前回「おそらく（ケリー国務省）長官は日本軍が人身売買を行ったとは言わなかったのだろう」と書いたが、どうやら間違っていたようである。ケリー長官は「trafficking of women for sexual purposes by the Japanese military（日本軍による性目的の人身売買）」と言っているから、日本軍による人身売買というのが彼の認識なのだろう。アメリカ政府の認識と断言していいかは分らないが、その公算も小さくないのではないか。
「日本軍による人身売買は言語道断」 ケリー長官
安倍総理は、アメリカ政府と慰安婦問題を人身売買問題とすることで手を打ったと思われるが、これは河野談話の時と同じく政治的な解決である。あの時は、慰安婦の強制動員（≒強制連行）を日本政府に認めさせたい韓国政府と、強制連行（行政機関による正式な動員）は確認出来なかったという日本政府、双方の面子が立つよう玉虫色にしたわけであるが、今回も、アメリカ政府は日本軍による人身売買、日本政府は業者による身売り（≒人身売買）と解釈するという具合に、やはり曖昧なのである。もっとも、アメリカ政府は韓国政府のように手打ちの約束を反故にするようなことはしないだろう。
QUESTION: (Via interpreter) Thank you. This morning, President Park and Minister Yun, both of them have talked about – and I have a question whether Japan was mentioned many times during the conversation with President Park and Minister Yun. We have a very souring opinion of the public, especially from last week. There is no negotiation or talk with Japan without the apology on the wartimes slavery, and 60 percent of the people in the opinion said that there is no dialogue with Japan. And also during the summit meeting between Korea and Japan it should be mentioned.
And also the public opinion getting soured and so on, and also there was a mentioning that was a wartime atrocity. And also, do you think that mentioning was appropriate and also wartime sex slavery was the same meaning as the wartime atrocity? And that was my first question.
Secondly, about the defense guideline between Japan and Korea, there was a respect for the state sovereignty. Although it was not mentioned there, does it mean that if there is a military action that can affect Korea, does it mean that the prior consent should be made by Korea? And there was an – that was an interpretation. However, there was no direct mentioning of that interpretation, but in Korea 70 percent of the public opinion says that, that there is no consent for the military action to be made in Korea. So that is a question for me. So what is your view on that?
FOREIGN MINISTER YUN: (Via interpreter) Was the question for Secretary Kerry only?
SECRETARY KERRY: I thought it was for Foreign Minister Yun. (Laughter.) Is the question for Foreign Minister Yun or for me?
QUESTION: (Via interpreter) The question was for Secretary Kerry.
SECRETARY KERRY: Well, yes, we did discuss – of course, we discussed the issue of Japan. And we are very mindful of the critical role that all of us play in this region – Japan, South Korea, the United States. That’s why we’ve hosted trilateral meetings both to improve the coordination among close allies, our close allies, but also to ease the tension between them. Constructive relations between Japan and the Republic of Korea, our most important allies in East Asia, are critical to being able to promote peace and prosperity in the region. Only three countries – our three countries – share quite as much as we share in common: democracy, a commitment to human rights, free markets. And when we work together there’s a great deal that we’re able to achieve. And we have stated many times that we believe that strong and constructive relations between the countries in the region are in everybody’s interest, so we are – we continue to emphasize the importance of approaching historical legacy issues in a manner that can promote healing and reconciliation. And we’re interested in seeing the parties be able to do that. We understand there will be a meeting before long, a bilateral meeting, and we hope that Japan and the Republic of Korea will be able to find a mutually accepted solution through that kind of meeting.
Now with respect to the powerful and important part of reconciliation that comes from the events of World War II, particularly the trafficking of women for sexual purposes by the Japanese military during that war, we have said many times that that was a terrible, egregious violation of human rights. And the apologies that have been extended by previous Prime Minister Murayama and former Chief Cabinet Secretary Kono marked a very important step forward, a chapter really, in Japan trying to improve relations with its neighbors. We take note of Japanese leaders’ repeated statements that the position of the Abe government is to uphold the Kono and the Murayama statements. The United States has continually encouraged Japan to approach this and other issues arising from the past in a manner that is conducive to building stronger relations with its neighbors. And we urge both Japan and the Republic of Korea to handle these sensitive historical issues, as I said, with restraint, and continue to engage in a direct dialogue towards a mutually acceptable resolution that promotes healing while facilitating a future-oriented relationship. And that is our policy and that is our goal.
国務省 2015.5.18