（社説）日本と中韓 異常な外交に終止符を

August 12, 2014
EDITORIAL: Japan, China and South Korea must not let war anniversaries break diplomatic momentum
（社説）日本と中韓　異常な外交に終止符を

The recent meetings between the Japanese foreign minister and his Chinese and South Korean counterparts highlighted afresh the surprising and disturbing fact that the top diplomats had failed to hold talks for so long.
　隣国の外相同士が、これほど長い間まともに会談できなかったことに、改めて驚かざるを得ない。

Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida recently met separately with Wang Yi of China and Yun Byung-se of South Korea in Myanmar on the sidelines of meetings involving top foreign policy officials from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations members and its key partners.
　岸田外相が、ミャンマーでの東南アジア諸国連合（ＡＳＥＡＮ）関連の会議にあわせ、中国の王毅（ワンイー）外相、韓国の尹炳世（ユンビョンセ）外相と個別に会談した。

It was the first meeting between the top diplomats of Japan and China in nearly two years, and also the first since Prime Minister Shinzo Abe came to power for a second time in December 2012. It had been about 10 months since the Japanese and South Korean foreign ministers last held talks.
　日中外相会談は第２次安倍内閣になってからは初めてで、実に約２年ぶり。日韓は約１０カ月ぶりである。

Kishida’s discussions with Wang and Yun in Myanmar were principally attempts to lay the diplomatic groundwork for the first meetings between Abe and the leaders of Japan’s two neighbors.
　ふたつの外相会談とも、まだ実現していない日中、日韓の首脳会談を意識してのものだった。

It would be naïve to expect just one foreign ministerial meeting to pave the way for a summit between Japan and either China or South Korea. But Kishida’s meetings with his Chinese and South Korean counterparts nevertheless represent a step forward in efforts to improve these important bilateral ties.
Both sides should make further diplomatic efforts to realize meetings of their leaders.
たった一度の外相会談で道筋がつくものでもなかろうが、一歩前進であることは確かだ。首脳会談に向けた双方のいっそうの外交努力を求めたい。

The governments of Japan and China are exploring the possibility of talks between Abe and Chinese President Xi Jinping during this year’s Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in Beijing in November.
　日中両政府が念頭に置くのは、１１月に北京で開かれるアジア太平洋経済協力会議（ＡＰＥＣ）の際の安倍首相と習近平（シーチンピン）国家主席の会談だ。

Since China hosts the event, the APEC conference will offer a good opportunity for the Japanese and Chinese leaders to hold talks.
中国が各国首脳を迎えるホスト役を務めることから、２国間の首脳会談を設定しやすいからだ。

In July, former Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda visited China and met secretly with Xi. They agreed to improve Sino-Japanese relations, and Fukuda reportedly conveyed Abe’s message about his desire to meet with the Chinese leader.
　７月には福田康夫元首相が訪中し、習主席とひそかに会談。日中関係の改善で一致し、福田氏は首脳会談実現に向けた安倍氏の意欲を伝えたという。

China’s remarkable rise has triggered various moves toward creating new economic and security orders in the Asia-Pacific region.
　中国の台頭に伴い、アジア太平洋地域では、経済と安全保障の両面で新たな秩序がつくられようとしている。

Countries in the region are trying to figure out ways to conclude and expand economic deals like free trade agreements and the Trans-Pacific Partnership pact.
　自由貿易協定（ＦＴＡ）や環太平洋経済連携協定（ＴＰＰ）などの経済協定をどうつくりあげ、発展させていくか。

The main regional security challenges include not just how to respond to North Korea’s nuclear and missile programs but also how to deal with China’s assertive, hard-line stance toward territorial disputes in the South China Sea.
安全保障面では、北朝鮮の核・ミサイル開発への対応ばかりでなく、領土・領海をめぐる南シナ海での中国の強硬姿勢にどう対処していくか。

While the United States and South Korea have been actively engaged with China through strategic dialogue and other channels of communication, Japan, a major regional power, has done nothing but repeat that its “door of dialogue is always open.” The situation is simply unacceptable.
　米国や韓国が戦略対話などを通じて積極的に中国とかかわっているのをよそに、地域の大国である日本だけが「対話のドアは常にオープンだ」と言っているばかりですむはずはない。

Since the Japanese government bought the disputed Senkaku Islands from a private landowner in September 2012, tensions between Tokyo and Beijing have been running high, triggering a series of scary incidents. They even include cases of Chinese fighters flying dangerously close to Self-Defense Forces aircraft. The situation urgently demands serious talks between the two countries.
　おととしの尖閣諸島の国有化をきっかけに、東シナ海では自衛隊機が中国の戦闘機に異常接近される事態まで起きた。対話は急務である。

Many dates in the coming weeks will mark key events related to World War II. They include Aug. 15, the day of Japan’s surrender in 1945, and Sept. 18, the day when a staged bomb attack against Japan’s South Manchuria Railway took place in Liutiaohu in 1931, setting off the Manchurian Incident.
This is the season for reflecting on the devastation caused by the war and lessons from the history.
　これから終戦記念日の８月１５日や満州事変の発端となった柳条湖事件の９月１８日など、戦争の惨禍や歴史に思いをはせる季節がやってくる。

Tokyo, Beijing and Seoul should ensure that nothing will take place at these occasions that could dampen the budding diplomatic momentum for improving the bilateral ties.
ここでまた関係改善の機運に水を差す事態が起きることは、何としても避ける必要がある。

Abe and other Japanese political leaders should refrain from visiting Yasukuni Shrine. China, for its part, should stop using Japan’s past acts as tools for its international propaganda campaign.
　首相はじめ日本の指導者は靖国神社への参拝は慎まねばならない。また中国も、日本の過去の行為をいつまでも国際的な宣伝の材料に使うべきではない。

We strongly urge the three governments to exercise self-restraint and work together to put their relations on a better standing.
　双方の自制と努力を望む。

--The Asahi Shimbun, Aug. 12