 85-year-old hibakusha who lost family members and friends to the A-bomb has a different take.
原爆で家族や友人を失った被爆者の男性（８５）は言う。
"Until Obama's visit was announced, I wanted an apology. I would be lying if I said I didn't feel anger toward the U.S., but I've come to think that the very fact that he is coming to Japan amid widespread public opinion (in the U.S.) that the atomic bombing was justifiable, already implies an apology," he said.
「訪問決定までは謝罪を求める気持ちがあった。憎しみがないと言えばうそになるが、原爆投下を正当化する世論が強い中で、広島に来ること自体が謝罪の意味を含んでいるのではないかと思うようになった」
Japan took to the stand when the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in The Hague, Netherlands, held an inquiry in November 1995 on the legality of the threat or use of nuclear weapons. Then Hiroshima Mayor Takashi Hiraoka and then Nagasaki Mayor Itcho Ito declared that nuclear weapons were inhumane weapons of mass destruction that killed indiscriminately, and that their use violated international law.
１９９５年１１月、核兵器使用の違法性を審理するオランダ・ハーグの国際司法裁判所で、日本側が意見陳述した。当時の平岡敬・広島市長と伊藤一長・長崎市長は「核兵器は無差別、大量殺りくの非人道的な兵器で、使用は国際法違反」と断じた。
However, a Japanese senior Foreign Ministry official who made a statement just before the two mayors did not address the legality of the use of such weapons, and said that anything that was subsequently expressed by the two mayors that were not factual were not necessarily views held by the Japanese government.
しかし、２人の直前に陳述した外務省幹部は違法性に触れず、「（両市長の証言で）事実以外の発言があれば必ずしも政府見解ではない」と結んだ。
Hiroshi Harada, 76, a Hiroshima A-bomb survivor who was the director of the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum at the time of the ICJ hearings, said that efforts were made to coordinate testimony with the Foreign Ministry prior to the hearings.
"I stood my ground that as a city that experienced the atomic bombing, we should declare that the use of nuclear weapons was illegal, even if the government avoided saying so," he recalled.
広島で被爆し、当時の原爆資料館長だった原田浩さん（７６）は、意見陳述を前に外務省側と調整した。「国が言わなくても、被爆地として核兵器の違法性を主張すべきだと折れなかった」と振り返る。
In the years since then, Japan has failed to be a leader in discussions within the international community on the elimination of nuclear weapons. The paradox lies in the fact that at the same time Japan has advocated for the complete abolition of nuclear weapons, it has been protected by the U.S. "nuclear umbrella," relying on its deterrent power against North Korean nuclear armament and other threats.
これ以降も、日本が唯一の戦争被爆国として国際社会の核兵器廃絶の議論を主導してきたとは言い難いのが実情だ。そこには、核兵器廃絶を目指す理想を掲げながらも、米国の「核の傘」に守られ、北朝鮮の核兵器などに対する抑止力に頼る現実を優先せざるを得ないという事情がある。
At the U.N. General Assembly in December 2015, a Japanese-government-sponsored resolution encouraging world leaders and youth to visit the A-bombed cities was formally adopted. The Japanese government also, however, abstained from voting on a "humanitarian pledge" resolution that would strengthen legal frameworks for the prohibition and elimination of nuclear weapons, which passed with 139 votes. The abstention was a decision made out of consideration for the U.S., which opposed the resolution.
日本政府は昨年１２月の国連総会に、各国の指導者や若者らに被爆地訪問を促す内容の決議を提出し、採択された。一方で、核廃絶への法的枠組みの強化を求める「人道の誓約」決議が１３９カ国の賛成多数で可決されるなか、日本は棄権した。この決議に反対する米国に配慮した判断だった。
The Japanese government has repeatedly claimed that it wants to serve as a bridge between nuclear and non-nuclear states. However, its inconsistent behavior on the international stage has generated a sense of distrust toward it from both sides.
政府は、唯一の戦争被爆国として核保有国と非核保有国の「橋渡し役」を目指すと主張してきた。しかし、国際舞台でのちぐはぐな対応ぶりにより、双方から時に不信感を抱かれてきたというのも事実だ。
Former Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum director Harada is concerned by the emphasis on forging a "forward-looking" relationship between Japan and the U.S.
"I fear that the shaking of hands by President Obama and Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in front of the cenotaph for A-bomb victims in Hiroshima will be made into a symbol of reconciliation that ignores historical accountability," Harada said. "As long as people continue to justify the atomic bombings, the complete elimination of nuclear weapons will not become a reality."
「未来志向」が強調されていることについても、原田さんは「オバマ大統領と安倍晋三首相が原爆慰霊碑の前で握手し、過去を問わない和解の象徴にされそうで怖い。原爆投下を正当化する限り、核兵器廃絶は実現しない」と訴える。
Seventy-one years have passed since the U.S. atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, and a visit to Hiroshima by a sitting U.S. president is finally about to take place. The big question is whether or not the visit will spur bridge-building between the A-bombed cities and the Japanese government, as well as between nuclear and non-nuclear states.
原爆投下から７１年。ようやく実現する米大統領の広島初訪問は、被爆地と政府、核保有国と非核保有国との間に横たわる深い溝を埋めるきっかけとなるのかが問われている。
毎日新聞2016年5月14日 東京朝刊
Hibakusha praise Obama Hiroshima visit, but fear history will go unquestioned
米大統領・広島へ ／下 被爆者、訪問の意義評価 謝罪なき「和解」に懸念も
It was fall of 2009, about six months after U.S. President Barack Obama made his historic speech about seeking a world without nuclear weapons, that U.S. Ambassador John Roos, who had just been posted to Japan, visited Hiroshima with his family. The purpose of the visit was to meet with then Hiroshima Mayor Tadatoshi Akiba, to sound out a possible visit to the city by President Obama.
オバマ米大統領がチェコの首都プラハで「核兵器なき世界」を提唱して半年後の２００９年秋。就任したばかりのルース米駐日大使が家族と広島を訪れた。オバマ氏の広島訪問を視野に、当時の秋葉忠利・広島市長に会うためだった。
"We want President Obama to come to Hiroshima," Akiba told Roos over lunch. "We are not seeking an apology. We will welcome him." On Aug. 6 the following year, Roos attended the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Ceremony, marking the first such visit by a serving U.S. ambassador. There were no strong objections to the visit from American politicians or the American public.
昼食を取りながら、秋葉氏は「オバマ大統領に広島に来てほしい。広島は謝罪を求めていないし、歓迎するだろう」と語った。翌年８月６日、ルース氏は広島の平和記念式典に米大使として初めて参列した。米側で大きな反発はなかった。
The Japanese government has since sent out the message that it would not demand an apology if Obama were to visit Hiroshima, and both the governor of Hiroshima Prefecture and the mayor of the city of Hiroshima have told press conferences that they are not intent on getting one.
オバマ氏の広島訪問にあたり、日本政府は「謝罪は求めない」とメッセージを送り、広島県知事や広島市長も「こだわらない」と記者会見で表明した。
Has the White House's announcement that Obama will make a visit to Hiroshima later this month resolved the bad blood felt by those who lost their families to the A-bomb and continue to suffer the effects of the bombing?
では、家族を失い病気で苦しむ被爆者の怒りや憎しみは消えたのか。
Sunao Tsuboi, 91, co-chairman of Hiroshima Hidankyo, a confederation of groups of Hiroshima A-bomb survivors, admits that deep down, he still feels enmity toward the U.S. However, he adds, "I've started to realize that we must use the power of reason to overcome such loathing."
広島県被団協の坪井直理事長（９１）は「米国を憎む気持ちは腹にある」と認めたうえで、「理性の力で憎しみを乗り越えないといけないと思うようになった」と話す。
According to Kazumi Mizumoto, deputy chief of Hiroshima City University's Hiroshima Peace Institute, anger toward the atomic bombings was more visible 10 to 20 years ago compared to today. When the 9.11 terrorist attacks took place in the U.S. in 2001, one hibakusha -- or A-bomb survivor -- told a newspaper reporter, "I shouldn't say this, but I feel as though I've had a weight taken off my chest." Mizumoto says there were other hibakusha who felt the same way.
広島市立大広島平和研究所の水本和実副所長によると、１０〜２０年前までは今よりも怒りが前面に出ていたという。０１年９月１１日の米同時多発テロの際、ある被爆者は新聞の取材に「言うべきことではないが、胸のつかえが取れたのも事実」などと答えた。水本氏は「同じように感じた被爆者は他にもいた」と話す。
Meanwhile, an 85-year-old hibakusha who lost family members and friends to the A-bomb has a different take.
原爆で家族や友人を失った被爆者の男性（８５）は言う。
"Until Obama's visit was announced, I wanted an apology. I would be lying if I said I didn't feel anger toward the U.S., but I've come to think that the very fact that he is coming to Japan amid widespread public opinion (in the U.S.) that the atomic bombing was justifiable, already implies an apology," he said.
「訪問決定までは謝罪を求める気持ちがあった。憎しみがないと言えばうそになるが、原爆投下を正当化する世論が強い中で、広島に来ること自体が謝罪の意味を含んでいるのではないかと思うようになった」
Japan took to the stand when the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in The Hague, Netherlands, held an inquiry in November 1995 on the legality of the threat or use of nuclear weapons. Then Hiroshima Mayor Takashi Hiraoka and then Nagasaki Mayor Itcho Ito declared that nuclear weapons were inhumane weapons of mass destruction that killed indiscriminately, and that their use violated international law.
１９９５年１１月、核兵器使用の違法性を審理するオランダ・ハーグの国際司法裁判所で、日本側が意見陳述した。当時の平岡敬・広島市長と伊藤一長・長崎市長は「核兵器は無差別、大量殺りくの非人道的な兵器で、使用は国際法違反」と断じた。
However, a Japanese senior Foreign Ministry official who made a statement just before the two mayors did not address the legality of the use of such weapons, and said that anything that was subsequently expressed by the two mayors that were not factual were not necessarily views held by the Japanese government.
しかし、２人の直前に陳述した外務省幹部は違法性に触れず、「（両市長の証言で）事実以外の発言があれば必ずしも政府見解ではない」と結んだ。
Hiroshi Harada, 76, a Hiroshima A-bomb survivor who was the director of the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum at the time of the ICJ hearings, said that efforts were made to coordinate testimony with the Foreign Ministry prior to the hearings.
"I stood my ground that as a city that experienced the atomic bombing, we should declare that the use of nuclear weapons was illegal, even if the government avoided saying so," he recalled.
広島で被爆し、当時の原爆資料館長だった原田浩さん（７６）は、意見陳述を前に外務省側と調整した。「国が言わなくても、被爆地として核兵器の違法性を主張すべきだと折れなかった」と振り返る。
In the years since then, Japan has failed to be a leader in discussions within the international community on the elimination of nuclear weapons. The paradox lies in the fact that at the same time Japan has advocated for the complete abolition of nuclear weapons, it has been protected by the U.S. "nuclear umbrella," relying on its deterrent power against North Korean nuclear armament and other threats.
これ以降も、日本が唯一の戦争被爆国として国際社会の核兵器廃絶の議論を主導してきたとは言い難いのが実情だ。そこには、核兵器廃絶を目指す理想を掲げながらも、米国の「核の傘」に守られ、北朝鮮の核兵器などに対する抑止力に頼る現実を優先せざるを得ないという事情がある。
At the U.N. General Assembly in December 2015, a Japanese-government-sponsored resolution encouraging world leaders and youth to visit the A-bombed cities was formally adopted. The Japanese government also, however, abstained from voting on a "humanitarian pledge" resolution that would strengthen legal frameworks for the prohibition and elimination of nuclear weapons, which passed with 139 votes. The abstention was a decision made out of consideration for the U.S., which opposed the resolution.
日本政府は昨年１２月の国連総会に、各国の指導者や若者らに被爆地訪問を促す内容の決議を提出し、採択された。一方で、核廃絶への法的枠組みの強化を求める「人道の誓約」決議が１３９カ国の賛成多数で可決されるなか、日本は棄権した。この決議に反対する米国に配慮した判断だった。
The Japanese government has repeatedly claimed that it wants to serve as a bridge between nuclear and non-nuclear states. However, its inconsistent behavior on the international stage has generated a sense of distrust toward it from both sides.
政府は、唯一の戦争被爆国として核保有国と非核保有国の「橋渡し役」を目指すと主張してきた。しかし、国際舞台でのちぐはぐな対応ぶりにより、双方から時に不信感を抱かれてきたというのも事実だ。
Former Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum director Harada is concerned by the emphasis on forging a "forward-looking" relationship between Japan and the U.S.
"I fear that the shaking of hands by President Obama and Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in front of the cenotaph for A-bomb victims in Hiroshima will be made into a symbol of reconciliation that ignores historical accountability," Harada said. "As long as people continue to justify the atomic bombings, the complete elimination of nuclear weapons will not become a reality."
「未来志向」が強調されていることについても、原田さんは「オバマ大統領と安倍晋三首相が原爆慰霊碑の前で握手し、過去を問わない和解の象徴にされそうで怖い。原爆投下を正当化する限り、核兵器廃絶は実現しない」と訴える。
Seventy-one years have passed since the U.S. atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, and a visit to Hiroshima by a sitting U.S. president is finally about to take place. The big question is whether or not the visit will spur bridge-building between the A-bombed cities and the Japanese government, as well as between nuclear and non-nuclear states.
原爆投下から７１年。ようやく実現する米大統領の広島初訪問は、被爆地と政府、核保有国と非核保有国との間に横たわる深い溝を埋めるきっかけとなるのかが問われている。
毎日新聞2016年5月14日 東京朝刊
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2016年05月14日
沖ノ鳥島ＥＥＺ 海洋権益の保護強化に努めよ
The Yomiuri Shimbun
Take all possible steps to protect marine resources of Japan’s EEZ
沖ノ鳥島ＥＥＺ 海洋権益の保護強化に努めよ
Japan, as a maritime nation, faces the crucial challenge of how effectively to protect its interests in its vast exclusive economic zone. The government must make all-out efforts to come up with concrete steps to protect the zone.
広大な排他的経済水域（ＥＥＺ）の権益をいかに効果的に守るかは、海洋国家である日本が直面する重要課題だ。政府は具体的な保護策に万全を期さねばならない。
Taiwan authorities have protested the seizure in late April of a Taiwan fishing boat by the Japan Coast Guard in the Japanese EEZ around Okinotorishima, the southernmost islands of Japan, and have sent three vessels, including patrol ships, to the area near the islets, which are part of the village of Ogasawara, Tokyo. The vessels are likely to remain inside the EEZ, for the time being, under the pretext of protecting Taiwan’s fishing boats.
