サミット開幕 安定成長促す協調が問われる

The Yomiuri Shimbun
G-7 cooperation key to spurring stable growth of global economy
サミット開幕　安定成長促す協調が問われる

To ensure sustainable global economic growth, it is essential for the Group of Seven major countries to join hands and lead the way.
　世界経済の成長を持続させるには、先進７か国（Ｇ７）が協調して牽引けんいんすることが重要だ。

In a session of discussions about the world economy, regarded as the focal point of the G-7 Ise-Shima summit meeting, which opened Thursday, participating leaders shared the view that there are major risks due to such factors as a slowdown in emerging economies.
　主要国首脳会議（伊勢志摩サミット）が開幕した。最大の焦点だった世界経済の討議では、新興国経済の減速などを背景に、大きなリスクに直面しているとの認識で一致した。

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, as chair of the summit, said the current situation resembles the circumstances before the 2008 global financial crisis caused by the collapse of U.S. investment bank Lehman Brothers. Abe cited concrete data indicating a slackening of investment and gross domestic product in emerging economies.
　議長の安倍首相は、新興国の投資や国内総生産が低迷している具体的なデータを基に、２００８年のリーマン・ショック前の状況に似ているとの見解を示した。

He noted, “There are risks that, if we make an error in policy response, the situation will go beyond an ordinary business cycle and enter a crisis.”
　「政策対応を誤ると、通常の景気循環を超え、危機に陥るリスクがある」とも指摘した。

Some of the G-7 leaders raised doubts about using the term “crisis” but agreed to “push resolutely for a flexible fiscal strategy and structural reform policy” in accordance with the conditions in G-7 nations.
　他の首脳からは「危機とまで言うのはどうか」という意見も出たが、各国の状況に応じて「機動的な財政戦略と構造政策を果断に進める」ことを確認した。

Abe might have gone so far as referring to the global financial shock in the aftermath of the Lehman Brothers bankruptcy because he wanted to lay the foundation for postponing the hike in the consumption tax rate to 10 percent that is scheduled for next April.
　首相がリーマン・ショックにまで言及したのは、１７年４月の消費税率引き上げを先送りするための布石なのではないか。

Abe defined financial policy, fiscal stimulus and structural reform as a G-7 version of his “three arrows” policy package. His proposal to implement all possible policy measures was approved by other G-7 leaders.
　首相は、金融政策と財政出動、構造改革の三つの政策手段をＧ７版「３本の矢」と位置づけて政策の総動員を求め、了承された。

It is an accomplishment that the G-7 leaders have agreed to implement policies according to circumstances as preemptive steps to deal with any emerging crisis.
　Ｇ７が危機発生に先手を打つ形で、臨機応変に政策対応をとる方針で合意したのは成果だ。

Boosting growth potential

The G-7 nations face the common plight of a lack of demand, which stems from individuals and businesses refraining from consumption and investment amid concern over potentially prolonged stagnation.
　先進各国では、景気の長期停滞への懸念から、個人や企業が消費や投資を控える需要不足が共通の課題となっている。

It is essential to boost growth potential through deregulation and other measures, thereby encouraging private-sector investment.
　規制緩和などで潜在成長力を上げ、民間の投資を促すことが肝心だ。

However, it will take a certain period of time before private demand rises on its own. It would be meaningful if governments flexibly and swiftly implement fiscal stimulus policy in their efforts to create demand.
ただ、民需が自律的に高まるには一定の時間がかかる。政府が機動的に財政出動し、需要の創出に努めることは意義がある。

Participating leaders pointed out, one after another, that slackening growth and the expanding income gap are factors behind the emergence of populism in the political world.
　各国首脳からは、成長の低迷や格差拡大が、政治的なポピュリズム（大衆迎合）の台頭を招く一因だとする指摘も相次いだ。

During the first-day session, the leaders agreed that establishing a society in which the middle class can have hopes for the future will require investments in “high-quality infrastructure” and fields such as education, science and technology. Steady policy implementation is called for.
　会議では、中間層が将来に期待を持てる社会にするには、「質の高いインフラ（社会基盤）」や教育、科学技術分野などへの投資が重要だとの認識で一致した。着実な政策の遂行が求められる。

Regarding the promotion of free trade, the leaders confirmed anew the need for early effectuation of the Trans-Pacific Partnership agreement, in which Japan, the United States, Canada and nine other countries are participants, and steady negotiations between Japan and the European Union over an economic partnership agreement.
　自由貿易の推進については、日米加を含む１２か国が参加する環太平洋経済連携協定（ＴＰＰ）の早期発効や、日本と欧州連合（ＥＵ）による経済連携協定の交渉を着実に進めることを再確認した。

With a presidential election set for autumn in the United States, voices in favor of protecting domestic industries have been gathering strength in that country. As this could threaten free trade, it cannot be brushed aside.
　米国では秋に大統領選を控え、国内産業を守ることを優先する保護主義的な主張が勢いを増している。自由貿易を脅かしかねず、軽視できない動きである。

We want the G-7 leaders to display leadership in moving ahead with domestic procedures, including approval of the TPP by relevant legislatures.
　Ｇ７の各首脳は、ＴＰＰの議会承認など、国内手続きの進展にも指導力を発揮してもらいたい。

(From The Yomiuri Shimbun, May 27, 2016) Speech

持続する世界 Ｇ７の決意が問われる

--The Asahi Shimbun, May 26
EDITORIAL: Are G-7 leaders still up to task of making world a better place?
（社説）持続する世界　Ｇ７の決意が問われる

Leaders of the Group of Seven industrialized nations gathering for the Ise-Shima Summit have a broad range of topics on their agenda that are not limited to short-term questions like how to respond to the weakening of the global economy.
　主要７カ国（Ｇ７）首脳会議（伊勢志摩サミット）が、きょう始まる。話し合うべきテーマは、世界経済への対応など直近の問題だけにとどまらない。

The ultimate question confronting them is devising ways to overcome widespread famine and poverty in the world to create a global community where people everywhere can live in peace and quiet and pass this legacy to future generations.
　世界にはびこる飢餓や貧困を克服し、国や地域を問わず人間が平穏に暮らせる地球をどう築き、将来世代に引き継ぐか。それが究極の問いだろう。

The United Nations has adopted a set of goals to end poverty and ensure a sustainable future for the human race by 2030. The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) were unanimously adopted by the member countries during a U.N. summit last September. This marks the first year to start trying to achieve those goals.
　２０３０年までに貧困に続き終止符を打ち、持続可能な未来を求める――。国連がそんなゴールを掲げたのが「持続可能な開発目標（ＳＤＧｓ）」だ。昨秋、国連の会合で全加盟国の一致で採択され、今年が初年である。

This will require economic growth, technological innovation and infrastructure development. It is also crucial to redress economic disparities, realize gender equality, promote public health and welfare, expand and upgrade education and respond to climate change. The SDGs include 169 specific targets in 17 areas.
　目標を達成するには、経済成長や技術革新、社会基盤整備が前提になる。さらに、格差の是正、男女平等、健康と福祉、教育の拡充、気候変動問題への対応などが欠かせない。課題は１７分野にわたり、具体的な目標は１６９項目に及ぶ。

Given the wide scope of the goals involved, this ambitious initiative could simply fizzle out.
　対象が広く、理想が高いだけに、掛け声倒れの危うさもつきまとう。

It requires united efforts among all countries, from major economic powers to developing countries and poorest nations. The agenda will test the international community’s commitment and ability to take the necessary actions.
経済大国から途上国、最貧国までが結束して歩を進めて行けるかどうか、国際社会の意思と行動力が試されよう。

In particular, the G-7 nations, which led international development with their economic might, will have to play the central role in the quest.
　とりわけ大きな責任が問われるのは、これまで国際開発を主導し、経済力に優れたＧ７だ。

Solving serious global problems created by market capitalism, such as inequality and decay, will help ensure stable economic growth.
市場主義が招いた格差や荒廃など地球のひずみの解消は、安定的な成長の実現に役立つ。

The G-7 leaders are expected to address these development goals, focusing on targets related to public health and women. Japan, which is hosting the summit, has set up a government task force to support the efforts to accomplish these goals and decided to provide funds for measures to promote stability in the Middle East and public health in the world.
　サミットでもこの開発目標を取り上げ、特に「保健」や「女性」について話し合う予定だ。議長国の日本は政府内に推進本部を設け、中東の安定や保健の充実への資金拠出を決めた。

It is vital to make steady, long-term efforts to achieve the targets under specific plans.
　具体的な計画のもとで、息長く取り組みを積み重ねることが重要だ。

The G-7 nations should announce their solid commitment to the agenda, develop plausible plans to raise the necessary funds and take actions according to the plans.
Ｇ７がしっかりと決意表明し、必要な資金をどう確保し、行動するかが問われる。

It would be desirable if the G-7 nations steadily increased their official development assistance. But all these nations are facing a fiscal crunch.
　Ｇ７各国が政府の途上国援助（ＯＤＡ）を着実に増やすことが望ましいが、どの国も財政難に悩む。

Germany and France have long proposed the introduction of a financial transaction tax, a low-rate levy imposed on a wide range of financial transactions like share sales. But the proposal has been put on ice due partly to economic stagnation in Europe.
株式などの金融取引に薄く広く課税する金融取引税の導入を独仏両国などが提唱して久しいが、景気の停滞もあって作業は進んでいない。

The efforts to raise funds for the U.N. initiative should first be focused on cracking down on tax avoidance by multinationals and rich people around the world.
　まずは国際的な大企業や富裕層の間に広がる課税逃れを封じ込めたい。

This approach would help narrow income gaps and at the same time secure money needed to achieve the development goals.
それ自体が経済格差を縮める一歩となるうえ、開発目標に充てる財源の確保にもつながりうる。

From this point of view, the G-7 needs to tackle the problem of tax havens used by people and companies all over the world to evade or reduce their tax payments in response to revelations in the Panama Papers.
　その意味でも「パナマ文書」が提起した世界規模の脱税・節税問題に正面から向き合わねばならない。

Even if the development of specific measures to deal with this problem may be left to entities like the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, the G-7 should still take the leadership in establishing an effective global network for monitoring and preventing tax avoidance while securing cooperation from major emerging countries like China, Russia and India.
具体策の検討は経済協力開発機構（ＯＥＣＤ）などに委ねるとしても、中国やロシア、インドなど新興国も巻き込みながら、税逃れへの監視網を世界全体に広げていく。Ｇ７がその旗振り役を果たすべきだ。

香山リカのココロの万華鏡 : 親の相談機関も足りない ／東京

April 3, 2016 (Mainichi Japan)
Kaleidoscope: Parents need a refuge, too
香山リカのココロの万華鏡 : 親の相談機関も足りない　／東京

According to the National Police Agency (NPA), police nationwide reported 37,020 children as suspected of being abused to child consultation centers last year. It was the worst figure on record.
　警察庁の発表によると、虐待の疑いで全国の警察が昨年１年間に児童相談所に通告した子どもは３万７０２０人。過去最悪の数字だ。

What's striking about the data is that the types of abuse on the rise are different from those that were common in the past. There was a 41 percent increase in verbal abuse and other forms of emotional abuse -- the most noteworthy of which were cases in which children witnessed parents and other family members being violent toward each other.
　注目すべき点のひとつは、これまでとは違う内容の虐待が増加していることだ。「暴言を浴びせる」などの心理的虐待が４１％増。さらにこのうち、子どもの目の前で両親間の暴力などを目撃する「面前ＤＶ（ドメスティックバイオレンス）」の増加が目立っている。

Some may argue that it's not such a big problem if children are just seeing the violence and are not being targeted by it, but that's hardly the case. Children suffer deep emotional wounds when they see their father hit their mother, or their parents hit a sibling. Not only do they wonder if they might be next, they blame themselves for not being able to help the ones who are being abused.
　「危害を加えられるのではなく、暴力を目撃するくらいならたいしたことはない」と思う人もいるかもしれないが、それは違う。父親が母親をなぐる、両親が自分のきょうだいに激しい暴力をふるう、といったシーンを間近で見ると、子どもの心は深く傷つく。「次は私かもしれない」と恐怖を感じるだけではなく、「助けたいけど助けられない」「自分がかわってあげたい」といった気持ちを抱き、苦しむことになる。

One person I know told me that as a child, they had watched their younger sister always being hit by their father. When I said, "You're lucky you were never hit," the person shook their head. "I should've been the one to be hit. My sister did nothing wrong. I'm a really cruel person for having pretended to see nothing."
　かつて私が会った人は、子どものときに妹が父親からいつもなぐられるのを間近で見てきたと話してくれた。「あなたに暴力が及ばなくてよかったですね」と言うと、その人は首を横に振って言った。「私がなぐられるべきだったのです。妹は何も悪いことをしていないから。見て見ぬふりをしていた私は、本当に卑怯（ひきょう）者なのです」

The person managed to graduate from school and find work, but even when they found someone they liked, they couldn't think about dating or marriage. The person was convinced that someone who could not save their sister did not deserve to be happy.
　なんとか学校を卒業して社会人になったその人は、交際したいという人が現れてもどうしても恋愛や結婚をする気になれない。「妹を助けることもできなかった人間には幸せになる資格はない」と思い込んでいるからだ。

"You did nothing wrong. You were still a young child, so it's no surprise that you weren't able to protect your sister from the violence," I said. It took a long time for that person's sense of guilt to subside.
「あなたは何も悪くないんです。まだ幼い子どもだったのだから、妹を暴力から助け出せなくても当然ですよ」とその罪悪感を消し去るためには、長い時間がかかった。

