野田氏の発言―言葉を選ぶ器量を待つ

2011/08/19
--The Asahi Shimbun, Aug. 18
EDITORIAL: Noda should watch his mouth
野田氏の発言―言葉を選ぶ器量を待つ

Finance Minister Yoshihiko Noda should think more carefully about the implications of his words when talking about sensitive topics if he wants to become prime minister.
　首相をめざす志があるなら、よく考えてほしい。

Noda recently said the Class-A war criminals interred at the Yasukuni Shrine in Tokyo--wartime leaders of Japan who were convicted by the postwar Tokyo tribunal--are no longer war criminals.
　野田佳彦財務相が、靖国神社に合祀（ごうし）されているＡ級戦犯について、戦争犯罪人ではないとの見解を示した。

During the administration of former Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi, Noda rebutted Koizumi's argument that they were war criminals. In an Aug. 15 news conference, Noda said his position on the issue had basically not changed since that time.
野田氏は小泉内閣時代、戦争犯罪人だとする小泉氏に反論しており、１５日の記者会見で「（当時と）基本的に変わりありません」と答えた。

Noda put his view on the issue in a written question to the Koizumi Cabinet.
　野田氏は、小泉内閣への質問主意書に以下の趣旨を記した。

The war criminals were pardoned, released or executed under agreements between the countries running the postwar judicial process, he argued.
A basic tenet of modern law is that a person's criminal guilt disappears when the sentence has been carried out.
　「戦犯」は関係国の同意のもと赦免・釈放され、あるいは死刑が執行されている。刑が終了した時点で、罪は消滅するのが近代法の理念である――。

In short, Noda believes the war criminals are no longer criminals because they paid their debt to society.
　刑を終えたのだから、もはや犯罪者ではない。

He went on to ask what was wrong with the prime minister's visit to the Yasukuni Shrine if the people enshrined there were not criminals.
まつられているのが犯罪者でない以上、首相の靖国参拝にどんな問題があるのか、という理屈立てだ。

The question here is not whether the sentences given to the wartime leaders were carried out. It is a historical issue about whether their acts were in fact war crimes.
　だが問われているのは刑を終えたか否かではなく、彼らの行為が戦争犯罪かどうかであり、歴史認識である。

Noda is off the mark.
野田氏の議論は焦点を外している。

What he says does nothing but unnecessarily hurt the feelings of many people, both Japanese and foreign, whose relatives were killed in the war.
国の内外を問わず、戦争で肉親を失った数多くの人々の心情をいたずらに傷つけるだけだ。

Noda is a member of the Cabinet and intends to run in the Democratic Party of Japan's upcoming election to choose its president.
　野田氏は現職閣僚であり、まもなく行われる民主党代表選に立候補する意向を固めている。

If he becomes prime minister, he will have to speak about Japan's past as the representative of our nation.
首相になれば過去の歴史を背負い、日本国を代表して発言しなければならない。

He needs to exercise discretion in both action and words.
行動を慎み、言葉を選ぶのが当然だ。

Noda did not visit the Yasukuni Shrine on Aug. 15, the anniversary of the end of the war.
　一方で、野田氏はこの終戦記念日に参拝しなかった。

When he ran for the party leadership race in 2002, he said he would not make an official visit to the shrine on the anniversary if he became prime minister, saying such an act would cause a diplomatic row.
０２年に代表選に立候補した際は「外交問題を引き起こす」ことを理由に、首相になっても終戦記念日の公式参拝はしないと言った。

But, if he puts importance on Japan's diplomacy, Noda should explain his views about this and other war-related issues.
　外交を大切にするのなら、誠意ある言葉で説明すべきだ。

South Korea's Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade has criticized Noda's remarks as an attempt to deny the facts about Japan's invasions of its neighbors.
発言を受けて、韓国外交通商省は「侵略の歴史を否定しようとする言動だ」と批判している。

Noda's stance on the war criminal issue would have unwanted effects on Japan's relations with China and South Korea but also the United States, which led the Tokyo tribunal.
中国や韓国のみならず、東京裁判を主導した米国との関係にも良い影響は及ぼすまい。

Noda will face questions about this issue during the party leadership contest.
　代表選に立候補しても、この点を問われるに違いない。

He needs to offer convincing and responsible answers to these questions and talk about his ideas about the war if he wants to be recognized as someone qualified to head the party and become Japan's prime minister.
その時、自らの歴史認識も含めてきちんと話し、代表、そして首相の有資格者だと示してもらわなければならない。

In an article on the agenda he would pursue as the nation's leader, published in the September issue of the Bungei Shunju monthly magazine, Noda expressed his determination to tackle three crises: the decline of domestic industry, energy shortages and Japan's fiscal ills.
　野田氏は、文芸春秋９月号に公表した「わが政権構想」で、国内産業の衰退や、電力・エネルギー、財政の「三つの危機」に取り組む決意を示している。

These certainly should be the top policy priorities at the moment and Noda should try to create a political environment that will allow for effective efforts to grapple with these formidable challenges.
　確かに、いま優先すべきはそれらの課題だろう。とすれば、課題に取り組めるよう、野田氏は自ら環境を整えるべきだ。

Japan has been making serious, long-term efforts to come to terms with war-related issues.
　歴史をめぐる問題は、苦労を重ねながらここまで積み上げてきた。

Japan's leader should not do or say anything that could undermine the progress that has been made or create a situation that makes it difficult for the nation to tackle the real problems it faces today.
国のリーダーの言動で再び歩みを止め、処理すべき課題に向き合えない事態を繰り返すべきではない。