中國外交部部長: 日本能接受發展的鄰國嗎

Last week the Yomiuri News on-line reported the following:

発展した隣国を日本は受け入れるか…中国外相

2015年06月27日 21時08分

　【北京＝竹内誠一郎】中国の王毅(ワンイー)外相は２７日、北京市内で行った講演の中で、日中の関係改善を巡る課題について、「発展を遂げた最大の隣国・中国を、日本が真の意味で受け入れるかどうかだ」と発言した。

　中国の要人が公式の場で日中両国の「地位」に言及するのは異例とされ、講演で本音が出たとみられている。

　王外相はこの日、清華大で開幕した「世界平和フォーラム」で講演。質疑では「日本の古い友人の話」を紹介する形で、「中国は過去の歴史上のあるべき状態に戻っただけで、日本人はそれを受け入れるべきだ」とも訴えた。

　歴史問題では、「（日本は）歴史の『被告席』に立ち続けるか、過去に侵略した国との和解を実現するか」と発言。安倍首相が発表する戦後７０年談話を念頭に、日本をけん制した。

(試譯文)

   On the 27th (June) the China’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Wang Yi, in a speech given at the Beijing city with a topic concerning improving the Sino-Japanese relation, remarked that "it is whether Japan would accept the true meaning of an evolved China, its biggest neighboring country".

  Assuming that it was exceptional for a Chinese VIP to refer to the "status" of the two countries of China and Japan in a formal occasion, it was thought that a real feeling had come out in the lecture.

  On that day Foreign Affairs Minister Wang gave a lecture at the "World Peace Forum" opened at Qinghua University. In a form of introducing an inquiry on "a story from an old friend of Japan", he complained that "China has just gone back to its historic true state of the past, Japan should accept that".

   On the problem of history he remarked that “by keep leaving (Japan) in the "defendant seat" in history, will a reconciliation with those countries which had been invaded in the past be achieved?". With the postwar 70th year talk to be announced by Prime Minister Abe in mind, the speech was aimed at checking Japan.

I think in the past, on many occasions, Japan had talked about regret etc. to China for its actions in the Pacific War, for example when the Sino-Japanese diplomatic relation was normalized in September 1972. I think Japan will not pay too much attention to what China is talking about as far as history is concerned, knowing that what China aims at is to gain political mileage through revisiting history, in particular in recently years when China is advancing its presence in both the East Sea and the South China Sea.