外交立て直し まずは日米同盟の再構築だ

The Yomiuri Shimbun (Sep. 6, 2011)
Japan-U.S. alliance must be rebuilt
外交立て直し　まずは日米同盟の再構築だ（9月5日付・読売社説）

The inauguration of Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda's Cabinet should lead to a halt in the erosion of Japan's diplomatic relations of recent years, which is essential for making the nation's voice better heard in the international community.
　近年の日本外交の地盤沈下に歯止めをかけ、国際的な発言力を高める。野田内閣の発足を、その転機としたい。

At a press conference held shortly after his appointment as prime minister, Noda stressed the need to achieve that goal, saying: "The Japan-U.S. relationship is a central pillar of our country's diplomatic and security policy at a time when the world is becoming more and more multipolar. [Bilateral relations] must be deepened and expanded."
　野田首相は就任記者会見で、「世界が多極化する中、時代が求める外交・安保政策の軸は日米関係で、その深化・発展を遂げねばならない」と強調した。

Noda is an unknown quantity as prime minister. However, we hope he will steadfastly adhere to this fundamental principle in fulfilling his duties.
　首相の手腕は未知数だが、その基本方針で突き進んでほしい。

The Japan-U.S. alliance has long functioned as a public good to preserve peace and security in the Asia-Pacific basin.
　日米同盟は、アジア太平洋の平和と安全を支える公共財として機能してきた。

Many Asian countries share this perception.
それは多くのアジア諸国の共通認識でもある。

Unstable Japan-U.S. ties would harm relations between Japan and its Asian neighbors.
日米関係の不安定化は、日本とアジア各国の関係にも悪影響を及ぼす。

The nation's diplomatic environment has been increasingly unfavorable in recent years.
　ここ数年、日本外交を取り巻く環境は厳しくなっている。

The Noda administration was preceded by short-lived cabinets formed by five prime ministers. This has been compounded by the rise of China and some other newly emerging nations, a development that has undeniably resulted in a relative decline in Japan's national strength as the mainstay of its foreign relations.
５人連続の短命首相に加え、中国など新興国の台頭で、外交を支える国力の相対的低下は否定できない。

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Put U.S. ties on track

This is particularly evident in the turmoil and stagnation in the Japan-U.S. relationship due to a change of administration that took place two years ago.
This paralysis can be attributed to former Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama's unskilled diplomacy, followed by an ill-conceived attempt by his successor, Naoto Kan, to put off bilateral issues.
　特に２年前の政権交代後は、鳩山元首相の未熟な外交と菅前首相の懸案先送りで、日米関係は迷走・停滞した。

With this in mind, the new prime minister must work to bring the nation's tattered external relations back on track, focusing first on shoring up its alliance with the United States.
まずは強固な日米同盟を再構築することから、外交を立て直さねばなるまい。

Noda is scheduled to attend a number of meetings with the leaders of other nations, including a session of the U.N. General Assembly in late September. His diplomatic itinerary for November and beyond also includes a summit meeting of the Group of 20 nations and territories, the East Asia Summit and the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum.
　今月下旬の国連総会に続き、１１月の主要２０か国・地域（Ｇ２０）と東アジアの首脳会議、アジア太平洋経済協力会議と、首脳外交の日程が目白押しだ。

The prime minister must use these diplomatic opportunities to establish trust with U.S. President Barack Obama and other national leaders. Doing so is essential to defend our national interests.
オバマ米大統領ら各国首脳と信頼関係を築き、日本の国益を守る必要がある。

He must also take specific actions to resolve pending issues facing Japan and the United States and not just follow the steps taken by his predecessors, Hatoyama and Kan, who both had only harped on "a deepening" of the bilateral alliance.
　最も重要なのは、鳩山、菅両氏のように単に「同盟深化」を唱えるのでなく、懸案の解決に向けて具体的な行動をとることだ。

Washington has called on Tokyo to make "concrete progress" in settling the dispute over the transfer of the U.S. Marine Corps' Futenma Air Station in Okinawa Prefecture "within one year."
　米国は、米軍普天間飛行場の移設問題で「１年以内の進展」を求めている。

Failure to do so could prompt the U.S. administration to drastically reconsider a plan to relocate U.S. marines in the prefecture to Guam.
それができない場合、在沖縄海兵隊のグアム移転が大幅に見直される恐れがある。

Noda must do all he can to overcome the gridlock in the Futenma controversy through talks with leaders and residents in Okinawa Prefecture. This task requires the prime minister to join hands with Cabinet members related to the dispute--Foreign Minister Koichiro Gemba, Defense Minister Yasuo Ichikawa and Tatsuo Kawabata, state minister for Okinawa and Northern Territories affairs.
　野田首相は、玄葉外相、一川防衛相、川端沖縄相とともに、沖縄との協議を重ね、打開策の模索に全力を挙げねばならない。

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Promote talks with China

It is no less important for Noda to promote dialogue with China.
　中国との対話も重要だ。

The collisions between a Chinese fishing boat and two Japanese vessels in waters off the Senkaku Islands in September last year strained bilateral ties. Although summit talks among Japan, China and South Korea have since taken place, Tokyo and Beijing remain caught in a standoff over natural gas field exploration in the East China Sea and other bilateral problems.
　昨年秋の尖閣諸島沖での漁船衝突事件以来、日中韓首脳会談は開催したものの、東シナ海のガス田問題などは膠着(こうちゃく)状態が続く。

The prime minister should step up security talks between Japan and China while also increasing bilateral economic and trade cooperation. Living up to this responsibility is essential to realizing what is called a "strategically reciprocal relationship" between Tokyo and Beijing, instead of leaving the mutually avowed goal an empty slogan.
　安全保障面の協議や経済・通商面の協力を拡充し、「戦略的互恵関係」を掛け声だけでなく、真に実のあるものにすべきだ。

The Noda administration also must decide, as soon as possible, whether to send Self-Defense Forces personnel to South Sudan for a U.N. peacekeeping mission, another decision his predecessors put off.
　前政権が決断を先送りした南スーダンの国連平和維持活動（ＰＫＯ）への自衛隊派遣でも、早期に結論を出すことが肝要である。

We hope the Liberal Democratic Party and other opposition parties will agree to abandon the unreasonable practice established over the years of restricting visits to other countries by prime ministers and foreign ministers.
For years, opposition parties have insisted that attendance at Diet sessions by such political figures must take precedence over overseas travel on official business.
　自民党など野党に求めたいのは、国会審議を理由に、首相や外相の外国訪問を制約する悪(あ)しき慣例をやめることだ。

The public does not even begin to understand why the country's national interests must be compromised because its prime minister and foreign minister are prevented from visiting other nations under what can only be described as a misguided rule meant to preserve "the authority of the Diet."
「国会の権威」を盾に国益を損ね続けることは、国民の理解を超えている。

(From The Yomiuri Shimbun, Sept. 5, 2011)
（2011年9月5日01時15分 読売新聞）