Getting food on the table and bringing up children is difficult nowadays, and no matter how much love you have for your children, it's not hard to suddenly get the urge to hit them or blurt out that you wish they'd never been born. What, then, can be done to prevent parents from having such emotional outbursts?
　いまの時代、子育ても生活もたいへんで、いくら子どもに愛情を持っていたとしても、イライラしてつい手を上げそうになったり、「生まれなければよかったのに」などという言葉が口をついて出てきたりすることもあるかもしれない。では、親が自分の感情の爆発を防ぐためにはどうすればいいのか。

Blaming them for their violence is actually counterproductive. First, we as a society must create refuges where parents can escape to for help. Sure, there is a huge lack of daycare centers. But we also lack places where parents who are barely keeping their head above the water making a living and raising children can seek help. It is important to get insurance to cover fertility treatments. But just as pressing is the creation of a societal framework in which both parents and their children can live happily.
「親が暴力を振るうなんてとんでもない」と責めるのは逆効果だ。まずは「私を助けて」と親自身がかけ込める緊急の避難先を作ること、それしかない。保育所も足りないが、育児や生活に行き詰まった親の相談機関も足りない。不妊治療の保険適用なども大切だが、生まれた子どもたち、産んだ親たちが幸せになれるような仕組み作りも急がれる。

(By Rika Kayama, psychiatrist)
（精神科医）

日米地位協定 今度こそ抜本見直しを

--The Asahi Shimbun, May 24
EDITORIAL: Okinawa leader Onaga is right: SOFA needs a sweeping review
（社説）日米地位協定　今度こそ抜本見直しを

Okinawa Governor Takeshi Onaga on May 23 urged Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to initiate a fundamental review of the Japan-U.S. Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA), a symbol of deep resentment about the heavy U.S. military presence in Okinawa Prefecture.
“We will be told that Japan’s independence is a myth if the current Status of Forces Agreement remains unchanged,” Onaga said in his meeting with Abe over the recent slaying of a Japanese woman in Okinawa Prefecture.
　「今の地位協定のもとでは、日本の独立は『神話だ』と言われますよ」

Onaga referred to the famous remark made in a 1963 speech by then American High Commissioner Paul Caraway, who said the idea of self-government in Okinawa under U.S. military rule was nothing more than a “myth.”
　米軍政下、沖縄の自治を「神話」と言い放ったキャラウェイ高等弁務官の言葉を使って、沖縄県の翁長雄志知事がきのう、安倍首相に日米地位協定の見直しを求めた。

The governor met with Abe at the prime minister’s office in Tokyo following the arrest of an American civilian worker at a U.S. base in Okinawa Prefecture on May 19 on suspicion of abandoning the body of the victim.
The incident has sparked outbursts of anger among people in Okinawa, and a growing chorus there is calling for the removal of all U.S. bases from the prefecture.
　元米海兵隊員の軍属による女性死体遺棄事件を受け、沖縄ではいま、「全基地撤去」を求める声が広がるほど激しい怒りに包まれている。

To prevent additional crimes or accidents involving U.S. military personnel and related workers, U.S. bases in the prefecture should be consolidated and curtailed quickly.
米軍関係者による事件・事故をこれ以上繰り返さないためにも、米軍基地の整理・縮小を急ぐ必要がある。

Onaga’s demand for a revision to SOFA reflects the fact that this agreement, which grants U.S. forces stationed in Japan various privileges, has been a major factor behind the failure to stop crimes involving American soldiers and members of the “civilian component.”
　同時に、翁長知事が日米地位協定の見直しを求めるのは、米兵や軍属らによる犯罪が後を絶たない背景に、在日米軍にさまざまな特権を与えているこの協定があるとみるからだ。

Every time a base-related crime or accident took place, provisions of SOFA that restrict Japan’s criminal investigations and jurisdiction concerning such cases were roundly criticized.
　地位協定をめぐっては、これまでも米軍人や軍属による犯罪や事故が起きるたびに、日本の犯罪捜査や裁判権を制限する条項が問題となってきた。

In the latest case, the suspect, a former U.S. serviceman, was arrested by prefectural police on suspicion of committing a crime while off-duty, so no SOFA-related issue has arisen.
　今回、元米兵は公務外の容疑で県警が逮捕したため、地位協定上の問題は発生していない。

If the U.S. military had detained the suspect first, however, the transfer of his custody to Japanese authorities could have been delayed or even refused.
だが、もし米軍が先に身柄を拘束していれば、引き渡しまで時間がかかったり拒否されたりする恐れもあった。

In the 1995 rape of a Japanese schoolgirl by three off-duty U.S. servicemen in Okinawa, the United States detained the suspects and initially refused Okinawa prefectural police’s request for their handover.
　９５年に起きた少女暴行事件では、公務外の米兵ら３容疑者の身柄を米側が拘束し、県警の引き渡し請求を拒んだ。

In response to the huge wave of anger among Okinawan people triggered by the incident, Washington later agreed to an improvement in the implementation of SOFA, requiring the United States to “give sympathetic consideration” to Japanese requests for the handover of suspects before indictment in cases of vicious crimes.
　県民の強い反発でその後、凶悪事件に限って起訴前の身柄引き渡しに米側が「好意的配慮を払う」とする運用改善で合意した。

This rule has since been applied to all types of crimes. But Japanese investigations into crimes involving U.S. military personnel could still be affected by discretionary decisions by the United States.
その後、全犯罪に広がったが、米側の裁量で捜査が左右される恐れはいまも残る。

Despite the improvement, SOFA still needs a sweeping review. While the prefectural government has been demanding reform for many years, the Japanese government has refused to propose a fundamental review of the agreement for a possible revision to the United States.
　こうした運用改善が実現した例はあるものの、地位協定の改定を含む抜本的な見直しは、県の長年の要求をよそに、政府は米国に提起しようとしない。

Onaga also asked Abe to arrange a meeting with U.S. President Barack Obama during his visit to Japan.
　翁長知事はきのう、オバマ米大統領に直接面会する機会を設けるよう首相に求めた。

But Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga voiced a dim view of Onaga’s request, saying, “As a matter of course, issues in the fields of diplomacy and security will be discussed between national governments.”
しかし菅官房長官は「外交・安全保障に関わる問題は、中央政府間で協議するのは当然だ」と否定的な見方を示した。

Onaga is seeking an opportunity to hold direct talks with Obama because the central government has done nothing to solve this problem.
　その中央政府が動かないからこそ、知事は大統領との直接の面会を求めているのだろう。

Both South Korea and Germany have achieved revisions to their own status of forces agreements with the United States. Why is the Japanese government unwilling to even ask the United States to consider a revision to the unfair agreement?
　韓国やドイツは、米国との地位協定の改定を実現させている。なのになぜ、日本政府は米国に改定を求めないのか。

Later this week, Obama will come to Japan to attend this year’s summit of the Group of Seven industrial nations in Mie Prefecture.
　今週、主要国首脳会議（伊勢志摩サミット）のためにオバマ大統領が来日する。

Abe should, of course, call on Obama to take steps to prevent a recurrence and strengthen discipline on U.S. personnel and related workers. But Abe should also make specific proposals concerning a reduction in the U.S. bases in Okinawa and a revision to the agreement.
再発防止や綱紀粛正を求めるのはもちろんだが、基地縮小や地位協定の抜本見直しについても、首相から具体的に提起すべきだ。

もんじゅ やはり廃炉にすべきだ

--The Asahi Shimbun, May 22
EDITORIAL: There is simply no reason to continue Monju reactor program
（社説）もんじゅ　やはり廃炉にすべきだ
 
An expert council on the Monju fast-breeder reactor program started debate last week on a draft report it will submit to the science and technology ministry.
　高速増殖原型炉「もんじゅ」（福井県敦賀市）について検討している文部科学省の有識者検討会が先週、報告書案の議論に入った。

The panel’s work is a response to the Nuclear Regulation Authority’s recommendation last year that the operator of the troubled experimental reactor in Tsuruga, Fukui Prefecture, should be replaced.
After a series of revelations about omitted safety inspections and other problems, the NRA in November urged science and technology minister Hiroshi Hase to find a new entity to replace the government-backed Japan Atomic Energy Agency as the reactor’s operator.
　機器の点検漏れなどが次々と発覚したため、原子力規制委員会が昨年１１月、原子力研究開発機構（原子力機構）に代わる運営主体を探すよう馳浩・文科相に勧告した。それを受けての作業である。

But the council’s draft report, released on May 20, doesn’t name a candidate for the mission. It only mentions a set of conditions the new operator should fulfill, which are nothing new and all part of conventional wisdom.
It says, for instance, the new operator should have “the ability to develop and implement operation and maintenance plans based on the characteristics of the reactor that is still in the experimental stage.” It also says the new operator should be able to respond appropriately to the interests and needs of society.
　しかし、報告書の原案は具体的な運営主体について記さず、「研究開発段階炉の特性を踏まえた保全計画の策定・遂行能力がある」「社会の関心・要請を適切に反映できる」など、当たり前で従来も言われてきた条件を示すにとどまった。

The draft report also points to the failure of a series of reforms that have been carried out to save the trouble-plagued program. It offers no reason to believe this time is different and the proposed replacement of the operator will bring about sufficient improvements in the management of the Monju.
　案は「これまで繰り返し改革に取り組んできたが、十分な成果が上がっていない」とも指摘する。今回に限って改革が成功し、もんじゅの管理が十分改善される理屈は見当たらない。

The fast-breeder reactor requires as much as 20 billion yen ($182 million) in annual maintenance costs. In addition, there is not even an estimate of the certainly huge costs for necessary safety measures.
All these facts make a compelling case for decommissioning the reactor.
　年間２００億円もの維持費がかかり、巨額になるのが必至の安全対策費は現時点で試算すら出せていない。もんじゅは、やはり廃炉にすべきだ。

The biggest problem, as some members of the ministry panel have noted, is the lack of serious debate on the cost-effectiveness of the Monju program.
　最大の問題は検討会でも指摘が出た通り、費用対効果の議論をしていない点だ。

Who needs this program and how strong is the need? How much more money is the government ready to spend to develop and operate the reactor? These and other key questions about whether the program makes economic sense have been left unaddressed.
　もんじゅを誰がどれほど必要としていて、運転のためにどれだけのお金を投じる用意があるのか。その検討がすっぽりと抜け落ちている。

The Monju is now in a precarious position even in the government’s nuclear energy policy.
　もんじゅはいまや、国の原子力政策でも微妙な存在だ。

The reactor was once touted as the core facility for the government’s plan to establish a nuclear fuel recycling system in which plutonium extracted from spent nuclear fuel is burned in a fast-breeder reactor.
　かつては、原発の使用済み核燃料からプルトニウムを取り出し、高速増殖炉で燃やす核燃料サイクル実現に向けた中核的施設という位置づけだった。

For more than two decades since a sodium coolant leak accident in 1995, however, the Monju has remained mostly idle.
Over the period, the need for a nuclear fuel recycling system has kept diminishing. There are now few people in the private sector calling for the development of a fast-breeder reactor.
　だが、１９９５年のナトリウム漏れ事故以来２０年以上もほとんど運転できていない、その間に核燃料サイクルの必要性は薄れる一方で、民間に高速増殖炉を望む声はないに等しい。

When it drew up a research plan using the Monju three years ago, the science and technology ministry had to focus on the topic of nuclear waste disposal rather than fast-breeder reactor technology itself.
３年前に文科省がまとめたもんじゅ研究計画では、高速炉より廃棄物対策での研究を前面に打ち出すしかなかった。

Still, the government has refused to pull the plug on the Monju program because it is concerned about possible repercussions on its nuclear fuel recycling policy as a whole.
　それでも、政府がもんじゅの旗を降ろさないのは、核燃料サイクルに影響が及ぶことを警戒しているからだ。

But this vision is now almost a fantasy. If the government admits this fact, however, the issue of how to dispose of the large amounts of spent nuclear fuel stored at nuclear power plants across the nation will no doubt come under the spotlight.
　しかし、サイクルはもはや虚構に近い。政府がそう認めれば、各地の原発が抱える大量の使用済み燃料の処理問題が一気にクローズアップされるのが必至だ。

Continuing the Monju program simply to gloss over this grim reality would be too foolish.
それをごまかそうともんじゅを抱え続けるのでは、あまりに問題が大きい。

A small experimental reactor is enough and more efficient for use in research in nuclear waste disposal, which is still in a rudimentary stage. The need for such research offers no rationale for keeping the Monju program alive.
　廃棄物処理の研究は基礎段階だから小型実験炉で十分だし、その方が効率的だ。もんじゅを延命する理由にはならない。

Ｇ７財務相会議 サミットで協調さらに深めよ

The Yomiuri Shimbun
G-7 leaders should follow up Sendai finance meeting with deeper cooperation
Ｇ７財務相会議　サミットで協調さらに深めよ

It is important for the major advanced nations to boost cooperation to lead the global economy toward stable growth despite persistent economic uncertainty.
　不透明感を拭えない世界経済を安定成長に導くには、先進国が協調を強めることが重要だ。

The meeting of finance ministers and central bank governors from the Group of Seven major developed countries reaffirmed in Sendai that they will mobilize all three policy measures to play the leading roles in putting the world economy on track for sustainable growth: monetary policy, fiscal stimulus and structural reforms.
　仙台市で開かれた先進７か国（Ｇ７）財務相・中央銀行総裁会議は、世界経済の持続的な成長を牽引けんいんしていくため、金融政策と財政出動、構造改革の三つの政策手段を総動員することを確認した。

The participating countries shared an understanding that the global market has become more stable compared to a while ago, but it faces increasing uncertainty caused by, among other factors, Britain’s possible exit from the European Union.
　Ｇ７各国は世界経済について、一時期より市場は安定したが、英国の欧州連合（ＥＵ）離脱問題などで先行きの不確実性は増しているとの認識を共有した。