日本最南端の沖ノ鳥島（東京都小笠原村）のＥＥＺで４月下旬、海上保安庁に台湾漁船が拿捕だほされたことについて、台湾当局が抗議し、巡視船など３隻を派遣している。漁船保護を名目に、当面、ＥＥＺにとどまるという。
Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida protested the dispatch of patrol ships, saying, “It’s extremely regrettable that Taiwan sent patrol ships into the Japanese EEZ despite our request that they remain outside.” It was quite natural for Kishida to call on Taipei to have the ships leave the EEZ.
岸田外相が、台湾の巡視船について、日本の「申し入れにかかわらず入域させたことは極めて遺憾だ」と述べ、台湾側に出域させるよう求めたのは当然である。
Japan’s combined area of territorial waters and EEZ is the sixth largest in the world. Okinotorishima has an EEZ of about 400,000 square meters, which is slightly larger than Japan’s land area, and is blessed with abundant fishery and seabed resources. These are very important marine interests.
日本の領海とＥＥＺの合計面積は世界６位だ。中でも沖ノ鳥島は、日本の国土面積をやや上回る約４０万平方キロのＥＥＺを有し、豊かな水産・海底資源をもたらす。非常に大切な海洋権益である。
Japan takes this stand: “Okinotorishima has been recognized as isles under the U.N. Convention on the Law of the Sea. Thus, an EEZ exists around them.” Japan has contended that two of the Okinotorishima islets remain above sea level even at high tide and therefore are not “rocks” around which an EEZ cannot be set.
日本は「国連海洋法条約上、沖ノ鳥島は島としての地位が確立している。ＥＥＺは存在する」との立場だ。沖ノ鳥島の二つの小島は満潮時も海面に出ていることなどから、ＥＥＺを設定できない「岩」ではないとしている。
Sudden change of stance
In the wake of the JCG’s seizure of the Taiwan fishing boat, the Taiwan administration of President Ma Ying-jeou suddenly began to claim that the Okinotorishima islets are nothing but “rocks.” We cannot accept this one-sided view.
だが、漁船の拿捕を受けて、台湾の馬英九政権は突然、沖ノ鳥島は「岩」だと唱え始めた。こうした一方的見解は容認できない。
Since around 2004, China has asserted that the Okinotorishima islets are “rocks.” So has South Korea. Taiwan, on the other hand, had not clarified its position on the matter.
中国が２００４年頃から、「岩」だと主張し、韓国も同調しているが、台湾は曖昧にしてきた。
Taiwan's abrupt move to change its position ahead of a change of administration on May 20 is questionable. We suspect that Ma is seeking to maintain his influence after leaving office by inciting Taiwan’s public opinion on the matter.
今月２０日の政権交代を前に、馬政権が態度を一変させたのは、疑問だ。台湾の世論を煽あおり、退任後も影響力を保ちたいという馬総統の思惑があるのではないか。
Japan must try to resolve the issue by holding talks with Taiwan’s incoming administration led by Tsai Ing-wen of the Democratic Progressive Party, which attaches importance to relations with Tokyo.
日本は、対日重視方針を示している民進党の新政権と対話し、事態の収拾を図らねばならない。
From the viewpoint of China, the Okinotorishima islets are located at a median point between what it calls the first island chain ranging from Japan’s Nansei Islands to the Philippines and the second island chain extending from the Ogasawara Islands to Guam. The Chinese Navy is trying in full scale to expand its maritime activities into the western Pacific. This has elevated Okinotorishima’s geopolitical value.
沖ノ鳥島は、中国から見れば、南西諸島からフィリピンを結ぶ第１列島線と、小笠原諸島からグアムを結ぶ第２列島線の中間に位置する。中国は海軍の西太平洋への本格的な遠洋展開をにらんでおり、地政学的にも価値が高い。
The Japanese government has installed concrete revetments for Okinotorishima to prevent erosion from ocean waves and storms. It should increase its efforts, such as building port facilities, to further safeguard the islets.
日本政府は、波浪や風雨による沖ノ鳥島の浸食を防ぐため、コンクリート製の護岸を設けている。さらに港湾施設などを整備し、島を確実に保全すべきだ。
This will lead to the effective administration of Okinotorishima’s EEZ and serve as a check on China’s expansionist maritime advances.
沖ノ鳥島のＥＥＺの有効管理が可能となり、中国の膨張主義的な海洋進出への牽制けんせいにつながる。
Taking advantage of the characteristics of remote islets, Okinotorishima should be used as bases for weather observation, marine research and other purposes. This would help buttress their legal status. Government ministries and agencies concerned must join hands and work out measures from a strategic standpoint.
離島の特性を生かし、気象観測や海洋生物の調査などの拠点としても活用したい。沖ノ鳥島の法的地位の補強になろう。関係省庁が連携し、戦略的に取り組むことが欠かせない。
(From The Yomiuri Shimbun, May 13, 2016)
Take all possible steps to protect marine resources of Japan’s EEZ
沖ノ鳥島ＥＥＺ 海洋権益の保護強化に努めよ
Japan, as a maritime nation, faces the crucial challenge of how effectively to protect its interests in its vast exclusive economic zone. The government must make all-out efforts to come up with concrete steps to protect the zone.
広大な排他的経済水域（ＥＥＺ）の権益をいかに効果的に守るかは、海洋国家である日本が直面する重要課題だ。政府は具体的な保護策に万全を期さねばならない。
Taiwan authorities have protested the seizure in late April of a Taiwan fishing boat by the Japan Coast Guard in the Japanese EEZ around Okinotorishima, the southernmost islands of Japan, and have sent three vessels, including patrol ships, to the area near the islets, which are part of the village of Ogasawara, Tokyo. The vessels are likely to remain inside the EEZ, for the time being, under the pretext of protecting Taiwan’s fishing boats.
日本最南端の沖ノ鳥島（東京都小笠原村）のＥＥＺで４月下旬、海上保安庁に台湾漁船が拿捕だほされたことについて、台湾当局が抗議し、巡視船など３隻を派遣している。漁船保護を名目に、当面、ＥＥＺにとどまるという。
Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida protested the dispatch of patrol ships, saying, “It’s extremely regrettable that Taiwan sent patrol ships into the Japanese EEZ despite our request that they remain outside.” It was quite natural for Kishida to call on Taipei to have the ships leave the EEZ.
岸田外相が、台湾の巡視船について、日本の「申し入れにかかわらず入域させたことは極めて遺憾だ」と述べ、台湾側に出域させるよう求めたのは当然である。
Japan’s combined area of territorial waters and EEZ is the sixth largest in the world. Okinotorishima has an EEZ of about 400,000 square meters, which is slightly larger than Japan’s land area, and is blessed with abundant fishery and seabed resources. These are very important marine interests.
日本の領海とＥＥＺの合計面積は世界６位だ。中でも沖ノ鳥島は、日本の国土面積をやや上回る約４０万平方キロのＥＥＺを有し、豊かな水産・海底資源をもたらす。非常に大切な海洋権益である。
Japan takes this stand: “Okinotorishima has been recognized as isles under the U.N. Convention on the Law of the Sea. Thus, an EEZ exists around them.” Japan has contended that two of the Okinotorishima islets remain above sea level even at high tide and therefore are not “rocks” around which an EEZ cannot be set.
日本は「国連海洋法条約上、沖ノ鳥島は島としての地位が確立している。ＥＥＺは存在する」との立場だ。沖ノ鳥島の二つの小島は満潮時も海面に出ていることなどから、ＥＥＺを設定できない「岩」ではないとしている。
Sudden change of stance
In the wake of the JCG’s seizure of the Taiwan fishing boat, the Taiwan administration of President Ma Ying-jeou suddenly began to claim that the Okinotorishima islets are nothing but “rocks.” We cannot accept this one-sided view.
だが、漁船の拿捕を受けて、台湾の馬英九政権は突然、沖ノ鳥島は「岩」だと唱え始めた。こうした一方的見解は容認できない。
Since around 2004, China has asserted that the Okinotorishima islets are “rocks.” So has South Korea. Taiwan, on the other hand, had not clarified its position on the matter.
中国が２００４年頃から、「岩」だと主張し、韓国も同調しているが、台湾は曖昧にしてきた。
Taiwan's abrupt move to change its position ahead of a change of administration on May 20 is questionable. We suspect that Ma is seeking to maintain his influence after leaving office by inciting Taiwan’s public opinion on the matter.
今月２０日の政権交代を前に、馬政権が態度を一変させたのは、疑問だ。台湾の世論を煽あおり、退任後も影響力を保ちたいという馬総統の思惑があるのではないか。
Japan must try to resolve the issue by holding talks with Taiwan’s incoming administration led by Tsai Ing-wen of the Democratic Progressive Party, which attaches importance to relations with Tokyo.
日本は、対日重視方針を示している民進党の新政権と対話し、事態の収拾を図らねばならない。
From the viewpoint of China, the Okinotorishima islets are located at a median point between what it calls the first island chain ranging from Japan’s Nansei Islands to the Philippines and the second island chain extending from the Ogasawara Islands to Guam. The Chinese Navy is trying in full scale to expand its maritime activities into the western Pacific. This has elevated Okinotorishima’s geopolitical value.
沖ノ鳥島は、中国から見れば、南西諸島からフィリピンを結ぶ第１列島線と、小笠原諸島からグアムを結ぶ第２列島線の中間に位置する。中国は海軍の西太平洋への本格的な遠洋展開をにらんでおり、地政学的にも価値が高い。
The Japanese government has installed concrete revetments for Okinotorishima to prevent erosion from ocean waves and storms. It should increase its efforts, such as building port facilities, to further safeguard the islets.
日本政府は、波浪や風雨による沖ノ鳥島の浸食を防ぐため、コンクリート製の護岸を設けている。さらに港湾施設などを整備し、島を確実に保全すべきだ。
This will lead to the effective administration of Okinotorishima’s EEZ and serve as a check on China’s expansionist maritime advances.
沖ノ鳥島のＥＥＺの有効管理が可能となり、中国の膨張主義的な海洋進出への牽制けんせいにつながる。
Taking advantage of the characteristics of remote islets, Okinotorishima should be used as bases for weather observation, marine research and other purposes. This would help buttress their legal status. Government ministries and agencies concerned must join hands and work out measures from a strategic standpoint.
離島の特性を生かし、気象観測や海洋生物の調査などの拠点としても活用したい。沖ノ鳥島の法的地位の補強になろう。関係省庁が連携し、戦略的に取り組むことが欠かせない。
(From The Yomiuri Shimbun, May 13, 2016)
2016年05月13日
パナマ文書公表 租税回避地の利用実態解明を
The Yomiuri Shimbun
Panama Papers underscore need for greater scrutiny of tax havens
パナマ文書公表 租税回避地の利用実態解明を
The publication of the Panama Papers can be used as a clue to clarifying the real situation regarding secretive tax havens.
ベールに包まれているタックスヘイブン（租税回避地）の実態を解明する手がかりとなろう。
The International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) has made public the names of more than 210,000 corporations using tax havens in various parts of the world, along with the names of related individuals. The electronic data was leaked from a law firm in Panama, and was arranged to be listed according to country.
国際調査報道ジャーナリスト連合（ＩＣＩＪ）が、各地のタックスヘイブンに設立された２１万余の法人と関連の個人名を公表した。パナマの法律事務所から流出した電子データを国別に整理したものだ。
In April, the ICIJ made it clear in the Panama Papers that political leaders from around the world, as well as their relatives, were using tax havens. This time, it proved that companies and wealthy people were widely making use of tax havens.
ＩＣＩＪは先月、各国首脳や、その親族がタックスヘイブンに関わっていた実態を「パナマ文書」として明らかにした。今回、企業や富裕層などが幅広く利用していたことも裏付けられた。
It is vital to use the disclosure of the lists as a stepping stone to strengthen international cooperation to prevent tax evasion.
リストの公表を、課税逃れに対する国際的な包囲網の強化につなげることが肝要だ。
With regard to Japan, the list contains the names of about 20 corporations, including general trading companies and telecommunications operators, and about 230 individuals, including the founders of major firms. In many cases, these individuals were listed as shareholders or board members of companies established in tax havens.
日本関連では、総合商社や通信事業会社など約２０社や、大手企業の創業者ら約２３０人の名前が含まれている。タックスヘイブンに設立した法人の株主や役員として記載されたケースが目立つ。
A number of companies denied that they were trying to avoid paying taxes. Some repelled the publication of their names was regrettable, as they could lose social credibility.
複数の企業は、「租税回避の目的はない」と説明する。名前が公表されたことについて、「社会的信用が落ちる恐れがあり、心外だ」と反発するところもある。
Indeed, use of a tax haven is not illegal per se.
確かに、タックスヘイブンを使うこと自体は、違法ではない。
However, it is a fact that many companies and individuals are trying to reduce their taxes by taking advantage of the nature of tax havens − extremely low tax rates and high anonymity.
だが、税率が著しく低く、匿名性が高いという特徴を利用して、節税を図る企業や個人が後を絶たないのも事実だ。
International cooperation vital
Even though using tax havens is lawful, public confidence over tax impartiality would be seriously affected if there are loopholes that major companies and affluent people can easily use. Since the publication of the Panama Papers, a more discerning eye has been turned toward tax havens.
たとえ合法でも、大企業や富裕層にとって使いやすい抜け穴があれば、税の公平性に対する国民の信頼は揺らぐ。パナマ文書により、タックスヘイブンに注がれる視線は厳しさを増している。
Transferring funds to the bank account of a dummy company to intentionally conceal profits could amount to constitute tax evasion. It is reasonable for Finance Minister Taro Aso to say that if there are problematic transactions, the nation’s tax authorities would carry out a tax investigation.
ペーパーカンパニーの口座に資金を移し、意図的に所得を隠した場合には、脱税に問われる。麻生財務相が「問題がある取引があれば、税務調査を行う」と述べたのは当然である。
The tax authorities should minutely determine how tax havens are really used. They also must keep an eye out for criminal proceeds and money laundering.
国税当局は、利用実態を徹底的に解明すべきだ。犯罪収益の隠匿や資金洗浄についても、目を光らせねばならない。
It is difficult for a single country to cope with tax evasion beyond its national borders.
国境を越えた税逃れに一国で対処するのは難しい。
Japan has concluded treaties and agreements with about 100 countries and regions to exchange information on accounts. It is important to make these pacts function effectively and to bring wrongdoing to light.
日本は１００近い国や地域と、口座情報を交換する条約や協定を結んでいる。有効に機能させ、不正を洗い出すことが大切だ。
Last year, the Group of 20 major economies and the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development compiled international rules designed to prevent tax evasion via dubious transactions that are far from reality.
