英字新聞

--The Asahi Shimbun, March 9
EDITORIAL: Tokyo and Seoul must be faithful to agreement on 'comfort women'
（社説）慰安婦問題　日韓合意を育てるには

In its concluding observations, the United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) on March 7 criticized Japan for failing to "fully adopt a victim-centered approach" over the December 2015 Japan-South Korea agreement on the "comfort women" issue.
　国連の女子差別撤廃委員会（ＣＥＤＡＷ）は、慰安婦問題をめぐる昨年末の日韓合意について「被害者中心のアプローチが十分にとられていない」などと遺憾を表す最終見解を発表した。

The Japanese government reacted with displeasure.
"That's a real shame as it (the panel's reaction) diverges greatly from the reception of the international community," Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida told a news conference on March 8.
これに対し、岸田文雄外相が「国際社会の受け止めとはかけ離れている」と述べるなど、日本政府は反発している。

But doesn't such a knee-jerk reaction to the CEDAW observations only convey to the people of both Japan and South Korea a message that is incongruous with the spirit of the agreement?
　しかし、国連委員会の見解に対して反発するだけでは、合意の精神から離れたメッセージを日韓両国民に送ることにならないか。

We believe the only reasonable response to the CEDAW observations now is to act faithfully on each clause of the agreement, one by one.
こうした見解や見方に対する答えは、合意の中身を一つずつ着実に実行に移していくことに尽きるはずだ。

For decades, the comfort women issue plagued both Tokyo and Seoul, and the partners were finally able to reach an agreement at the end of the landmark 50th year of the normalization of their diplomatic ties.
　慰安婦問題は、日韓国交正常化５０年という節目の年の最後になってようやく合意をみた、両国政府にとって長年の懸案だった。

U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, as well as the leaders of the United States and other countries, hailed the efforts made by Tokyo and Seoul to reach that accord.
合意に対して、国連の潘基文（パンギムン）・事務総長や米国をはじめとする国々から、日韓のその努力と成果に対して歓迎の意を表する動きがあった。

However, the contents of the agreement can hardly be said to have been fully appreciated in either country. In fact, there still remain very hard feelings about the agreement in both countries, particularly in South Korea.
　しかし、日韓双方の国内で合意内容が浸透したと言える状況にはない。むしろ、日韓両国、とりわけ韓国国内には強い反対意見があるのが現状だ。

Precisely because such is the case, no final resolution to the comfort women issue can be hoped for unless the governments abide by the agreement. And for that, the political leaders of both nations must be firmly resolved to abide by it.
　それだけに、政府間で約束が守られなければ、最終的な解決など望めない。そのためには日韓の政治指導者の強い意思が欠かせない。

Fortunately, some signs of change have been seen. For example, when a lawmaker of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party called the women "professional prostitutes" after the agreement was signed, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, speaking in the Diet, immediately chastised the offending lawmaker for misrepresenting the spirit of the agreement.
　実際、変化の兆しも出てきてはいる。日韓合意の発表後、慰安婦のことを「職業としての娼婦（しょうふ）」と発言した自民党の国会議員に対し、安倍首相は国会ですぐに「合意を踏まえた発言を」などと諭した。

And on the South Korean side, Foreign Minister Yun Byung-se made no mention of the comfort women issue when he recently attended a U.N. Human Rights Council session. This was a first since President Park Geun-hye took office in 2013.
一方、韓国の尹炳世（ユンビョンセ）外相は先日開かれた国連人権理事会で、慰安婦問題について言及しなかった。朴政権になって初めてのことだ。

It is vital that both Tokyo and Seoul continue making these efforts.
　双方とも、こうした努力を重ねることが重要だ。

Under the agreement, the Japanese government is to pledge 1 billion yen ($8.8 million) to a fund to be established by the South Korean government for carrying out "projects for recovering the honor and dignity and healing the psychological wounds of all comfort women."
　日韓は、韓国政府が作る財団に日本が政府予算から１０億円を出すことで一致している。「元慰安婦の名誉と尊厳の回復、心の傷の癒やしのための事業」にあたるためだ。

This arrangement partly addresses the CEDAW's reference to Japan's need to "adopt a victim-centered approach."
最終見解の勧告にある「被害者中心のアプローチ」に重なる部分がある。

The agreement also confirms both countries' intention to resolve the comfort women issue "finally and irreversibly."
　また、両政府は慰安婦問題の「最終的かつ不可逆的」な解決も確認しあっている。

Both governments must strive to honor this agreement and continue to calmly exchange their views based on objective facts.
　両国政府関係者は、この合意が保たれるように努力し、双方が事実に基づいた冷静な主張を重ねていく必要がある。

To change the international community's perception of the comfort women issue, it is vital that Japan and South Korea work together to act fully and faithfully on the agreement and let it grow strong by deepening their mutual trust.
　日韓が手を携えて合意の内容を着実に履行する。互いに信頼関係を深めながら大きく育てていく。慰安婦問題をみつめる国際社会の視線を変えることも、こうした取り組みの積み重ねにかかっているはずだ。