China and other emerging economies still suffer from a slowdown. It is natural for the G-7 to show determination to fulfill its responsibilities to play a leading role to boost growth.
　中国など新興国経済の減速傾向も続いている。Ｇ７が成長の先導役として、責任を果たしていく決意を示したのは当然だ。

When it came to flexible fiscal stimulus, one of the key topics at the meeting, Japan and the United States, which are positive toward such action, failed to fully bridge the gap with Germany and Britain, which place emphasis on fiscal discipline. Many of the participating countries reportedly said that perhaps it is quality that matters most in implementing fiscal stimulus measures.
　焦点だった機動的な財政出動を巡る議論では、積極的な日米と、財政規律を重んじる独英の溝は十分に埋まらなかった。多くの国から「財政出動はむしろ質が大事だ」といった声も相次いだという。

How can each country facilitate “high-quality investment” in accordance with the respective conditions to help each economy grow? Prime Minister Shinzo Abe should lead deeper discussions when he chairs the Ise-Shima summit meeting later this week.
　各国の事情に応じて、成長に資する「質の高い投資」をどう促進していくか。今週の主要国首脳会議（伊勢志摩サミット）では、議長の安倍首相の主導で、議論を深める必要があろう。

Rift over yen intervention

Meanwhile, it is worrisome that Finance Minister Taro Aso and U.S. Treasury Secretary Jacob Lew were unable to resolve their rift over foreign exchange rates when they held talks on the sidelines of the Sendai gathering.
　Ｇ７会議に合わせた日米財務相会談で、為替を巡る対立が解消しなかったのも気がかりだ。

During a press conference, Aso once again showed he would not refrain from intervening in the currency market against excessive yen rises. “[Exchange rates for the yen] over the past several weeks cannot be described as orderly,” he said.
　麻生財務相は記者会見で「（円相場の）この数週間は秩序立った動きとは言えない」と述べ、円高阻止の市場介入も辞さない考えを改めて示した。

Lew, on the other hand, issued a warning against Tokyo’s possible intervention, saying, “It’s a pretty high bar to have disorderly [currency] conditions.”
　ルー米財務長官は「無秩序な動きと呼べる基準は極めて高い」として、介入を牽制した。

Increased disagreement between Japan and the United States could encourage speculators to take advantage of the situation, thus inviting violent fluctuations in currency markets. It is important for Tokyo and Washington to communicate in detail with each other while placing their top priority on stabilizing the financial market.
　日米の不協和音が高まれば、投機筋につけ込まれて為替相場の乱高下を招く恐れもある。金融市場の安定を最優先に、日米が丁寧に意思疎通を図ることが大切だ。

In the meeting of finance ministers, the G-7 nations also agreed to step up measures against international tax evasion, following the release of the so-called Panama Papers that have revealed partially how tax havens are used. The participants also agreed to urge many other countries to join an international scheme that will allow their tax authorities to share bank account information, among other measures.
　Ｇ７会議は、タックスヘイブン（租税回避地）の実態の一端が明らかになった「パナマ文書」問題を受け、国際的な税逃れ対策の強化でも合意した。税務当局による口座情報の交換など、国際的な枠組みに多くの国の参加を促す。

Tax avoidance cannot immediately be deemed illegal, but can undermine confidence in the tax system. The summit meeting should look into rules to ensure fair international taxation.
　租税回避はただちに違法ではなくても、税への信頼を損なう。サミットで公正な国際課税のあり方の検討を進めるべきだ。

The Sendai gathering also compiled an action plan on combating the financing of terrorism. Measures include enhanced information exchange among the G-7 countries and lowering the maximum amount of cash individuals can bring into another country without reporting the sum to customs.
　テロ資金対策に関する行動計画もまとめた。Ｇ７間の情報交換の強化や、税関に申告せずに他国に持ち出せる現金の上限額引き下げなどが柱だ。

Cross-border financial transactions have to be cut off to stop terrorist organizations. The G-7 should urge other countries to also work together on this issue.
　テロ組織を追い詰めるには、国境を超えた資金の流れを断たねばならない。Ｇ７以外にも協調行動を広めたい。

(From The Yomiuri Shimbun, May 22, 2016)

台湾新総統 民意に沿う現状維持

--The Asahi Shimbun, May 21
EDITORIAL: Taiwan’s Tsai set right tone for endorsing status quo with China
（社説）台湾新総統　民意に沿う現状維持
 
The relationship between China and Taiwan is one of the primary factors for peace and stability in Asia.
　中国と台湾の関係は、アジアの平和と安定を考える上で鍵をにぎる問題の一つである。

Taiwan’s new president, Tsai Ing-wen, aired her thoughts about the island’s ties with China in her inaugural speech May 20.
　きのう台湾の新総統に就いた蔡英文（ツァイインウェン）氏（５９）が、亜熱帯の陽光のもと、総統府前広場で演説し、対中関係を語った。

Speaking in the subtropical sunlight in front of the Presidential Office building in Taipei, Tsai pledged to promote “stable and peaceful development” of Taiwan’s relations with China through diplomatic efforts based on “existing realities and political foundations.” This is effectively an endorsement of the status quo that has defined bilateral ties. We welcome her moderate stance toward the touchy issue.
　蔡氏は、過去を踏まえ、安定的な発展を進めると誓った。つまり、現状維持の宣言である。穏当ログイン前の続きな姿勢を歓迎したい。

The delicate and complicated cross-strait relationship requires careful and cautions handling.
　中台関係は複雑であり、慎重な対応を要する。

China regards Taiwan as a breakaway province that must unify with the mainland eventually. This is what is known as the "One China" principle.
中国は台湾を自国の一部とみなし、祖国統一をめざしている。いわゆる「一つの中国」の原則である。

Of Taiwan’s two major political parties, the Nationalist Party, or Kuomintang, accepts the “One China” principle, but with China meaning the Republic of China, not the People’s Republic of China.
　台湾では二大政党のうち、国民党は「中華人民共和国」ではなく「中華民国」として「一つの中国」を認める。

Tsai’s Democratic Progressive Party, in contrast, rejects this principle and claims that Taiwan and China are different countries.
一方、蔡氏ら民進党は「台湾は中国とは別の国家」とし、この原則を認めない。

Alarmed by Tsai’s ascent to power, Beijing has urged the new Taiwanese president to endorse the so-called 92 consensus, or an agreement allegedly reached in 1992 between Chinese and Taiwanese negotiators that both sides would accept the “One China” principle while interpreting the term China independently according to their respective positions.
　そこで中国側は「９２年コンセンサス」を蔡氏に突きつけた。１９９２年に中台の交渉当事者間で「一つの中国」を確認したとされるやりとりを指し、その受け入れを求めた。

In her speech, Tsai didn’t mention the term “92 consensus,” but acknowledged, as a “historical fact,” that the two sides “arrived at various joint acknowledgements and understandings” in 1992.
　演説で蔡氏は「９２年コンセンサス」という言葉は使わなかった。その代わり、９２年に「若干の共同認知と了解に至った。これは歴史の事実」と述べた。

The way Tsai referred to this topic may not be quite satisfactory for China. But she also refrained from mentioning her party’s position supporting Taiwan’s independence. China should appreciate her rhetoric on the issue as the strongest possible political gesture of compromise she could make.
　中国側は不満が残るかもしれない。だが、蔡氏は台湾独立をめぐる自党の立場表明も抑えている。最大限の歩み寄りを図ったと評価すべきだろう。

A majority of people in Taiwan value their identity as Taiwanese while putting much importance on exchanges with China.
　台湾住民の多くは、中国との交流を重視する一方、台湾としての主体性も大事にする。

As a result, they believe that maintaining the status quo is the best realistic option for Taiwan, subscribing to the view that the choice of either unification or independence is best left to the distant future.
だから、統一か独立かは遠い将来の課題とし、現状維持が最適と考えている。

Tsai’s speech faithfully echoes the public’s well-balanced sensibility.
　蔡氏の演説は、そうした民意のバランス感覚を誠実にくみ取ったものといえる。

The maintenance of the status quo of the China-Taiwan relationship is also reassuring for other countries in the region.
　中台関係の現状維持は、周辺国にとっても安心材料だ。

Taiwan is located close to Okinawa and the disputed Senkaku Islands in the East China Sea and maintains effective control over the largest natural island in the disputed Spratly island chain in the South China Sea.
台湾は沖縄や尖閣諸島に近く、スプラトリー（南沙）諸島で最大の自然島を実効支配している。

Taiwan is a vital player in efforts to maintain stability in the East China Sea and the South China Sea, and its related actions have direct bearings on Japan’s security.
東シナ海と南シナ海の安定に欠かせない存在であり、日本の安全保障に直結する。

Touching on the territorial disputes in the East China Sea and the South China Sea in her address, Tsai called for a cool-headed attitude on the part of all the parties involved, proposing “setting aside disputes so as to enable joint development.”
　蔡氏は演説で、東・南シナ海問題について「争いを棚上げして共同開発を」と、冷静な対応を求めた。

China should take her call seriously. It is China that is seeking to change the status quo in the region by enhancing its naval power and reclaiming reefs in disputed areas.
その訴えを、中国は真剣に受け止めるべきだろう。現状変更を志向しているのは、海軍力を強化し、岩礁を埋め立てる中国のほうだからだ。

During the previous Taiwanese administration of Ma Ying-jeou, Japan and Taiwan scored some notable diplomatic achievements, including bilateral agreements on investment, taxation and fishing.
　日本と台湾との間では、前政権下で投資協定、租税協定、漁業協定といった成果が積み重ねられた。

Japan and Taiwan have highly complementary economic relations as well as various common policy challenges, such as the aging of society, frequent natural disasters and problems related to nuclear power generation.
経済面は補完関係が強く、高齢化、多発する自然災害、原発問題など共通課題も多い。

Let us hope that cooperation between Tokyo and Taipei will make further progress under the Tsai administration.
蔡政権のもとで日台協力がさらに進むよう期待したい。

五輪招致疑惑 厳正に実態の解明を

--The Asahi Shimbun, May 20
EDITORIAL: Rigorous probe needed to study Tokyo Olympics bid payments
（社説）五輪招致疑惑　厳正に実態の解明を
 
Dark clouds of suspicion are gathering over Tokyo’s successful bid to host the 2020 Summer Olympics and Paralympics.
　世界最大のスポーツの祭典を呼び寄せた成功の陰で金銭にまつわる不正があったのか否か。

Allegations have emerged that Japan made dubious cash payments to win the right to hold the world’s largest sports event in its capital.
　２０２０年東京五輪・パラリンピックの招致活動に、疑惑が投げかけられている。

The Japanese Olympic Committee (JOC) has decided to form a special task force to investigate the allegations, which will include at least one independent lawyer.
　日本オリンピック委員会（ＪＯＣ）は、第三者の弁護士を含む調査チームを発足させることを決めた。

As the host of the Summer Games in 2020, Japan is responsible for rigorously confronting and responding to the allegations.
　五輪の開催国として、不正の疑惑に対し厳正に向き合う責任がある。

The government, which strongly supported Tokyo’s bid, should actively cooperate in the investigation to help establish the truth.
招致を推進してきた政府も積極的に協力して、解明を進めるべきだ。

The suspicion of bribery came to light when French prosecutors said earlier this month that they had launched a probe into dubious cash transfers from a bank in Japan to the account in Singapore of a company with an unsavory reputation. The focus of the inquiry is on the JOC’s payments of some 230 million yen ($2.09 million) to the consulting firm in the months immediately prior to and after Tokyo was awarded the Games in 2013.
　疑惑は、フランスの検察当局が捜査を始めたと公表して表面化した。日本の招致委がシンガポールの顧問会社へ支払った約２億３千万円が焦点である。

The company, Black Tidings, is believed to have close ties with the son of Lamine Diack, the now disgraced former president of the International Association of Athletics Federations and member of the International Olympic Committee. Diack is suspected of having played a role in covering up a Russian doping case.
　その会社は、ロシアの禁止薬物使用の隠蔽（いんぺい）に関わった疑いがもたれている国際陸連前会長の息子と関係が深いとされる。

The company disappeared in 2014 after Tokyo was chosen in September 2013 as the 2020 host, beating Madrid and Istanbul in an IOC vote in Buenos Aires.
東京五輪が決まった翌年、会社は消滅した。

People involved in Tokyo’s winning bid have denied any wrongdoing in their campaign, claiming the funds were paid as legitimate consulting fees.
　招致関係者は、正当なコンサルタント業務の対価だったとして、疑惑を否定している。

But no specifics about the services provided by the company have been offered.
　だが、具体的にどんな業務だったのか、その内容が見えない。

The people involved say they cannot reveal the details because of a confidentiality agreement with the firm.
But the appropriateness of paying more than 200 million yen in consulting fees should be examined.
契約上、相手方との守秘義務があり、明かせないというが、２億円超を払った妥当性は吟味されねばなるまい。

Serious efforts should also be made to determine how the company spent the money.
さらに、その大金を会社が実際に何に使ったのか、調べる努力が必要だろう。

During a recent Diet session, Tsunekazu Takeda, one of the leaders of Tokyo’s Olympics bid, faced questions about whether the consulting firm had been selected in an aboveboard manner.
　国会では、この会社の選定が客観的なものだったのかどうかについても疑問が出た。

It has been reported that a person working for the company approached the JOC for a contract to provide consulting services for Tokyo’s bid. Before deciding to hire the company, the JOC sought input from Dentsu Inc., the leading ad agency contracted for the JOC’s marketing and advertising activities. Dentsu reportedly told the JOC that the individual merited receiving the consulting contract.
　会社の人物から売り込みがあったとされるが、契約する際、招致委はＪＯＣのマーケティングなどを請け負っている広告会社の電通に相談した。電通は、契約に値する人物である旨を返答したという。

