Japan: Lessons in Communication from the Hatoyama Essay · Global Voices
When an online Op-Ed piece by current Prime Minister <PERSON> appeared in the New York Times just days before the Lower House elections last month, national reaction ranged from surprise to consternation to pure mortification. “A New Path for Japan” was an abridged and translated version of “My Political Philosophy” [ja], which was published in the Japanese magazine VOICE. The administration has claimed that they had no prior knowledge that the essay would be released in this way and that <PERSON> was “misquoted“.
‘Security Council Summit on Nuclear Non-proliferation and Disarmament’ by Flickr user United Nations Photo
There are two aspects to this controversy: the logic or lack thereof of the arguments made in the essay and the process of how the Japanese text was edited and published in mainstream American media.
Well, was it a matter of bad editing and bad translation?
<PERSON> thinks it played a big part.
ＰＨＰのＶＯＩＣＥに掲載された『祖父・一郎に学んだ「友愛」という戦いの旗印』と言うオリジナルの論文を、ニューヨーク・タイムズが抜粋して掲載したので、どうしても舌足らずとなり、鳩山代表の意図するニュアンスが、正確に伝わっていない。
その上、クーデンホフ・カレルギーの高邁な思想ＦＲＡＴＥＲＮＩＴＥ（鳩山一郎は友愛と訳した）をベースに、日本人魂を加味した独自の政治哲学を展開しており、能書きだけを提示しているようなものであるから、そっくりそのまま、欧米人、特に、思想的背景の全く違うアメリカ人に理解される筈がない。
Because the New York Times selectively edited the original essay published in VOICE, “The Battle Flag of Yuuai, learned from my grandfather, <PERSON>” (the sub title of ‘My Political Philosophy’), it was simply insufficient. 925
The nuances of <PERSON>'s intent are not relayed in their entirety. In addition, the essay expands on <PERSON> noble idea of fraternité (<PERSON> translated this as yuuai 友愛) for a unique political philosophy with a touch of Japanese-ness. [The English version] offers no such context and there is no way that this translated version on its own will be understood by Westerners, especially Americans, who have a very different ideological background.
誤解を避けるために言及しておくが、鳩山代表の見解は、私自身納得行く部分が多いと感じているし、正確に伝われば、オバマ大統領のリベラルな政治哲学や思想と共通点が結構ある筈で、実りあるコラボレーションが可能だと思っている。 1010