英字新聞

--The Asahi Shimbun, April 7
EDITORIAL: G-7 in Hiroshima a chance to move closer toward nuke-free future
（社説）広島外相会合　核なき未来への一歩に

The gathering in Hiroshima of top diplomats of the Group of Seven major industrialized nations, which include three nuclear powers, sends a powerful message as the world struggles to make progress toward a future without nuclear arms.
The foreign ministers of the United States, Britain and France, as well as Japan and the three other G-7 members, will meet in Hiroshima, the first city to be leveled by an atomic bomb, on April 10 and 11.
　核軍縮の動きが停滞している今、核保有国の米英仏を含めた主要７カ国（Ｇ７）の外交トップが核被害の原点である広島を訪れる意義は大きい。核兵器廃絶に向けた機運を、いま一度高める契機にしていきたい。

On the sidelines of their meeting in Hiroshima, the G-7 foreign ministers will visit the Peace Memorial Park, dedicated to the city's 1945 atomic bombing, and lay flowers at the Cenotaph for the A-bomb Victims on April 11.
Their pilgrimages to the city should breathe new life into international efforts to eliminate nuclear weapons.
They are also expected to visit the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum. Their tour of the museum that documents the consequences of the U.S. atomic bombing would be even more meaningful if they hold talks with A-bomb survivors and hear their harrowing tales.
　広島での会合に合わせ、Ｇ７の外相が１１日、平和記念公園をそろって訪ね、原爆死没者の名簿が納められている慰霊碑に献花することが決まった。
　平和記念資料館（原爆資料館）も見学する予定だ。できれば被爆者と対話し、被爆の実相をより深く心に刻んでほしい。

The G-7 officials traveling to Hiroshima include U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, the Obama administration's top Cabinet member.
　参加者のうちケリー米国務長官は、オバマ政権の筆頭閣僚だ。

Kerry will be the highest-ranking active U.S. politician to visit Hiroshima after Nancy Pelosi, who went in 2008 as the speaker of the House of Representatives.
原爆を投下した米国の現職政治家としては、０８年に広島を訪れたペロシ下院議長（当時）に次ぐ過去最高クラスになる。

More than 200,000 people perished in the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
　原爆によって広島、長崎で２０万を超す人々の命が奪われた。

Many Americans, however, regard the attacks as justifiable, arguing that they accelerated Japan’s surrender in World War II and thereby saved many lives.
だが米国では「日本の降伏を早め、結果的に多くの人命を救った」として、原爆投下は正当だったと考える世論が根強い。

Despite serious differences between Japan and the United States in perceptions over history, President Barack Obama agreed to Japan’s request for Kerry to visit Hiroshima. We applaud Obama's weighty political decision.
　日米の歴史認識に隔たりがあるなか、日本側が要望したケリー氏の被爆地訪問にオバマ政権が応じたのは重い政治判断だ。

We are inclined to regard the decision as a sign that Obama, whose term will expire in January, is still committed to working toward “a world without nuclear weapons,” the vision he announced to the world in his historic speech in Prague in 2009.
来年１月の任期切れを控え、オバマ大統領が０９年のプラハでの演説で掲げた「核兵器のない世界」実現に向け、なお意欲的であると受けとめたい。

The Obama administration sent its ambassador to Japan to most of the annual ceremonies to commemorate the atomic bombings that have been held in Hiroshima and Nagasaki since 2010.
Last year, the administration sent Undersecretary of State for Arms Control and International Security Rose Gottemoeller to attend the ceremonies.
　オバマ政権は１０年以降ほぼ毎年、広島、長崎の平和式典に駐日大使を参列させ、昨年は国務次官を派遣した。

In Japan, expectations are growing that Obama himself will travel to the A-bombed cities when he visits Japan in May to attend the G-7 summit, to be held in Shima, Mie Prefecture.
日本国内では、５月のＧ７首脳会議（伊勢志摩サミット）で訪日するオバマ氏自身が、被爆地に足を延ばすのではとの期待が高まる。

In the United States, the political climate is heating up as the races for the Democratic and Republican nominations for the autumn presidential election are entering the home stretch.
　米国は秋の大統領選に向けた民主、共和両党の候補者選びが山場を迎えている。

Republican frontrunner Donald Trump has been delivering a range of harsh verbal attacks on Obama’s foreign policy.
共和党の指名争いで首位を走るトランプ氏は、オバマ氏の外交姿勢を批判のやり玉に挙げてきた。

Chances are that Kerry will avoid making any remarks that could be interpreted as an apology to Japan out of fears that such a comment could have a political impact on the election.
　選挙への影響を考え、ケリー氏が日本への「謝罪」ととられるような言動を控える可能性は高い。

But we nevertheless welcome Kerry’s decision to stand in front of the cenotaph in Hiroshima. We urge Obama to give serious consideration to visiting the cities as well.
だが、慰霊碑の前に立とうとする決意は率直に評価したい。オバマ氏も訪問をぜひ前向きに検討してほしい。

Even after seven decades, there are still many people in Hiroshima and Nagasaki who lost loved ones in the bombings and are suffering form health problems caused by radiation exposure.
　７０年を経た今も、広島、長崎には原爆で家族を奪われ、後遺症に苦しむ人が多い。

Because they have a strong desire not to see anyone suffer the same fate, people in the two cities are pinning great hopes on the visits by Kerry and other political leaders.
被爆地がそれでもケリー氏らの訪問に期待するのはなぜか。それは「苦しみをもう誰にも味わわせたくない」という強い思いだ。

We are eager to see people in countries with nuclear arsenals think seriously about ways to bring the world closer toward a future without nuclear weapons, something that Hiroshima and Nagasaki have been praying for so strongly and for so long.
　核保有国の人々には考えてもらいたい。どうすれば被爆地が願う「核兵器のない世界」は近づくか。

The G-7 foreign ministers’ visits to Hiroshima should not be allowed to end up as mere ritual. They should be a first step in effective efforts to create new momentum in international politics for realizing that goal.
Ｇ７外相の広島訪問を、単なる儀礼に終わらせず、現実の国際政治を動かす一歩にしてほしい。