原爆投下６５年―連帯し核廃絶のゴールへ 新しい風が吹いてきた。

--The Asahi Shimbun, Aug. 6
EDITORIAL: 65 years after Hiroshima.
原爆投下６５年―連帯し核廃絶のゴールへ　新しい風が吹いてきた。

2010/08/07

U.S. Ambassador to Japan John Roos attended the peace memorial ceremony Friday in Hiroshima to commemorate the 65th anniversary of the city's atomic bombing.
　今日、広島市である平和記念式にルース駐日米大使が出席する。

This is the first time for the ambassador of the country that dropped atomic bombs to attend the ceremony. Two other nuclear powers, Britain and France, sent their acting ambassadors to the ceremony for the first time.
　原子爆弾を投下した当事国の大使の出席は初めてだ。核保有国の英、仏臨時代理大使も初めて顔をそろえる。

After visiting Nagasaki the previous day, U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon also attended the ceremony in Hiroshima, marking the first attendance by the head of the world body.
　来日中の国連の潘基文（パン・ギムン）事務総長も、昨日長崎を訪れた後、広島の式典に歴代事務総長として初めて出席する。

The Hiroshima municipal government has been sending invitations to the ceremony to nuclear powers for 12 years. At long last, its efforts are bearing fruit.
　広島市は１２年前から核保有国に式典への招待状を送りつづけてきた。やっと小さな実を結んだ。

Invitation to Obama
■オバマ氏の広島訪問を

In a speech delivered in Prague in April 2009, U.S. President Barack Obama expressed his determination to create "a world without nuclear weapons." Never before has the momentum for nuclear disarmament and nonproliferation been as great as it is now.
　昨年４月、オバマ米大統領がプラハで「核兵器のない世界」に向けて行動すると表明した。核軍縮・核不拡散の機運はこれまでになく高まっている。

We must take advantage of the trend to encourage moves for the abolition of nuclear weapons.
　これを核兵器廃絶の動きへと結びつけなければならない。

A hibakusha survivor of the atomic bombing in Hiroshima has been sending letters to Obama.
　広島にはオバマ大統領に手紙を送りつづけている被爆者がいる。

In January 2009, Akihiro Takahashi, a former director of the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum, sent a letter to the president soon after his inauguration. "Please visit Hiroshima ... we should make your visit to Hiroshima the beginning of a new age of reconciliation for all humankind," it read.
　元広島平和記念資料館長の高橋昭博さんは昨年１月、就任まもない大統領への手紙につづった。「ぜひ広島にお越しください。新たな時代の始まりとなります」。

Under the George W. Bush administration, moves toward nuclear disarmament stopped. Takahashi sent the letter expecting the new president to take a different course.
ブッシュ前政権では核軍縮の歩みが途絶えた。その方針転換を期待してのことだった。

After the Prague speech, Obama took steps to advance nuclear disarmament. He led the Group of Eight summit to issue a statement on nuclear disarmament in July 2009. In April, the United States released the Nuclear Posture Review, signed a new treaty on nuclear arms reduction with Russia and hosted the first Nuclear Security Summit. Each time Takahashi learned of the developments, he wrote a letter. So far, he has written four letters.
　プラハ演説のあと、オバマ氏は主要国首脳会議（Ｇ８）の核声明、米核戦略の見直し、米ロ核軍縮条約の署名、初の核保安サミットの開催と、次々に手を打った。動きを知るたびに高橋さんは手紙を書いた。すでに計４通。

"What hibakusha want is not nuclear disarmament. What we want is absolute denial and abolition of nuclear weapons," he wrote.
　「被爆者が願っているのは核軍縮ではありません。核兵器絶対否定であり、核兵器廃絶です」

On Aug. 6, 1945, Takahashi, then a second-year student at a secondary school in the prewar schooling system, was in the schoolyard 1.4 kilometers from ground zero. He suffered severe burns on more than one-third of his body, including the back of his head, the back, both hands and feet. A shard of glass stuck in his finger, causing his nail to grow deformed and turn black. The nail is displayed in the museum.
　６５年前のこの日、旧制中学の２年だった高橋さんは爆心地から１．４キロの校庭で被爆した。後頭部や背中、両手、両足など全身の３分の１以上に大やけどを負った。ガラス片が指先に突き刺さり、変形して生えつづけた「黒いつめ」は資料館に展示されている。

Takahashi wants Obama to visit Hiroshima and see what happens after a nuclear weapon is used. Takahashi believes a visit by Obama would be a step forward in abolishing nuclear weapons.
　オバマ氏の広島訪問を望むのは、「核兵器を使用したあとに何が起きたのか。自分の目で見てほしい。そうすれば、核廃絶に向けてさらに一歩進む」と信じるからだ。

This feeling must be shared by the 220,000 hibakusha across Japan whose average age is 76.
　平均年齢７６歳、全国に約２２万人いる被爆者に共通した思いだろう。

If Obama stands on the site where many lives were instantly lost, it would be the strongest message toward building "a world without nuclear weapons."
　多くの命が一瞬に消えた地にオバマ氏が立てば、「核なき世界」に向けてこの上なく強いメッセージとなる。

Idealism and realism
■理想と現実の接点

However, we don't think Obama shares the same motive for a nuclear-free world as the survivors of the atomic bombings.
　もっとも、オバマ氏が核兵器のない世界を唱えるのは被爆者と同じ動機からではないだろう。

After the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks against the United States, fears of nuclear terrorism grew. The danger of terrorists gaining access to nuclear weapons became a major security concern, giving rise to the following logic: If terrorists get hold of nuclear weapons, the nuclear deterrence would no longer work. If so, it would be safer to abolish nuclear weapons.
　９・１１同時テロのあと、核テロへの恐れが高まった。テロリストに核が渡る危険性が、安全保障上の大きな課題となってきた。「核がテロリストに渡れば核抑止論が働かない。核を廃絶した方が安全だ」というわけだ。

