아베 신조 일본 총리가 야스쿠니 신사를 미국의 알링턴 국립묘지에 빗대며 참배를 계속하겠다고 밝혔다. 이에 우리 정부는 즉각 반발했다.

아베 총리는 19일 미국의 외교전문매체 ‘포린 어페어스’와 인터뷰 중 “미국 대통령도 미국의 알링턴 국립묘지에 조의를 표하듯, 나는 신사에 참배한다” 며 이는 “아주 당연한 것으로, 다른 국가의 지도자들이 하는 것과 다를 바 없다”고 말했다.

미국 알링턴 국립 묘지는 남북 전쟁, 이라크 전쟁과 아프가니스탄 전쟁에서 순국한 미군 40만 여명을 안치한 곳이다. 이에 반해 야스쿠니 신사는 세계 2차 대전 등 일본이 벌인 주요 전쟁에서 숨진 일본군 250만여 명을 신격화해 제사를 지내는 사당인데, 그 중 일부는 인민 학살, 성 노예 제도, 강제 노역 등 반인륜적인 전쟁범죄를 주도한 A급 전범이다.

이와 관련, 조태영 외교부 대변인은 20일 정례브리핑에서 “야스쿠니 신사는 전범을 합사하고 침략전쟁을 미화하는 시설”이라며 “정부는 야스쿠니 신사 참배를 명백히 반대하고 있다”고 거듭 강조했다.

조 대변인은 “잘못된 것은 잘못된 것이고, 잘못을 한 측은 잘못을 인정해야 한다” 며 “일본의 책임감 있는 인사들이 경청하기를 바란다”며 태도 변화를 촉구했다.

또한 윤병세 외교부 장관은 이날 재외공관장 회의에서 일본의 우경화를 우회적으로 언급, 비판했다. “북한의 핵위협으로 엄중한 한반도 상황과 동북아 일부 국가의 역사 퇴행적인 행태가 우리들로 하여금 한 치도 긴장감 늦추지 못하게 하고 있다” 며 “우리의 경각심과 현명한 대응을 요구하고 있다”고 말했다.

(코리아 헤럴드 신현희 기자/번역 이상주)



<관련 영어 기사>

Korea slams Abe’s defense of shrine visit

By Shin Hyon-hee

Korea on Monday slammed Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s defense of political leaders’ visits to the country’s controversial war shrine, reiterating its demand for Japan’s correct understanding of history.

In an interview with the Foreign Affairs magazine, the rightist leader likened the Yasukuni Shrine to a military cemetery just outside Washington, saying it will be “quite natural” for him to commemorate the deceased veterans. The Arlington National Cemetery is home to some 400,000 fallen U.S. troops from the Civil War to battles in Iraq and Afghanistan.

“The Yasukuni Shrine is a facility that enshrines together war criminals and glorifies a war of aggression. As I’ve said repeatedly, our government clearly opposes worshipping at the shrine,” Foreign Ministry Cho Tai-young told a news briefing.

The Tokyo-based temple honors about 2.5 million Japanese war dead including top World War II criminals responsible for massacres, sex slavery, forced labor and other atrocities.

“To repeat once again, wrong is wrong. And those who did wrong must admit their errors and after that they need to act accordingly,” Cho said.

“We urge one more time Japan’s responsible figures to listen carefully to this.”

Foreign Minister Yun Byung-se also expressed concerns over Tokyo’s accelerating shift to the right, adding to North Korea’s nuclear brinkmanship that has rattled the regional security landscape.

“Along with the grave situation on the Korean Peninsula due to North Korea’s nuclear threats, some Northeast Asian country’s retrogressive behavior is keeping us on alert at all times,” he told an annual meeting in Seoul of heads of overseas diplomatic missions.

His warning comes after Abe defended visits to Yasukuni, saying it is not to endorse slavery but venerate “the souls of those who lost their lives in the service of their country.”

“Let me humbly urge you to think about your own place to pay homage to the war dead, Arlington National Cemetery, in the United States. The presidents of the United States go there, and as Japan’s prime minister, I have visited,” he told the American magazine.

“I think it’s quite natural for a Japanese leader to offer prayer for those who sacrificed their lives for their country, and I think this is no different from what other world leaders do.”

In another inflammatory move, Japan Restoration Party co-leader and Osaka Mayor Toru Hashimoto on Sunday denied the so-called “comfort women” were sex slaves and said other countries ran similar programs.

He fueled criticism last week also from Washington, a key ally of Tokyo, after saying the Japanese military’s sexual abuse of Asian women during wartime was “necessary.”

Seoul’s Foreign Ministry dismissed the remarks as “preposterous,” saying it “insulted the dignity of women, distorted history and defended crimes against humanity.”

(heeshin@heraldcorp.com)