英字新聞

The Yomiuri Shimbun February 28, 2014
Chinese damages suit against Japan firms threatening to harm bilateral ties
個人賠償請求　訴え受理なら日中関係損なう（2月28日付・読売社説）

A damages suit filed with a Beijing court may shake the very foundation of Japan-China relations, depending on how it is handled. The Chinese administration of President Xi Jinping should deal with the issue with an eye on future bilateral relations.
　日中関係の大原則をゆるがせにしかねない。習近平政権は将来を見据えた判断をすべきだ。

The suit was filed against two Japanese businesses by former Chinese workers and others who called for an apology and compensation, claiming they were forcibly brought to Japan in wartime and made to work under severe labor conditions.
　戦時中に中国から強制連行され、過酷な労働を強いられたとする中国人の元労働者らが、日本企業２社を相手取り、謝罪と損害賠償を求める訴状を北京の裁判所に提出した。

Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga emphasized the Japanese government’s position on the matter, saying, “There is no reparation issue left pending between Japan and China, including those concerning individual demands for reparation.”
　これに対し、菅官房長官は「日中間の請求権問題は、個人の請求権問題を含め、存在していない」と日本政府の立場を強調した。

In the Japan-China joint statement signed in 1972 to mark the normalization of bilateral relations, the Chinese government declared its relinquishment of reparation demands for damage related to the war.
　中国政府は、１９７２年の国交正常化時の日中共同声明で、日本に対する戦争被害の賠償請求を放棄する、と宣言している。

In a case filed in Japan by Chinese people and others for individual reparations, the Supreme Court turned down the plaintiffs’ claim in 2007, saying, “Due to the Japan-China joint statement, individual Chinese are unable to file reparation claims for war damage.” This can be judged as an appropriate decision.
　日本では、中国人による個人賠償請求訴訟があったが、最高裁は２００７年、「日中共同声明により、中国人個人は戦争被害について、裁判上の賠償請求はできなくなった」として訴えを棄却した。適切な判断だったと言える。

The key point is whether the lawsuit will be accepted by the Chinese court, which is under the control of the Chinese Communist Party-led government. If accepted, it will become the first Chinese reparation case against a Japanese company over alleged forced relocation and labor.
　問題は、今回の訴えを、共産党政権の指導下にある裁判所が受理するかどうかだ。受理されれば、中国では、日本企業に対する初めての強制連行訴訟となる。

Detrimental factors

The Chinese government holds the position that individual rights to claim damages are not included in the joint statement. But, in fact, no such a claim has been accepted by a Chinese court.
　中国政府は、日中共同声明には個人の賠償請求権は含まれないという立場を取っている。しかし、実際には、裁判所は今までそのような訴えを受理しなかった。

Behind this could be the fact that China attached importance to relations with Japan, which sustained its economic development with various kinds of assistance, including the provision of a huge amount of yen credit.
　巨額の円借款などで経済発展を支えた日本との関係維持を重視したからだろう。

There must have been wariness on the part of China’s leadership that if one court battle over a historical incident was accepted, it could ignite large anti-Japan rallies and invite public criticism that the government was weak regarding Japan.
　ひとたび歴史を巡る国内での法廷闘争を容認すれば、大規模な反日デモや、政権の対応を「弱腰」とする批判を誘発しかねないとの警戒感もあったに違いない。

But the situation today is different from what it was before. The bilateral relationship has worsened to such an extent that top leaders of the two countries cannot hold a summit meeting. The Xi administration has been intensifying its anti-Japan propaganda campaign over the issue of history since Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s visit to Yasukuni Shrine in late December.
　ただ、現在の状況はこれまでと異なる。日中間では首脳同士が会談さえできない。習政権は、安倍首相による昨年末の靖国神社参拝を機に、歴史問題で日本を攻撃する反日宣伝を一層強めている。

If the Xi administration changes tack and the court accepts the damages suit, the bilateral relationship will deteriorate more seriously.
　習政権が従来の方針を転換し、裁判所が訴えを受理すれば、関係の悪化はより深刻となろう。

If that happens, it is impossible to anticipate how many more individual claims will be filed against Japanese firms. Beijing claims that about 40,000 Chinese were forced to work in Japan in wartime.
　そうなれば、どれだけの個人が被害を訴え出るのか、予測もつかない。中国は、強制連行された人は約４万人に上るとしている。

Due to concern about Chinese downside risks, bilateral trade, investments and tourism could cool off.
　中国リスクの高まりが懸念され、日中間の貿易や投資、観光などが冷え込む可能性もある。

Court battles over damages claim filed by former South Korean forced workers and the Chinese suit over forced labor can be taken by Japan as basically in the same paradigm.
　日本にとって、韓国で元徴用工が日本企業に損害賠償を求めている裁判と、中国の強制連行訴訟は、基本的に似た構図と言えよう。

The Japanese government should support the firms against which damages claim was filed. To China, South Korea and the international community, Tokyo must strongly argue the invalidity of rekindling issues that have already been settled legally.
　日本政府は、訴えられた企業を支援すべきだ。中韓及び国際社会に対しては、法的に解決済みの問題を蒸し返すことの不当性を強く訴えていかねばならない。

(From The Yomiuri Shimbun, Feb. 28, 2014)
（2014年2月28日01時21分 読売新聞）