主要２０か国・地域（Ｇ２０）と経済協力開発機構（ＯＥＣＤ）は昨年、実態とかけ離れた取引を名目にした課税逃れを防ぐ国際課税ルールを策定した。
At the Ise-Shima summit meeting of the Group of Seven major powers this month, taxation measures are a major item on the agenda. We hope the summit will strengthen international cooperation to that end.
今月の主要国首脳会議（伊勢志摩サミット）でも、課税対策は重要な議題になる。国際的な連携を強化する場としたい。
(From The Yomiuri Shimbun, May 11, 2016)
Panama Papers underscore need for greater scrutiny of tax havens
パナマ文書公表 租税回避地の利用実態解明を
The publication of the Panama Papers can be used as a clue to clarifying the real situation regarding secretive tax havens.
ベールに包まれているタックスヘイブン（租税回避地）の実態を解明する手がかりとなろう。
The International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) has made public the names of more than 210,000 corporations using tax havens in various parts of the world, along with the names of related individuals. The electronic data was leaked from a law firm in Panama, and was arranged to be listed according to country.
国際調査報道ジャーナリスト連合（ＩＣＩＪ）が、各地のタックスヘイブンに設立された２１万余の法人と関連の個人名を公表した。パナマの法律事務所から流出した電子データを国別に整理したものだ。
In April, the ICIJ made it clear in the Panama Papers that political leaders from around the world, as well as their relatives, were using tax havens. This time, it proved that companies and wealthy people were widely making use of tax havens.
ＩＣＩＪは先月、各国首脳や、その親族がタックスヘイブンに関わっていた実態を「パナマ文書」として明らかにした。今回、企業や富裕層などが幅広く利用していたことも裏付けられた。
It is vital to use the disclosure of the lists as a stepping stone to strengthen international cooperation to prevent tax evasion.
リストの公表を、課税逃れに対する国際的な包囲網の強化につなげることが肝要だ。
With regard to Japan, the list contains the names of about 20 corporations, including general trading companies and telecommunications operators, and about 230 individuals, including the founders of major firms. In many cases, these individuals were listed as shareholders or board members of companies established in tax havens.
日本関連では、総合商社や通信事業会社など約２０社や、大手企業の創業者ら約２３０人の名前が含まれている。タックスヘイブンに設立した法人の株主や役員として記載されたケースが目立つ。
A number of companies denied that they were trying to avoid paying taxes. Some repelled the publication of their names was regrettable, as they could lose social credibility.
複数の企業は、「租税回避の目的はない」と説明する。名前が公表されたことについて、「社会的信用が落ちる恐れがあり、心外だ」と反発するところもある。
Indeed, use of a tax haven is not illegal per se.
確かに、タックスヘイブンを使うこと自体は、違法ではない。
However, it is a fact that many companies and individuals are trying to reduce their taxes by taking advantage of the nature of tax havens − extremely low tax rates and high anonymity.
だが、税率が著しく低く、匿名性が高いという特徴を利用して、節税を図る企業や個人が後を絶たないのも事実だ。
International cooperation vital
Even though using tax havens is lawful, public confidence over tax impartiality would be seriously affected if there are loopholes that major companies and affluent people can easily use. Since the publication of the Panama Papers, a more discerning eye has been turned toward tax havens.
たとえ合法でも、大企業や富裕層にとって使いやすい抜け穴があれば、税の公平性に対する国民の信頼は揺らぐ。パナマ文書により、タックスヘイブンに注がれる視線は厳しさを増している。
Transferring funds to the bank account of a dummy company to intentionally conceal profits could amount to constitute tax evasion. It is reasonable for Finance Minister Taro Aso to say that if there are problematic transactions, the nation’s tax authorities would carry out a tax investigation.
ペーパーカンパニーの口座に資金を移し、意図的に所得を隠した場合には、脱税に問われる。麻生財務相が「問題がある取引があれば、税務調査を行う」と述べたのは当然である。
The tax authorities should minutely determine how tax havens are really used. They also must keep an eye out for criminal proceeds and money laundering.
国税当局は、利用実態を徹底的に解明すべきだ。犯罪収益の隠匿や資金洗浄についても、目を光らせねばならない。
It is difficult for a single country to cope with tax evasion beyond its national borders.
国境を越えた税逃れに一国で対処するのは難しい。
Japan has concluded treaties and agreements with about 100 countries and regions to exchange information on accounts. It is important to make these pacts function effectively and to bring wrongdoing to light.
日本は１００近い国や地域と、口座情報を交換する条約や協定を結んでいる。有効に機能させ、不正を洗い出すことが大切だ。
Last year, the Group of 20 major economies and the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development compiled international rules designed to prevent tax evasion via dubious transactions that are far from reality.
主要２０か国・地域（Ｇ２０）と経済協力開発機構（ＯＥＣＤ）は昨年、実態とかけ離れた取引を名目にした課税逃れを防ぐ国際課税ルールを策定した。
At the Ise-Shima summit meeting of the Group of Seven major powers this month, taxation measures are a major item on the agenda. We hope the summit will strengthen international cooperation to that end.
今月の主要国首脳会議（伊勢志摩サミット）でも、課税対策は重要な議題になる。国際的な連携を強化する場としたい。
(From The Yomiuri Shimbun, May 11, 2016)
2016年05月12日
北朝鮮新体制 時代錯誤の偶像化では続かぬ
The Yomiuri Shimbun
North Korea cannot maintain regime with anachronistic idolatry of leader
北朝鮮新体制 時代錯誤の偶像化では続かぬ
The North Korean leader has made it clear that he will reign over the country with an anachronistic approach − setting himself up as an icon and maintaining his unifying power through fear of a purge.
指導者が自らを偶像化し、粛清の恐怖で求心力を保つ。そんな時代錯誤の統治を進める意思が鮮明になった。
The ruling Workers’ Party of Korea has ended its first congress in 36 years following the decision to bestow a newly created title on the first secretary, Kim Jong Un, of “party chairman.” The chairman thus unveiled his political intention to shift his power base from the military to the party.
３６年ぶりに開かれていた北朝鮮の朝鮮労働党大会は、金正恩第１書記が新設の「党委員長」に就任することを決め、閉幕した。金委員長は、軍から党に軸足を移す政治姿勢を打ち出した。
The change in Kim’s title is aimed at not only showing North Koreans the start of a new era, but also making them realize that the leader will follow in the dictatorial footsteps of his grandfather Kim Il Sung, who served as the chairman of the party’s Central Committee.
肩書の変更には、新時代の到来とともに、「党中央委員長」だった祖父である金日成主席の専制政治を踏襲することを国民に印象付ける狙いがある。
For personnel affairs, the party gave important positions to Kim Jong Un’s close aides, including Hwang Pyong So, director of the General Political Bureau of the North Korean People’s Army, and Choe Ryong Hae, secretary of the party, both of whom were named to the Politburo, the country’s top leadership.
党人事では、黄炳瑞軍総政治局長、崔竜海党書記を最高幹部の政治局常務委員に配するなど、側近を重用した。
An aging Kim Yong Nam, head of the presidium of the Supreme People’s Assembly, was kept as a standing committee member. These personnel appointments indicated the party preferred to avoid a generation shift that could destabilize the regime.
高齢の金永南最高人民会議常任委員長を常務委員にとどめた。体制が不安定になるような世代交代は避けたのだろう。
In his speech on the achievements of the party during the congress, Kim Jong Un mentioned the so-called byongjin policy of pursuing the parallel goals of building up the economy and developing nuclear weapons, declaring that the party will “maintain this permanently and strengthen nuclear weapons programs.” This cannot be overlooked.
看過できないのは、党大会で行った事業総括報告で、核開発と経済建設の「並進路線」について、「恒久的に堅持し、核武力を強化する」と宣言したことだ。
This policy was included in the party’s platform. The young leader also announced a policy for improving the investment environment. Does this, however, not contradict his pursuit of nuclear weapons development?
この路線は党規約に盛り込まれた。投資環境の整備も政策に掲げたが、核開発と矛盾はないか。
Dictatorial approach
The international community has not recognized North Korea’s attempt to make possessing nuclear weapons a fait accompli. It is important for the rest of the world to strictly implement sanctions to urge Pyongyang to abandon its nuclear development.
国際社会は、北朝鮮の核保有の既成事実化を許してはいない。北朝鮮に核放棄を迫る制裁を厳格に履行することが肝要である。
Kim also described North Korea as a “responsible nuclear state,” emphasizing that his country “will sincerely work to realize the denuclearization of the world.” It is ridiculous for him to promise his country’s “efforts” even though it has repeatedly ignored international agreements and resolutions from the U.N. Security Council.
金委員長は、北朝鮮が「責任ある核保有国」として「世界の非核化に努力する」とも強調した。国際合意や国連安全保障理事会の決議を幾度も無視しておきながら、「努力」とはおこがましい。
Kim urged the United States to convert the Korean War armistice into a peace accord. While militarily confronting South Korea, Kim also called for talks to be held between the militaries of the neighbors to improve relations. There is no way Washington or Seoul would take the proposals seriously.
米国には、朝鮮戦争の休戦協定を平和協定に転換させるよう求めた。軍事的に対峙たいじする韓国に対しても、関係改善が必要だとして、軍当局間の協議を呼びかけた。米韓が相手にするはずがない。
The congress was also made to serve as an opportunity for Kim to promote his cult of personality.
党大会は、金委員長への個人崇拝を進める機会ともなった。
TV coverage showed senior party members hailing the young leader’s achievements, in addition to a massive parade to celebrate him.
党幹部が業績をたたえる場面がテレビ放映され、大規模な祝賀パレードが行われた。
The party’s paper described Kim as “the great sun of the 21st century,” based on the figurative expression used to compare his grandfather to the sun.
党機関紙は、金主席の「太陽」という喩たとえを踏まえ、金委員長を「２１世紀の偉大な太陽」と形容した。
The young Kim failed to present any concrete measures to improve the economy, which is a pressing issue for North Koreans. He announced a five-year strategy to boost the economy by 2020, yet only listed issues such as “solving electricity problems.”
金委員長は、国民にとって切実な経済分野で、具体策を示せなかった。２０２０年までの「国家経済発展５か年戦略」を発表したが、「電力問題の解決」などと課題を列挙したに過ぎない。
Kim has established his power base by executing or purging many party executives, most notably his uncle Jang Sung Taek, vice chairman of the National Defense Commission. During the congress, the leader announced the party will maintain efforts to “fight corruption,” issuing an apparent warning that he will show no mercy to anyone who challenges his authority.
金委員長は、叔父の張成沢国防委員会副委員長ら幹部を次々に処刑・粛清し、権力基盤を確立してきた。党大会で「腐敗との闘争」の継続を表明したのは、自らの権威に盾突く者は容赦しない、という警告だろう。
(From The Yomiuri Shimbun, May 11, 2016)
North Korea cannot maintain regime with anachronistic idolatry of leader
北朝鮮新体制 時代錯誤の偶像化では続かぬ
The North Korean leader has made it clear that he will reign over the country with an anachronistic approach − setting himself up as an icon and maintaining his unifying power through fear of a purge.
指導者が自らを偶像化し、粛清の恐怖で求心力を保つ。そんな時代錯誤の統治を進める意思が鮮明になった。
The ruling Workers’ Party of Korea has ended its first congress in 36 years following the decision to bestow a newly created title on the first secretary, Kim Jong Un, of “party chairman.” The chairman thus unveiled his political intention to shift his power base from the military to the party.
３６年ぶりに開かれていた北朝鮮の朝鮮労働党大会は、金正恩第１書記が新設の「党委員長」に就任することを決め、閉幕した。金委員長は、軍から党に軸足を移す政治姿勢を打ち出した。
The change in Kim’s title is aimed at not only showing North Koreans the start of a new era, but also making them realize that the leader will follow in the dictatorial footsteps of his grandfather Kim Il Sung, who served as the chairman of the party’s Central Committee.
肩書の変更には、新時代の到来とともに、「党中央委員長」だった祖父である金日成主席の専制政治を踏襲することを国民に印象付ける狙いがある。
For personnel affairs, the party gave important positions to Kim Jong Un’s close aides, including Hwang Pyong So, director of the General Political Bureau of the North Korean People’s Army, and Choe Ryong Hae, secretary of the party, both of whom were named to the Politburo, the country’s top leadership.
党人事では、黄炳瑞軍総政治局長、崔竜海党書記を最高幹部の政治局常務委員に配するなど、側近を重用した。
An aging Kim Yong Nam, head of the presidium of the Supreme People’s Assembly, was kept as a standing committee member. These personnel appointments indicated the party preferred to avoid a generation shift that could destabilize the regime.
高齢の金永南最高人民会議常任委員長を常務委員にとどめた。体制が不安定になるような世代交代は避けたのだろう。
In his speech on the achievements of the party during the congress, Kim Jong Un mentioned the so-called byongjin policy of pursuing the parallel goals of building up the economy and developing nuclear weapons, declaring that the party will “maintain this permanently and strengthen nuclear weapons programs.” This cannot be overlooked.
看過できないのは、党大会で行った事業総括報告で、核開発と経済建設の「並進路線」について、「恒久的に堅持し、核武力を強化する」と宣言したことだ。
This policy was included in the party’s platform. The young leader also announced a policy for improving the investment environment. Does this, however, not contradict his pursuit of nuclear weapons development?
この路線は党規約に盛り込まれた。投資環境の整備も政策に掲げたが、核開発と矛盾はないか。
Dictatorial approach
The international community has not recognized North Korea’s attempt to make possessing nuclear weapons a fait accompli. It is important for the rest of the world to strictly implement sanctions to urge Pyongyang to abandon its nuclear development.
国際社会は、北朝鮮の核保有の既成事実化を許してはいない。北朝鮮に核放棄を迫る制裁を厳格に履行することが肝要である。
Kim also described North Korea as a “responsible nuclear state,” emphasizing that his country “will sincerely work to realize the denuclearization of the world.” It is ridiculous for him to promise his country’s “efforts” even though it has repeatedly ignored international agreements and resolutions from the U.N. Security Council.
金委員長は、北朝鮮が「責任ある核保有国」として「世界の非核化に努力する」とも強調した。国際合意や国連安全保障理事会の決議を幾度も無視しておきながら、「努力」とはおこがましい。
Kim urged the United States to convert the Korean War armistice into a peace accord. While militarily confronting South Korea, Kim also called for talks to be held between the militaries of the neighbors to improve relations. There is no way Washington or Seoul would take the proposals seriously.
