情報発信

難しい北朝鮮の扱い方：Difficult Deal with North Korea

福田首相のジレンマ：Dilemma Faced by Prime Minister Fukuda

新聞報道にもあるように（下のリンク参照）、福田内閣は拉致問題の進展がないことを理由に、北朝鮮への制裁を6ヶ月間延長することを決定したと、町村官房長官が発表した。この決定は、先週北朝鮮の金総書記が韓国の盧大統領に日本人の拉致被害者はもう1人も北朝鮮に残っていないと語ったという報道があったことも考慮して行なわれたと思われる。この報道に対して、町村官房長官が直ちに反応し、また福田首相も後に国会での答弁で、これは金総書記が盧大統領に言うべきことではなく、日朝二国間協議で直接日本代表に伝えられるべきことであると抗議した。
いずれにせよ、これが福田内閣のアジア外交にとって試練ともいうべきジレンマであることは、前回のNews Review（下のリンク参照）で指摘した通りである。福田首相としては、どちらかというと「タカ派」の町村外相に代わってやや「ハト派」の高村外相を起用することで、福田流の外交政策へのアプローチを強調したかったようであるが、しかしアジアの現実は福田首相をして小泉・安倍流のタカ派的なアジア外交政策を継承することを余儀なくさせているとも言える。
他方、福田氏は金総書記と直接会って話し合う意図はなく、そのことを国会の野党議員の質問に対してもはっきりと答えている。これは福田首相が自分の手で拉致問題を解決するという公約を守ることが困難であることを意味している。前回のNews Reviewでも結論付けたように、福田首相は国内問題で失敗するよりもむしろ北朝鮮問題のような外交問題で失敗する可能性が高いと言えよう。
Article:
Japan Extends Sanctions on North Korea for Six Months
Bloomberg.com (10/09/2007)
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601101&sid=atAMSLxdcTes&refer=japan
Reference:
News Review #414 (10/04): "Fukuda Says Japan Should Consider Cutting Myanmar Aid"
http://www.glocom.org/media_reviews/n_review/20071004_news_review414/

It is reported in the newspaper (see the link above) that the Fukuda Adminstration has decided to extend samctions on North Korea for six months, due to a lack of progress on the abduction issue, according to Chief Cabinet Secretary Nobutaka Machimura. This decision may have been prompted by the report that last week North Korean leader Kim Jong Il told South Korean President Roh Moo Hyun there were no more Japanese abductees remaining in North Korea. Immediately, Mr. Machimura, and later Prime Minister Fukuda, reacted to this report by saying that it was not something Kim Jong Il should mention to Roh Moo Hyun, but the Japanese government should have been told directly at bilateral talks between Japan and North Korea.
In any case, this is the kind of dilemma that the Fukuda Administration is facing in dealing with Asia in general and North Korea in particular, as pointed out in the previous news review (see the Reference above). While Prime Minister Fukuda would like to emphasize his own approach to foreign policy by appointing relatively "dovish" Komura as foreign minister, rather than more hawkish Machimura, the reality in Asia seems to dictate that Mr. Fukuda should keep the Koizumi-Abe style of hawkish foreign policy, at least toward Asia.
At the same time, Mr Fukuda seems to have no intention to deal with Kim Jong Il face to face, as he clearly stated in response to an opposition party member's question in the Diet. This may well mean that Prime Minister cannnot keep his promise to resolve the abductee issue himself during his tenure as prime minister. As concluded in the previous news review, it is now probable that Mr. Fukuda could fail, not necessarily in domestic policy issues such as the public pension problem or the agricultural problem, but in the foreign policy area, especially in dealing with North Korea.

1. 2007/10/10(水) 19:46:43|
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