This logic is very different from the humanitarian appeal by hibakusha who see nuclear weapons as "an absolute evil."
「核兵器は絶対悪」という被爆者の人道上からの叫びとは、大きく隔たっている。

"Even so, as long as the goal is the same, we should join hands," Hideo Tsuchiyama, a former Nagasaki University president who survived the atomic bombing of Nagasaki, said.
　「それでもゴールが同じなら連帯していい」。被爆者で元長崎大学長の土山秀夫さんは、そう断言する。

For that, "we need to appeal both emotionally and logically," Tsuchiyama stressed. Testimonies by hibakusha awaken people's feelings for the need to abolish nuclear weapons. But that is not enough.
　そのために「感性と論理の訴えが必要だ」と説く。被爆者の証言は核廃絶の必要性を人々の感性に呼び覚ます。それだけでは十分でない。

We must also be able to logically explain the need to abolish nuclear weapons in a forum of international politics to win the understanding of international society.
冷厳な国際政治の場で核廃絶の必要性を論理的に説得できなければならない。

Up to now, the idealism to eliminate nuclear weapons embraced by the country that suffered atomic bombings and the realism of the nuclear deterrence advocated by nuclear powers never came together. There is also the reality that Japan is protected under the U.S. "nuclear umbrella."
　核廃絶という被爆国の理想論と、核抑止という保有国の現実論が交わることはこれまでなかった。日本が米国の「核の傘」の下にある現実もある。

The will of civil society, including hibakusha, has never been reflected in the extremely political problem of nuclear strategy. Idealism and realism seemed destined to remain far apart forever. But now, a tiny contact point is about to form.
核戦略という極めて政治的な問題に、被爆者をはじめとした市民社会の意思が反映されることはなかった。限りない平行線とも見えた理想論と現実論に小さいながらも接点が生まれつつある。

The attendance by U.S. Ambassador Roos at the Hiroshima ceremony is symbolic. However, the U.S. State Department explains that Roos' attendance is aimed "to express respect for all of the victims of World War II." It has no choice but to consider U.S. public opinion, which continues to be dominated by arguments that justify the atomic bombings.
　ルース大使の式典出席はそれを象徴する。ただ、米国務省は「第２次大戦のすべての犠牲者への敬意を表明するため」と説明する。いまも原爆投下を正当化する考えが根強い米国の世論に配慮せざるをえないのだ。

Treaty to ban nuclear weapons
■核兵器禁止条約の準備

To prevent the anti-nuclear trend from becoming just a passing summer fad, we must work out a process for the abolition of nuclear weapons and lead it to actual policy. Moreover, we need to form a net to encircle nuclear powers through persistent diplomatic negotiations.
　これをひと夏の交錯で終わらせてはならない。
　そのためには核兵器廃絶のプロセスを練り上げ、現実の政策へとつなぐ。そして、ねばり強い外交交渉で核保有国への包囲網をつくっていくことだ。

For example, the final document of the 2010 Review Conference of the Parties to the Treaty on the Nonproliferation of Nuclear Weapons in May referred to the idea of a treaty to ban nuclear weapons for the first time.
　たとえば、５月の核不拡散条約（ＮＰＴ）再検討会議の最終文書は「核兵器禁止条約」構想に初めて言及した。

There are already treaties to ban chemical and biological weapons, and moves to abolish them are making progress. The idea is to create a similar treaty to ban nuclear weapons.
化学兵器と生物兵器には禁止条約があり、廃絶に向けて進んでいる。核兵器でも、というアイデアだ。

Referring to the final document, Douglas Roche, honorary chairman of the international nongovernmental organization Middle Powers Initiative and a former Canadian ambassador for disarmament, said such a treaty is on the table of international debate. He is calling for preparations for international negotiations.
　カナダの元軍縮大使で、国際ＮＧＯ「中堅国家構想」名誉議長のダグラス・ロウチさんはこの言及を「国際的な議論の俎上（そじょう）に上がった」と評価し、「国際交渉の準備を」と呼びかける。

A draft treaty that serves as a model was released in 1997 by NGOs, such as International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War.
　モデルとなる条約案は１９９７年、核戦争防止国際医師会議などのＮＧＯが発表している。

The United States and other nuclear powers have maintained a passive stance. But now that the situation surrounding nuclear weapons has dramatically changed, interest in this treaty, which is indispensable in realizing the abolition of nuclear weapons, is growing. We should take steps to set conditions needed to advance preparations.
米など核保有国は消極的な態度をとってきた。ところが、核をめぐる状況が劇的に変わったいま、核廃絶の実現に欠かせないこの条約への関心が高まっている。交渉の準備に必要な条件を整えていきたい。

Treaties to ban anti-personnel land mines and cluster bombs were established thanks largely to lawmakers of a number of countries who cooperated with NGOs to appeal to their governments. We should make use of this experience for nuclear weapons.
　対人地雷やクラスター爆弾の禁止条約が成立したのは、いくつかの国の国会議員がＮＧＯと連帯して政府に働きかけたことが大きかった。核兵器でもこの経験を生かしたい。

Using the actual damage of atomic bombings as a starting point, a network should be built comprising not only the government but also experts, local governments, NGOs and citizens. We should also cooperate with countries that share these aspirations.
　核被害の実態を原点に、政府だけでなく専門家や自治体、ＮＧＯ、さらには市民によるネットワークを築く。同じ志を持つ国と連帯する。

As the only country to have suffered atomic bombings, Japan must take the lead.
　唯一の被爆国である日本は、その先頭に立たなければならない。