日本反对中国召开紧急六方会谈的建议Japan Rejects China's Proposed Six-Party Talks

日本外务大臣前原诚司(Seiji Maehara)反对中国新提出的在朝鲜和相关国家间举行紧急会谈的建议，说平壤必须首先显示出真诚的努力来缓和其对抗姿态。

前原诚司周一在一次采访中说，除非六方会谈的相关参与者能取得实质性进展，否则举行进一步的六方会谈没有意义。
在朝鲜上周对一处韩国岛屿发起致人死亡的炮击后，北京周日建议六国──朝鲜、韩国、中国、美国、俄罗斯和日本──重启搁置已久的六方会谈。这一谈判最初旨在说服朝鲜放弃核武器。
前原诚司说，仅仅因为朝鲜做出了狂乱的举动就要举行六方会谈，这对我们来说无法接受。他说，我们必须首先看到朝鲜就其铀浓缩计划以及最近的事件做出某种真诚的努力。
前原诚司的言论显示出国际社会在试图通过协调努力来解决朝鲜半岛冲突的过程中所可能面临的难度。
平壤的紧密盟友──中国提出这一建议时正值美韩大型海军演习可能令紧张气氛加剧之际。然而韩国总统李明博(Lee Myung-bak)对北京说，眼下不是举行六方会谈的“适宜时机”。
对前原诚司所在的日本民主党来说，对造成四人死亡的朝鲜炮击事件的回应成为了一系列外交政策难题中的最新一个，这些令人头疼的难题令首相菅直人(Naoto Kan)倍感苦恼，也在某种程度上降低了菅直人政府的支持率。
反对党批评菅直人在冲绳境内重要美军基地的搬迁问题上陷入僵局，并指责他因与中国和俄罗斯的领土争端而发生的冲突。最近，许多人认为日本政府对此次朝鲜半岛危机的反应过于缓慢，这也令菅直人政府受到了批评。具体来说，他们批评菅直人政府在朝鲜对韩国境内的平民目标发动炮击七个小时之后才对朝鲜提出抗议。

Japanese Foreign Minister Seiji Maehara rejected China's new proposal to hold emergency talks between North Korea and related nations, saying Pyongyang must first display sincere effort to ease its confrontational posture.
Mr. Maehara said in an interview Monday that there would be no point in holding further six-party talks unless the participants can make real progress.
Following last week's deadly artillery strike on a South Korean island by the North, Beijing on Sunday proposed the six nations the two Koreas, China, the U.S., Russia and Japan resume the long-suspended series of talks, originally designed to persuade North Korea to disarm.
'It's unacceptable for us to hold six-party talks only because North Korea has gone amok,' the minister said. 'We must first see some kind of sincere effort from North Korea on its uranium enrichment program and the latest incident.'
Mr. Maehara's remarks suggest the difficulty the international community may face in trying to resolve the conflict on the Korean Peninsula through coordinated effort.
The proposal from China, Pyongyang's close ally, came as major naval drills by the U.S. and South Korea appeared to fuel tensions. South Korean President Lee Myung-bak, however, told Beijing now was not the 'right time' for the six-party talks.
For Mr. Maehara's Democratic Party of Japan, responding to the North Korean attack, which left four people dead, has become the latest in the series of foreign policy headaches that have tormented Prime Minister Naoto Kan and helped to push down the popular support for his government.
Opposition parties have criticized Mr. Kan over a deadlock on the relocation of a key U.S. base in Okinawa and the flare-ups in territorial disputes with China and Russia. Most recently, the government came under attack for what many saw as a slow response to the Korean emergency. Specifically, they criticized the Kan administration for taking seven hours before lodging a protest against North Korea after its artillery attack on civilian targets in South Korea.