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