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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

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)

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)

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)

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.

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)