米国には、朝鮮戦争の休戦協定を平和協定に転換させるよう求めた。軍事的に対峙たいじする韓国に対しても、関係改善が必要だとして、軍当局間の協議を呼びかけた。米韓が相手にするはずがない。
The congress was also made to serve as an opportunity for Kim to promote his cult of personality.
党大会は、金委員長への個人崇拝を進める機会ともなった。
TV coverage showed senior party members hailing the young leader’s achievements, in addition to a massive parade to celebrate him.
党幹部が業績をたたえる場面がテレビ放映され、大規模な祝賀パレードが行われた。
The party’s paper described Kim as “the great sun of the 21st century,” based on the figurative expression used to compare his grandfather to the sun.
党機関紙は、金主席の「太陽」という喩たとえを踏まえ、金委員長を「２１世紀の偉大な太陽」と形容した。
The young Kim failed to present any concrete measures to improve the economy, which is a pressing issue for North Koreans. He announced a five-year strategy to boost the economy by 2020, yet only listed issues such as “solving electricity problems.”
金委員長は、国民にとって切実な経済分野で、具体策を示せなかった。２０２０年までの「国家経済発展５か年戦略」を発表したが、「電力問題の解決」などと課題を列挙したに過ぎない。
Kim has established his power base by executing or purging many party executives, most notably his uncle Jang Sung Taek, vice chairman of the National Defense Commission. During the congress, the leader announced the party will maintain efforts to “fight corruption,” issuing an apparent warning that he will show no mercy to anyone who challenges his authority.
金委員長は、叔父の張成沢国防委員会副委員長ら幹部を次々に処刑・粛清し、権力基盤を確立してきた。党大会で「腐敗との闘争」の継続を表明したのは、自らの権威に盾突く者は容赦しない、という警告だろう。
(From The Yomiuri Shimbun, May 11, 2016)
2016年05月11日
Obama to visit Hiroshima on May 27 as 1st sitting U.S. head of state
May 10, 2016 (Mainichi Japan)
Obama to visit Hiroshima on May 27 as 1st sitting U.S. head of state
TOKYO (Kyodo) -- U.S. President Barack Obama will make the first visit to Hiroshima by a sitting U.S. head of state on May 27 to renew his resolve to seek a world free of nuclear weapons, both governments said Tuesday.
Officials from the Japanese and U.S. governments said the purpose of Obama's planned trip to the atomic-bombed city will be to promote a future-oriented stance on nuclear disarmament rather than for the U.S. leader to apologize for the nuclear attacks 71 years ago.
The U.S. president's visit to Hiroshima with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe will "highlight (Obama's) continued commitment to pursuing the peace and security of a world without nuclear weapons," the White House said in a statement.
Abe said he welcomes the U.S. president's visit to the Japanese city devastated by a 1945 U.S. atomic bomb in the final days of World War II "from the bottom of my heart" as a big step toward realizing a world free of nuclear weapons.
"I believe that President Obama making a trip to Hiroshima, seeing the reality of the consequences of atomic bombings and expressing his feeling to the world, will be a big force toward a world without nuclear weapons," Abe told reporters.
One of Obama's close aides, Deputy National Security Adviser Ben Rhodes, said the president is unlikely to comment during his visit to Hiroshima on whether the atomic bombings of Japan are justifiable.
Josh Earnest, White House press secretary, dismissed the view that Obama's visit to the city could be tantamount to an apology for the nuclear attacks.
"If people do interpret it that way, they'll be interpreting it wrongly, so I don't think that there's much risk in that," Earnest told reporters.
Survivors of the U.S. atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki and local government officials generally welcomed the announcement but some said he should have visited the atom-bombed city earlier, rather than in the final stage of his eight-year tenure. Obama leaves office in January 2017.
Obama will make the trip on the day a two-day Group of Seven summit in Japan ends.
The U.S. media have reported Obama could give a speech similar to his 2009 Prague address calling for a world without nuclear weapons if he visits Hiroshima.
Obama will visit the Peace Memorial Park near ground zero, where the arch-shaped cenotaph is located, Earnest said. A Japanese government source said the president may visit the Peace Memorial Museum, which displays artifacts of atomic bomb victims and survivors, such as a charred tricycle.
It is not yet decided whether Obama will meet with some atomic bomb survivors in Hiroshima, Earnest said.
In mid-April, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry visited memorial locations in Hiroshima such as the museum and the Atomic Bomb Dome, skeletal remains of the only major building partially left standing after the explosion. He did so on the sidelines of a G-7 foreign ministers' meeting in the city last month.
Obama, who took office in January 2009, was awarded that year's Nobel Peace Prize for his stated intention to seek a world without nuclear weapons, a commitment he made in the high-profile speech in Prague three months after inauguration.
A visit by a serving president to Hiroshima is expected to stir controversy in the United States due to concerns it could be construed as tantamount to an apology for the attacks.
There is widespread belief that the atomic bombings were necessary to make Japan surrender earlier than it would otherwise have done and save the lives of many U.S. soldiers as a result.
During his first trip to Japan as president in 2009, Obama told a press conference in Tokyo that he would be "honored" to have the opportunity to visit the cities.
The United States dropped an atomic bomb on Hiroshima on Aug. 6, 1945 and another on Nagasaki on Aug. 9. Japan surrendered on Aug. 15, bringing the war to an end.
The number of people -- most of them civilians -- who had died by the end of 1945 from the bombings is estimated at 140,000 in Hiroshima and 74,000 in Nagasaki, according to the cities.
The highest-ranking U.S. official so far to have visited Hiroshima is Nancy Pelosi, who did so in 2008 as speaker of the House of Representatives. The House chief stands behind only the vice president in the line of succession to the U.S. presidency.
In 1984, Jimmy Carter, as a former American president, visited the Peace Memorial Museum in Hiroshima.
Obama has sent U.S. ambassadors John Roos and Caroline Kennedy to the annual peace ceremonies in the atomic-bombed cities since 2010. Rose Gottemoeller, undersecretary of state for arms control and international security, also attended the ceremony in Hiroshima last year.
Obama to visit Hiroshima on May 27 as 1st sitting U.S. head of state
TOKYO (Kyodo) -- U.S. President Barack Obama will make the first visit to Hiroshima by a sitting U.S. head of state on May 27 to renew his resolve to seek a world free of nuclear weapons, both governments said Tuesday.
Officials from the Japanese and U.S. governments said the purpose of Obama's planned trip to the atomic-bombed city will be to promote a future-oriented stance on nuclear disarmament rather than for the U.S. leader to apologize for the nuclear attacks 71 years ago.
The U.S. president's visit to Hiroshima with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe will "highlight (Obama's) continued commitment to pursuing the peace and security of a world without nuclear weapons," the White House said in a statement.
Abe said he welcomes the U.S. president's visit to the Japanese city devastated by a 1945 U.S. atomic bomb in the final days of World War II "from the bottom of my heart" as a big step toward realizing a world free of nuclear weapons.
"I believe that President Obama making a trip to Hiroshima, seeing the reality of the consequences of atomic bombings and expressing his feeling to the world, will be a big force toward a world without nuclear weapons," Abe told reporters.
One of Obama's close aides, Deputy National Security Adviser Ben Rhodes, said the president is unlikely to comment during his visit to Hiroshima on whether the atomic bombings of Japan are justifiable.
Josh Earnest, White House press secretary, dismissed the view that Obama's visit to the city could be tantamount to an apology for the nuclear attacks.
"If people do interpret it that way, they'll be interpreting it wrongly, so I don't think that there's much risk in that," Earnest told reporters.
Survivors of the U.S. atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki and local government officials generally welcomed the announcement but some said he should have visited the atom-bombed city earlier, rather than in the final stage of his eight-year tenure. Obama leaves office in January 2017.
Obama will make the trip on the day a two-day Group of Seven summit in Japan ends.
The U.S. media have reported Obama could give a speech similar to his 2009 Prague address calling for a world without nuclear weapons if he visits Hiroshima.
Obama will visit the Peace Memorial Park near ground zero, where the arch-shaped cenotaph is located, Earnest said. A Japanese government source said the president may visit the Peace Memorial Museum, which displays artifacts of atomic bomb victims and survivors, such as a charred tricycle.
It is not yet decided whether Obama will meet with some atomic bomb survivors in Hiroshima, Earnest said.
In mid-April, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry visited memorial locations in Hiroshima such as the museum and the Atomic Bomb Dome, skeletal remains of the only major building partially left standing after the explosion. He did so on the sidelines of a G-7 foreign ministers' meeting in the city last month.
Obama, who took office in January 2009, was awarded that year's Nobel Peace Prize for his stated intention to seek a world without nuclear weapons, a commitment he made in the high-profile speech in Prague three months after inauguration.
A visit by a serving president to Hiroshima is expected to stir controversy in the United States due to concerns it could be construed as tantamount to an apology for the attacks.
There is widespread belief that the atomic bombings were necessary to make Japan surrender earlier than it would otherwise have done and save the lives of many U.S. soldiers as a result.
During his first trip to Japan as president in 2009, Obama told a press conference in Tokyo that he would be "honored" to have the opportunity to visit the cities.
The United States dropped an atomic bomb on Hiroshima on Aug. 6, 1945 and another on Nagasaki on Aug. 9. Japan surrendered on Aug. 15, bringing the war to an end.
The number of people -- most of them civilians -- who had died by the end of 1945 from the bombings is estimated at 140,000 in Hiroshima and 74,000 in Nagasaki, according to the cities.
The highest-ranking U.S. official so far to have visited Hiroshima is Nancy Pelosi, who did so in 2008 as speaker of the House of Representatives. The House chief stands behind only the vice president in the line of succession to the U.S. presidency.
In 1984, Jimmy Carter, as a former American president, visited the Peace Memorial Museum in Hiroshima.
Obama has sent U.S. ambassadors John Roos and Caroline Kennedy to the annual peace ceremonies in the atomic-bombed cities since 2010. Rose Gottemoeller, undersecretary of state for arms control and international security, also attended the ceremony in Hiroshima last year.
2016年05月10日
南シナ海緊張 無法極まる中国の軍事拠点化
The Yomiuri Shimbun
China’s military base-building in South China Sea totally unlawful
南シナ海緊張 無法極まる中国の軍事拠点化
China’s lawless conduct in the South China Sea, which continues to heighten regional tensions, is hard to ignore. It is indispensable for the United States, Japan and other nations concerned to persistently point out the illegitimacy of China’s conduct to the international community.
南シナ海の緊張を高め続ける中国の無法ぶりが目に余る。米国や日本など関係国は、不当さを国際社会に粘り強く訴えることが欠かせない。
China recently had a military aircraft landing and taking off from a runway on an artificial island it built through land reclamation of the Spratly Islands in the South China Sea. Beijing claimed that, with the aim of transporting construction workers who had suddenly been taken ill on the island, it had dispatched a maritime patrol aircraft on missions over the South China Sea.
中国が最近、南シナ海のスプラトリー（南沙）諸島に造成した人工島の滑走路で、軍用機を離着陸させた。急病の建設作業員を搬送するため、南シナ海を巡視中の海上パトロール用の航空機を派遣したと主張している。
The incident came after China said it had conducted an operational test of the runway in January, using what it called “civilian aircraft.” This is the first case in which China’s use of military aircraft on the island has been made public.
今年１月には、「民間機」を使って滑走路の運用テストを行ったと公表していたが、軍用機の利用が公になったのは初めてだ。
The top Chinese general has inspected the facilities built on some islands in the Spratly chain. Although China did not state the locations covered by his inspection, the general is believed to have visited man-made islands. Media in Vietnam, which has a territorial dispute with China, have reported on a huge radar facility constructed on one of China’s artificial islands, and accompanied its report with a photo of the equipment.
中国軍の制服組トップは、スプラトリー諸島の施設の建設状況を視察した。場所は明示していないものの、人工島とみられる。中国と領有権を争うベトナムのメディアは、人工島の巨大なレーダー施設を写真付きで報じた。
The administration of Chinese President Xi Jinping is escalating its deceitful conduct, as illustrated by accelerated efforts to turn its artificial islands in the South China Sea into military bases, while making a far-fetched argument that its behavior does not constitute militarization.
「軍事化には当たらない」と強弁しながら、南シナ海で軍事拠点化を加速させる習近平政権の欺瞞ぎまんがエスカレートしている。
What cannot be overlooked is that China’s forceful actions aimed at displaying its “sovereignty” have become conspicuous not only in regard to its man-made islands, but also in reefs and sea areas in the South China Sea that are not subject to extremely bitter territorial disputes.
看過できないのは、人工島だけでなく、これまで対立が先鋭化していなかった南シナ海の岩礁や海域でも、「主権」を力ずくで誇示する動きが目立つことである。
U.S. patrols vital
Close to 100 Chinese fishing boats were recently seen sailing around reefs within Malaysia’s exclusive economic zone, accompanied by a Chinese government vessel. In an area near an Indonesian island, a Chinese government ship took possession of a fishing boat that had been detained for illegal fishing activities, after ramming an Indonesian patrol boat.
マレーシアの排他的経済水域（ＥＥＺ）内にある岩礁の周辺には、１００隻近い漁船が公船を伴って出現した。インドネシアの島の付近では、摘発された漁船を公船が体当たりして取り返した。
The Philippines has brought a case before The Hague-based Permanent Court of Arbitration over China’s self-justified territorial claims. The court is expected to hand down a judgment disadvantageous to China this month or in June.
フィリピンはハーグの仲裁裁判所に、中国の独善的な領有権主張を巡って提訴している。中国に不利な判断が、５〜６月中にも示される見通しだ。
The Xi administration may try to ensure that its effective control over the South China Sea becomes fait accompli before that ruling.
習政権には、その前に南シナ海の実効支配を既成事実化しようとする狙いがあるのではないか。
It is essential to make sure freedom of navigation, a principle based on international law, is realized through continued patrols by U.S. warships in areas China insists constitutes its territorial waters. This will be necessary to discourage China from acting unilaterally.
中国の一方的な行動を抑止するには、中国が「領海」と主張する海域で米艦艇による巡視活動を継続し、国際法に基づく「航行の自由」を体現することが肝要だ。
Late this month, U.S. President Barack Obama is scheduled to visit Vietnam for the first time, with the intention of strengthening bilateral ties in the field of maritime security. Under a military pact signed between the United States and the Philippines, U.S. forces are set, in effect, to start stationing some troops in the Philippines.
オバマ米大統領は今月下旬、ベトナムを初訪問し、海洋安全保障面で関係強化を図る方針だ。米軍もフィリピンとの軍事協定に基づき、事実上の駐留に乗り出す。
It is necessary that the United States build a framework in order to exert constant pressure on China through increased cooperation with Vietnam, the Philippines and other pertinent nations.
