日本抗议俄罗斯总理访问争议岛屿

Japan has protested bitterly after Russia’s primeminister visited a disputed island in a row thatthreatens improved relations between the two countries.

在俄罗斯总理访问日俄争议岛屿后，日本提出了强烈抗议。两国围绕争议岛屿展开的争吵对两国间本已改善的关系构成了威胁。

Dmitry Medvedev visited the island of Iturup, known as Etorofu in Japan, and declared the Kurilislands were part of Russia. “This is how it is and how it will be, said Mr Medvedev on Saturday.The island is one of four disputed since the end of the second world war.

俄总理德米特里蔠德韦杰夫(Dmitry Medvedev)访问了伊土鲁朴岛(Iturup，日本称择捉岛(Etorofu))，并宣称千岛群岛(Kuril islands)是俄罗斯的一部分。“现在如此，将来也如此，梅德韦杰夫上周六表示。伊土鲁朴岛是二战结束后日俄存在争议的四个岛屿之一。

Japan summoned the Russian ambassador for a dressing down, telling him the visit was“extremely regrettable and “injured the feelings of the Japanese people, while the foreignminister will delay a planned visit to Moscow.

日方召见俄罗斯大使提出强烈抗议，告诉他此次登岛“非常令人遗憾，而且“伤害了日本人民的感情，而日本外长也将推迟原本计划好的对莫斯科的访问。

The tension reduces the chances of a summit this year between Shinzo Abe, Japan’s primeminister, and President Vladimir Putin of Russia and hurts a relationship both countries need tooffset their frosty dealings with other neighbours.

这种紧张降低了日本首相安倍晋三(Shinzo Abe)和俄罗斯总统弗拉基米尔渠京(Vladimir Putin)在年内举行峰会的可能性，也伤害了两国关系。日俄两国现在都与其他一些邻国关系冷淡，日俄关系改善对于它们缓解这一局面有着重要意义。

Japan never signed a peace treaty with the Soviet Union after the war because of Moscow’sclaim to the four southernmost islands of the Kuril chain, which Tokyo calls the NorthernTerritories.

由于莫斯科方面声称对千岛群岛最南边的四个岛屿(日方称北方领土(Northern Territories))拥有主权，战后日本始终未与苏联签订和约。

Covering about 5,000 square kilometres, the islands offer rich fishing and have a Russianpopulation of thousands. The previous Japanese population was expelled after the war.

这四个岛屿总面积约为5000平方公里，拥有丰富的渔业资源，居住着数千名俄罗斯人。之前生活在那里的日本人在战后遭到驱逐。

Settling the Northern Territories dispute is one of Mr Abe’s most personal diplomatic goals.His father, Shintaro Abe, tried and failed as foreign minister in negotiations with MikhailGorbachev in the 1980s. The younger Mr Abe was at his side as a secretary.

解决北方领土争议是安倍个人最想实现的外交目标之一。上世纪80年代，他父亲安倍晋太郎(Shintaro Abe)以日本外长身份尝试与米哈伊尔戈尔巴乔夫(Mikhail Gorbachev)谈判解决该问题，但以失败告终。当时，年轻的安倍晋三作为秘书伴随父亲左右。

“It’s kind of a family business, said Nobuo Shimotomai, an authority on Russia at HoseiUniversity in Tokyo. “Mr Abe wants to solve the issue himself with President Putin.

“这有点像是家族事业，东京日本法政大学(Hosei University)俄罗斯问题权威专家下斗米伸夫(NobuoShimotomai)表示，“安倍想由他本人来与普京总统解决这个问题。

People close to Mr Abe say he has good personal chemistry with the Russian leader but manyexperts doubt whether Mr Putin will ever relinquish territory gained at great cost, and think heis playing “good cop, bad cop with Mr Medvedev.

熟悉安倍的人表示，安倍与这位俄罗斯领导人有着良好的个人关系，但很多专家怀疑普京可能永远都不会放弃这块付出极大代价获得的领土，他们认为普京正在和梅德韦杰夫玩“一个唱红脸、一个唱白脸的把戏。

Shigeki Hakamada, a professor at the University of Niigata, believes Japan suffers from a degreeof “Putin illusion in its fond hopes that the judo-loving Russian president — who unlike MrMedvedev has never visited the Kurils — is ready for a deal.

新潟大学(Niigata University)教授袴田茂树(Shigeki Hakamada)认为，日本存在一定程度的“普京幻想，自作多情地期望这位热爱柔道的俄罗斯总统——不像梅德韦杰夫，普京从未访问过千岛群岛——愿意达成协议。

In 2012, Mr Putin used the judo term for a “draw in talking about the islands, referring to a2008 settlement in which Russia and China agreed to split disputed Bolshoi Ussuriyskiy islanddown the middle. But the Russian president is now riding a wave of nationalism after annexingCrimea in 2014.

2012年，普京在谈论该群岛时，曾用柔道中表示“平局的术语，提到2008年俄罗斯与中国同意平分俄中存在争议的大乌苏里斯基岛(Bolshoi Ussuriyskiy island，中方称黑瞎子岛——译者注)。但在2014年吞并克里米亚后，这位俄罗斯总统如今正得到民族主义浪潮的支撑。

That move — and Japan’s support for international sanctions on Russia — has left a morepragmatic diplomatic calculation for both sides.

吞并克里米亚之举——以及日本对国际社会对俄制裁的支持——使得日俄双方更务实地进行外交盘算。

“The Abe administration has a dilemma. If it doesn’t take a strongly critical stance toviolations of sovereignty then it risks its future position with China over the Senkaku Islands,says Mr Hakamada. China claims the Japanese-controlled islands, which it calls the Diaoyu.

“安倍当局进退两难。如果不就俄侵犯日主权的举动采取强硬的批判立场，那么它未来与中国在尖阁诸岛(Senkaku Islands，中国称钓鱼岛及其附属岛屿——译者注)问题上的立场也受到威胁，袴田称。中国宣称对这个由日本控制的群岛拥有主权。

On the other hand, Mr Abe is determined to make progress on the Northern Territories, andgiven its difficult relationships with China and South Korea, Japan is reluctant to alienateRussia as well.

另一方面，安倍决心在北方领土问题上取得进展，考虑到日本与中国和韩国之间的困难关系，日本也并不愿意疏远俄罗斯。

Russia, meanwhile, is conducting its own diplomatic pivot towards Asia. To avoid that beingpurely a pivot to China, however, it needs to strengthen relations with other regional playerssuch as Japan — although the strength of Japan’s US alliance gives Russia little incentive tomake concessions.

与此同时，俄罗斯正将自己的外交重心转向亚洲。然而，为了避免完全以中国为重心，它需要加强与日本等其他亚洲国家的关系——尽管日本与美国的紧密同盟让俄罗斯没什么动力作出让步。