靖国参拝見送り 的外れな中韓両国の対日批判

The Yomiuri Shimbun October 22, 2013
Anti-Japan stance by China, S. Korea over Yasukuni Shrine unhelpful
靖国参拝見送り　的外れな中韓両国の対日批判（10月21日付・読売社説）

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe decided not to visit Tokyo’s Yasukuni Shrine on the occasion of its Oct. 17-20 annual autumn festival. Instead, he simply made a monetary offering to the shrine for a sacred masakaki tree branch traditionally used in Shinto rituals.
　安倍首相は、靖国神社の秋季例大祭中の参拝を見送り、神前へ真(ま)榊(さかき)を奉納するにとどめた。

His decision not to pay his respects at the shrine after refraining from making visits earlier this year in the shrine’s annual spring festival and on Aug. 15, the date marking the end of World War II, was to prevent frayed ties with China and South Korea from further deteriorating.
　春季例大祭と終戦記念日に続いて、今回も参拝を見送ったのは、中国、韓国との関係がさらに悪化する事態を避けるのが目的だ。

China and South Korea regard Yasukuni Shrine as a symbol of Japan’s wartime militarism, as it memorializes Japan’s war dead along with “Class A war criminals,” including former Prime Minister Hideki Tojo, who were executed after being condemned by the International Military Tribunal for the Far East, also known as the Tokyo War Crimes Tribunal. They strongly oppose visits by prime ministers or Cabinet members.
　中韓両国は、極東国際軍事裁判（東京裁判）で処刑された東条英機元首相ら「Ａ級戦犯」が合祀(ごうし)されている靖国神社を軍国主義の象徴とみなして、首相や閣僚の参拝に反対している。

Paying tribute to those who died in the war is purely an internal affair, and no country should interfere.
　もとより、戦没者をどう追悼するかは、国内問題であり、他国から干渉される筋合いではない。

As the Yasukuni issue has become a diplomatic problem, however, the prime minister’s decision to avoid visiting the shrine this time is understandable.
　だが、外交問題化している以上、首相の判断は妥当だろう。

The prime minister is said to strongly desire to pay his respects at Yasukuni Shrine, but he must pay scrupulous attention to the feasibility of making such a visit.
　靖国神社に参拝することへの首相の意欲は強いとされる。なお慎重な対応が求められる。

In this connection, it is highly regrettable that neither China nor South Korea has shown a positive attitude after Abe’s decision to forgo a visit to the shrine.
　残念なのは、中韓両国に、首相の参拝見送りを前向きに受け止める姿勢が見られないことだ。

Referring to Abe’s masakaki monetary offering in lieu of visiting the shrine, a Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman said Beijing opposes “any type of action [by the prime minister] of paying tribute at any time,” effectively saying that China equates the masakaki offering with a visit to the shrine. South Korea’s Foreign Ministry also expressed “deep concern and regret” over Abe’s offering to Yasukuni Shrine.
　中国外務省は、首相の真榊奉納について「いつ、いかなる方式で参拝しようとも反対する」と述べ、事実上の参拝と見なす考えを示した。韓国外交省も「深い憂慮と遺憾の意」を表明した。

Tacit U.S. message

Since the end of the war, Japan has continued to follow the path of peace and contribute to the international community. We wonder whether both China and South Korea have deliberately shut their eyes to this fact.
　日本は戦後一貫して平和国家として歩み、国際社会にも貢献してきた。中韓両国は、そのことに目をつむっているのではないか。

The criticism by Chinese and South Korean leaders against the Abe administration for “veering to the right” may be largely motivated by a desire to maintain their own domestic leadership on the strength of surges of popular anti-Japanese sentiment.
　中韓の指導者が、安倍政権の政治姿勢を「右傾化」と批判するのは、反日世論を利用し、自らの求心力を維持する狙いもあろう。

As a result of the escalation of distorted anti-Japanese criticism, Japanese investment in China has dwindled, and the adverse impact has spread in the Chinese economy.
　しかし、的外れな対日批判をエスカレートさせた結果、日本から中国への投資が落ち込み、中国経済への悪影響も広がっている。

Abe has persistently called for China and South Korea to hold summit talks. The leaders of China and South Korea should respond favorably to Abe’s overture and move to break the impasse. They should shift away from a “mutual harm” approach to a path leading to “mutual benefits.”
　安倍首相は、首脳会談の開催を繰り返し呼びかけている。中韓首脳はこれに応じ、事態打開に動くべきだ。「互損」から「互恵」へ転換を図らねばならない。

The prime minister’s decision to forgo a visit to Yasukuni Shrine may also have been out of consideration for the United States, which is concerned about the standoff between Japan and its two neighbors.
　今回の参拝見送りの背景には、日中・日韓の対立を懸念する米国に配慮した側面もある。

Early this month, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel laid wreaths at Chidorigafuchi National Cemetery for the war dead near Tokyo’s Imperial Palace. A state-run facility with no religious affiliation, the cemetery accommodates the remains of the war dead whose identities are not known.
　今月初旬に来日した米国のケリー国務長官とヘーゲル国防長官は千鳥ヶ淵戦没者墓苑を訪れ、献花した。無宗教の国立施設である墓苑は、先の大戦の戦没者のうち、身元不明などで引き渡し先のない遺骨を納めている。

The visit by Kerry and Hagel to Chidorigafuchi is believed to be a tacit U.S. message to the Japanese government to exercise caution on the issue of visits to Yasukuni Shrine by the prime minister and other Cabinet members.
　千鳥ヶ淵訪問は、靖国神社参拝について慎重な対応を求めるメッセージとも見られている。

Public opinion is divergent over how the souls of the war dead should be consoled. Criticism of those who played leading roles in the war remains deep-rooted.
　戦没者の慰霊をどう考えるかは、日本国内にも様々な意見がある。戦争指導者への批判も根強い。

Under the circumstances, in-depth discussions should be held on the advisability of building a state-run facility that would enable everyone to pay tribute to the memory of the war dead without harmful consequences.
だれもが、わだかまりなく戦没者を追悼できる国立施設の建立について議論を深めるべきだ。

(From The Yomiuri Shimbun, Oct. 21, 2013)
（2013年10月21日01時18分 読売新聞）