島田洋一ブログ (Shimada Yoichi Blog)

　共同通信の英語版や、ジャパン･タイムズ（共同の配信記事も用いる）の慰安婦に関する記述は、海外における誤った認識を助長する言語道断のものだ。

　例えば、李明博韓国大統領訪日を報じた一両日の記事から抜き出してみる。

「日本の戦時性奴隷」

「戦時中に、帝国日本軍兵士たちによって性的奴隷状態を強いられた『慰安婦』」

「日本は、何千という朝鮮の女性たちに、帝国日本軍の性奴隷として働くことを強いた」

「婉曲に『慰安婦』と呼ばれる、第2次大戦中の性奴隷」

　海外の人間が、日本のニュースに接する最大の窓口である共同通信（Kyodo News）およびジャパン･タイムズが、こうした歴史の歪曲を日々振りまいている。

　世界に向けて日本の名誉を毀損し続ける、これら「報道機関」の姿勢が厳しく正されねばならない。

Japan Times 

Sunday, Dec. 18, 2011

Lee presses Noda on 'comfort women'

S. Korean leader urges 'political decision' on wartime sex slaves

Kyodo

KYOTO — South Korean President Lee Myung Bak urged the government Saturday to make a "political decision" to resolve the issue of Japan's wartime sex slaves, in his first public remarks on the thorny issue since taking office in 2008.

Lee made the comments in the city of Osaka at a gathering of South Korean residents in Japan, where the agenda also included a bilateral free-trade agreement and North Korea's nuclear ambitions. He then traveled to the nearby city of Kyoto for talks Sunday with Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda.

Lee's trip comes at a delicate time in South Korea, where calls are growing to address the issue compensation for the "comfort women," who were forced into sexual servitude by Imperial Japanese troops during the war.

Lee said that the matter of redress "can be resolved anytime if Japan will show more sincerity" over settling the long-standing issue, noting that its resolution would "greatly contribute" to bilateral relations.

Earlier this month, a statue dedicated to the comfort women was erected in front of the Japanese Embassy in Seoul, putting the sensitive issue back into the spotlight. Japan protested and called for the statue's removal.

Lee is planning to raise the compensation issue during Sunday's talks with Noda, a South Korean Foreign Ministry spokesman said, but Japanese officials wouldn't say if the prime minister is willing to discuss the matter.

Political analysts say Lee, whose grip on power is believed to be weakening, apparently needs to take a hardline stance on the wartime sex slaves issue to stem domestic criticism.

Japan annexed the KoreanPeninsula in 1910, and over the next 35 years brutally tried to erase Korean culture and forced thousands of Korean women to work as sex slaves for the Imperial Japanese military.

Seoul has recently been pressing for bilateral negotiations on compensating the comfort women, but Japan has rejected the South's appeals, saying the issue was settled by a 1965 bilateral treaty that normalized diplomatic ties.……

Kyodo News

Noda, Lee hold talks over 'comfort women' issue, bilateral FTA

KYOTO, Dec. 18, Kyodo

Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda and South Korean President Lee Myung Bak held talks on Sunday in Kyoto, with the issue of wartime sex slavery and negotiations on a bilateral free trade agreement expected to be high on the agenda.

Their talks come amid growing calls in South Korea to address the issue of compensation for sex slaves during World War II, euphemistically called ''comfort women.''

The issue has gained renewed attention since a statue dedication to comfort women was erected last Wednesday in front of the Japanese Embassy in Seoul. Japan has protested and called for the statue to be removed, but the South Korean government has thus far refused.……

  先週の上京中、折りを見て代々木公園を訪れた。200円で自転車が借りられ、園内を回れる。一面の落葉が美しい。