The award-winning comedy "Utawasetai Otoko Tachi" (Men who want the song to be sung), written and directed by Ai Nagai, is set on the day of a commencement ceremony at a Tokyo high school. 数々の演劇賞を受賞した永井愛さん作・演出の喜劇「歌わせたい男たち」（２００５年初演）は、卒業式の日を迎えた都立高校が舞台だ。
The school principal is desperate to make sure that the ceremony will proceed according to the instructions of the board of education. But there are some teachers who are determined not to stand for the singing of the national anthem "Kimigayo" in defiance of the board's instructions. There is also a part-time music teacher who has been ordered to play a piano accompaniment to the singing of the anthem without being aware of the conflict. 教育委員会の指示通りに式を進めようと必死の校長。君が代斉唱の時、起立しないと決めている教師。そんな葛藤があることを知らぬまま、ピアノ伴奏を命じられた音楽講師……。
They are all good-natured people but get exhausted and hurt in the struggle and find themselves caught in a bind. 根はいい人ばかりなのに、みな消耗し、傷つき、追いつめられていく。
In a ruling on the issue that provided inspiration for the play, the Tokyo High Court on Friday rejected all the requests made in a lawsuit by some 400 teachers and other staff members at high schools in the capital. The plaintiffs asked the court to confirm that they and their colleagues have no obligation to stand for the anthem or play an accompaniment. They also sought compensation for the punishment they received for refusing to take such actions. The high court overturned a lower court's ruling that said the Tokyo metropolitan government's instructions requiring school staff members to stand for the anthem and play musical accompaniment violated the Constitution, which guarantees "freedom of thought and conscience." 芝居の素材になった都立高校で働く教職員ら約４００人が、君が代の際に起立斉唱したり伴奏したりする義務がないことの確認や慰謝料を求めた裁判で、東京高裁は請求をすべて退ける判決を言い渡した。「起立や伴奏を強制する都の指導は、思想・良心の自由を保障した憲法に違反する」とした一審判決は取り消された。
This is an extremely regrettable decision. 極めて残念な判断だ。
In a separate suit over whether ordering a teacher to play an accompaniment to the anthem violates the Constitution, the Supreme Court in 2007 ruled that such an order is not unconstitutional. ピアノ伴奏を命じることの当否が争われた別の訴訟で、最高裁は０７年に合憲判決を言い渡している。
Following the reasoning shown in the top court ruling, the high court argued that ordering teachers to sing the anthem or play an accompaniment doesn't amount to denying their individual views and thoughts about history and the world and therefore doesn't violate the Constitution. 高裁はこの判例をなぞり、斉唱や伴奏を命じたからといって個々の教職員の歴史観や世界観まで否定することにはならない、だから憲法に違反しないと結論づけた。
The high court's argument shows no sign of sensitivity to the importance of protecting and tolerating as much as possible the values and principles individual citizens cherish and follow. The ruling sounds like simply preaching the gospel of conformity, citing the frivolous reasons that this is something which everybody does and that the plaintiffs are public servants. 判決理由からは、国民一人ひとりが大切にする価値や譲れぬ一線をいかに守り、なるべく許容していくかという問題意識を見いだすことはできない。「誰もがやっているのだから」「公務員なのだから」と理屈を並べ、忍従をただ説いているように読める。
Is this acceptable? それでいいのだろうか。
We are not opposed to the hoisting of the national flag or the singing of the anthem at school ceremonies. But we have argued that using the threat of punishment to enforce these actions is going too far. 私たちは、式典で国旗を掲げ、国歌を歌うことに反対するものではない。ただ、処分を科してまでそれを強いるのは行き過ぎだと主張してきた。
The judiciary should be different from the legislative and administrative branches of the government, where the rule of the majority is the basic principle. Its most important role in a democratic society is the protection of the human rights of minorities. 最後は数の力で決まる立法や行政と異なり、少数者の人権を保護することにこそ民主社会における司法の最も重要な役割がある。
Both the Supreme Court and the high court should be criticized for abandoning their principal mission and thereby undermining the importance of their own institution. 最高裁、高裁とも、その使命を放棄し、存在意義を自らおとしめていると言うほかない。
In recent years, the number of teachers disciplined by the Tokyo metropolitan government over the matter has been declining. 近年、この問題で都の処分を受ける教職員は減っている。
That's because violators are punished by increasingly severer penalties--first a reprimand, then a salary cut and finally suspension. In addition, defiant teachers are denied opportunities for re-employment by the metropolitan government after retirement. 違反すると、罰は戒告、減給、停職と回を追って重くなるうえ、定年後の再雇用が一切認められなくなるからだ。
It seems necessary for us to reflect on the fact that school ceremonies are conducted according to the instructions of the metropolitan government only because of such threats and considerations of loss. そんな脅しと損得勘定の上に粛々と行われる式典とは何なのか。いま一度、立ち止まって考える必要があるように思う。