米国には、ベトナムやフィリピンなど関係国と連携を深め、中国への圧力を恒常的に維持する体制の構築が求められよう。
Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida has told Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) member countries that Japan will fully cooperate with them to ensure that the rule of law prevails in the South China Sea. Japan must share its anxiety over China with these nations while also affirming the importance of preserving maritime order.
南シナ海で「法の支配」を徹底させるため、岸田外相も東南アジア諸国連合（ＡＳＥＡＮ）に全面的に協力する考えを伝えている。日本は、中国への懸念を各国と共有し、海洋秩序維持の重要性を確認せねばならない。
(From The Yomiuri Shimbun, May 9, 2016)
China’s military base-building in South China Sea totally unlawful
南シナ海緊張 無法極まる中国の軍事拠点化
China’s lawless conduct in the South China Sea, which continues to heighten regional tensions, is hard to ignore. It is indispensable for the United States, Japan and other nations concerned to persistently point out the illegitimacy of China’s conduct to the international community.
南シナ海の緊張を高め続ける中国の無法ぶりが目に余る。米国や日本など関係国は、不当さを国際社会に粘り強く訴えることが欠かせない。
China recently had a military aircraft landing and taking off from a runway on an artificial island it built through land reclamation of the Spratly Islands in the South China Sea. Beijing claimed that, with the aim of transporting construction workers who had suddenly been taken ill on the island, it had dispatched a maritime patrol aircraft on missions over the South China Sea.
中国が最近、南シナ海のスプラトリー（南沙）諸島に造成した人工島の滑走路で、軍用機を離着陸させた。急病の建設作業員を搬送するため、南シナ海を巡視中の海上パトロール用の航空機を派遣したと主張している。
The incident came after China said it had conducted an operational test of the runway in January, using what it called “civilian aircraft.” This is the first case in which China’s use of military aircraft on the island has been made public.
今年１月には、「民間機」を使って滑走路の運用テストを行ったと公表していたが、軍用機の利用が公になったのは初めてだ。
The top Chinese general has inspected the facilities built on some islands in the Spratly chain. Although China did not state the locations covered by his inspection, the general is believed to have visited man-made islands. Media in Vietnam, which has a territorial dispute with China, have reported on a huge radar facility constructed on one of China’s artificial islands, and accompanied its report with a photo of the equipment.
中国軍の制服組トップは、スプラトリー諸島の施設の建設状況を視察した。場所は明示していないものの、人工島とみられる。中国と領有権を争うベトナムのメディアは、人工島の巨大なレーダー施設を写真付きで報じた。
The administration of Chinese President Xi Jinping is escalating its deceitful conduct, as illustrated by accelerated efforts to turn its artificial islands in the South China Sea into military bases, while making a far-fetched argument that its behavior does not constitute militarization.
「軍事化には当たらない」と強弁しながら、南シナ海で軍事拠点化を加速させる習近平政権の欺瞞ぎまんがエスカレートしている。
What cannot be overlooked is that China’s forceful actions aimed at displaying its “sovereignty” have become conspicuous not only in regard to its man-made islands, but also in reefs and sea areas in the South China Sea that are not subject to extremely bitter territorial disputes.
看過できないのは、人工島だけでなく、これまで対立が先鋭化していなかった南シナ海の岩礁や海域でも、「主権」を力ずくで誇示する動きが目立つことである。
U.S. patrols vital
Close to 100 Chinese fishing boats were recently seen sailing around reefs within Malaysia’s exclusive economic zone, accompanied by a Chinese government vessel. In an area near an Indonesian island, a Chinese government ship took possession of a fishing boat that had been detained for illegal fishing activities, after ramming an Indonesian patrol boat.
マレーシアの排他的経済水域（ＥＥＺ）内にある岩礁の周辺には、１００隻近い漁船が公船を伴って出現した。インドネシアの島の付近では、摘発された漁船を公船が体当たりして取り返した。
The Philippines has brought a case before The Hague-based Permanent Court of Arbitration over China’s self-justified territorial claims. The court is expected to hand down a judgment disadvantageous to China this month or in June.
フィリピンはハーグの仲裁裁判所に、中国の独善的な領有権主張を巡って提訴している。中国に不利な判断が、５〜６月中にも示される見通しだ。
The Xi administration may try to ensure that its effective control over the South China Sea becomes fait accompli before that ruling.
習政権には、その前に南シナ海の実効支配を既成事実化しようとする狙いがあるのではないか。
It is essential to make sure freedom of navigation, a principle based on international law, is realized through continued patrols by U.S. warships in areas China insists constitutes its territorial waters. This will be necessary to discourage China from acting unilaterally.
中国の一方的な行動を抑止するには、中国が「領海」と主張する海域で米艦艇による巡視活動を継続し、国際法に基づく「航行の自由」を体現することが肝要だ。
Late this month, U.S. President Barack Obama is scheduled to visit Vietnam for the first time, with the intention of strengthening bilateral ties in the field of maritime security. Under a military pact signed between the United States and the Philippines, U.S. forces are set, in effect, to start stationing some troops in the Philippines.
オバマ米大統領は今月下旬、ベトナムを初訪問し、海洋安全保障面で関係強化を図る方針だ。米軍もフィリピンとの軍事協定に基づき、事実上の駐留に乗り出す。
It is necessary that the United States build a framework in order to exert constant pressure on China through increased cooperation with Vietnam, the Philippines and other pertinent nations.
米国には、ベトナムやフィリピンなど関係国と連携を深め、中国への圧力を恒常的に維持する体制の構築が求められよう。
Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida has told Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) member countries that Japan will fully cooperate with them to ensure that the rule of law prevails in the South China Sea. Japan must share its anxiety over China with these nations while also affirming the importance of preserving maritime order.
南シナ海で「法の支配」を徹底させるため、岸田外相も東南アジア諸国連合（ＡＳＥＡＮ）に全面的に協力する考えを伝えている。日本は、中国への懸念を各国と共有し、海洋秩序維持の重要性を確認せねばならない。
(From The Yomiuri Shimbun, May 9, 2016)
2016年05月09日
日露首脳会談 「新アプローチ」で打開可能か
The Yomiuri Shimbun
Can new Japan-Russia approach break deadlock on northern territories issue?
日露首脳会談 「新アプローチ」で打開可能か
Can the latest talks between the Japanese and Russian leaders serve as the first step to a breakthrough in negotiations over the northern territories off Hokkaido, which have remained deadlocked over the decades?
長年、膠着こうちゃく状態が続く領土問題を打開する一歩となるのだろうか。
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe held talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Sochi, southern Russia, and the two leaders agreed that they will vigorously proceed with negotiations on the issue using “an approach based on a new concept.”
安倍首相がロシア南部のソチで、プーチン大統領と会談した。北方領土問題について、「新たな発想に基づくアプローチ」で交渉を精力的に進めることで合意した。
“I got the sense that we can achieve a breakthrough in the stagnated situation,” Abe told reporters following the talks.
首相は会談後、「停滞を打破し、突破口を開く手応えを得ることができた」と記者団に語った。
Even though details are unclear, the new approach is described as taking into consideration a global perspective − not just bilateral relations − and holding negotiations from a future-oriented standpoint.
新たなアプローチの詳細は不明だが、「２国間だけでなく、グローバルな視点を考慮し、未来志向で交渉する」考え方とされる。
It is not easy for Japan and Russia to make concessions on the territorial issue, as it concerns the sovereignty of each country. It is understandable that Tokyo and Moscow will look for compromises on this issue as they develop deeper cooperation on security, economic and many other issues based on a broader perspective.
国家主権に関わる領土問題は本来、日露双方とも簡単に譲歩できない。より大きな視野を持ち、安全保障、経済など様々な分野で協力を深める中で、歩み寄りを模索することは、理解できる。
The two leaders also agreed that they will have another meeting when Abe visits Vladivostok, Russia, in September. The two countries are said to further examine the timing of Putin’s visit to Japan.
会談では、首相が９月にウラジオストクを訪問し、プーチン氏と再会談することで一致した。その後のプーチン氏の来日時期に関しては、さらに検討するという。
It is extraordinary for a Japanese prime minister to make successive visits to Russia, which suggests how resolved Abe is over the territorial issue.
首相がロシアを何度も連続して訪れるのは異例である。領土問題に対する強い熱意がにじむ。
Political decision needed
Abe apparently believes that the issue cannot be solved unless he urges Putin, the most powerful figure in Russia, to make a political decision. Holding more bilateral talks with the president, including those to be organized on the sidelines of international conferences, is important in itself.
最高権力者のプーチン氏に政治決断を迫らなくては、問題は解決しない、と考えているのだろう。国際会議の機会を含め、会談を重ねること自体は重要である。
During the latest talks, Abe presented a plan comprising eight areas of cooperation, including energy development and building infrastructure in Russia’s Far Eastern region.
安倍首相は今回、エネルギー開発、ロシア極東のインフラ整備など８項目の協力計画を示した。
The Russian economy has remained sluggish mostly because of the fall in oil prices and the weaker ruble. Putin has put priority on promoting investment from and technical cooperation with Japan, in addition to the development of the Far East. Abe apparently aims to use his plan to pave the way to move the territorial issue forward.
原油・ルーブル安などでロシア経済は低迷が続く。プーチン氏は日本の投資や技術協力、極東開発を優先課題に掲げている。首相には、領土問題を動かす呼び水にしたい、との思惑があろう。
Of course, economic cooperation alone cannot immediately achieve a breakthrough on the issue. We instead believe that the key will be for Japan to create a situation in which Russia puts real effort into boosting bilateral relations with Japan as Russia faces Chinese influences.
無論、経済協力だけで、直ちに領土問題が進展することはない。むしろ、ロシアが中国との対抗上、日本との関係強化に本腰を入れる状況を作り出せるかどうかが、一つのカギではないか。
Putin is said to have become more concerned that China has been encouraging a large number of companies to start businesses in the Far East while expanding its military presence there.
中国が極東に多数の企業を進出させ、軍事面でも存在感を高めていることに、プーチン氏は警戒感を強めているとされる。
During his talks with Abe, Putin expressed his hope for security cooperation between the two countries. It is of not small significance for Japan to improve cooperation with Russia to hold China and North Korea in check.
プーチン氏は会談で、日露安保協力に期待を示した。日本も、中国や北朝鮮を牽制けんせいするため、協力を進める意義は小さくない。
Concerning the conflicts in Ukraine and Syria, it is appropriate that Abe urged Putin to play a constructive role by exercising his influence in maintaining ceasefires in those countries.
ウクライナ、シリア情勢を巡って、首相がプーチン氏に対し、両国内の停戦維持に影響力を行使し、建設的な役割を果たすよう求めたのは適切である。
Abe will host the Ise-Shima summit meeting of the Group of Seven major powers on May 26-27. It will be important for the prime minister to elaborate his policy on pushing Japan-Russia relations forward without disrupting cooperation among the G-7 countries.
首相は２６、２７日の主要国首脳会議（伊勢志摩サミット）で、先進７か国（Ｇ７）の足並みを乱さずに、日露関係を前進させる方針を丁寧に説明することが大切だ。
(From The Yomiuri Shimbun, May 8, 2016)
Can new Japan-Russia approach break deadlock on northern territories issue?
日露首脳会談 「新アプローチ」で打開可能か
Can the latest talks between the Japanese and Russian leaders serve as the first step to a breakthrough in negotiations over the northern territories off Hokkaido, which have remained deadlocked over the decades?
長年、膠着こうちゃく状態が続く領土問題を打開する一歩となるのだろうか。
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe held talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Sochi, southern Russia, and the two leaders agreed that they will vigorously proceed with negotiations on the issue using “an approach based on a new concept.”
安倍首相がロシア南部のソチで、プーチン大統領と会談した。北方領土問題について、「新たな発想に基づくアプローチ」で交渉を精力的に進めることで合意した。
“I got the sense that we can achieve a breakthrough in the stagnated situation,” Abe told reporters following the talks.
首相は会談後、「停滞を打破し、突破口を開く手応えを得ることができた」と記者団に語った。
Even though details are unclear, the new approach is described as taking into consideration a global perspective − not just bilateral relations − and holding negotiations from a future-oriented standpoint.
新たなアプローチの詳細は不明だが、「２国間だけでなく、グローバルな視点を考慮し、未来志向で交渉する」考え方とされる。
It is not easy for Japan and Russia to make concessions on the territorial issue, as it concerns the sovereignty of each country. It is understandable that Tokyo and Moscow will look for compromises on this issue as they develop deeper cooperation on security, economic and many other issues based on a broader perspective.
国家主権に関わる領土問題は本来、日露双方とも簡単に譲歩できない。より大きな視野を持ち、安全保障、経済など様々な分野で協力を深める中で、歩み寄りを模索することは、理解できる。
The two leaders also agreed that they will have another meeting when Abe visits Vladivostok, Russia, in September. The two countries are said to further examine the timing of Putin’s visit to Japan.
会談では、首相が９月にウラジオストクを訪問し、プーチン氏と再会談することで一致した。その後のプーチン氏の来日時期に関しては、さらに検討するという。
It is extraordinary for a Japanese prime minister to make successive visits to Russia, which suggests how resolved Abe is over the territorial issue.
首相がロシアを何度も連続して訪れるのは異例である。領土問題に対する強い熱意がにじむ。
Political decision needed
Abe apparently believes that the issue cannot be solved unless he urges Putin, the most powerful figure in Russia, to make a political decision. Holding more bilateral talks with the president, including those to be organized on the sidelines of international conferences, is important in itself.
最高権力者のプーチン氏に政治決断を迫らなくては、問題は解決しない、と考えているのだろう。国際会議の機会を含め、会談を重ねること自体は重要である。
During the latest talks, Abe presented a plan comprising eight areas of cooperation, including energy development and building infrastructure in Russia’s Far Eastern region.
安倍首相は今回、エネルギー開発、ロシア極東のインフラ整備など８項目の協力計画を示した。
The Russian economy has remained sluggish mostly because of the fall in oil prices and the weaker ruble. Putin has put priority on promoting investment from and technical cooperation with Japan, in addition to the development of the Far East. Abe apparently aims to use his plan to pave the way to move the territorial issue forward.
原油・ルーブル安などでロシア経済は低迷が続く。プーチン氏は日本の投資や技術協力、極東開発を優先課題に掲げている。首相には、領土問題を動かす呼び水にしたい、との思惑があろう。
Of course, economic cooperation alone cannot immediately achieve a breakthrough on the issue. We instead believe that the key will be for Japan to create a situation in which Russia puts real effort into boosting bilateral relations with Japan as Russia faces Chinese influences.
