日米首脳会談 来年こそ同盟深化の成果を

The Yomiuri Shimbun (Nov. 16, 2010)
2011 must be big year for Japan-U.S. alliance
日米首脳会談　来年こそ同盟深化の成果を（11月14日付・読売社説）

It is unfortunate that Japan and the United States missed a golden opportunity to issue a joint declaration on the bilateral alliance to mark this year's 50th anniversary of the signing of the revised Japan-U.S. Security Treaty.
　日米安保条約改定５０周年という格好の機会を逃したのは残念だ。

Prime Minister Naoto Kan and U.S. President Barack Obama held talks Saturday on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit meeting in Yokohama. They agreed to issue a joint declaration on the alliance next spring when Kan visits Washington.
　菅首相とオバマ米大統領が横浜で会談し、来年春にも首相が訪米して、日米同盟に関する共同文書を発表することで一致した。

Now that the statement has been postponed until next year, its content should be enhanced all the more.
共同文書の発表を来年に持ち越す以上、内容を充実させることが求められる。

When then Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama and Obama agreed to deepen the alliance in November last year, it was assumed that a joint declaration would be issued while Obama was attending the APEC summit meeting in Yokohama.
　昨年１１月、当時の鳩山首相と大統領が同盟深化の作業を開始することで合意した際は、今回の大統領来日時における共同文書の公表を念頭に置いていた。

But preparatory work on the document was held up due to the Japanese government's muddled handling of the issue of relocating the U.S. Marine Corps' Futenma Air Station in Okinawa Prefecture, which slowed the momentum for issuing such a document. The blame for this lies squarely with the immature and clumsy diplomacy of the Democratic Party of Japan-led government--in particular under the Hatoyama administration.
　だが、米軍普天間飛行場の移設問題の迷走に伴い、作業は遅れ、共同文書策定の機運が失われてしまった。その原因はひとえに、鳩山前首相を中心とする民主党政権の未熟かつ拙劣な外交にある。

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No progress on Futenma

The two countries eventually reached an agreement on the Futenma relocation issue in May, but there has been no progress since then because the Kan administration has not taken any effective measures.
　普天間問題は、５月に日米合意がまとまった後も、菅政権の無策により、何の進展もない。

The government must step up its efforts to win over the affected local governments and people in Okinawa Prefecture on the accord to move the Futenma base functions to the Henoko district of Nago. The government's line of action will be based on the result of the Nov. 28 Okinawa gubernatorial election.
　政府は、２８日の沖縄県知事選の結果を踏まえ、名護市辺野古に移設するとした日米合意が前進するよう、地元への説得を本格化させなければなるまい。

During his talks with Obama, Kan explained the government is considering sending Self-Defense Forces medical officers to Afghanistan to train their counterparts in the Afghan government forces.
　菅首相は首脳会談で、自衛隊の医官をアフガニスタンに派遣し、国軍の医官を指導することを前向きに検討する考えを表明した。

To bolster the Japan-U.S. alliance and enrich the content of the joint security declaration to be issued next year, we think Japan must not only resolve issues pending with Washington, but also play a wider international role in security matters.
　同盟を深化し、来年の共同文書を充実させるには、日米間の懸案を着実に解決するだけでなく、日本が安保面で国際的役割を従来以上に果たすことが欠かせない。

When their conversation turned to China, Obama was quoted as saying that China needs to speak and act appropriately in accordance with international rules. Kan shared this view.
　大統領は会談で、中国について「国際的ルールの中で適切な役割、言動を行うことが重要だ」と強調し、菅首相も同意した。

Kan thanked Obama for U.S. support of Japan's position on territorial issues with China and Russia. Tokyo's ties with Beijing have been strained by the collisions of a Chinese trawler with two Japan Coast Guard boats near the Senkaku Islands in the East China Sea, and ties with Moscow chilled following Russian President Dmitry Medvedev's recent visit to Kunashiri, one of the four northern islands off Hokkaido.
　菅首相はまた、尖閣諸島沖の中国漁船衝突事件とメドベージェフ露大統領の北方領土訪問について、米側が日本の立場を支持したことに謝意を示した。

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Multilateral approach

Dealing with these issues has exposed the fragile nature of the Kan administration's makeshift diplomacy. It is urgent to overhaul Japan's diplomacy--the cornerstone of which remains the Japan-U.S. alliance. However, this nation cannot simply continue to rely solely on the United States for its diplomacy.
　漁船衝突事件と露大統領の国後島訪問では、場当たり的な菅外交のもろさが露呈した。日米同盟を基軸とする日本外交全体の立て直しが急務だが、一方的に米国に頼るだけでは済まされない。

China is a neighboring nation that has become a major power. Dealing with China will be a perpetual challenge for Japan's diplomacy.
　大国化した隣国・中国とどう向き合っていくかは、日本外交の永遠の課題と言っていい。

How can China be effectively guided into complying with international rules in the political, economic and military fields so that it acts responsibly commensurate with its power over the medium-to-long term? We think it is essential that Japan hold repeated strategic dialogues with the United States on this matter.
　中国が中長期的に、政治、経済、軍事の各分野で国際的な規範を順守し、国力に見合う責任ある行動を取るよう誘導する――。そのためには、いかなる方策を取るのが効果的なのか、米国と戦略的な対話を重ねることが大切だ。

Japan also must propose concrete measures to strengthen ties with nations other than the United States. Steadily and actively building these ties could lead to a reshaping of Japan's diplomacy.
　日本が具体的なアイデアを提案し、米国以外の関係国との連携にも積極的に動く。そうした主体的な努力の積み重ねこそが、日本外交の立て直しにつながろう。

(From The Yomiuri Shimbun, Nov. 14, 2010)
（2010年11月14日01時21分 読売新聞）