Dentsu should cooperate with the efforts to investigate the allegations. What were the grounds on which the ad agency judged the person to be worthy of the costly contract? Dentsu should assist in the investigation even if all it can disclose is information about the person’s business track record.
　電通にも疑惑の解明に協力してもらいたい。契約に値する人物と判断できた根拠は何だったのか。業績などが明確になるだけでも参考になる。

The influence of big money has grown over the years, not just in regard to the Olympics, but in the international sports community as a whole. Rumors of various forms of backdoor deals have haunted many powerful international sports organizations.
　五輪に限らず、国際スポーツ界では多額の金銭が動き、多くの権限をもつ国際組織などにしばしば不正のうわさが立つ。

International consultants have been suspected to have played roles in some deals, but little is known about their actual operations.
コンサルタントの関与が疑われることもあるが、その活動の実態はベールに包まれている。

The world sports community has been hit by a string of financial scandals in recent years. FIFA, the world’s soccer governing body, has been engulfed by claims of widespread corruption, while money has emerged as a major factor behind alleged state-sponsored doping by dozens of top Russian athletes.
　国際サッカー連盟の汚職や、ロシアの薬物問題でも金銭にまつわる問題が露呈し、近年のスポーツ界は不祥事続きだ。

The leaders of the Group of Seven major industrial nations are expected to discuss the issue of corruption in sports in their meeting in Mie Prefecture on May 26-27.
　来週の主要７カ国首脳会議（伊勢志摩サミット）では、スポーツにおける腐敗の問題も議題に含まれる。

As the country hosting this year’s G-7 summit, Japan should demonstrate a firm commitment to leading international efforts to eliminate the rot in sporting events and organizations and restore public trust in them.
　議長国として、スポーツ大会や組織運営の浄化と信頼回復に向け、率先して取り組んでいく姿勢を示さなくてはならない。

１億総活躍 具体化への道筋示せ

--The Asahi Shimbun, May 19
EDITORIAL: Abe’s plan to stoke economic growth still lacks vital specifics
（社説）１億総活躍　具体化への道筋示せ
 
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s government has cobbled together a package for its key policy of creating a “society where 100 million people play active roles.”
　安倍政権が看板政策に掲げる「１億総活躍プラン」をまとめた。

The package, announced on May 18, is designed to revive Japan’s economic growth by pumping up consumer spending. The government has pledged to achieve the policy goal by taking steps to heighten the livelihood security of people, mainly in the social security area, so that they will feel safe about spending. This is a recipe for “a virtuous cycle of growth and distribution,” the Abe administration says.
社会保障分野を中心に暮らしの基盤を厚くし、国民の安心感につなげる。それが消費を底上げし、経済成長をもたらす。そんな「成長と分配の好循環」をうたう。

While the package contains a broad array of measures, its focus is on labor and child and nursing care.
　内容は多岐にわたるが、柱は労働分野と育児・介護分野だ。

The goals set for this policy agenda include: realizing the “same pay for same work” principle and a minimum wage of 1,000 yen ($9.20) per hour to improve the fortunes of nonregular workers; cutting long working hours; and raising the wages of child-care and nursing-care workers to ease labor shortages in these sectors.
同一労働同一賃金や、最低賃金として時給１千円をめざし、非正社員の待遇を改善する。長時間労働を是正する。人手不足が深刻な保育や介護の現場で働く人の賃金を引き上げる。そんな目標が並ぶ。

These are all important policy issues the government has been tackling for many years without much success. Clearly, the government should accelerate its efforts to achieve these goals.
But none of them is easy to accomplish, and there is no clear and specific road map to the goals.
　どれも長年の懸案であり、対応を急ぐべきだ。しかし、いずれも実現は容易でなく、具体化への道筋はなお見えない。

With an Upper House election drawing near, the policy package will certainly be criticized as a mere attempt to garner votes if the Abe administration fails to make serious efforts to achieve the ambitious goals it has announced.
　参院選が近い。風呂敷を広げたはよいが、尻すぼみになっていくようなら、選挙目当てとの批判は免れまい。

The initiative will serve as an acid test of Abe’s commitment to the policy goals and ability to deliver on his promises.
問われるのは首相の本気度と実行力だ。

The administration has pledged to revise the related laws to ensure “same pay for same work.” But it needs to first offer a clear definition for what constitutes unreasonable disparities in pay.
　同一労働同一賃金では関連法の改正に踏み込むとしたが、まずは何が不合理な待遇差かを明確にできるか。

The “same pay” principle should not mean that the generally low wages of nonregular workers will become the standard. This creed should lead to a general rise in wage levels.
「同一」の中身も、総じて賃金水準が低い非正社員の方に合わせるのではなく、全体の底上げにつなげねばならない。

Long working hours have been cited as a stumbling block in Japanese people’s efforts to continue working while rearing children or caring for aged parents.
The administration says it will assign a labor ministry council to the task of deciding whether the related regulations should be changed.
　子育てや介護と仕事の両立を阻む要因ともされる長時間労働は、関連する規定を見直すかどうかの検討を厚生労働省の審議会に委ねるという。

But the administration, for its part, should first lay down basic principles for the reform, such as the introduction of ceilings on working hours.
まずは政府として、労働時間の上限規制に踏み込むなど改革の方向性を示すべきではないか。

Increasing the number of day-care centers and nursing-care homes would be meaningless unless they can attract workers.
　保育所や介護施設を増やしても、働く人がいなければ役に立たない。

The government has taken a step in the right direction by deciding on wage hikes for child-care and nursing-care workers in the next fiscal year.
But it has postponed the vital decision on how to finance the step, estimated to cost 200 billion yen, until the year-end season for formulating the budget for fiscal 2017.
保育士や介護職員の賃金を来年度から引き上げるとしたのは前進だが、２千億円ともされる財源の検討は年末の予算編成時に先送りした。

As for the education area, the administration has stopped short of proposing a scholarship program that doesn’t require repayment, an idea that has been attracting much public attention. Again due to financing problems, the administration has only promised to consider the idea.
教育分野では、関心が高い「給付型奨学金」の創設が、やはり財源問題から検討項目にとどまった。

Some policymakers are calling for using the increase in tax revenue from the effects of Abe’s expansionary economic policy, known as Abenomics. But this is far from stable financial resources for vital policy measures.
　「アベノミクス」による税収増を活用するとの声もあるが、安定的な財源と言えるだろうか。

It would also be wrongheaded to cut spending on other important policy programs to secure funds for these measures.
他の分野の予算を無理に削って財源をひねり出すのも本末転倒である。

The government has long promised to expand child-care support as part of its “integrated tax and social security reform.”
　そもそも子育て支援は、「税と社会保障の一体改革」で充実を約束している。

But the initiative will face a fund shortfall of 300 billion yen even if the consumption tax rate is raised to 10 percent as planned. The government has yet to devise a plausible plan to fund measures to carry out its promises, such as increasing child-care workers.
しかし消費税率を１０％にしても財源がなお３千億円足りない状態だ。いまだにめどが立たず、保育士の配置を厚くするなどの施策が置き去りにされている。

The government should raise the consumption tax rate to 10 percent as scheduled as the first step in tackling this challenge. It should also confront the reality that the tax hike will not be enough to secure necessary funds to expand child-care support.
If it is really committed to dealing with this policy challenge in a responsible manner, the government should steadily implement the proposed measures while showing taxpayers a convincing financing plan.
　まずは消費税率を予定通り１０％に上げる。それでも財源が不足する現状を直視し、国民が納得できる確保策を示した上で、一つずつ着実に実行していく。それが責任ある態度である。

台湾政権交代 中国は大人の対応を

--The Asahi Shimbun, May 18
EDITORIAL: China needs to act maturely with new Taiwan administration
（社説）台湾政権交代　中国は大人の対応を
 
As an expression of China’s earnest hope for its unification with Taiwan, the Xi Jinping administration refers to Taiwanese citizens as “compatriots.”
　中国・習近平（シーチンピン）政権は、台湾の人々を「同胞」と呼ぶ。台湾を祖国に統一する宿願を込めているはずだった。

However, the administration is treating them as anything but. Beijing is restricting the traffic of tourists to Taiwan and increasingly staying away from economic and academic conferences held in Taiwan.
　ところがいま、習政権が示す態度は、その言葉とは裏腹だ。台湾への観光客を絞り、経済や学術の会議も見送りがめだつ。

With a change of government coming up in Taiwan on May 20 following the Democratic Progressive Party’s (DPP) landslide election victory over the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT), the Xi administration is putting the squeeze on Taiwan. A Beijing official in charge of China-Taiwan relations recently warned his Taiwanese counterpart to the effect that they could not talk candidly like “real brothers.”
　台湾で２０日、国民党から民進党に政権が交代することに対し、習政権が牽制（けんせい）にでているとみられる。中国の台湾交流責任者は最近、「本当の兄弟のように腹を割って話はできない」と、台湾側に警告めいたことを語った。

Beijing’s overbearing attitude is hardly likely to help build a future-oriented China-Taiwan relationship. The people of Taiwan have voted for a new administration of their choice, and Beijing ought to humbly accept the results.
　こんな強圧的な態度で未来志向の中台関係が築けるとは思えない。台湾の民意が選んだ新政権に、中国政府は謙虚に向き合うべきである。

The KMT was in power for the last eight years. Originally a Chinese political party, the KMT deepened Taiwan’s ties with China in keeping with the “one China” concept.
　台湾では過去８年間、国民党が政権を担った。国民党はもともと中国の政党であり、台湾を含めて「中国は一つ」との認識のもとで対中関係を深めた。

On the other hand, the DPP’s stance is that Taiwan and China are separate sovereign states, even though the party attaches importance to ties with Beijing. But Beijing has been applying all sorts of pressure on the DPP to retract its basic principle.
　だが民進党は、中国との関係を重視してはいるが、「台湾は中国とは別の主権国家」とする立場だ。中国側はかねて、その原則論の撤回を求めて様々な圧力をかけてきた。

There was also a development regarding Taiwan’s planned participation as an observer in this year’s World Health Assembly, which will be held next week in Switzerland.
　スイスで来週開かれる世界保健機関（ＷＨＯ）総会をめぐっても、動きがあった。

Not only did Taiwan receive its invitation late this year, but the invitation also spelled out that it was being sent on the understanding that there is only “one China.” Taipei believes it is being “tested” by China through the WHO.
オブザーバーである台湾への招請状が遅れたうえ、「一つの中国」の原則に沿った招請である旨が明記されていた。台湾側は、ＷＨＯを通じて中国が突きつけた「踏み絵」とみている。

In Kenya, 45 Taiwanese were arrested on suspicion of remittance fraud. But the suspects were extradited to China, not to Taiwan. Taiwanese authorities are objecting vehemently to Beijing, claiming the latter interfered with the Kenyan government in the extradition procedure.
　ケニアでは台湾の振り込め詐欺容疑者ら４５人が捕まったが、先月、台湾でなく中国に「強制送還」された。容疑者引き渡しをめぐりケニア政府への介入があったとして、台湾当局者が中国に強く抗議している。

The Xi administration may well be thinking that letting Taiwan’s new DPP administration go unchecked is tantamount to accepting the split with Taiwan. But China’s high-handedness, which barely conceals its intent to pull rank on Taiwan, will only raise questions in the international community about China’s Taiwan policy.
　習政権としては、民進党政権を黙って見ていては国家分裂を認めたも同然、との考えがあるかもしれない。だが、大国の影響力を見せつけるやり方は、国際社会の中で中国の台湾政策への疑問を強めるだけだろう。

Economic ties have certainly strengthened between China and Taiwan, but the Taiwanese people have become less interested in unification.
　中台間の経済関係は緊密になったが、台湾の人々の意識は、逆に統一志向から離れている。

This is not only because it has been 67 years since the split. In Taiwan’s view, the problem is that China has not abandoned the option of using military force to realize the unification, nor has it shown any real signs of democratization.
分断から６７年経ったせいだけではない。中国が軍事的手段による統一という選択肢を捨てていないことや、中国国内で民主化の気配が見えないことを台湾側は問題視している。

It will be difficult for the Xi administration to win the hearts of the people of Taiwan by simply pressuring them into accepting the “one China” concept.
　「一つの中国」を受け入れろと圧力をかけるだけでは、習政権が台湾の民心を得るのは難しい。

We urge Beijing to quietly watch the start of Taiwan’s democratically elected new administration, and then strive to start new dialogue in earnest. It is this sort of “maturity” that we expect of Beijing.
台湾の人々が選んだ政権のスタートを、まずは静かに見守る。そして真剣に新たな対話を始めることをめざす。中国にそんな大人の対応を望む。

沖縄復帰４４年 道遠い「本土」との平等

--The Asahi Shimbun, May 17
EDITORIAL: Okinawa has yet to gain equality in 44 years since return to Japan
（社説）沖縄復帰４４年　道遠い「本土」との平等
 
May 15 marked the 44th anniversary of Okinawa’s return to Japan following nearly three decades under the control of the U.S. military, which seized the island prefecture in the closing days of World War II.
　戦後、米軍政下におかれた沖縄が日本に復帰して１５日で４４年を迎えた。

But we still have to question whether Okinawa has really been fully integrated into Japan.
だが沖縄は真に「復帰した」と言えるだろうか。

A 42-year-old man from Osaka who took part for the first time in the annual “5.15 Peace March,” which brings together members of labor unions and citizen groups, went to see Camp Schwab the previous day. Camp Schwab is a U.S. Marine Corps base in the Henoko district of Nago, which has been designated as the site of a new military base to replace the U.S. Marine Corps Air Station Futenma currently located in the crowded city of Ginowan in the prefecture.
　労組や市民団体が集まる「５・１５平和行進」に初参加した大阪府の男性（４２）は前日、米軍普天間飛行場の移設先、名護市辺野古の米軍キャンプ・シュワブを訪れた。