無論、経済協力だけで、直ちに領土問題が進展することはない。むしろ、ロシアが中国との対抗上、日本との関係強化に本腰を入れる状況を作り出せるかどうかが、一つのカギではないか。
Putin is said to have become more concerned that China has been encouraging a large number of companies to start businesses in the Far East while expanding its military presence there.
中国が極東に多数の企業を進出させ、軍事面でも存在感を高めていることに、プーチン氏は警戒感を強めているとされる。
During his talks with Abe, Putin expressed his hope for security cooperation between the two countries. It is of not small significance for Japan to improve cooperation with Russia to hold China and North Korea in check.
プーチン氏は会談で、日露安保協力に期待を示した。日本も、中国や北朝鮮を牽制けんせいするため、協力を進める意義は小さくない。
Concerning the conflicts in Ukraine and Syria, it is appropriate that Abe urged Putin to play a constructive role by exercising his influence in maintaining ceasefires in those countries.
ウクライナ、シリア情勢を巡って、首相がプーチン氏に対し、両国内の停戦維持に影響力を行使し、建設的な役割を果たすよう求めたのは適切である。
Abe will host the Ise-Shima summit meeting of the Group of Seven major powers on May 26-27. It will be important for the prime minister to elaborate his policy on pushing Japan-Russia relations forward without disrupting cooperation among the G-7 countries.
首相は２６、２７日の主要国首脳会議（伊勢志摩サミット）で、先進７か国（Ｇ７）の足並みを乱さずに、日露関係を前進させる方針を丁寧に説明することが大切だ。
(From The Yomiuri Shimbun, May 8, 2016)
2016年05月08日
ＮＨＫの使命 政府の広報ではない
--The Asahi Shimbun, May 2
EDITORIAL: NHK must not serve simply as the government’s mouthpiece
（社説）ＮＨＫの使命 政府の広報ではない
Japan Broadcasting Corp. (NHK) is not the government’s public relations agency.
ＮＨＫは、政府の広報機関ではない。
It cannot accomplish its mission as a news medium if it only reports the government’s announcements as its sole source.
当局の発表をただ伝えるだけでは、報道機関の使命は果たせない。
This is the most basic of the basics of broadcast journalism. But NHK President Katsuto Momii still doesn’t understand the core mission of the organization he has been heading for two years and three months now if his recent remarks are any indication.
それは放送人としての「イロハのイ」だ。しかし、籾井勝人会長は就任から２年３カ月になるが、今もその使命を理解していないとしか思えない。
During an April 20 meeting of senior officials at NHK, Momii said the public broadcaster’s reporting on the recent destructive earthquakes in Kumamoto Prefecture and surrounding areas and the disaster’s possible effects on nuclear power generation should be “based on authorities’ official announcements,” according to informed sources.
NHK should focus on airing the official views announced by authorities, he reportedly said.
“If various assessments by experts were broadcast, it would only end up unnecessarily raising concerns among the public,” he was quoted as saying.
籾井氏は、先月の熊本地震に関する局内会議で、原発に関する報道は「公式発表をベースに」と発言した。「当局の発表の公式見解を伝えるべきだ。いろいろある専門家の見解を伝えても、いたずらに不安をかき立てる」などとも指示した。
Momii expounded on his comments in response to a question about them during an April 26 session of the Lower House Committee of Internal Affairs and Communications.
２６日の衆院総務委員会で籾井氏は、こう答弁している。
Momii said the official announcements he was referring to were information released by the Meteorological Agency, the Nuclear Regulation Authority and Kyushu Electric Power Co.
「公式発表」とは「気象庁、原子力規制委員会、九州電力」の情報のこと。
As for Kyushu Electric Power’s Sendai nuclear plant in Kagoshima Prefecture, which is immediately south of Kumamoto Prefecture, Momii said he believed his organization should broadcast, without any additional reporting, announced information such as data provided by the radiation monitoring posts installed for issuing evacuation orders around the Sendai plant.
“If the NRA believes that the nuclear plant is safe or can remain in operation, we will just report it like that,” Momii told the committee.
鹿児島県にある川内（せんだい）原発については「（放射線量を監視する）モニタリングポストの数値などをコメントを加味せず伝える。規制委が、安全である、（稼働を）続けていいといえば、それを伝えていく」と考えているという。
During natural disasters, news media should, of course, strive to provide the public with accurate information as quickly and carefully as possible.
災害の時、正確な情報を速く丁寧に伝えるよう努めるのは、報道機関として当然だ。
Announcements made by the central and local governments and various companies are, needless to say, important elements of news reports on such events.
自治体や政府、企業などの発表は言うまでもなく、ニュースの大事な要素である。
At the same time, however, it is also a vital role of the news media to examine and fact-check such announcements and report them along with views based on expert knowledge and responses from citizens.
同時に、発表内容を必要に応じて点検し、専門知識に裏付けられた多様な見方や、市民の受け止めなどを併せて伝えるのも報道機関の不可欠な役割だ。
Momii’s instructions to senior NHK editors can be interpreted as a demand that only official announcements should be treated as facts.
しかし籾井氏の指示は「公式発表」のみを事実として扱うことを求めているように受け取れる。
What he said is tantamount to an order that NHK should stop performing its most basic function, which is examining things from various angles and reporting facts from multiple viewpoints.
ものごとを様々な角度から見つめ、事実を多面的に伝えるという報道の基本を放棄せよと言っているに等しい。
Momii’s rationale for demanding that reports on these topics should be based on official views and announcements seems to be the necessity to reassure local residents.
「住民に安心感を与える」ためというのが籾井氏の言い分のようだ。
If so, he is underestimating viewers’ ability to understand and assess news and information.
だが、それは視聴者の理解する力を見くびっている。
In a survey conducted last year by the NHK Broadcasting Culture Research Institute, 85 percent of the respondents said they wanted to select the information that suits their needs on their own. Moreover, 61 percent of the people surveyed said they were confident about their ability to grasp reliable data from a sea of information.
ＮＨＫ放送文化研究所の昨年の調査では、８５％が「必要な情報は自分で選びたい」とし、６１％が「多くの情報の中から信頼できるものをより分けることができるほうだ」と回答した。
The survey shows that many viewers want not only information officially provided by the government and companies, but also multifaceted reports on various topics so that they can make their own evaluations and judgments.
多くの視聴者は、政府や企業などが公式に与える情報だけでなく、多角的な報道を自分で吟味したいと考えているのだ。
Momii has a history of making comments that raise serious questions about his editorial stance and journalistic ethics.
In his inaugural press conference in 2014, Momii said, “We cannot say left when the government says right.”
籾井氏は一昨年の就任会見で「政府が右ということを左というわけにはいかない」と発言。
Last year, when he was asked whether NHK would deal with the “comfort women" issue in its reports on the 70th anniversary of the end of World War II, he replied, “The government’s policy is the key.”
昨年は戦後７０年で「慰安婦問題」を扱うか問われ、「政府の方針がポイント」と語った。
Each time the NHK chief made remarks indicating loyal support for the government, he faced bitter criticism. But he is showing no signs of mending his ways.
政府に寄り添うような発言はその都度批判されてきたが、一向に改まらない。
The very credibility of NHK’s entire news reporting could be destroyed unless Momii stops damaging it.
このままでは、ＮＨＫの報道全体への信頼が下がりかねない。
EDITORIAL: NHK must not serve simply as the government’s mouthpiece
（社説）ＮＨＫの使命 政府の広報ではない
Japan Broadcasting Corp. (NHK) is not the government’s public relations agency.
ＮＨＫは、政府の広報機関ではない。
It cannot accomplish its mission as a news medium if it only reports the government’s announcements as its sole source.
当局の発表をただ伝えるだけでは、報道機関の使命は果たせない。
This is the most basic of the basics of broadcast journalism. But NHK President Katsuto Momii still doesn’t understand the core mission of the organization he has been heading for two years and three months now if his recent remarks are any indication.
それは放送人としての「イロハのイ」だ。しかし、籾井勝人会長は就任から２年３カ月になるが、今もその使命を理解していないとしか思えない。
During an April 20 meeting of senior officials at NHK, Momii said the public broadcaster’s reporting on the recent destructive earthquakes in Kumamoto Prefecture and surrounding areas and the disaster’s possible effects on nuclear power generation should be “based on authorities’ official announcements,” according to informed sources.
NHK should focus on airing the official views announced by authorities, he reportedly said.
“If various assessments by experts were broadcast, it would only end up unnecessarily raising concerns among the public,” he was quoted as saying.
籾井氏は、先月の熊本地震に関する局内会議で、原発に関する報道は「公式発表をベースに」と発言した。「当局の発表の公式見解を伝えるべきだ。いろいろある専門家の見解を伝えても、いたずらに不安をかき立てる」などとも指示した。
Momii expounded on his comments in response to a question about them during an April 26 session of the Lower House Committee of Internal Affairs and Communications.
２６日の衆院総務委員会で籾井氏は、こう答弁している。
Momii said the official announcements he was referring to were information released by the Meteorological Agency, the Nuclear Regulation Authority and Kyushu Electric Power Co.
「公式発表」とは「気象庁、原子力規制委員会、九州電力」の情報のこと。
As for Kyushu Electric Power’s Sendai nuclear plant in Kagoshima Prefecture, which is immediately south of Kumamoto Prefecture, Momii said he believed his organization should broadcast, without any additional reporting, announced information such as data provided by the radiation monitoring posts installed for issuing evacuation orders around the Sendai plant.
“If the NRA believes that the nuclear plant is safe or can remain in operation, we will just report it like that,” Momii told the committee.
鹿児島県にある川内（せんだい）原発については「（放射線量を監視する）モニタリングポストの数値などをコメントを加味せず伝える。規制委が、安全である、（稼働を）続けていいといえば、それを伝えていく」と考えているという。
During natural disasters, news media should, of course, strive to provide the public with accurate information as quickly and carefully as possible.
災害の時、正確な情報を速く丁寧に伝えるよう努めるのは、報道機関として当然だ。
Announcements made by the central and local governments and various companies are, needless to say, important elements of news reports on such events.
自治体や政府、企業などの発表は言うまでもなく、ニュースの大事な要素である。
At the same time, however, it is also a vital role of the news media to examine and fact-check such announcements and report them along with views based on expert knowledge and responses from citizens.
同時に、発表内容を必要に応じて点検し、専門知識に裏付けられた多様な見方や、市民の受け止めなどを併せて伝えるのも報道機関の不可欠な役割だ。
Momii’s instructions to senior NHK editors can be interpreted as a demand that only official announcements should be treated as facts.
しかし籾井氏の指示は「公式発表」のみを事実として扱うことを求めているように受け取れる。
What he said is tantamount to an order that NHK should stop performing its most basic function, which is examining things from various angles and reporting facts from multiple viewpoints.
ものごとを様々な角度から見つめ、事実を多面的に伝えるという報道の基本を放棄せよと言っているに等しい。
Momii’s rationale for demanding that reports on these topics should be based on official views and announcements seems to be the necessity to reassure local residents.
「住民に安心感を与える」ためというのが籾井氏の言い分のようだ。
If so, he is underestimating viewers’ ability to understand and assess news and information.
だが、それは視聴者の理解する力を見くびっている。
In a survey conducted last year by the NHK Broadcasting Culture Research Institute, 85 percent of the respondents said they wanted to select the information that suits their needs on their own. Moreover, 61 percent of the people surveyed said they were confident about their ability to grasp reliable data from a sea of information.
ＮＨＫ放送文化研究所の昨年の調査では、８５％が「必要な情報は自分で選びたい」とし、６１％が「多くの情報の中から信頼できるものをより分けることができるほうだ」と回答した。
The survey shows that many viewers want not only information officially provided by the government and companies, but also multifaceted reports on various topics so that they can make their own evaluations and judgments.
多くの視聴者は、政府や企業などが公式に与える情報だけでなく、多角的な報道を自分で吟味したいと考えているのだ。
Momii has a history of making comments that raise serious questions about his editorial stance and journalistic ethics.
In his inaugural press conference in 2014, Momii said, “We cannot say left when the government says right.”
籾井氏は一昨年の就任会見で「政府が右ということを左というわけにはいかない」と発言。
Last year, when he was asked whether NHK would deal with the “comfort women" issue in its reports on the 70th anniversary of the end of World War II, he replied, “The government’s policy is the key.”
昨年は戦後７０年で「慰安婦問題」を扱うか問われ、「政府の方針がポイント」と語った。
Each time the NHK chief made remarks indicating loyal support for the government, he faced bitter criticism. But he is showing no signs of mending his ways.
政府に寄り添うような発言はその都度批判されてきたが、一向に改まらない。
The very credibility of NHK’s entire news reporting could be destroyed unless Momii stops damaging it.
このままでは、ＮＨＫの報道全体への信頼が下がりかねない。
2016年05月07日
日比防衛協力 海自機貸与で監視能力高めよ
The Yomiuri Shimbun
Leasing of MSDF aircraft should help Philippines’ patrol capabilities
日比防衛協力 海自機貸与で監視能力高めよ
The Philippines is confronted with China’s attempt to unilaterally change the status quo in the South China Sea by stepping up its maritime activities in the region. In tandem with the United States, Japan should promote multilayered defense cooperation with Manila.
フィリピンが南シナ海で、中国の一方的な海洋進出と現状変更に直面している。日本は、米国と連携し、重層的な防衛協力を進めたい。
Defense Minister Gen Nakatani and his Philippine counterpart Voltaire Gazmin agreed during a telephone conversation that Japan would lease Maritime Self-Defense Force TC-90 training aircraft that have been decommissioned. Up to five TC-90s are likely to be leased. The agreement also calls for Japan to provide education and training of pilots and related equipment as well as to cooperate locally in such operations as the maintenance of the aircraft.
中谷防衛相がフィリピンのガズミン国防相と電話会談し、退役した海上自衛隊の練習機ＴＣ９０を有償貸与することで合意した。最大で５機の見通しだ。操縦士の教育・訓練や関連機材の提供、現地での機体整備などでも協力する。
Many of the planes possessed by the Philippine Navy are outdated and their performance is poor. It is difficult for the Philippine Navy to singlehandedly face up to China, which has been flexing its muscles on the back of its rapid military buildup through such activities as the creation of man-made islands in the South China Sea.
フィリピン海軍が保有する航空機の多くは老朽化が進んでおり、性能も低い。急速な軍備増強を背景に、南シナ海で人工島造成などを強行する中国に、単独で対抗することは難しい。
With a flight range of 1,870 kilometers, the TC-90s would be mobilized for the Philippine military’s warning and surveillance operations and disaster relief activities. As TC-90s are capable of covering most of the Spratly Islands, where China has been building military fortifications, the Philippines’ patrol capabilities will likely be enhanced significantly.
