北方領土交渉 「仕切り直し」へ戦略練り直せ

The Yomiuri Shimbun (Feb. 24, 2013)
New strategy needed to resume talks over northern territories
北方領土交渉　「仕切り直し」へ戦略練り直せ（2月23日付・読売社説）

The government's aim of smoothing the way for future talks between Japanese and Russian leaders has been achieved. The administration of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe now faces a test on whether it can devise a specific diplomatic strategy to make progress in negotiations to solve the dispute over the northern territories.
　日露首脳会談への地ならしという狙いは達成された。具体的に交渉をどう進めるか、安倍外交の戦略が問われよう。

Former Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori met recently with Russian President Vladimir Putin at the Kremlin in Moscow.
　森喜朗元首相が、ロシアのプーチン大統領とモスクワのクレムリンで会談した。

During the meeting, Putin said it is abnormal that the two countries have yet to conclude a peace treaty due to the obstacle of the territorial issue.
　プーチン氏は、北方領土問題が障害となり、日露両国が平和条約をいまだ締結していないことを「異常な事態」と表現した。

Drawing a picture of a judo competition area on paper, Putin stated his intention to make a fresh start in the negotiations. He said Japan and Russia cannot compete because both countries stay at the edge of the competition area, and that they should be pulled to the center to start over.
　柔道の試合場をメモ用紙に描いて、「両国は試合場の端にいてプレーが出来ない。真ん中に引っ張ってきてそこから始めるということだ」とも語り、交渉を仕切り直す意向を明らかにした。

Putin's predecessor, Dmitry Medvedev, visited Kunashiri Island, one of the four islands in the northern territories, while he was Russian president. During the visit, Medvedev took a hard-line stance on the issue, saying: "This is our native land. We will not give away an inch."
　メドベージェフ前大統領は自ら国後島を訪問し、「我々の古来の土地だ。一寸たりとも渡さない」と強硬な姿勢を見せつけた。

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Figure out Russia's real intent

Abe must appropriately interpret Putin's positive signal on the territorial issue. We hope the Abe administration will negotiate with Russia patiently while trying to figure out what Moscow really has in mind.
　安倍首相は、領土問題に前向きなプーチン氏のシグナルをきちんと受け止めなければなるまい。その真意を見極めつつ、粘り強く交渉に当たってもらいたい。

During the talks, Mori asked Putin to clarify his remarks in March last year that he would seek "hikiwake"--a judo term meaning a draw--to solve the issue. Putin reportedly said it was meant to be a solution that creates neither a winner nor a loser, but he did not elaborate.
　森氏はプーチン氏との会談で、北方領土問題について昨年３月「引き分け」を目指すと発言したことの意味を質(ただ)した。プーチン氏は「勝ち負けなしの解決だ」と述べるにとどめたという。

Putin apparently regards the 1956 Japan-Soviet Joint Declaration as a starting point for negotiations on the territorial row. The declaration stipulates the Habomai islets and Shikotan Island should be returned to Japan after the two countries sign a peace treaty. In recent years, Russia has allocated funding for developing infrastructure in the northern territories to steadily "Russianize" them, especially on the other two islands of Kunashiri and Etrofu.
　歯舞、色丹２島の引き渡しを明記した１９５６年の日ソ共同宣言が、領土交渉におけるプーチン氏の立場の原点だ。ロシアは近年、国後、択捉両島などの基盤整備に予算を投入し、北方領土の「ロシア化」を着々と進めている。

On a TV program last month, Mori mentioned the possible option of Russia first returning three of the islets--with the exception of Etrofu Island--not all four at once. He made such remarks apparently in the belief that the nation should quickly aim for a realistic solution.
　森氏が先月、テレビ番組で択捉島以外の３島の先行返還に言及したのは、現実的な解決を急ぐべきだと考えるからだろう。

When he was foreign minister, Deputy Prime Minister Taro Aso floated the idea of dividing the four islands equally in terms of size.
　麻生副総理も外相時代に４島全体の面積を２等分する「面積等分論」に言及したことがある。

However, bilateral negotiations between the Abe and Putin administrations have yet to take place. If Tokyo takes a concessional approach before the talks start, Moscow may take further advantage of it. In the same way as previously, Japan should aim for the return of all four islands in the negotiations.
　だが、安倍、プーチン両政権による交渉はこれからである。交渉前から譲歩姿勢を示せば一層つけこまれかねない。従来通り４島返還を掲げて交渉に臨むべきだ。

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Expanded cooperation key

At the meeting with Mori, Putin also expressed his hopes of expanded bilateral cooperation in the energy sector, such as in oil and natural gas. He also said his country wants to take advantage of Japan's agricultural technology in developing its vast Far East region.
　プーチン氏は、石油や天然ガスなど、エネルギー分野での日露協力の拡大に強い期待感を示した。広大な極東で日本の農業技術を生かしたいとも語った。

Japan's economic strength and technology would be attractive to Russia, which has increased its focus on development of the Far East and Siberia. If the territorial dispute is resolved, Japan and Russia will be able to cooperate in more areas beneficial to both countries. Such expanded bilateral cooperation also could put a brake on China, a growing economic and military power.
　日本の経済力や技術力は、極東・シベリア開発に力を入れるロシアにとって魅力だろう。領土問題が解決すれば、日露両国がともに利益を享受できる分野は一段と広がるはずだ。経済・軍事面で膨張する中国への牽制(けんせい)ともなる。

It is vital for both Japan and Russia to increase their shared awareness that bilateral cooperation is strategically important. This could pave the way to solving the territorial issue.
　日露協力の戦略的重要性について共通認識を深めていくことが大切だ。それが、北方領土問題解決への環境整備につながろう。

(From The Yomiuri Shimbun, Feb. 23, 2013)
（2013年2月23日01時27分  読売新聞）