While he was on a boat inspecting areas that will be reclaimed for construction of the new base, he was warned against approaching off-limits areas by a patrol boat of the Okinawa Defense Bureau.
船で埋め立て予定地を視察していると、沖縄防衛局の警備船から立ち入り禁止区域に近づかぬよう警告された。

But the patrol boat said nothing to U.S. military personnel paddling canoes nearby. The man felt as if he were in an area that was not part of Japanese territory.
　近くで米軍関係者がカヌーをこいでいたが、彼には何も言わない。「ここは日本じゃないのか」。男性はそう実感した。

In the 1950s, U.S. Marines were stationed in Yamanashi and Gifu prefectures. As public opposition to the presence of U.S. bases on the mainland grew, the Marines were transferred to Okinawa, which was under U.S. administrative control. Camp Schwab is one of the bases built in Okinawa in those days.
　米海兵隊は１９５０年代、山梨や岐阜に駐留していたが、本土の基地反対運動が高まるなかで、米軍政下の沖縄へ移った。キャンプ・シュワブもそのころできた基地の一つだ。

Immediately after its reversion to Japan in 1972, Okinawa Prefecture, which comprises 0.6 percent of the nation’s land mass, was home to 59 percent of U.S. military facilities in Japan. The ratio is now nearly 75 percent.
　復帰直後、全国土面積の０・６％しかない沖縄に、米軍専用施設の５９％が集中していた。だがいま、その割合は７５％近くにまで高まっている。

While U.S. bases on the mainland have diminished sharply over the decades, the U.S. military presence is Okinawa remains heavy.
本土の基地が大幅に減る一方で、沖縄の基地の減り方はそれだけ鈍い。

There have been some positive developments. The U.S. aerial refueling tankers stationed at the Futenma base, for instance, were moved to the U.S. Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni in Yamaguchi Prefecture in 2014.
But no plan to relocate a U.S. base out of Okinawa has been implemented.
　２０１４年に普天間飛行場の空中給油機を米軍岩国基地（山口県）に移駐したなどの実績もあるが、沖縄県外への基地移転計画は近年も頓挫している。

In 2010, the government led by the Democratic Party of Japan floated the idea of moving the Futenma air base to Tokunoshima island in Kagoshima Prefecture. In 2015, the administration of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe proposed to transfer Osprey tilt-rotor aircraft stationed at the Futenma base to Saga airport on a provisional basis.
Both plans, however, were abandoned amid strong opposition from the local communities concerned.
　１０年に民主党政権が打ち出した普天間飛行場の鹿児島県徳之島への移設案、１５年の米軍オスプレイの佐賀空港暫定移駐案と、政府はともに本土の移設・移駐先の反対で断念した。

There have also been signs of inequality between the mainland and Okinawa in the government’s policy responses to issues related to U.S. military bases.
　政府の対応には本土と沖縄で落差もある。

When U.S. forces’ live-fire drills were transferred from Okinawa to five areas on the mainland in 1997, the former Defense Facilities Administration Agency (now the Acquisition, Technology & Logistics Agency) created a program to subsidize the costs of noise insulation work at affected houses.
９７年、米軍の実弾射撃訓練を沖縄から本土の５演習場に移転した際、当時の防衛施設庁が住宅防音工事の補助金制度を新設した。

This program, however, had long remained unknown in Okinawa.
一方、沖縄ではこの制度は長く知られなかった。

The city of Nago, home to Camp Schwab, is now distrustful of the government for failing to apply the program to Okinawa.
キャンプ・シュワブを抱える名護市は今、なぜ沖縄に制度が適用されてこなかったか、政府への不信感を募らせている。

The government has shown no intention to reconsider its plan to relocate the Futenma base to Henoko despite strong opposition among the public in Okinawa.
　普天間飛行場の辺野古移設計画も、反対の民意にもかかわらず、政府に見直す意思はうかがえない。

The reclamation work in Henoko has been suspended since the central and prefectural governments reached a settlement in their court battle over the relocation plan.
A new legal battle will likely erupt between the two sides, however, unless the central government changes its stance toward the issue.
政府と県の裁判は和解が成立し、埋め立て工事はいったん中断しているが、政府が姿勢を変えなければいずれ再び裁判に立ち戻る公算が大きい。

The Abe administration should liberate itself from the rigid idea that the only choices are to either maintain the Futenma base in Ginowan or move it to Henoko. It should start exploring other options, including relocation out of the prefecture.
　政府は「普天間か辺野古か」の思考停止から脱し、県外移設を含む第三の道を探るべきだ。

People in Okinawa have long been yearning to see their island prefecture freed from the heavy burden of hosting so many U.S. military bases. But they see little hope of their wish being answered after more than four decades since Okinawa was reverted to Japan.
　「基地なき沖縄」を切望しながらかなわず、復帰後も重い基地負担にあえぐ沖縄。

For many people in the prefecture, it is difficult to take a first step toward Okinawa’s true integration into Japan because they do not feel they are being treated equally with the rest of the nation by the government.
多くの県民にとって、政府の対応が本土と平等とは思えない現状のままで、真の「復帰」への一歩を踏み出すことはできない。

This is a situation that raises many serious questions also for local governments and people on the mainland.
　本土の自治体、住民も他人事では済まされない。

ビキニ被曝提訴 国の情報開示があまりに遅い

The Yomiuri Shimbun
Govt too late in disclosing radiation data from H-bomb tests at Bikini Atoll
ビキニ被曝提訴　国の情報開示があまりに遅い

Can a recent lawsuit help uncover the damage caused by U.S. hydrogen bomb tests at the Bikini Atoll, which are still surrounded by so many mysteries?
　謎の多い「ビキニ被曝ひばく」の被害の解明につながるだろうか。

The tests were conducted in the Bikini Atoll of the Marshall Islands in the central Pacific in 1954. A group of 45 people — including former crew members of fishing boats that were operating in waters around the test site and members of the families of deceased former fishermen — have filed the suit with the Kochi District Court to seek compensation from the state.
　中部太平洋・マーシャル諸島のビキニ環礁で１９５４年、米国が水爆実験を実施した。その際、周辺で操業していた漁船の元乗組員や遺族ら４５人が、高知地裁に国家賠償請求訴訟を起こした。

There were more than 270 cases in which fishing boats from Kochi Prefecture alone were operating in waters near the site when they were exposed to radiation from the six hydrogen bomb tests conducted from March to May that year. The government conducted surveys of the damage but did not disclose the results.
　５４年３～５月に計６回行われた水爆実験の際、付近の海域で操業中だった高知県の漁船だけで延べ２７０隻以上が被曝した。国は、被災状況を調査しながら、結果を開示しなかった。

The plaintiffs claim that the government’s reluctance to disclose these records deprived them of the opportunity to seek compensation, and are demanding ¥2 million per person.
　これにより、補償を請求する機会が失われた、と原告側は主張し、１人当たり２００万円の慰謝料を求めている。

It is widely known that 23 crew members of the Fukuryu Maru No. 5, a tuna fishing boat from Shizuoka Prefecture, were exposed to radiation through one of the hydrogen bomb tests at the Bikini Atoll. One of the crew died half a year later.
　問題の水爆実験では、静岡県のマグロ漁船「第五福竜丸」の乗組員２３人が被曝し、半年後に１人が死亡した事件が広く知られる。

However, the actual damage to other Japanese fishing boats remains unclear.
だが、それ以外の日本漁船の被災実態は判然としていない。

Regarding the Fukuryu Maru No. 5, the Japanese and U.S. governments reached a political settlement in January 1955, in which the United States agreed to pay $2 million in compensation to Japan, regardless of Washington’s legal responsibility.
　第五福竜丸事件を巡っては、５５年１月、米国が法的責任とは無関係に慰謝料２００万ドルを日本側に支払うことで政治決着した。

Explain convincingly

The plaintiffs accuse the Japanese government of releasing the U.S. government from legal liability through the settlement. However, Japan reached the agreement very soon after regaining independence and the deal certainly reflected a high level of political judgement. There are elements of this settlement that do not allow us to judge it casually.
　原告側は、日本政府が米国の法的責任を免除したと批判する。ただ、日本が独立を回復して間もない時期であり、高度な政治的判断が背景にあったのは、間違いあるまい。政治決着の是非は軽々に判断できない側面があろう。

The problem is that the government did not disclose the records of its investigations for decades. It only made them public in September 2014 following a request for disclosure from a support group for the plaintiffs and other parties concerned. We can only describe the disclosure as too late.
　問題なのは、日本政府が長年、調査資料を明らかにしてこなかったことだ。原告側の支援団体などの情報公開請求に応じ、一昨年９月にようやく開示された。遅すぎたと言わざるを得ない。

The government’s documents, which were used by the plaintiffs as evidence of the harm they suffered, detail the investigations into 556 cases of the radiation exposure of fishing boats and their crew members.
　今回、原告側が被災の根拠とした国の資料には、延べ５５６隻の船体や船員の被曝状況に関する調査結果が記載されている。

It cannot be overlooked that the government had long denied the existence of those documents, most notably when it said these records “cannot be found” in response to a question posed in the Diet in 1986.
　こうした資料の存在を、政府が８６年の国会答弁などで「見つからない」と否定してきたことも看過できない。

Asked why their whereabouts were suddenly known, the government said it discovered them “at a repository following an exhaustive search.”
一転して見つかった経緯については、「徹底的に捜索し、倉庫で見つけた」と釈明した。

The government cannot help but be suspected to have intentionally concealed the documents. It is understandable that former fishermen and bereaved relatives of deceased former crew members feel that way, because they could not even know whether they were exposed to radiation.
　意図的に隠していたと疑われても仕方あるまい。自らの被災の有無さえ知り得なかった元乗組員や遺族の心情は理解できる。

Most of the former crew members who have joined the lawsuit are now over 80 years old, and many of them say their health is deteriorating. More people could claim they were harmed as more details are discovered about radiation exposure from the hydrogen bomb tests.
　原告の元乗組員の多くは８０歳を超えている。体調の悪化を訴える人も多い。実態が明らかになるにつれ、被害を訴える人がさらに増えることも予想される。

According to the government’s documents, the doses of radiation experienced by former crew members and others from the hydrogen bomb tests were much lower than the permissible level set for accidents by the International Commission on Radiological Protection. Even so, the government has a responsibility to provide convincing explanations.
　国の資料によると、元乗組員らの被曝線量は、国際放射線防護委員会が、事故時に許容されるとしているレベルを大幅に下回るという。そうであっても、国は納得のいく説明を尽くす責任がある。

(From The Yomiuri Shimbun, May 15, 2016)

香山リカのココロの万華鏡 : ふつうってすばらしい ／東京

May 8, 2016 (Mainichi Japan)
Kaleidoscope of the Heart: Normal is wonderful
香山リカのココロの万華鏡 : ふつうってすばらしい　／東京

Among the people who come to see me at my office, sometimes there are those who complain that their daily lives are too uneventful and boring. Of course, they come for some other reason, like insomnia or irritation, but the cause of those symptoms seems to be in their "uneventful" lives.
　診察室にやってくる人の中に、たまに「毎日が平凡すぎてつまらない」という人がいる。もちろん、「眠れない」「イライラする」といった問題があって受診するわけだが、どうもその原因が「あまりにありふれた日常」にあるようなのだ。

Once, a woman who was approaching her 50th birthday had this problem.
いつだったか、「今年５０歳」という女性が診察室でこう語った。

She told me, "Both my children are adults, and my husband is hard-working, but our conversations lack a little in excitement. After five years he will retire, but he apparently has no plans for after that. When I think that maybe my life is going to end like this, I feel suffocated. Every day is just a repeat."
　「子どももふたりとも社会人になりました。夫はまじめですが、いまひとつ会話が弾まなくて。あと５年で定年なのですが、それからのプランもないようです。自分の人生、このまま終わっていくのかと思うと息がつまりそう。毎日が同じことの繰り返しです」

I suggested she find hobbies or volunteer, but she turned those down, sighing and saying there wasn't anything in particular she wanted to do. To other people it would hardly look like the woman had something to complain about, but she was serious.
　趣味やボランティアをやってみたら、と勧めたが、「とくにやりたいこともなくて」とため息をつくばかりであった。まわりから見るとややぜいたくな悩みなのだが、本人は真剣なのだ。

This "every day is the same" complaint, though, can easily disappear. People who were affected by the recent Kumamoto Earthquake are saying on social networking services how they wish they could return to "a normal life." I have seen an online comment that said, "I'm not asking for something special. I just want to wake up in my house, go to work, come home, eat and sleep. While living at an evacuation shelter that kind of lifestyle seems like a dream."
　しかし、この「毎日が平凡すぎる」という悩みも、ちょっとしたことで消えてしまう。熊本地震で被災した方々が、ＳＮＳ（ソーシャル・ネットワーキング・サービス）などで口々に「ふつうの生活に戻りたい」と言っている。「特別なことを望んでいるのではない。ふつうに家で起きて、仕事に行って、帰ってきて食事をして寝る。避難所にいるとそんな生活が夢のように思える」といった発言をネットで目にしたこともある。

If the people writing things like that saw the complaint of the woman who came to see me, they would probably want to say to her, "What are you talking about? There is nothing as wonderful as regular everyday living."
もし、その人たちが先ほどの「毎日が平凡すぎる」という悩みを聞いたら、「なんてことを言うの。ありふれた日常ほどすばらしいものはない」と言いたくなるだろう。

