外務省在網頁張貼印有“尖閣列島”日本名字中國製地圖

A few weeks ago the NHK News on-line reported the following:

中国地図に「尖閣」日本語名 外務省がＨＰに掲載

3月16日 19時23分

沖縄県の尖閣諸島を「尖閣群島」などと日本語名で表記した中国政府発行の地図が見つかり、外務省は尖閣諸島が日本固有の領土であることを裏付ける新たな証拠だとして、ホームページに掲載しました。

外務省によりますと、この地図は日本の国土地理院に当たる当時の中国の「国家測絵総局」が１９６９年に発行したもので、沖縄県の尖閣諸島を、中国政府が現在使っている「釣魚群島」や「釣魚島」という表記ではなく、「尖閣群島」や「魚釣島」などと日本語名で表記しています。
この地図は、先月２３日の衆議院予算委員会で自民党の原田義昭衆議院議員が存在を指摘し、岸田外務大臣が「貴重な資料だ」と評価し、外務省が公開を検討していました。
尖閣諸島を巡って、中国政府は周辺海域に石油などの天然資源がある可能性が指摘されたあとの１９７０年代から領有権を主張し始めています。
外務省は、それ以前に中国政府が発行した地図に日本語名の表記が使われていたことから、尖閣諸島が日本固有の領土であることを裏付ける新たな証拠だとして、１６日、ホームページにこの地図を掲載しました。
外務省は「中国政府が当時、尖閣諸島を日本の領土と見なしていたことをうかがわせる資料であり、日本の主張の正当性を国際社会にアピールしたい」としています。

(試譯文)

A map issued by the Chinese government which transcribed Senkaku Islands of the Okinawa prefecture into the Japanese name "Senkaku Archipelago" etc. was found; the Ministry of Foreign Affairs carried it in its home page as new evidence to support that Senkaku Islands all along belonged to Japan.

According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs it was China’s "State Survey and Mapping Head Office" in those days, the equivalent of Japan’s Geographical Survey Institute, that issued this map in 1969. The Senkaku Islands in Okinawa prefecture was being transcribed as "Senkaku Archipelago" and "Uotsurishima" etc. using Japanese names and not transcribed as "Diaoyu Archipelago" or "Diaoyu Islands" as used by the Chinese government at present.

LDP Harada Yoshiaki, a member of the House of Representatives, pointed out the existence of this map at the House of Representatives budget committee on the 23rd (March ) last month. Kishida the Minister of Foreign Affairs presumed it to be "an important material" and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs was considering showing it to the public.

The Chinese government began to insist on the possession right after the 1970s at a time when it had been pointed out that there was a possibility that there were petroleum natural resources surrounding the sea area of the Senkaku Islands.

Because transcription in Japanese name was used in a map issued by the Chinese government before that time, the map was taken as new evidence that Senkaku Islands was a territory peculiar to Japan all along, and on the 16th the Ministry of Foreign Affairs carried this map in its home page.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs supposed that "the Chinese government at that time had made an incident suggesting that they considered the Senkaku Islands as Japanese territory, and Japan would like to appeal to the international society on their justified insistence".

It seems that to use maps as the tool to support arguments over the sovereignty right of Senkaku Islands has died down for a while.