chide
「中国政府が所有したっていい」と発言した鷲尾農水政務官に対して、藤村修官房長官は郡司彰農水相を通じ、「誤解を招く発言は慎むように」と注意しました。
「注意」であり、「叱る、叱責する」などとはレベルが違うわけですが、記事はちゃんと米国用法のchideを使っています。これは”reproach in a usually mild and constructive manner" (Webster)という意味で、日本人がoveruseしがちなscoldと比べると、ずっとマイルドです。ちなみにscoldは「先生が生徒に、親が子どもに」という場面で使われることが多い、堅い言い方です。（UG）
Senior Japan official chided for remarks on Senkakus
The Japanese government has taken a lawmaker in the Cabinet to task for making controversial remarks on the Senkaku Islands, Chief Cabinet Secretary Osamu Fujimura said Wednesday. Eiichiro Washio, a parliamentary secretary at the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, told a gathering Tuesday that the uninhabited islets in the East China Sea are Japanese, but added, "Who owns them should not matter. The Chinese government could own them" despite Japan's recent nationalization of the islets.
Fujimura, the top government spokesman, told a press conference that the lawmaker did not mean that China could own the Senkakus, controlled by Tokyo but claimed by Beijing. "I asked the (farm) minister to tell (Washio) to be careful about what he says," Fujimura said.
Washio acknowledged Wednesday that he made misleading remarks, and told reporters, "I strongly agree with the (Japanese) government's nationalization" of the Senkakus, called Diaoyu in China.