However, people are troubled creatures, and while in times of disaster they may think "I would be thankful for a regular everyday life," once their situation settles back down, they quickly start wanting this and that again.
　ただ、人間とはやっかいなもので、災害などのときには「ふつうがありがたい」と思っても、状況が安定すれば、またすぐに「あれがほしい、こうしたい」と欲深くなってしまう。

Of course, it can be said that it is because people strive so much that our society has come this far, but the problem is that we feel dissatisfied when our wants aren't met. The woman who complained that everyday life was boring thought that a life full of change was more valuable than what she had. Dissatisfied with her life, she was stressed.
　もちろん、人間に欲があるから私たちの社会はここまで発展したとも言えるのだが、問題なのはそれがかなわなければ不満を抱いてしまうことだ。「平凡はつまらない」と思った女性も、毎日が目まぐるしく変化する生活こそ価値があると思い、そうでない生活に不満を抱いてストレスから体調を崩したのだ。

I hope that, even if people desire more, they will be able to convince themselves that the regular life is wonderful and that there is satisfaction to be found there. This is obvious, but we are quick to forget it.
　変化を求め、もっと豊かになりたいと願ったとしても、一方で「ふつうってすばらしい」「ありふれた日常の中に満足がある」と自分で納得し、それぞれがいまの生活を大切にしたい。これこそあまりに“あたりまえ”のことなのだが、私たちはすぐにそれを忘れてしまう。

(By Rika Kayama, psychiatrist)
（精神科医）

米大統領・広島へ ／下 被爆者、訪問の意義評価 謝罪なき「和解」に懸念も

May 14, 2016 (Mainichi Japan)
Hibakusha praise Obama Hiroshima visit, but fear history will go unquestioned
米大統領・広島へ ／下　被爆者、訪問の意義評価　謝罪なき「和解」に懸念も

It was fall of 2009, about six months after U.S. President Barack Obama made his historic speech about seeking a world without nuclear weapons, that U.S. Ambassador John Roos, who had just been posted to Japan, visited Hiroshima with his family. The purpose of the visit was to meet with then Hiroshima Mayor Tadatoshi Akiba, to sound out a possible visit to the city by President Obama.
　オバマ米大統領がチェコの首都プラハで「核兵器なき世界」を提唱して半年後の２００９年秋。就任したばかりのルース米駐日大使が家族と広島を訪れた。オバマ氏の広島訪問を視野に、当時の秋葉忠利・広島市長に会うためだった。

"We want President Obama to come to Hiroshima," Akiba told Roos over lunch. "We are not seeking an apology. We will welcome him." On Aug. 6 the following year, Roos attended the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Ceremony, marking the first such visit by a serving U.S. ambassador. There were no strong objections to the visit from American politicians or the American public.
　昼食を取りながら、秋葉氏は「オバマ大統領に広島に来てほしい。広島は謝罪を求めていないし、歓迎するだろう」と語った。翌年８月６日、ルース氏は広島の平和記念式典に米大使として初めて参列した。米側で大きな反発はなかった。

The Japanese government has since sent out the message that it would not demand an apology if Obama were to visit Hiroshima, and both the governor of Hiroshima Prefecture and the mayor of the city of Hiroshima have told press conferences that they are not intent on getting one.
　オバマ氏の広島訪問にあたり、日本政府は「謝罪は求めない」とメッセージを送り、広島県知事や広島市長も「こだわらない」と記者会見で表明した。

Has the White House's announcement that Obama will make a visit to Hiroshima later this month resolved the bad blood felt by those who lost their families to the A-bomb and continue to suffer the effects of the bombing?
　では、家族を失い病気で苦しむ被爆者の怒りや憎しみは消えたのか。

Sunao Tsuboi, 91, co-chairman of Hiroshima Hidankyo, a confederation of groups of Hiroshima A-bomb survivors, admits that deep down, he still feels enmity toward the U.S. However, he adds, "I've started to realize that we must use the power of reason to overcome such loathing."
広島県被団協の坪井直理事長（９１）は「米国を憎む気持ちは腹にある」と認めたうえで、「理性の力で憎しみを乗り越えないといけないと思うようになった」と話す。

According to Kazumi Mizumoto, deputy chief of Hiroshima City University's Hiroshima Peace Institute, anger toward the atomic bombings was more visible 10 to 20 years ago compared to today. When the 9.11 terrorist attacks took place in the U.S. in 2001, one hibakusha -- or A-bomb survivor -- told a newspaper reporter, "I shouldn't say this, but I feel as though I've had a weight taken off my chest." Mizumoto says there were other hibakusha who felt the same way.
　広島市立大広島平和研究所の水本和実副所長によると、１０〜２０年前までは今よりも怒りが前面に出ていたという。０１年９月１１日の米同時多発テロの際、ある被爆者は新聞の取材に「言うべきことではないが、胸のつかえが取れたのも事実」などと答えた。水本氏は「同じように感じた被爆者は他にもいた」と話す。

Meanwhile, an 85-year-old hibakusha who lost family members and friends to the A-bomb has a different take.
　原爆で家族や友人を失った被爆者の男性（８５）は言う。

"Until Obama's visit was announced, I wanted an apology. I would be lying if I said I didn't feel anger toward the U.S., but I've come to think that the very fact that he is coming to Japan amid widespread public opinion (in the U.S.) that the atomic bombing was justifiable, already implies an apology," he said.
「訪問決定までは謝罪を求める気持ちがあった。憎しみがないと言えばうそになるが、原爆投下を正当化する世論が強い中で、広島に来ること自体が謝罪の意味を含んでいるのではないかと思うようになった」

Japan took to the stand when the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in The Hague, Netherlands, held an inquiry in November 1995 on the legality of the threat or use of nuclear weapons. Then Hiroshima Mayor Takashi Hiraoka and then Nagasaki Mayor Itcho Ito declared that nuclear weapons were inhumane weapons of mass destruction that killed indiscriminately, and that their use violated international law.
　１９９５年１１月、核兵器使用の違法性を審理するオランダ・ハーグの国際司法裁判所で、日本側が意見陳述した。当時の平岡敬・広島市長と伊藤一長・長崎市長は「核兵器は無差別、大量殺りくの非人道的な兵器で、使用は国際法違反」と断じた。

However, a Japanese senior Foreign Ministry official who made a statement just before the two mayors did not address the legality of the use of such weapons, and said that anything that was subsequently expressed by the two mayors that were not factual were not necessarily views held by the Japanese government.
しかし、２人の直前に陳述した外務省幹部は違法性に触れず、「（両市長の証言で）事実以外の発言があれば必ずしも政府見解ではない」と結んだ。

Hiroshi Harada, 76, a Hiroshima A-bomb survivor who was the director of the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum at the time of the ICJ hearings, said that efforts were made to coordinate testimony with the Foreign Ministry prior to the hearings.
"I stood my ground that as a city that experienced the atomic bombing, we should declare that the use of nuclear weapons was illegal, even if the government avoided saying so," he recalled.
　広島で被爆し、当時の原爆資料館長だった原田浩さん（７６）は、意見陳述を前に外務省側と調整した。「国が言わなくても、被爆地として核兵器の違法性を主張すべきだと折れなかった」と振り返る。

In the years since then, Japan has failed to be a leader in discussions within the international community on the elimination of nuclear weapons. The paradox lies in the fact that at the same time Japan has advocated for the complete abolition of nuclear weapons, it has been protected by the U.S. "nuclear umbrella," relying on its deterrent power against North Korean nuclear armament and other threats.
　これ以降も、日本が唯一の戦争被爆国として国際社会の核兵器廃絶の議論を主導してきたとは言い難いのが実情だ。そこには、核兵器廃絶を目指す理想を掲げながらも、米国の「核の傘」に守られ、北朝鮮の核兵器などに対する抑止力に頼る現実を優先せざるを得ないという事情がある。

At the U.N. General Assembly in December 2015, a Japanese-government-sponsored resolution encouraging world leaders and youth to visit the A-bombed cities was formally adopted. The Japanese government also, however, abstained from voting on a "humanitarian pledge" resolution that would strengthen legal frameworks for the prohibition and elimination of nuclear weapons, which passed with 139 votes. The abstention was a decision made out of consideration for the U.S., which opposed the resolution.
　日本政府は昨年１２月の国連総会に、各国の指導者や若者らに被爆地訪問を促す内容の決議を提出し、採択された。一方で、核廃絶への法的枠組みの強化を求める「人道の誓約」決議が１３９カ国の賛成多数で可決されるなか、日本は棄権した。この決議に反対する米国に配慮した判断だった。

The Japanese government has repeatedly claimed that it wants to serve as a bridge between nuclear and non-nuclear states. However, its inconsistent behavior on the international stage has generated a sense of distrust toward it from both sides.
　政府は、唯一の戦争被爆国として核保有国と非核保有国の「橋渡し役」を目指すと主張してきた。しかし、国際舞台でのちぐはぐな対応ぶりにより、双方から時に不信感を抱かれてきたというのも事実だ。

Former Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum director Harada is concerned by the emphasis on forging a "forward-looking" relationship between Japan and the U.S.
"I fear that the shaking of hands by President Obama and Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in front of the cenotaph for A-bomb victims in Hiroshima will be made into a symbol of reconciliation that ignores historical accountability," Harada said. "As long as people continue to justify the atomic bombings, the complete elimination of nuclear weapons will not become a reality."
　「未来志向」が強調されていることについても、原田さんは「オバマ大統領と安倍晋三首相が原爆慰霊碑の前で握手し、過去を問わない和解の象徴にされそうで怖い。原爆投下を正当化する限り、核兵器廃絶は実現しない」と訴える。

Seventy-one years have passed since the U.S. atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, and a visit to Hiroshima by a sitting U.S. president is finally about to take place. The big question is whether or not the visit will spur bridge-building between the A-bombed cities and the Japanese government, as well as between nuclear and non-nuclear states.
　原爆投下から７１年。ようやく実現する米大統領の広島初訪問は、被爆地と政府、核保有国と非核保有国との間に横たわる深い溝を埋めるきっかけとなるのかが問われている。

毎日新聞2016年5月14日　東京朝刊

沖ノ鳥島ＥＥＺ 海洋権益の保護強化に努めよ

The Yomiuri Shimbun
Take all possible steps to protect marine resources of Japan’s EEZ
沖ノ鳥島ＥＥＺ　海洋権益の保護強化に努めよ

Japan, as a maritime nation, faces the crucial challenge of how effectively to protect its interests in its vast exclusive economic zone. The government must make all-out efforts to come up with concrete steps to protect the zone.
　広大な排他的経済水域（ＥＥＺ）の権益をいかに効果的に守るかは、海洋国家である日本が直面する重要課題だ。政府は具体的な保護策に万全を期さねばならない。

Taiwan authorities have protested the seizure in late April of a Taiwan fishing boat by the Japan Coast Guard in the Japanese EEZ around Okinotorishima, the southernmost islands of Japan, and have sent three vessels, including patrol ships, to the area near the islets, which are part of the village of Ogasawara, Tokyo. The vessels are likely to remain inside the EEZ, for the time being, under the pretext of protecting Taiwan’s fishing boats.
　日本最南端の沖ノ鳥島（東京都小笠原村）のＥＥＺで４月下旬、海上保安庁に台湾漁船が拿捕だほされたことについて、台湾当局が抗議し、巡視船など３隻を派遣している。漁船保護を名目に、当面、ＥＥＺにとどまるという。

Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida protested the dispatch of patrol ships, saying, “It’s extremely regrettable that Taiwan sent patrol ships into the Japanese EEZ despite our request that they remain outside.” It was quite natural for Kishida to call on Taipei to have the ships leave the EEZ.
　岸田外相が、台湾の巡視船について、日本の「申し入れにかかわらず入域させたことは極めて遺憾だ」と述べ、台湾側に出域させるよう求めたのは当然である。

Japan’s combined area of territorial waters and EEZ is the sixth largest in the world. Okinotorishima has an EEZ of about 400,000 square meters, which is slightly larger than Japan’s land area, and is blessed with abundant fishery and seabed resources. These are very important marine interests.
　日本の領海とＥＥＺの合計面積は世界６位だ。中でも沖ノ鳥島は、日本の国土面積をやや上回る約４０万平方キロのＥＥＺを有し、豊かな水産・海底資源をもたらす。非常に大切な海洋権益である。

Japan takes this stand: “Okinotorishima has been recognized as isles under the U.N. Convention on the Law of the Sea. Thus, an EEZ exists around them.” Japan has contended that two of the Okinotorishima islets remain above sea level even at high tide and therefore are not “rocks” around which an EEZ cannot be set.
　日本は「国連海洋法条約上、沖ノ鳥島は島としての地位が確立している。ＥＥＺは存在する」との立場だ。沖ノ鳥島の二つの小島は満潮時も海面に出ていることなどから、ＥＥＺを設定できない「岩」ではないとしている。

Sudden change of stance

In the wake of the JCG’s seizure of the Taiwan fishing boat, the Taiwan administration of President Ma Ying-jeou suddenly began to claim that the Okinotorishima islets are nothing but “rocks.” We cannot accept this one-sided view.
　だが、漁船の拿捕を受けて、台湾の馬英九政権は突然、沖ノ鳥島は「岩」だと唱え始めた。こうした一方的見解は容認できない。

Since around 2004, China has asserted that the Okinotorishima islets are “rocks.” So has South Korea. Taiwan, on the other hand, had not clarified its position on the matter.
　中国が２００４年頃から、「岩」だと主張し、韓国も同調しているが、台湾は曖昧にしてきた。