航続距離が１８７０キロと長いＴＣ９０は、フィリピン軍の警戒・監視や災害救援活動などに活用される予定だ。中国が軍事拠点化を進めるスプラトリー（南沙）諸島の大半をカバーできるため、哨戒能力は大幅に向上しよう。
The deal on the lease of TC-90s was initiated at the request of Manila. It is the first application of the Japan-Philippine agreement on defense equipment and transfer of technology that was signed in February based on an accord reached at a bilateral summit meeting in June last year.
今回の貸与は、フィリピンが要請した。昨年６月の日比首脳会談の合意に基づき、今年２月に署名された日比防衛装備品・技術移転協定の最初の適用例となった。
Reasonable deal
The lease is also in keeping with the “three principles on transfer of defense equipment” decided by the government in April 2014, which call for, among other things, preventing the leakage of technology to a third party. By going through the necessary procedures, the lease amounts to reasonable cooperation on defense equipment.
第三国への技術流出防止などを定めた２０１４年４月決定の「防衛装備移転３原則」にも則のっとっている。一連の手続きを適切に踏んでおり、妥当な装備協力である。
MSDF vessels made successive port calls in the Philippines last month.
フィリピンには４月、海自艦船が相次いで寄港した。
The submarine Oyashio, on a training voyage, called at Subic Port with a destroyer in early April. Late in that month, the MSDF’s largest destroyer, the Ise, which carries helicopters, made a goodwill call at the port.
練習航海中の潜水艦「おやしお」と、護衛艦が上旬、スービック港に立ち寄った。下旬には、海自最大級のヘリコプター搭載型護衛艦「いせ」が親善訪問した。
Philippine President Benigno Aquino fully supports the initiative of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s administration for Japan’s “proactive contribution to peace” and highly evaluates the security legislation established by it. Therefore, it is expected the bilateral relationship will be reinforced.
アキノ大統領は、安倍政権の「積極的平和主義」を全面支持し、安全保障法制も高く評価する。２国間関係も強化されよう。
In this connection, it is important for the two countries to closely cooperate with Washington to ensure regional stability.
重要なのは、地域の安定のため米国と緊密に協調することだ。
When U.S. Defense Secretary Ashton Carter conferred with Aquino in Manila in mid-April, it was agreed that the two countries would hold regular joint patrols in the South China Sea.
カーター国防長官は４月中旬、マニラでアキノ氏と会談し、南シナ海で米比の共同哨戒活動を定期的に実施することで合意した。
Within days after this accord, U.S. military aircraft conducted warning and surveillance operations in the vicinity of the Scarborough Shoal, which is claimed both by the Philippines and China. These operations were undertaken in accordance with the U.S.-Philippine agreement.
その直後に、フィリピンと中国が領有権を争うスカボロー礁付近で、米空軍機が警戒・監視活動を行ったのも合意の一環だ。
It is institutionally difficult for the Self-Defense Forces to conduct activities constantly in the South China Sea.
自衛隊が南シナ海で恒常的に活動するのは、体制的に困難だ。
It is essential for the SDF to assist in various ways to build capabilities of the Philippines and other countries concerned while appropriately sharing roles with the U.S. military, thereby contributing to peace in the South China Sea.
米軍と適切に役割分担しつつ、フィリピン軍など当事国の能力構築を様々な手段で支援することを通じて、南シナ海の平和に貢献することが大切である。
These endeavors will certainly lead to ensuring the security of sea-lanes for Japan without allowing China to change the status quo by force.
それが、中国の力による現状変更を認めず、日本自身の海上交通路（シーレーン）の安全を確保することにもつながろう。
(From The Yomiuri Shimbun, May 5, 2016)
Leasing of MSDF aircraft should help Philippines’ patrol capabilities
日比防衛協力 海自機貸与で監視能力高めよ
The Philippines is confronted with China’s attempt to unilaterally change the status quo in the South China Sea by stepping up its maritime activities in the region. In tandem with the United States, Japan should promote multilayered defense cooperation with Manila.
フィリピンが南シナ海で、中国の一方的な海洋進出と現状変更に直面している。日本は、米国と連携し、重層的な防衛協力を進めたい。
Defense Minister Gen Nakatani and his Philippine counterpart Voltaire Gazmin agreed during a telephone conversation that Japan would lease Maritime Self-Defense Force TC-90 training aircraft that have been decommissioned. Up to five TC-90s are likely to be leased. The agreement also calls for Japan to provide education and training of pilots and related equipment as well as to cooperate locally in such operations as the maintenance of the aircraft.
中谷防衛相がフィリピンのガズミン国防相と電話会談し、退役した海上自衛隊の練習機ＴＣ９０を有償貸与することで合意した。最大で５機の見通しだ。操縦士の教育・訓練や関連機材の提供、現地での機体整備などでも協力する。
Many of the planes possessed by the Philippine Navy are outdated and their performance is poor. It is difficult for the Philippine Navy to singlehandedly face up to China, which has been flexing its muscles on the back of its rapid military buildup through such activities as the creation of man-made islands in the South China Sea.
フィリピン海軍が保有する航空機の多くは老朽化が進んでおり、性能も低い。急速な軍備増強を背景に、南シナ海で人工島造成などを強行する中国に、単独で対抗することは難しい。
With a flight range of 1,870 kilometers, the TC-90s would be mobilized for the Philippine military’s warning and surveillance operations and disaster relief activities. As TC-90s are capable of covering most of the Spratly Islands, where China has been building military fortifications, the Philippines’ patrol capabilities will likely be enhanced significantly.
航続距離が１８７０キロと長いＴＣ９０は、フィリピン軍の警戒・監視や災害救援活動などに活用される予定だ。中国が軍事拠点化を進めるスプラトリー（南沙）諸島の大半をカバーできるため、哨戒能力は大幅に向上しよう。
The deal on the lease of TC-90s was initiated at the request of Manila. It is the first application of the Japan-Philippine agreement on defense equipment and transfer of technology that was signed in February based on an accord reached at a bilateral summit meeting in June last year.
今回の貸与は、フィリピンが要請した。昨年６月の日比首脳会談の合意に基づき、今年２月に署名された日比防衛装備品・技術移転協定の最初の適用例となった。
Reasonable deal
The lease is also in keeping with the “three principles on transfer of defense equipment” decided by the government in April 2014, which call for, among other things, preventing the leakage of technology to a third party. By going through the necessary procedures, the lease amounts to reasonable cooperation on defense equipment.
第三国への技術流出防止などを定めた２０１４年４月決定の「防衛装備移転３原則」にも則のっとっている。一連の手続きを適切に踏んでおり、妥当な装備協力である。
MSDF vessels made successive port calls in the Philippines last month.
フィリピンには４月、海自艦船が相次いで寄港した。
The submarine Oyashio, on a training voyage, called at Subic Port with a destroyer in early April. Late in that month, the MSDF’s largest destroyer, the Ise, which carries helicopters, made a goodwill call at the port.
練習航海中の潜水艦「おやしお」と、護衛艦が上旬、スービック港に立ち寄った。下旬には、海自最大級のヘリコプター搭載型護衛艦「いせ」が親善訪問した。
Philippine President Benigno Aquino fully supports the initiative of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s administration for Japan’s “proactive contribution to peace” and highly evaluates the security legislation established by it. Therefore, it is expected the bilateral relationship will be reinforced.
アキノ大統領は、安倍政権の「積極的平和主義」を全面支持し、安全保障法制も高く評価する。２国間関係も強化されよう。
In this connection, it is important for the two countries to closely cooperate with Washington to ensure regional stability.
重要なのは、地域の安定のため米国と緊密に協調することだ。
When U.S. Defense Secretary Ashton Carter conferred with Aquino in Manila in mid-April, it was agreed that the two countries would hold regular joint patrols in the South China Sea.
カーター国防長官は４月中旬、マニラでアキノ氏と会談し、南シナ海で米比の共同哨戒活動を定期的に実施することで合意した。
Within days after this accord, U.S. military aircraft conducted warning and surveillance operations in the vicinity of the Scarborough Shoal, which is claimed both by the Philippines and China. These operations were undertaken in accordance with the U.S.-Philippine agreement.
その直後に、フィリピンと中国が領有権を争うスカボロー礁付近で、米空軍機が警戒・監視活動を行ったのも合意の一環だ。
It is institutionally difficult for the Self-Defense Forces to conduct activities constantly in the South China Sea.
自衛隊が南シナ海で恒常的に活動するのは、体制的に困難だ。
It is essential for the SDF to assist in various ways to build capabilities of the Philippines and other countries concerned while appropriately sharing roles with the U.S. military, thereby contributing to peace in the South China Sea.
米軍と適切に役割分担しつつ、フィリピン軍など当事国の能力構築を様々な手段で支援することを通じて、南シナ海の平和に貢献することが大切である。
These endeavors will certainly lead to ensuring the security of sea-lanes for Japan without allowing China to change the status quo by force.
それが、中国の力による現状変更を認めず、日本自身の海上交通路（シーレーン）の安全を確保することにもつながろう。
(From The Yomiuri Shimbun, May 5, 2016)
2016年05月06日
子どもの貧困 学び支え、連鎖断ち切ろう
--The Asahi Shimbun, May 5
EDITORIAL: Child poverty in Japan must be tackled with utmost urgency
子どもの貧困 学び支え、連鎖断ち切ろう
A report released in April by the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) painted a grim picture of child poverty in Japan.
It said children of the poorest households in Japan are much more disadvantaged than their peers in many other industrialized countries.
最も貧しい家庭の子どもが、他の多くの先進国と比べて、厳しい状況に置かれている――。
The study focused on the disparities between children at the bottom and those in the middle in the wealthiest nations. The inequality gap in Japan was the eighth largest among the 41 countries surveyed.
４月に公表された国連児童基金（ユニセフ）の報告書は、そんな日本の現状を浮かび上がらせた。最貧困層と標準的な層との格差を国ごとに分析しており、日本の格差は４１カ国の中で８番目に大きいという。
Japan also ranked far below the average among industrial nations in terms of the relative poverty rate, or the ratio of people living on less than half the median income. One in six Japanese children was poor by this relative measure, which reflects how far the poorest children have plummeted behind those in the middle tier.
所得が真ん中の人の半分に満たない人の割合を示す「相対的貧困率」でも、日本の子どもは６人に１人が貧困層にあたり、先進国の中で悪い方だ。
The UNICEF study highlighted the fact that child poverty in Japan is spreading and deepening.
貧しさの広がりに加え、ユニセフの調査でその度合いも深刻であることを指摘されたと言える。
The government needs to tackle this problem with policy support measures targeted at needy households.
対策としてまず問われるのは、そうした家庭へのサポートだ。
Obviously, effective welfare and other relief for poor families, such as allowances to help cover their daily expenses and steps to help parents get jobs, are vital for tackling this growing problem.
日々の生活を助ける各種の手当や親の就労への支援など、福祉を中心とする施策が重要であることは言うまでもない。
Even more important, however, is support focused on children. The principal challenge facing policymakers and others concerned is how to break the “chain of poverty,” in which children in poor families remain stuck in poverty even after they grow up, causing the cycle to fester for generations.
それ以上に考えなければならないのは、子どもたちに焦点を当てた支援だ。生活の苦しい家庭で育った子が、大きくなってもその状態から抜け出せず、世代を超えて続いてしまう「貧困の連鎖」をどう断ち切るか。
Education is the key.
カギとなるのは教育だ。
OPENING UP NEW HORIZONS
■教育で広がる将来
A community center in the city of Saitama is on the frontline of the war against poverty among children.
Twice each week, junior high school students in school uniforms or gym clothes converge on the center after 6 p.m.
さいたま市内のコミュニティセンター。午後６時を回ると制服や体操着姿の中学生が次々とやって来る。
The facility is a venue for a free “learning support class” program, under which university student volunteers help children of financially strained families with their studies.
経済的に厳しい家庭の子どもたちに、学生ボランティアが週２回、勉強を教える無料の「学習支援教室」だ。
An 18-year-old student who has been working as a volunteer at the center since April once received learning support under the program.
４月からボランティアをしている女子学生（１８）は、かつて教室で学んだ一人だ。
“Whenever I came here, I could find someone who was ready to listen to me,” she says. “This place was a source of emotional and spiritual support for me.”
「ここに来ると、いつでも私の話を聞いてくれる人がいる。心のよりどころみたいな場所でした」
The student has been living only with her mother. When she was in her second year at junior high school, her mother, the family’s bread earner, fell ill and had to rely on financial assistance under the government’s livelihood protection program.
母と２人暮らし。女子学生が中学２年生の時、家計を支えていた母が体を壊し、生活保護を受けるようになった。
“I wondered if I should start working instead of going on to a university. But after a university student volunteer (at the center) clued me in about college life and other things, I grew more ambitious.”
「進学するより働いた方が、と思った時もあった。けれど、大学生のボランティアさんから学生生活のこととか、いろんな話を聞くうちに夢がふくらんで」。
Now, she is learning about welfare, courtesy of a university scholarship.
今は奨学金で大学に通い、福祉の分野を学んでいる。
The program is operated by a nonprofit organization called “Saitama Youth Support Net” on behalf of the municipal government.
Yasushi Aoto, who heads the organization, stresses the importance of learning support to help poor students. “The problem of poverty can never be solved unless children acquire the ability to carve out a better future for themselves,” Aoto says. “Learning support should be at the core of efforts against poverty.”
市の委託で教室を運営するＮＰＯ「さいたまユースサポートネット」の青砥恭（やすし）代表は言う。「子どもたちが自分自身で未来を切り開く力をつけなければ、貧困問題は解決しない。学びは貧困対策の核です」
The welfare ministry placed much importance on learning support as a key element of policy efforts introduced in April last year to tackle the problem of child poverty under a program to help the needy become financially independent. The ministry has urged local governments to take steps to expand learning support for children of needy families.
昨年４月に始まった生活困窮者自立支援制度で、厚生労働省は学習支援事業を貧困対策の柱の一つと位置づけ、自治体に実施を促している。
Since this is a program based on voluntary policy initiatives, however, as many as 45 percent of the local governments have no plan to implement specific measures, according to a survey by Aoto’s group.
しかし任意事業のため、青砥さんのＮＰＯの調査では「実施予定なし」の自治体が４５％もある。
SURVEYS ONLY WAY TO GRASP THE REALITY
■地域の実態調査を
One potentially effective way to accelerate policy efforts to reduce poverty is to make the problem more clearly “visible” to the public.
