「東海」併記問題 座視できぬ米国での反日活動

The Yomiuri Shimbun February 08, 2014
Govt must do more to make stance known amid anti-Japan movements
「東海」併記問題　座視できぬ米国での反日活動（2月8日付・読売社説）

With anti-Japan activities by Americans of South Korean ancestry expanding, the Japanese government must be tenacious in making strong counterarguments and taking appropriate responses.
　韓国系米国人による反日的な動きがさらに拡大した。日本政府は、粘り強く反論し、適切な対応を取らねばならない。

The Virginia state assembly has approved a bill requiring public school textbooks in the state to refer to the Sea of Japan also as the East Sea, the name the South Korean government insists be used. The bill, which will be enacted after it is signed by the governor, is scheduled to take effect on July 1.
　米南部バージニア州の議会が、公立学校の教科書の中で「日本海」と表記する場合には、韓国政府が主張する「東海」を併記するよう求める法案を可決した。州知事の署名で成立し７月１日に発効する見通しだ。

The Sea of Japan is an internationally established name that has also been approved by the U.S. government. In a show of displeasure, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga naturally called the developments in Virginia “extremely regrettable.”
　日本海の名称は、国際的に確立され、米政府も認めている。菅官房長官が、「極めて残念」と不快感を表明したのは当然である。

The population of Americans of South Korean ancestry residing in Virginia is the fifth largest among the 50 U.S. states. The state assembly’s move was probably the result of strong lobbying of lawmakers by South Korean-related private organizations.
　バージニア州に居住する韓国系米国人の数は、全米５０州の中で５番目に多い。韓国系民間団体が州議会議員らに法案成立への強い圧力をかけた結果なのだろう。

In the 1990s, the South Korean government started to urge the international community to call the body of water the “East Sea,” saying the name “Sea of Japan” became widely used during Japan’s colonial rule of the Korean Peninsula. At present, Seoul asserts that both names should be used.
　韓国政府は１９９０年代から、国際社会に対して、日本海は日本の植民地支配の過程で広がった名称だとし、東海への改称を求め始めた。現在では、両方の名称を併記すべきだと主張している。

However, “Sea of Japan” did not become an international standard because of Japan’s colonial rule. According to the Foreign Ministry, a large majority of maps in European nations and the United States were using the Sea of Japan in the first half of the 19th century, before the Meiji Restoration. It is, therefore, impossible to accept South Korea’s unreasonable assertion, which is clearly an attempt to make the rest of the world dance to its tune.
　だが、日本海の名称が国際的に定着したのは、植民地支配によるものではない。日本外務省によると、明治維新以前の１９世紀前半の時点で、欧米の地図の大多数が日本海と記している。韓国の言い分は牽強(けんきょう)付会(ふかい)で容認できない。

‘Sea of Japan’ commonly used

Only the “Sea of Japan” is used in a collection of nautical charts by the International Hydrographic Organization, and the U.S. Board on Geographic Names has it as the sole name for the sea.
　日本海は、国際水路機関（ＩＨＯ）の海図集では唯一の名称として使われており、米地名委員会も単独名称と定めている。

Of course, some in the Virginia General Assembly opposed the bill, saying state governments should not be involved in debates over the historical geographical names of other nations.
　州議会の中にも、州政治が他国の歴史的地名を巡る議論に関わるべきではないと反対する意見があったのはもっともだ。

The Japanese government was by no means standing idle in the face of the movement at the state assembly.
　州法案を巡る動きを、日本政府も座視していたわけではない。

Kenichiro Sasae, Japanese ambassador to the United States, has sent a letter to the Virginia governor, expressing concern that the move could hinder economic relations with Japan, and met with him in person to urge him not to enact the bill. Japan also used lobbyists to try to sway the assembly to its side, but to no avail.
　佐々江賢一郎駐米大使は、州知事に、日本との経済関係を損ねる恐れがあると懸念する書簡を送ったり、直接面談したりして、法案の成立阻止を図った。ロビイストを使って、州議会にも工作したものの、結果が伴わなかった。

Across the United States, campaigns targeting Japan by South Korean-related private organizations pose a serious concern.
　憂慮されるのは、韓国系民間団体が、日本を狙い撃ちする活動を全米で展開していることだ。

There is also a movement in the state of Maryland urging the use of both the Sea of Japan and the East Sea. In California, which has a large population of residents with South Korean origins, a statue dedicated to the so-called comfort women was erected last year. The chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee in the U.S. House of Representatives, who is from California, has since visited the statue to offer flowers.
　「東海」併記を求める動きは、メリーランド州にもある。韓国系の多いカリフォルニア州では、いわゆる従軍慰安婦の少女像が昨年設置され、州内選出の連邦下院外交委員長が献花に訪れた。

As the history of South Korean immigration to the United States is relatively short, such groups still have some allegiance to their origins. If they gain greater political say in the United States, they will be able to back the South Korean government, which is criticizing Japan over historical issues.
　韓国系米国人は移民の歴史が浅く、韓国への帰属意識が強い。米国内で政治的発言力を強めれば、歴史問題で日本を非難する韓国政府を後押しすることになる。

The Japanese government, for its part, must make further efforts to make its stance known to the U.S. Congress and public.
　日本政府は、米国の議会や世論に対し、自らの立場を主張していく一層の努力が必要だ。

(From The Yomiuri Shimbun, Feb. 8, 2014)
（2014年2月8日01時55分  読売新聞）