安倍晉三將出席平昌冬奧會

Shinzo Abe will attend the Winter Olympics next month despite a diplomatic dispute with hosts South Korea over Japan’s wartime use of sex slaves.

安倍晉三(Shinzo Abe)將出席下月舉行的冬季奧運會，盡管與東道主韓國在日本戰(zhàn)時使用“性奴隸”的問題上發(fā)生了外交糾紛。

The Japanese prime minister said yesterday that he wanted to hold a summit with Moon Jae-in, South Korea’s president, and support a fellow Asian host ahead of the Tokyo Olympics in 2020.

日本首相昨日表示，他希望與韓國總統(tǒng)文在寅(Moon Jae-in)舉行峰會，并在2020年東京奧運會之前支持另一個亞洲的奧運會東道主。

Mr Abe’s decision suggests he will not break off relations over Seoul’s call for further recompense and apology to “comfort women” forced to work in military brothels during the second world war. Japan rejects those calls because the two countries signed a “final and irreversible” settlement of the issue in 2015.

安倍晉三的決定似乎表明，他不會因為首爾在“慰安婦”問題上提出的進一步賠償和道歉要求而斷絕關系;“慰安婦”是指二戰(zhàn)期間被迫在隨軍妓院工作的婦女。日本拒絕響應韓方的呼吁，因為兩國已在2015年簽署了“最終且不可逆轉”的和解協(xié)議。

Instead, Mr Abe will demand that South Korea honours its side of the 2015 deal, making it harder for Mr Moon to reignite the dispute even as he welcomes world leaders to the Olympics.

相反，安倍將要求韓國方面履行2015年達成的協(xié)議，這將使忙于歡迎世界領導人參加奧運會的文在寅更難重啟爭議。

“If circumstances allow, I want to attend the opening ceremony for the Pyeongchang Olympics,” Mr Abe said. “At the same time, I’d like to hold a summit with President Moon Jae-in and properly lay out Japan’s position on our ‘comfort women’ agreement.”

“如果條件允許的話，我想出席平昌冬奧會開幕式，”安倍表示。“我希望與韓國總統(tǒng)文在寅舉行首腦會談，向韓方恰當?shù)仃U明日本有關日韓慰安婦協(xié)議的立場。”

The 2015 agreement was thrown into doubt early this year when Mr Moon derided it as “seriously flawed”. A state-appointed panel in South Korea said the previous conservative government had failed to consult victims properly before reaching the deal. Earlier this month, South Korea’s foreign ministry said it would not try to renegotiate the agreement, but called on Tokyo to keep making efforts to restore honour and dignity to the victims. The South Korean government also said it would set aside $9m to help the victims in place of compensation already paid by Japan.

2015年的協(xié)議在今年初產(chǎn)生變數(shù)，當時文在寅不屑地稱它“有嚴重瑕疵”。韓國政府任命的一個專家小組稱，保守派政黨當政的上屆政府在達成協(xié)議之前，未能妥善地征求受害者的意見。本月早些時候，韓國外交部表示不會試圖重新談判協(xié)議，但呼吁東京方面繼續(xù)作出努力，恢復受害者的名譽和尊嚴。韓國政府還表示，將撥出900萬美元幫助受害者，接替日方已經(jīng)支付的賠償金。

Many in South Korea and Japan regard those actions as tantamount to nullifying the deal. Some of Mr Abe’s conservative supporters want him to retaliate by freezing relations with Seoul. But other Japanese officials think that would play into Mr Moon’s hands by allowing him to claim that the 2015 agreement was dead. They want to uphold Japan’s end of the deal and force Mr Moon to take the initiative.

韓國和日本都有許多人認為，這些行為等同于推翻協(xié)議。安倍的一些保守派支持者希望他凍結與首爾的關系，借此進行報復。但是另外一些日本官員認為，那么做正合文在寅之意，使他可以順理成章地聲稱2015年的協(xié)議已經(jīng)失效。他們希望履行日本在協(xié)議中的義務，迫使文在寅出牌。

“We welcome Japan’s decision to officially announce Prime Minister Abe’s visit to the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics,” Seoul’s presidential spokesman said, adding that the two governments would consult closely to make Mr Abe’s visit a success.

“我們對日方?jīng)Q定正式宣布安倍首相將出席平昌冬奧會表示歡迎，”韓國總統(tǒng)府發(fā)言人表示。他補充說，兩國政府將密切協(xié)商，確保安倍的到訪取得圓滿成功。

Mr Abe said he also wanted to discuss North Korea with Mr Moon. Tokyo and Seoul are the two most important US allies in the region. Co-operation is important in coping with Pyongyang’s military threats and the unpredictability of Donald Trump, the US president.

安倍表示，他還想同文在寅討論朝鮮問題。日韓是美國在該地區(qū)最重要的兩個盟友。既要應對平壤的軍事威脅，又要應對美國總統(tǒng)唐納德•特朗普(Donald Trump)不可預測的行事風格，意味著合作十分重要。

The “comfort women” issue has long poisoned relations between the neighbours. Many in South Korea believe Tokyo has never shown sufficient remorse. Many in Japan think Seoul uses the issue as a diplomatic weapon and no apology will ever be sufficient.

“慰安婦”問題長期毒化兩個鄰國間的關系。韓國很多人認為，東京從未表現(xiàn)出足夠的悔意。日本很多人認為，既然首爾把這個問題當作一件外交武器，日方再怎么道歉也沒有用。