こうした取り組みをどう加速させるか。ヒントになりそうなのが、貧困の「見える化」だ。
Earlier this year, Okinawa became the first prefecture to announce its own estimate of its child poverty rate. According to a survey commissioned by the prefectural government, 29.9 percent of children in the prefecture live under the poverty line, a figure that is 80 percent higher than the national average.
沖縄県は今年、都道府県で初めて独自に子どもの貧困率を２９・９％と推計し、公表した。全国の１・８倍という高さだ。
“It's impossible to come up with the appropriate measures unless we grasp the severity of the situation concerning poverty among children in Okinawa,” said Kenta Kishaba, who heads the section for child policy.
「沖縄の子どもの状況がどれだけ厳しいか。それを把握しないと必要な対策も見えてこない」（喜舎場〈きしゃば〉健太・県子ども未来政策室長）。
Prefectural authorities had to persuade many initially unwilling municipal governments to cooperate in the endeavor.
渋る市町村を説得し、協力を仰いだ。
The survey’s findings showed that the existing systems to support needy families are not working.
Nearly half of families living under the poverty line didn’t use the local government’s program to subsidize the costs of learning materials used at schools, for instance. Nearly 20 percent of these families didn’t even know about the program.
学校で必要な教材の費用などを援助する就学援助を貧困家庭の半分近くが利用しておらず、制度を知らない人も２割近い。同時に行ったアンケートからは、既存の支援制度が十分に機能していない実態もわかった。
The prefectural government has drawn up a six-year plan to address the problem by setting 34 numerical targets, including reducing the number of needy families that don’t know the subsidy program to zero and ensuring that all municipalities operate learning support classes. It established a 3 billion yen ($28.3 million) fund to achieve those targets.
県は「就学援助を知らない貧困世帯ゼロ」「学習支援教室を全市町村に拡大」など３４の数値目標を含む６カ年計画を作り、３０億円の対策基金を設けた。
Ai Tatsuno, who heads the nonprofit corporation that carried out the survey on behalf of the prefectural government, said the local governments took steps to solve the problem after facing the reality (grasped by the survey).
“Understanding the reality is vital also for evaluating the effectiveness of policy measures,” Tatsuno added.
調査を担当した一般社団法人「沖縄県子ども総合研究所」の龍野愛所長は「現実を突きつけられたから政策が動いた。実態把握は、政策の効果を検証する上でも欠かせない」と強調する。
Osaka City also plans to conduct a similar survey of elementary and junior high school students within this fiscal year. Grasping the situation in each area will provide strong impetus to policy efforts to tackle the problem. Other local governments should follow suit, and swiftly.
大阪市も今年度、小・中学生らを対象に調査を予定する。地域ごとに実態をつかむことが、対策を前進させる大きな力になる。取り組みを急ぎたい。
UP TO SOCIETY TO CONFRONT THE CHALLENGE
■社会全体で向き合う
The central government’s policy guidelines for addressing the problem were endorsed by the Cabinet after the law to deal with child poverty came into effect in 2014. They call for effective measures to create the right surroundings and ensure equal opportunities for education so that the future of children will not be affected by the environment in which they grow up.
「子どもの将来が生まれ育った環境によって左右されることのないよう、必要な環境整備と教育の機会均等を図る」。２０１４年に施行された子どもの貧困対策法を受け、政府が閣議決定した大綱がうたう理念だ。
But these words should be matched with specific policy actions. The government needs to enhance its policy responses, mainly in the areas of social security and education.
言葉だけで終わらせてはならない。社会保障と教育を両輪に、対策を充実させたい。
In particular, Japan’s public spending on education in terms of its ratio to the size of its economy is among the lowest in the developed world. The government should drastically increase its education budget.
とりわけ教育分野では、経済規模と比べた公的支出が先進諸国の中で最低水準にとどまる。予算を思い切って増やすべきだ。
A lawmaker of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party recently made disheartening remarks about the proposal to expand scholarships.
“The government should be firmly committed to compulsory education, but students at high schools and universities should work on their own,” the lawmaker said.
「義務教育は国がしっかりやるが、高校や大学は自立してがんばってもらわないと」。自民党の国会議員が奨学金制度の拡充をめぐって最近、こんな趣旨の発言をした。
This comment echoes a widespread view. But it is high time Japanese society stopped being wedded to this kind of simplistic and outdated thinking based on the principle of personal responsibility.
今も根強い主張だが、そうした単純な「自己責任論」から卒業する時だ。
Children will become the backbone of society. Supporting their healthy development is an investment in the future.
子どもたちは社会の担い手になっていく。その健やかな育ちを後押しすることは、「未来への投資」にほかならない。
Society at all levels must reach out to support its children. There needs to be broad social consensus on the merits of this principle and what it will entail.
社会全体で子どもを支える。その合意と負担に向き合う覚悟が問われている。
EDITORIAL: Child poverty in Japan must be tackled with utmost urgency
子どもの貧困 学び支え、連鎖断ち切ろう
A report released in April by the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) painted a grim picture of child poverty in Japan.
It said children of the poorest households in Japan are much more disadvantaged than their peers in many other industrialized countries.
最も貧しい家庭の子どもが、他の多くの先進国と比べて、厳しい状況に置かれている――。
The study focused on the disparities between children at the bottom and those in the middle in the wealthiest nations. The inequality gap in Japan was the eighth largest among the 41 countries surveyed.
４月に公表された国連児童基金（ユニセフ）の報告書は、そんな日本の現状を浮かび上がらせた。最貧困層と標準的な層との格差を国ごとに分析しており、日本の格差は４１カ国の中で８番目に大きいという。
Japan also ranked far below the average among industrial nations in terms of the relative poverty rate, or the ratio of people living on less than half the median income. One in six Japanese children was poor by this relative measure, which reflects how far the poorest children have plummeted behind those in the middle tier.
所得が真ん中の人の半分に満たない人の割合を示す「相対的貧困率」でも、日本の子どもは６人に１人が貧困層にあたり、先進国の中で悪い方だ。
The UNICEF study highlighted the fact that child poverty in Japan is spreading and deepening.
貧しさの広がりに加え、ユニセフの調査でその度合いも深刻であることを指摘されたと言える。
The government needs to tackle this problem with policy support measures targeted at needy households.
対策としてまず問われるのは、そうした家庭へのサポートだ。
Obviously, effective welfare and other relief for poor families, such as allowances to help cover their daily expenses and steps to help parents get jobs, are vital for tackling this growing problem.
日々の生活を助ける各種の手当や親の就労への支援など、福祉を中心とする施策が重要であることは言うまでもない。
Even more important, however, is support focused on children. The principal challenge facing policymakers and others concerned is how to break the “chain of poverty,” in which children in poor families remain stuck in poverty even after they grow up, causing the cycle to fester for generations.
それ以上に考えなければならないのは、子どもたちに焦点を当てた支援だ。生活の苦しい家庭で育った子が、大きくなってもその状態から抜け出せず、世代を超えて続いてしまう「貧困の連鎖」をどう断ち切るか。
Education is the key.
カギとなるのは教育だ。
OPENING UP NEW HORIZONS
■教育で広がる将来
A community center in the city of Saitama is on the frontline of the war against poverty among children.
Twice each week, junior high school students in school uniforms or gym clothes converge on the center after 6 p.m.
さいたま市内のコミュニティセンター。午後６時を回ると制服や体操着姿の中学生が次々とやって来る。
The facility is a venue for a free “learning support class” program, under which university student volunteers help children of financially strained families with their studies.
経済的に厳しい家庭の子どもたちに、学生ボランティアが週２回、勉強を教える無料の「学習支援教室」だ。
An 18-year-old student who has been working as a volunteer at the center since April once received learning support under the program.
４月からボランティアをしている女子学生（１８）は、かつて教室で学んだ一人だ。
“Whenever I came here, I could find someone who was ready to listen to me,” she says. “This place was a source of emotional and spiritual support for me.”
「ここに来ると、いつでも私の話を聞いてくれる人がいる。心のよりどころみたいな場所でした」
The student has been living only with her mother. When she was in her second year at junior high school, her mother, the family’s bread earner, fell ill and had to rely on financial assistance under the government’s livelihood protection program.
母と２人暮らし。女子学生が中学２年生の時、家計を支えていた母が体を壊し、生活保護を受けるようになった。
“I wondered if I should start working instead of going on to a university. But after a university student volunteer (at the center) clued me in about college life and other things, I grew more ambitious.”
「進学するより働いた方が、と思った時もあった。けれど、大学生のボランティアさんから学生生活のこととか、いろんな話を聞くうちに夢がふくらんで」。
Now, she is learning about welfare, courtesy of a university scholarship.
今は奨学金で大学に通い、福祉の分野を学んでいる。
The program is operated by a nonprofit organization called “Saitama Youth Support Net” on behalf of the municipal government.
Yasushi Aoto, who heads the organization, stresses the importance of learning support to help poor students. “The problem of poverty can never be solved unless children acquire the ability to carve out a better future for themselves,” Aoto says. “Learning support should be at the core of efforts against poverty.”
市の委託で教室を運営するＮＰＯ「さいたまユースサポートネット」の青砥恭（やすし）代表は言う。「子どもたちが自分自身で未来を切り開く力をつけなければ、貧困問題は解決しない。学びは貧困対策の核です」
The welfare ministry placed much importance on learning support as a key element of policy efforts introduced in April last year to tackle the problem of child poverty under a program to help the needy become financially independent. The ministry has urged local governments to take steps to expand learning support for children of needy families.
昨年４月に始まった生活困窮者自立支援制度で、厚生労働省は学習支援事業を貧困対策の柱の一つと位置づけ、自治体に実施を促している。
Since this is a program based on voluntary policy initiatives, however, as many as 45 percent of the local governments have no plan to implement specific measures, according to a survey by Aoto’s group.
しかし任意事業のため、青砥さんのＮＰＯの調査では「実施予定なし」の自治体が４５％もある。
SURVEYS ONLY WAY TO GRASP THE REALITY
■地域の実態調査を
One potentially effective way to accelerate policy efforts to reduce poverty is to make the problem more clearly “visible” to the public.
こうした取り組みをどう加速させるか。ヒントになりそうなのが、貧困の「見える化」だ。
Earlier this year, Okinawa became the first prefecture to announce its own estimate of its child poverty rate. According to a survey commissioned by the prefectural government, 29.9 percent of children in the prefecture live under the poverty line, a figure that is 80 percent higher than the national average.
沖縄県は今年、都道府県で初めて独自に子どもの貧困率を２９・９％と推計し、公表した。全国の１・８倍という高さだ。
“It's impossible to come up with the appropriate measures unless we grasp the severity of the situation concerning poverty among children in Okinawa,” said Kenta Kishaba, who heads the section for child policy.
「沖縄の子どもの状況がどれだけ厳しいか。それを把握しないと必要な対策も見えてこない」（喜舎場〈きしゃば〉健太・県子ども未来政策室長）。
Prefectural authorities had to persuade many initially unwilling municipal governments to cooperate in the endeavor.
渋る市町村を説得し、協力を仰いだ。
The survey’s findings showed that the existing systems to support needy families are not working.
Nearly half of families living under the poverty line didn’t use the local government’s program to subsidize the costs of learning materials used at schools, for instance. Nearly 20 percent of these families didn’t even know about the program.
学校で必要な教材の費用などを援助する就学援助を貧困家庭の半分近くが利用しておらず、制度を知らない人も２割近い。同時に行ったアンケートからは、既存の支援制度が十分に機能していない実態もわかった。
The prefectural government has drawn up a six-year plan to address the problem by setting 34 numerical targets, including reducing the number of needy families that don’t know the subsidy program to zero and ensuring that all municipalities operate learning support classes. It established a 3 billion yen ($28.3 million) fund to achieve those targets.
県は「就学援助を知らない貧困世帯ゼロ」「学習支援教室を全市町村に拡大」など３４の数値目標を含む６カ年計画を作り、３０億円の対策基金を設けた。
Ai Tatsuno, who heads the nonprofit corporation that carried out the survey on behalf of the prefectural government, said the local governments took steps to solve the problem after facing the reality (grasped by the survey).
“Understanding the reality is vital also for evaluating the effectiveness of policy measures,” Tatsuno added.
調査を担当した一般社団法人「沖縄県子ども総合研究所」の龍野愛所長は「現実を突きつけられたから政策が動いた。実態把握は、政策の効果を検証する上でも欠かせない」と強調する。
Osaka City also plans to conduct a similar survey of elementary and junior high school students within this fiscal year. Grasping the situation in each area will provide strong impetus to policy efforts to tackle the problem. Other local governments should follow suit, and swiftly.
大阪市も今年度、小・中学生らを対象に調査を予定する。地域ごとに実態をつかむことが、対策を前進させる大きな力になる。取り組みを急ぎたい。
UP TO SOCIETY TO CONFRONT THE CHALLENGE
■社会全体で向き合う
The central government’s policy guidelines for addressing the problem were endorsed by the Cabinet after the law to deal with child poverty came into effect in 2014. They call for effective measures to create the right surroundings and ensure equal opportunities for education so that the future of children will not be affected by the environment in which they grow up.
「子どもの将来が生まれ育った環境によって左右されることのないよう、必要な環境整備と教育の機会均等を図る」。２０１４年に施行された子どもの貧困対策法を受け、政府が閣議決定した大綱がうたう理念だ。
But these words should be matched with specific policy actions. The government needs to enhance its policy responses, mainly in the areas of social security and education.
言葉だけで終わらせてはならない。社会保障と教育を両輪に、対策を充実させたい。
In particular, Japan’s public spending on education in terms of its ratio to the size of its economy is among the lowest in the developed world. The government should drastically increase its education budget.
とりわけ教育分野では、経済規模と比べた公的支出が先進諸国の中で最低水準にとどまる。予算を思い切って増やすべきだ。
A lawmaker of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party recently made disheartening remarks about the proposal to expand scholarships.
“The government should be firmly committed to compulsory education, but students at high schools and universities should work on their own,” the lawmaker said.
「義務教育は国がしっかりやるが、高校や大学は自立してがんばってもらわないと」。自民党の国会議員が奨学金制度の拡充をめぐって最近、こんな趣旨の発言をした。
This comment echoes a widespread view. But it is high time Japanese society stopped being wedded to this kind of simplistic and outdated thinking based on the principle of personal responsibility.
今も根強い主張だが、そうした単純な「自己責任論」から卒業する時だ。
Children will become the backbone of society. Supporting their healthy development is an investment in the future.
子どもたちは社会の担い手になっていく。その健やかな育ちを後押しすることは、「未来への投資」にほかならない。
Society at all levels must reach out to support its children. There needs to be broad social consensus on the merits of this principle and what it will entail.
社会全体で子どもを支える。その合意と負担に向き合う覚悟が問われている。