Taiwan's abrupt move to change its position ahead of a change of administration on May 20 is questionable. We suspect that Ma is seeking to maintain his influence after leaving office by inciting Taiwan’s public opinion on the matter.
　今月２０日の政権交代を前に、馬政権が態度を一変させたのは、疑問だ。台湾の世論を煽あおり、退任後も影響力を保ちたいという馬総統の思惑があるのではないか。

Japan must try to resolve the issue by holding talks with Taiwan’s incoming administration led by Tsai Ing-wen of the Democratic Progressive Party, which attaches importance to relations with Tokyo.
　日本は、対日重視方針を示している民進党の新政権と対話し、事態の収拾を図らねばならない。

From the viewpoint of China, the Okinotorishima islets are located at a median point between what it calls the first island chain ranging from Japan’s Nansei Islands to the Philippines and the second island chain extending from the Ogasawara Islands to Guam. The Chinese Navy is trying in full scale to expand its maritime activities into the western Pacific. This has elevated Okinotorishima’s geopolitical value.
　沖ノ鳥島は、中国から見れば、南西諸島からフィリピンを結ぶ第１列島線と、小笠原諸島からグアムを結ぶ第２列島線の中間に位置する。中国は海軍の西太平洋への本格的な遠洋展開をにらんでおり、地政学的にも価値が高い。

The Japanese government has installed concrete revetments for Okinotorishima to prevent erosion from ocean waves and storms. It should increase its efforts, such as building port facilities, to further safeguard the islets.
　日本政府は、波浪や風雨による沖ノ鳥島の浸食を防ぐため、コンクリート製の護岸を設けている。さらに港湾施設などを整備し、島を確実に保全すべきだ。

This will lead to the effective administration of Okinotorishima’s EEZ and serve as a check on China’s expansionist maritime advances.
　沖ノ鳥島のＥＥＺの有効管理が可能となり、中国の膨張主義的な海洋進出への牽制けんせいにつながる。

Taking advantage of the characteristics of remote islets, Okinotorishima should be used as bases for weather observation, marine research and other purposes. This would help buttress their legal status. Government ministries and agencies concerned must join hands and work out measures from a strategic standpoint.
　離島の特性を生かし、気象観測や海洋生物の調査などの拠点としても活用したい。沖ノ鳥島の法的地位の補強になろう。関係省庁が連携し、戦略的に取り組むことが欠かせない。

(From The Yomiuri Shimbun, May 13, 2016)

パナマ文書公表 租税回避地の利用実態解明を

The Yomiuri Shimbun
Panama Papers underscore need for greater scrutiny of tax havens
パナマ文書公表　租税回避地の利用実態解明を

The publication of the Panama Papers can be used as a clue to clarifying the real situation regarding secretive tax havens.
　ベールに包まれているタックスヘイブン（租税回避地）の実態を解明する手がかりとなろう。

The International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) has made public the names of more than 210,000 corporations using tax havens in various parts of the world, along with the names of related individuals. The electronic data was leaked from a law firm in Panama, and was arranged to be listed according to country.
　国際調査報道ジャーナリスト連合（ＩＣＩＪ）が、各地のタックスヘイブンに設立された２１万余の法人と関連の個人名を公表した。パナマの法律事務所から流出した電子データを国別に整理したものだ。

In April, the ICIJ made it clear in the Panama Papers that political leaders from around the world, as well as their relatives, were using tax havens. This time, it proved that companies and wealthy people were widely making use of tax havens.
　ＩＣＩＪは先月、各国首脳や、その親族がタックスヘイブンに関わっていた実態を「パナマ文書」として明らかにした。今回、企業や富裕層などが幅広く利用していたことも裏付けられた。

It is vital to use the disclosure of the lists as a stepping stone to strengthen international cooperation to prevent tax evasion.
　リストの公表を、課税逃れに対する国際的な包囲網の強化につなげることが肝要だ。

With regard to Japan, the list contains the names of about 20 corporations, including general trading companies and telecommunications operators, and about 230 individuals, including the founders of major firms. In many cases, these individuals were listed as shareholders or board members of companies established in tax havens.
　日本関連では、総合商社や通信事業会社など約２０社や、大手企業の創業者ら約２３０人の名前が含まれている。タックスヘイブンに設立した法人の株主や役員として記載されたケースが目立つ。

A number of companies denied that they were trying to avoid paying taxes. Some repelled the publication of their names was regrettable, as they could lose social credibility.
　複数の企業は、「租税回避の目的はない」と説明する。名前が公表されたことについて、「社会的信用が落ちる恐れがあり、心外だ」と反発するところもある。

Indeed, use of a tax haven is not illegal per se.
　確かに、タックスヘイブンを使うこと自体は、違法ではない。

However, it is a fact that many companies and individuals are trying to reduce their taxes by taking advantage of the nature of tax havens — extremely low tax rates and high anonymity.
　だが、税率が著しく低く、匿名性が高いという特徴を利用して、節税を図る企業や個人が後を絶たないのも事実だ。

International cooperation vital

Even though using tax havens is lawful, public confidence over tax impartiality would be seriously affected if there are loopholes that major companies and affluent people can easily use. Since the publication of the Panama Papers, a more discerning eye has been turned toward tax havens.
　たとえ合法でも、大企業や富裕層にとって使いやすい抜け穴があれば、税の公平性に対する国民の信頼は揺らぐ。パナマ文書により、タックスヘイブンに注がれる視線は厳しさを増している。

Transferring funds to the bank account of a dummy company to intentionally conceal profits could amount to constitute tax evasion. It is reasonable for Finance Minister Taro Aso to say that if there are problematic transactions, the nation’s tax authorities would carry out a tax investigation.
　ペーパーカンパニーの口座に資金を移し、意図的に所得を隠した場合には、脱税に問われる。麻生財務相が「問題がある取引があれば、税務調査を行う」と述べたのは当然である。

The tax authorities should minutely determine how tax havens are really used. They also must keep an eye out for criminal proceeds and money laundering.
　国税当局は、利用実態を徹底的に解明すべきだ。犯罪収益の隠匿や資金洗浄についても、目を光らせねばならない。

It is difficult for a single country to cope with tax evasion beyond its national borders.
　国境を越えた税逃れに一国で対処するのは難しい。

Japan has concluded treaties and agreements with about 100 countries and regions to exchange information on accounts. It is important to make these pacts function effectively and to bring wrongdoing to light.
　日本は１００近い国や地域と、口座情報を交換する条約や協定を結んでいる。有効に機能させ、不正を洗い出すことが大切だ。

Last year, the Group of 20 major economies and the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development compiled international rules designed to prevent tax evasion via dubious transactions that are far from reality.
　主要２０か国・地域（Ｇ２０）と経済協力開発機構（ＯＥＣＤ）は昨年、実態とかけ離れた取引を名目にした課税逃れを防ぐ国際課税ルールを策定した。

At the Ise-Shima summit meeting of the Group of Seven major powers this month, taxation measures are a major item on the agenda. We hope the summit will strengthen international cooperation to that end.
　今月の主要国首脳会議（伊勢志摩サミット）でも、課税対策は重要な議題になる。国際的な連携を強化する場としたい。

(From The Yomiuri Shimbun, May 11, 2016)

北朝鮮新体制 時代錯誤の偶像化では続かぬ

The Yomiuri Shimbun
North Korea cannot maintain regime with anachronistic idolatry of leader
北朝鮮新体制　時代錯誤の偶像化では続かぬ

The North Korean leader has made it clear that he will reign over the country with an anachronistic approach — setting himself up as an icon and maintaining his unifying power through fear of a purge.
　指導者が自らを偶像化し、粛清の恐怖で求心力を保つ。そんな時代錯誤の統治を進める意思が鮮明になった。

The ruling Workers’ Party of Korea has ended its first congress in 36 years following the decision to bestow a newly created title on the first secretary, Kim Jong Un, of “party chairman.” The chairman thus unveiled his political intention to shift his power base from the military to the party.
　３６年ぶりに開かれていた北朝鮮の朝鮮労働党大会は、金正恩第１書記が新設の「党委員長」に就任することを決め、閉幕した。金委員長は、軍から党に軸足を移す政治姿勢を打ち出した。

The change in Kim’s title is aimed at not only showing North Koreans the start of a new era, but also making them realize that the leader will follow in the dictatorial footsteps of his grandfather Kim Il Sung, who served as the chairman of the party’s Central Committee.
　肩書の変更には、新時代の到来とともに、「党中央委員長」だった祖父である金日成主席の専制政治を踏襲することを国民に印象付ける狙いがある。

For personnel affairs, the party gave important positions to Kim Jong Un’s close aides, including Hwang Pyong So, director of the General Political Bureau of the North Korean People’s Army, and Choe Ryong Hae, secretary of the party, both of whom were named to the Politburo, the country’s top leadership.
　党人事では、黄炳瑞軍総政治局長、崔竜海党書記を最高幹部の政治局常務委員に配するなど、側近を重用した。

An aging Kim Yong Nam, head of the presidium of the Supreme People’s Assembly, was kept as a standing committee member. These personnel appointments indicated the party preferred to avoid a generation shift that could destabilize the regime.
高齢の金永南最高人民会議常任委員長を常務委員にとどめた。体制が不安定になるような世代交代は避けたのだろう。

In his speech on the achievements of the party during the congress, Kim Jong Un mentioned the so-called byongjin policy of pursuing the parallel goals of building up the economy and developing nuclear weapons, declaring that the party will “maintain this permanently and strengthen nuclear weapons programs.” This cannot be overlooked.
　看過できないのは、党大会で行った事業総括報告で、核開発と経済建設の「並進路線」について、「恒久的に堅持し、核武力を強化する」と宣言したことだ。

This policy was included in the party’s platform. The young leader also announced a policy for improving the investment environment. Does this, however, not contradict his pursuit of nuclear weapons development?
　この路線は党規約に盛り込まれた。投資環境の整備も政策に掲げたが、核開発と矛盾はないか。

Dictatorial approach

The international community has not recognized North Korea’s attempt to make possessing nuclear weapons a fait accompli. It is important for the rest of the world to strictly implement sanctions to urge Pyongyang to abandon its nuclear development.
　国際社会は、北朝鮮の核保有の既成事実化を許してはいない。北朝鮮に核放棄を迫る制裁を厳格に履行することが肝要である。

Kim also described North Korea as a “responsible nuclear state,” emphasizing that his country “will sincerely work to realize the denuclearization of the world.” It is ridiculous for him to promise his country’s “efforts” even though it has repeatedly ignored international agreements and resolutions from the U.N. Security Council.
　金委員長は、北朝鮮が「責任ある核保有国」として「世界の非核化に努力する」とも強調した。国際合意や国連安全保障理事会の決議を幾度も無視しておきながら、「努力」とはおこがましい。

Kim urged the United States to convert the Korean War armistice into a peace accord. While militarily confronting South Korea, Kim also called for talks to be held between the militaries of the neighbors to improve relations. There is no way Washington or Seoul would take the proposals seriously.
　米国には、朝鮮戦争の休戦協定を平和協定に転換させるよう求めた。軍事的に対峙たいじする韓国に対しても、関係改善が必要だとして、軍当局間の協議を呼びかけた。米韓が相手にするはずがない。

The congress was also made to serve as an opportunity for Kim to promote his cult of personality.
　党大会は、金委員長への個人崇拝を進める機会ともなった。

TV coverage showed senior party members hailing the young leader’s achievements, in addition to a massive parade to celebrate him.
　党幹部が業績をたたえる場面がテレビ放映され、大規模な祝賀パレードが行われた。

The party’s paper described Kim as “the great sun of the 21st century,” based on the figurative expression used to compare his grandfather to the sun.
党機関紙は、金主席の「太陽」という喩たとえを踏まえ、金委員長を「２１世紀の偉大な太陽」と形容した。

The young Kim failed to present any concrete measures to improve the economy, which is a pressing issue for North Koreans. He announced a five-year strategy to boost the economy by 2020, yet only listed issues such as “solving electricity problems.”
　金委員長は、国民にとって切実な経済分野で、具体策を示せなかった。２０２０年までの「国家経済発展５か年戦略」を発表したが、「電力問題の解決」などと課題を列挙したに過ぎない。

Kim has established his power base by executing or purging many party executives, most notably his uncle Jang Sung Taek, vice chairman of the National Defense Commission. During the congress, the leader announced the party will maintain efforts to “fight corruption,” issuing an apparent warning that he will show no mercy to anyone who challenges his authority.
　金委員長は、叔父の張成沢国防委員会副委員長ら幹部を次々に処刑・粛清し、権力基盤を確立してきた。党大会で「腐敗との闘争」の継続を表明したのは、自らの権威に盾突く者は容赦しない、という警告だろう。

(From The Yomiuri Shimbun, May 11, 2016)

Obama to visit Hiroshima on May 27 as 1st sitting U.S. head of state

May 10, 2016 (Mainichi Japan)
Obama to visit Hiroshima on May 27 as 1st sitting U.S. head of state

TOKYO (Kyodo) -- U.S. President Barack Obama will make the first visit to Hiroshima by a sitting U.S. head of state on May 27 to renew his resolve to seek a world free of nuclear weapons, both governments said Tuesday.

Officials from the Japanese and U.S. governments said the purpose of Obama's planned trip to the atomic-bombed city will be to promote a future-oriented stance on nuclear disarmament rather than for the U.S. leader to apologize for the nuclear attacks 71 years ago.

The U.S. president's visit to Hiroshima with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe will "highlight (Obama's) continued commitment to pursuing the peace and security of a world without nuclear weapons," the White House said in a statement.

Abe said he welcomes the U.S. president's visit to the Japanese city devastated by a 1945 U.S. atomic bomb in the final days of World War II "from the bottom of my heart" as a big step toward realizing a world free of nuclear weapons.

