竹島の日 内外に訴えよ韓国の不法占拠

The Yomiuri Shimbun February 23, 2014
Japan should present case abroad, at home on Takeshima occupation
竹島の日　内外に訴えよ韓国の不法占拠（2月23日付・読売社説）

The Takeshima islands in Shimane Prefecture are an inherent part of Japanese territory, but South Korea has been illegally occupying them. It is important that many more Japanese people share this understanding.
　竹島は日本固有の領土であるのに、現在は、韓国が不法占拠している。この認識を、より多くの国民が共有することが肝要である。

The Shimane prefectural government has held its ninth “Takeshima Day” ceremony. Yoshitami Kameoka, parliamentary secretary of the Cabinet Office, represented the government at the ceremony and said in a speech, “The government will do its best to solve the Takeshima issue rationally and peacefully.”
　島根県が第９回「竹島の日」記念式典を開催した。政府代表の亀岡偉民内閣府政務官は、「竹島問題の冷静かつ平和的な解決に全力で取り組む」とあいさつした。

Feb. 22 is the day that Japan incorporated the Takeshima islands into Shimane Prefecture in 1905. The prefecture enacted the “Takeshima Day” ordinance in 2005 and has been organizing the ceremony on the day every year since 2006. It is highly praiseworthy that the prefecture has steadily continued its Takeshima awareness campaign.
　２月２２日は、１９０５年に竹島が島根県に編入された日だ。島根県は「竹島の日」条例を制定し、２００６年以降、毎年、この日に式典を開いている。竹島に関する啓発活動を地道に実施してきたことを高く評価したい。

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s government last year sent the parliamentary secretary of the Cabinet Office to the ceremony for the first time. Of course, resolving the territorial dispute is not easy and will take a long time, but the persistence of such awareness activities is important.
　昨年、安倍政権が初めて内閣府政務官を派遣した。無論、領土問題の解決は簡単でなく、時間を要するだろうが、こうした活動を着実に継続することが大切だ。

In the past, Japan used Takeshima as a transit point of maritime traffic and a fishing base, and established sovereignty over the islands in the mid-17th century. After the end of World War II, South Korea demanded the United States include Takeshima among territories Japan should give up, but Washington refused.
　日本は、竹島を海上交通の中継地や漁業に利用し、１７世紀半ばには領有権を確立した。韓国は第２次大戦後、日本が放棄すべき領土に竹島を含めるよう米国に要請したが、拒否された。

However, Seoul unilaterally established the “Syngman Rhee Line” in 1952 to demarcate the limits of its waters, including the Takeshima islands within its extended territory. It then illegally occupied the islands. South Korea has refused Tokyo’s proposal to settle the dispute at the International Court of Justice.
　ところが、韓国は５２年に一方的に李承晩ラインを設定し、その内側の竹島の不法占拠を始めた。国際司法裁判所に付託するという日本の提案も拒否している。

Raise awareness on islands

Results of a Cabinet Office survey released in August showed that 63 percent of Japanese polled knew that South Korea has illegally occupied the islands, and 61 percent realized they were an inherent part of Japanese territory. It is regrettable to say that these figures are not necessarily high. The government must make a greater effort to spread the correct understanding of the issue among the public.
　昨年８月発表の内閣府世論調査で、韓国の不法占拠を知っている人は６３％、竹島を我が国固有の領土と認識している人は６１％だった。残念ながら高い数字ではない。政府は、竹島に関する正しい理解を広げる努力が求められる。

In January, the Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology Ministry revised instruction manuals for its course of study for middle and high schools to stipulate for the first time that the Takeshima and Senkaku islands are inherent territories of Japan. This should help improve the public’s awareness of the government’s views on the Takeshima and Senkaku islands.
　文部科学省は今年１月、中学と高校の学習指導要領の解説書に竹島や尖閣諸島を日本の領土と初めて明記する改定を行った。こうした領土教育は、政府見解の認知度を高める効果を持とう。

It is also important to disseminate Japan’s views on the territorial issues among other countries in the world. The Foreign Ministry last year uploaded to its website video footage explaining the government views on the territories in 12 languages, which attracted more than 1 million hits.
　世界への情報発信も重要だ。外務省が昨年１０月、１２か国語で政府見解を説明する動画をホームページに掲載したところ、計１００万件超の視聴があったという。

South Korea objected to the observance of “Takeshima Day” and demanded Tokyo stop sending a parliamentary secretary to the ceremony. However, its claim lacks legitimacy and is nothing but intervention in internal affairs.
　韓国は「竹島の日」に反発し、政務官派遣の中止を求めている。だが、その主張に正当性はなく、内政干渉にほかならない。

Tokyo decided not to organize a government ceremony to mark the day as the Liberal Democratic Party had stipulated in its policy pledges for the last House of Representatives elections. It also did not send the prime minister or other ministers to the ceremony, though Shimane Prefecture invited them. We think these are appropriate diplomatic considerations made with the South Korean government in mind.
　政府は、自民党が衆院選政策集に掲げた政府式典の開催や、島根県の求める首相や閣僚の式典出席を見送っている。韓国に対する十分な外交上の配慮と言える。

There are many other issues Japan and South Korea should work on together, such as North Korea’s nuclear ambitions and the Trans-Pacific Partnership free trade accord. The foreign ministries of both countries should carefully handle the dispute over the Takeshima islands so it does not become a major factor to hinder improvement of their bilateral relations.
　一方で、北朝鮮の核問題や環太平洋経済連携協定（ＴＰＰ）など、日韓が協力して対処すべき課題は多い。竹島をめぐる日韓対立が、両国関係改善の決定的な障害とならないよう、双方の外交当局は慎重に対応すべきだ。

(From The Yomiuri Shimbun, Feb. 23, 2014)
（2014年2月23日01時41分 読売新聞）