日本加大力度与韩国争夺争议岛屿

Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda turned up the heat on South Korea over a territorial dispute Tuesday, deciding to take the issue to an international tribunal and telling his cabinet ministers to come up with other options the government can take against Seoul.

日本首相野田佳彦(Yoshihiko Noda)周二加大了争夺日韩争议领土的行动力度，他决定把这个问题提交给国际法庭，并吁请内阁成员拿出政府可以运用的应对首尔的其它办法。

Coming on the heels of sharp criticism of his handling of a separate territorial row with China, Mr. Noda said Japan needs to take firm measures in response to a recent visit by South Korean President Lee Myung-bak to contested islands which lie between the two countries. The Korea-controlled islands are referred to as Dokdo by South Korea and Takeshima by Japan. They are also known as the Liancourt Rocks.

因处理中日领土争端问题受到国内尖锐批评后，野田佳彦说，日本应采取强硬措施应对前不久韩国总统李明博(Lee Myung-bak)登上日韩之间某争议岛屿一事。该岛为韩国所控制，在韩国叫做“独岛(Dokdo)，日本叫“竹岛(Takeshima)，在其它国家被称作利扬库尔岩(Liancourt Rocks)。

'Takeshima has been our territory historically and also under international law,' Mr. Noda told a special meeting of cabinet ministers. 'We need to look into every possible measure we can take in the future.'

野田佳彦在内阁成员的一次特别会议上说，不管是从历史还是从国际法的角度来说，竹岛历来都是日本领土，我们应仔细研究未来可能采用的每个可能方案。

But Seoul said it wouldn't consider Tokyo's proposal to have the International Court of Justice look into the dispute. Seoul insists it has always had sovereignty over them.

但首尔说，不会考虑东京让海牙国际法庭(International Court of Justice)对此事进行仲裁的提议。首尔坚持认为，韩国一直拥有该岛主权。

A South Korean Foreign Ministry spokesman on Tuesday referred to a Friday statement that rejected Japan's move, floated already last week.

韩国外交部发言人周二提到了上周五韩国发表的一则声明，声明对日本上周提议将岛屿之争提交国际法庭的做法表示拒绝。

'Dokdo is clearly Korean territory by history, geography and international law, and a territorial dispute does not exist. It should be made clear that the Japanese government's suggestion or plan to take Dokdo to the ICJ is not worth consideration,' the Aug. 17 statement said.

8月17日的声明说，无论从历史、地理还是国际法的角度，独岛显然都是韩国领土，并不存在领土争议；有一点应当明确，韩国绝不会考虑日本政府建议或计划将独岛问题提交海牙国际法庭的做法。

ICJ arbitration can't go ahead without agreement from both parties, so even if Japan files suit on its own, further proceedings are unlikely. Instead, analysts say Tokyo's real aim is to prevent further action by South Korea by drawing global attention to the issue.

如果争议双方没有就是否进行仲裁达成一致，海牙国际法庭就不能进行仲裁，所以即使日本提起诉讼，也不太可能进入下一步法律程序。分析人士说，东京此举的真实目的是要吸引全球对此事的关注，从而阻止韩国采取进一步举动。

In addition to taking the case to the ICJ, Chief Cabinet Secretary Osamu Fujimura told reporters that some Japanese cabinet ministers─including the trade and economy ministers─would put off meetings with their South Korean counterparts.

日本内阁官房长官藤村修(Osamu Fujimura)告诉记者，除了将领土争议提交海牙国际法庭外，包括日本贸易和经济官员在内的一些内阁大臣将推迟与韩国官员的会议。

Reflecting how emotional ties between the Asian neighbors can be, one of Japan's most popular politicians touched on the controversial issue of so-called Korean 'comfort women,' thought to have served as sexual slaves for the Japanese military during World War II.

日本最受欢迎的政治人物之一谈论了所谓的韩国“慰安妇这一饱受争议的话题，这反映出这两个亚洲邻国的关系可以多么情绪化。韩国慰安妇被认为是二战期间被强迫为日军提供性服务的韩国女性。

Osaka Mayor Toru Hashimoto, who has topped some polls as the most popular choice for the next prime minister, challenged the South Korean government to provide proof that the women were forcibly taken by the Japanese military through 'violence or intimidation.'

大阪市市长桥下彻(Toru Hashimoto)要求韩国政府提供证据，证明这些妇女是日本军队通过暴力恐吓强行征召的。多次民调显示桥下彻是下一任日本首相的热门人眩

Mr. Hashimoto's views echo those of some nationalists who say the women served by their own choice and were paid to do so. The Korean government has severely criticized similar comments by Japanese politicians in the past.

桥下彻的观点反映了一些民族主义者的看法，即韩国慰安妇是自愿并且有偿为日本军人服务的。韩国政府过去曾严厉谴责日本政治人物的类似说法。

The Japanese government has acknowledged the military's involvement and apologized for the women's suffering.

日本政府已经承认日本军队曾参与其中，并为韩国慰安妇遭受的苦难道了歉。

In an apparent bid to keep some channels open to mend fences in the future, officials from Japan, China and South Korea met Tuesday in the Chinese city of Qingdao for talks on a trilateral free-trade agreement.

周二，日本、中国和韩国的官员在中国城市青岛就三边自由贸易协定进行了讨论，此举显然是为了保持一些渠道的开放，以在未来修补受损的关系。

Separately, Finance Minister Jun Azumi said he hadn't decided whether to extend the expansion of a currency-swap agreement with South Korea.

另一方面，日本财务大臣安住淳(Jun Azumi)说，他尚未决定是否延长扩大日韩货币互换协议规模的措施。

Last week, he suggested the ministry may roll back the swap deal─an agreement to temporarily lend each other dollars─to $13 billion at the end of October from $70 billion now. The two nations agreed last October to increase the swap line after South Korea expressed concern of potential capital outflows resulting from the European debt crisis, Japanese officials said.

安住淳上周曾表示，日本财务省可能会在10月底将货币互换规模从700亿美元恢复到原来的130亿美元。签署货币互换协议是为了彼此临借美元。日本官员说，在韩国表示担心欧债危机可能导致资本外流之后，日韩两国于去年10月达成扩大货币互换规模的协议。