"I believe that President Obama making a trip to Hiroshima, seeing the reality of the consequences of atomic bombings and expressing his feeling to the world, will be a big force toward a world without nuclear weapons," Abe told reporters.

One of Obama's close aides, Deputy National Security Adviser Ben Rhodes, said the president is unlikely to comment during his visit to Hiroshima on whether the atomic bombings of Japan are justifiable.

Josh Earnest, White House press secretary, dismissed the view that Obama's visit to the city could be tantamount to an apology for the nuclear attacks.

"If people do interpret it that way, they'll be interpreting it wrongly, so I don't think that there's much risk in that," Earnest told reporters.

Survivors of the U.S. atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki and local government officials generally welcomed the announcement but some said he should have visited the atom-bombed city earlier, rather than in the final stage of his eight-year tenure. Obama leaves office in January 2017.

Obama will make the trip on the day a two-day Group of Seven summit in Japan ends.

The U.S. media have reported Obama could give a speech similar to his 2009 Prague address calling for a world without nuclear weapons if he visits Hiroshima.

Obama will visit the Peace Memorial Park near ground zero, where the arch-shaped cenotaph is located, Earnest said. A Japanese government source said the president may visit the Peace Memorial Museum, which displays artifacts of atomic bomb victims and survivors, such as a charred tricycle.

It is not yet decided whether Obama will meet with some atomic bomb survivors in Hiroshima, Earnest said.

In mid-April, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry visited memorial locations in Hiroshima such as the museum and the Atomic Bomb Dome, skeletal remains of the only major building partially left standing after the explosion. He did so on the sidelines of a G-7 foreign ministers' meeting in the city last month.

Obama, who took office in January 2009, was awarded that year's Nobel Peace Prize for his stated intention to seek a world without nuclear weapons, a commitment he made in the high-profile speech in Prague three months after inauguration.

A visit by a serving president to Hiroshima is expected to stir controversy in the United States due to concerns it could be construed as tantamount to an apology for the attacks.

There is widespread belief that the atomic bombings were necessary to make Japan surrender earlier than it would otherwise have done and save the lives of many U.S. soldiers as a result.

During his first trip to Japan as president in 2009, Obama told a press conference in Tokyo that he would be "honored" to have the opportunity to visit the cities.

The United States dropped an atomic bomb on Hiroshima on Aug. 6, 1945 and another on Nagasaki on Aug. 9. Japan surrendered on Aug. 15, bringing the war to an end.

The number of people -- most of them civilians -- who had died by the end of 1945 from the bombings is estimated at 140,000 in Hiroshima and 74,000 in Nagasaki, according to the cities.

The highest-ranking U.S. official so far to have visited Hiroshima is Nancy Pelosi, who did so in 2008 as speaker of the House of Representatives. The House chief stands behind only the vice president in the line of succession to the U.S. presidency.

In 1984, Jimmy Carter, as a former American president, visited the Peace Memorial Museum in Hiroshima.

Obama has sent U.S. ambassadors John Roos and Caroline Kennedy to the annual peace ceremonies in the atomic-bombed cities since 2010. Rose Gottemoeller, undersecretary of state for arms control and international security, also attended the ceremony in Hiroshima last year.

南シナ海緊張 無法極まる中国の軍事拠点化

The Yomiuri Shimbun
China’s military base-building in South China Sea totally unlawful
南シナ海緊張　無法極まる中国の軍事拠点化

China’s lawless conduct in the South China Sea, which continues to heighten regional tensions, is hard to ignore. It is indispensable for the United States, Japan and other nations concerned to persistently point out the illegitimacy of China’s conduct to the international community.
　南シナ海の緊張を高め続ける中国の無法ぶりが目に余る。米国や日本など関係国は、不当さを国際社会に粘り強く訴えることが欠かせない。

China recently had a military aircraft landing and taking off from a runway on an artificial island it built through land reclamation of the Spratly Islands in the South China Sea. Beijing claimed that, with the aim of transporting construction workers who had suddenly been taken ill on the island, it had dispatched a maritime patrol aircraft on missions over the South China Sea.
　中国が最近、南シナ海のスプラトリー（南沙）諸島に造成した人工島の滑走路で、軍用機を離着陸させた。急病の建設作業員を搬送するため、南シナ海を巡視中の海上パトロール用の航空機を派遣したと主張している。

The incident came after China said it had conducted an operational test of the runway in January, using what it called “civilian aircraft.” This is the first case in which China’s use of military aircraft on the island has been made public.
　今年１月には、「民間機」を使って滑走路の運用テストを行ったと公表していたが、軍用機の利用が公になったのは初めてだ。

The top Chinese general has inspected the facilities built on some islands in the Spratly chain. Although China did not state the locations covered by his inspection, the general is believed to have visited man-made islands. Media in Vietnam, which has a territorial dispute with China, have reported on a huge radar facility constructed on one of China’s artificial islands, and accompanied its report with a photo of the equipment.
　中国軍の制服組トップは、スプラトリー諸島の施設の建設状況を視察した。場所は明示していないものの、人工島とみられる。中国と領有権を争うベトナムのメディアは、人工島の巨大なレーダー施設を写真付きで報じた。

The administration of Chinese President Xi Jinping is escalating its deceitful conduct, as illustrated by accelerated efforts to turn its artificial islands in the South China Sea into military bases, while making a far-fetched argument that its behavior does not constitute militarization.
　「軍事化には当たらない」と強弁しながら、南シナ海で軍事拠点化を加速させる習近平政権の欺瞞ぎまんがエスカレートしている。

What cannot be overlooked is that China’s forceful actions aimed at displaying its “sovereignty” have become conspicuous not only in regard to its man-made islands, but also in reefs and sea areas in the South China Sea that are not subject to extremely bitter territorial disputes.
　看過できないのは、人工島だけでなく、これまで対立が先鋭化していなかった南シナ海の岩礁や海域でも、「主権」を力ずくで誇示する動きが目立つことである。

U.S. patrols vital

Close to 100 Chinese fishing boats were recently seen sailing around reefs within Malaysia’s exclusive economic zone, accompanied by a Chinese government vessel. In an area near an Indonesian island, a Chinese government ship took possession of a fishing boat that had been detained for illegal fishing activities, after ramming an Indonesian patrol boat.
　マレーシアの排他的経済水域（ＥＥＺ）内にある岩礁の周辺には、１００隻近い漁船が公船を伴って出現した。インドネシアの島の付近では、摘発された漁船を公船が体当たりして取り返した。

The Philippines has brought a case before The Hague-based Permanent Court of Arbitration over China’s self-justified territorial claims. The court is expected to hand down a judgment disadvantageous to China this month or in June.
　フィリピンはハーグの仲裁裁判所に、中国の独善的な領有権主張を巡って提訴している。中国に不利な判断が、５～６月中にも示される見通しだ。

The Xi administration may try to ensure that its effective control over the South China Sea becomes fait accompli before that ruling.
　習政権には、その前に南シナ海の実効支配を既成事実化しようとする狙いがあるのではないか。

It is essential to make sure freedom of navigation, a principle based on international law, is realized through continued patrols by U.S. warships in areas China insists constitutes its territorial waters. This will be necessary to discourage China from acting unilaterally.
　中国の一方的な行動を抑止するには、中国が「領海」と主張する海域で米艦艇による巡視活動を継続し、国際法に基づく「航行の自由」を体現することが肝要だ。

Late this month, U.S. President Barack Obama is scheduled to visit Vietnam for the first time, with the intention of strengthening bilateral ties in the field of maritime security. Under a military pact signed between the United States and the Philippines, U.S. forces are set, in effect, to start stationing some troops in the Philippines.
　オバマ米大統領は今月下旬、ベトナムを初訪問し、海洋安全保障面で関係強化を図る方針だ。米軍もフィリピンとの軍事協定に基づき、事実上の駐留に乗り出す。

It is necessary that the United States build a framework in order to exert constant pressure on China through increased cooperation with Vietnam, the Philippines and other pertinent nations.
　米国には、ベトナムやフィリピンなど関係国と連携を深め、中国への圧力を恒常的に維持する体制の構築が求められよう。

Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida has told Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) member countries that Japan will fully cooperate with them to ensure that the rule of law prevails in the South China Sea. Japan must share its anxiety over China with these nations while also affirming the importance of preserving maritime order.
　南シナ海で「法の支配」を徹底させるため、岸田外相も東南アジア諸国連合（ＡＳＥＡＮ）に全面的に協力する考えを伝えている。日本は、中国への懸念を各国と共有し、海洋秩序維持の重要性を確認せねばならない。

(From The Yomiuri Shimbun, May 9, 2016)

日露首脳会談 「新アプローチ」で打開可能か

The Yomiuri Shimbun
Can new Japan-Russia approach break deadlock on northern territories issue?
日露首脳会談　「新アプローチ」で打開可能か

Can the latest talks between the Japanese and Russian leaders serve as the first step to a breakthrough in negotiations over the northern territories off Hokkaido, which have remained deadlocked over the decades?
　長年、膠着こうちゃく状態が続く領土問題を打開する一歩となるのだろうか。

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe held talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Sochi, southern Russia, and the two leaders agreed that they will vigorously proceed with negotiations on the issue using “an approach based on a new concept.”
　安倍首相がロシア南部のソチで、プーチン大統領と会談した。北方領土問題について、「新たな発想に基づくアプローチ」で交渉を精力的に進めることで合意した。

“I got the sense that we can achieve a breakthrough in the stagnated situation,” Abe told reporters following the talks.
　首相は会談後、「停滞を打破し、突破口を開く手応えを得ることができた」と記者団に語った。

Even though details are unclear, the new approach is described as taking into consideration a global perspective — not just bilateral relations — and holding negotiations from a future-oriented standpoint.
　新たなアプローチの詳細は不明だが、「２国間だけでなく、グローバルな視点を考慮し、未来志向で交渉する」考え方とされる。

It is not easy for Japan and Russia to make concessions on the territorial issue, as it concerns the sovereignty of each country. It is understandable that Tokyo and Moscow will look for compromises on this issue as they develop deeper cooperation on security, economic and many other issues based on a broader perspective.
　国家主権に関わる領土問題は本来、日露双方とも簡単に譲歩できない。より大きな視野を持ち、安全保障、経済など様々な分野で協力を深める中で、歩み寄りを模索することは、理解できる。

The two leaders also agreed that they will have another meeting when Abe visits Vladivostok, Russia, in September. The two countries are said to further examine the timing of Putin’s visit to Japan.
　会談では、首相が９月にウラジオストクを訪問し、プーチン氏と再会談することで一致した。その後のプーチン氏の来日時期に関しては、さらに検討するという。

It is extraordinary for a Japanese prime minister to make successive visits to Russia, which suggests how resolved Abe is over the territorial issue.
　首相がロシアを何度も連続して訪れるのは異例である。領土問題に対する強い熱意がにじむ。

Political decision needed

Abe apparently believes that the issue cannot be solved unless he urges Putin, the most powerful figure in Russia, to make a political decision. Holding more bilateral talks with the president, including those to be organized on the sidelines of international conferences, is important in itself.
　最高権力者のプーチン氏に政治決断を迫らなくては、問題は解決しない、と考えているのだろう。国際会議の機会を含め、会談を重ねること自体は重要である。

During the latest talks, Abe presented a plan comprising eight areas of cooperation, including energy development and building infrastructure in Russia’s Far Eastern region.
　安倍首相は今回、エネルギー開発、ロシア極東のインフラ整備など８項目の協力計画を示した。

The Russian economy has remained sluggish mostly because of the fall in oil prices and the weaker ruble. Putin has put priority on promoting investment from and technical cooperation with Japan, in addition to the development of the Far East. Abe apparently aims to use his plan to pave the way to move the territorial issue forward.
　原油・ルーブル安などでロシア経済は低迷が続く。プーチン氏は日本の投資や技術協力、極東開発を優先課題に掲げている。首相には、領土問題を動かす呼び水にしたい、との思惑があろう。

Of course, economic cooperation alone cannot immediately achieve a breakthrough on the issue. We instead believe that the key will be for Japan to create a situation in which Russia puts real effort into boosting bilateral relations with Japan as Russia faces Chinese influences.
　無論、経済協力だけで、直ちに領土問題が進展することはない。むしろ、ロシアが中国との対抗上、日本との関係強化に本腰を入れる状況を作り出せるかどうかが、一つのカギではないか。

Putin is said to have become more concerned that China has been encouraging a large number of companies to start businesses in the Far East while expanding its military presence there.
　中国が極東に多数の企業を進出させ、軍事面でも存在感を高めていることに、プーチン氏は警戒感を強めているとされる。

During his talks with Abe, Putin expressed his hope for security cooperation between the two countries. It is of not small significance for Japan to improve cooperation with Russia to hold China and North Korea in check.
　プーチン氏は会談で、日露安保協力に期待を示した。日本も、中国や北朝鮮を牽制けんせいするため、協力を進める意義は小さくない。

Concerning the conflicts in Ukraine and Syria, it is appropriate that Abe urged Putin to play a constructive role by exercising his influence in maintaining ceasefires in those countries.
　ウクライナ、シリア情勢を巡って、首相がプーチン氏に対し、両国内の停戦維持に影響力を行使し、建設的な役割を果たすよう求めたのは適切である。

Abe will host the Ise-Shima summit meeting of the Group of Seven major powers on May 26-27. It will be important for the prime minister to elaborate his policy on pushing Japan-Russia relations forward without disrupting cooperation among the G-7 countries.
　首相は２６、２７日の主要国首脳会議（伊勢志摩サミット）で、先進７か国（Ｇ７）の足並みを乱さずに、日露関係を前進させる方針を丁寧に説明することが大切だ。

(From The Yomiuri Shimbun, May 8, 2016)