日朝外相会談 拉致問題解決を粘り強く迫れ

The Yomiuri Shimbun
Japan should patiently press issue of abductions with North Korea
日朝外相会談　拉致問題解決を粘り強く迫れ

The government is expected to move the issue of Japanese nationals abducted by North Korean agents forward by using the fact that a high-level meeting has been held between Tokyo and Pyongyang as leverage.
　高いレベルでの北朝鮮との会談の実現をテコにして、日本人拉致問題の前進を図りたい。

Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida met his North Korean counterpart, Ri Su Yong, on the sidelines of meetings held by the Association of Southeast Asian Nations in Malaysia.
　マレーシアで行われた東南アジア諸国連合（ＡＳＥＡＮ）の一連の関連会議に合わせ、岸田外相が北朝鮮の李洙●外相と会談した。（●は土へんに庸）

Kishida protested to Ri during their talks that although Pyongyang has conducted reinvestigations on the abduction of Japanese nationals by its agents for more than a year, it has not reported any results. Kishida called it “regrettable” and asked the North Korean government again to send all the abduction victims home as soon as possible.
　北朝鮮の拉致被害者再調査が１年以上行われているのに、報告が一切ないことについて、岸田氏は「遺憾だ」と抗議した。全被害者の早期帰国も改めて求めた。

Ri told him that his government has been reinvestigating the incidents sincerely based on the agreement made between Tokyo and Pyongyang.
　李氏は、「（日朝両政府の）合意に基づき、調査を誠実に履行している」と弁明した。

Only North Korean leader Kim Jong Un can make a political decision to clarify the whole picture of the abductions, which are a state crime, and allow the victims to come home quickly.
　拉致という国家犯罪の全容を明らかにし、被害者を速やかに日本へ帰国させる。その政治決断は、金正恩第１書記しか下せない。

In that sense, it is meaningful that Kishida could directly tell Ri, a powerful figure allegedly close to Kim, the importance of solving the abduction issue.
　金第１書記と近い実力者とされる李氏に拉致問題解決の重要性を直接伝えた意義は小さくない。

It is important not to make the foreign ministerial meeting between Japan and North Korea a one-time event but to connect it to the progress of the reinvestigation.
　重要なのは、日朝外相会談を１回限りのものにせず、再調査の進展に結びつけることだ。

Instead of only a brief contact, Ri agreed this time to 30-minute-long talks with his Japanese counterpart.
　李氏は今回、短時間の接触でなく、約３０分間の会談に応じた。

Pyongyang intends to force Japan to relax sanctions and extend food aid to North Korea in return for the reinvestigation. It apparently wants to avoid international isolation by maintaining talks with Japan.
　北朝鮮には、再調査の見返りに、日本から制裁緩和や食糧支援などを引き出す思惑がある。国際的な孤立を回避するため、日本との交渉自体は継続したいのだろう。

Strategic move necessary

The government must make a strategic move that no longer allows North Korea to play for time or maneuver cleverly.
　政府に求められるのは、北朝鮮にこれ以上の時間稼ぎや駆け引きを許さない戦略的取り組みだ。

Pyongyang claims that it has been conducting a comprehensive reinvestigation of the abductions, including issues related to remains of Japanese victims. However, the priority of the reinvestigation should be on the abduction victims who cannot come home yet.
　北朝鮮は、日本人遺骨問題を含めた包括的な再調査を行っていると主張する。だが、最優先すべきは未帰国の拉致被害者である。

If the North Koreans remain unable to report even information about the fate of the abductees, resumption of sanctions, which were lifted last year, and introduction of new measures such as prohibition of money transfers to North Korea cannot be avoided.
　安否情報の通報さえない状況が続くなら、昨年解除した制裁の復活や、送金の原則禁止などの新たな措置を取らざるを得まい。

The government should strongly urge North Korea to report on the progress of the reinvestigation. One option might be setting a new deadline for progress.
　再調査の進捗しんちょく状況の報告を強く促すべきだ。再調査に改めて期限を設けるのも選択肢となろう。

In Malaysia, Kishida also held separate talks with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi and South Korean Foreign Minister Yun Byung Se, both of whom also attended the ASEAN meetings.
　マレーシアで岸田氏は、会議に出席した中国の王毅、韓国の尹炳世両外相とも個別に会談した。

In reference to a statement Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is going to issue to mark the 70th anniversary of the end of World War II, Wan said that he expected Abe to “face history with a responsible attitude.” Yun said he expects Abe to “reconfirm the perception of history held by past cabinets.” Kishida replied to them that the Abe Cabinet will “succeed the positions of the past cabinets in general.”
　王氏は安倍首相の戦後７０年談話に関し、「歴史に責任ある態度で向き合ってほしい」と語った。尹氏は「歴代内閣の歴史認識の再確認を期待する」と述べた。岸田氏は「歴代内閣の立場を全体として引き継ぐ」と説明した。

The Advisory Panel on the History of the 20th Century and on Japan’s Role and World Order in the 21st Century submitted a report to the prime minister that it compiled after discussing the planned statement. “Japan expanded its aggression” after the 1931 Manchurian Incident, the panel said in the report. “Based on the deep remorse [for the war], Japan has been reborn as a country that is completely different from what it was … ”
　談話内容を検討した有識者懇談会は、日本が満州事変以後、「侵略」を拡大し、戦後は先の大戦への「痛切な反省」に基づき、全く異なる国に生まれ変わったとする報告書を安倍首相に提出した。

In the planned statement, the prime minister should review Japan’s past based on the perception of history presented in the report and clearly announce his will to build future-oriented relations with both China and South Korea.
　首相は談話で、報告書の歴史認識を踏まえて過去を総括し、中韓両国と未来志向の関係を構築する意思を明確に打ち出すべきだ。

(From The Yomiuri Shimbun, Aug. 8, 2015)