When a law was enacted in 1999 to give official status to the flag and anthem, then Education Minister Akito Arima told the Diet that the legislation would not change the professional duties of teachers. 国旗・国歌法が制定された９９年、当時の有馬朗人文相は国会で「教員の職務上の責務について変更を加えるものではない」と言明し、 （以下の英文部分が見当たりません。翻訳抜けでしょう＾＾）
小渕恵三首相も「国民の生活に何らの影響や変化が生ずることとはならない」と述べた。
ところが現在、教職員ばかりか、生徒や保護者、来賓の態度をチェックする動きが各地で報告されている。
Society must be vigilant for signs that the high court ruling may be promoting intolerance or stifling freedom. 今回の高裁判決が、こうした息苦しさを助長することのないよう、社会全体で目を凝らしていきたい。
Just as the Diet was beginning debate on the government's draft budget for new fiscal year and tax reform, a dire warning about Japan's fiscal health came from outside. 新年度予算案や税制改革について国会論戦が始まりつつある時に、場外から強烈な警鐘が響いた。
Standard & Poor's, a U.S. credit rating agency, downgraded Japanese government bonds to a rating one notch below that for Spain, whose fiscal woes have been arousing international concerns. The move has underscored the fragility of international confidence in Japan's public finances. 米格付け会社のスタンダード・アンド・プアーズ（Ｓ＆Ｐ）が日本国債の格付けを引き下げた。財政懸念が高まるスペインよりもひとつ下というランクは、日本の財政に対する国際的信用の危うさを示すものだ。
Credit rating agencies were roundly criticized after they failed to issue an appropriate warning about the global financial crisis. 格付け会社は世界金融危機に適切な警告を発せられず、批判を浴びた。
Unfortunately, there is little room for disputing the downgrading of Japan's sovereign debt. The combined central and local government debt load now equals 200 percent of gross domestic product, which means Japan's public finances are in the worst shape among industrial countries. だが残念ながらこの格下げに異論をはさむ余地は少ない。日本の国と地方の借金総額は国内総生産（ＧＤＰ）の２倍にのぼり、先進国で最悪。
The fiscal crunch is evidenced by the fact that the government will have to borrow more money than its tax revenue to finance the budget for next fiscal year. 政府は税収より多額の借金に頼らねば、毎年度の予算さえ組めないのだから。
The situation is that the government could have found it difficult to issue new bonds due to a sharp drop in confidence in its creditworthiness. 市場の信認低下で国債発行が難しくなってもおかしくない。
Yet Japan has so far been able to keep issuing huge amounts of new bonds because it has more foreign assets than any other country and is running a current-account surplus. It has also helped that most government bonds have been bought by domestic investors. にもかかわらず、日本が巨額の国債発行を続けてこられたのは世界最大の対外資産をもち、経常黒字国だという事情もある。国債の引き受け手の大半が国内投資家だというのも強みだ。
The savings rate and current-account surplus could drop significantly, however, as its working population shrinks due to rapid demographic aging. しかし超高齢化で現役世代が減れば貯蓄率の低下や経常黒字の縮小もありえよう。
Japanese investors may eventually start getting out of government bonds. There is no guarantee that the government will be able to keep piling on fresh debt. 国内投資家が日本国債を見限るようになるかもしれない。巨額発行を続けられる保証はない。
What is especially disturbing is the fact that S&P cited the political situation in Japan in its reasons for lowering the debt rating. とりわけ深刻なのは、Ｓ＆Ｐの格下げ理由に日本の政治状況があげられたことだ。
The opposition parties, which control the Upper House, are taking an increasingly confrontational posture, making the outlook for bipartisan talks on integrated tax and social security reform bleak. There is even the possibility that bills related to the government's spending plan for the year starting in April may not be enacted. ねじれ国会のもとで野党が対決色を強め、税と社会保障の一体改革は協議入りもかなり難しい。新年度予算案の関連法案が成立しない可能性さえある。
There is considerable room for Japan to raise its consumption tax rate, which is the lowest in the developed world. Markets have been acting with the expectation that the government would eventually raise the tax, but Japan's leaders have failed to pluck up the courage to tackle this policy challenge. その懸念が国債の格付けに響いているのである。 日本の消費税率は先進国で最も低く、まだ引き上げ余地がある。日本政府はいずれ増税に踏み切るだろう。市場にはそういう期待と確信があった。だが日本の政治は重い腰を上げられないでいる。いまや市場から不信感が突きつけられたのだ。
Prime Minister Naoto Kan pledged to stake his political life on his initiative to push through integrated tax and social security reform. So it was deeply disheartening to hear him say, "I'm not familiar with that kind of things," when he was asked about the debt downgrade. 一体改革に「政治生命をかける」と言った菅直人首相が格下げについて聞かれ、「そういうことに疎い」と答えたのは情けない。
Instead, he should have emphatically said, "I will achieve without fail both fiscal rehabilitation and economic growth through reforms." 「改革で、財政再建も経済成長も必ず成し遂げます」と、力強く言うべきだった。
Criticizing his remarks would not be of much help. What lies at the heart of the problems that have led to the cut in the debt rating of Japan is the overall political paralysis. Part of the blame falls on the opposition Liberal Democratic Party of Japan, which is apparently more interested in pressuring the Kan administration into dissolving the Lower House for a general election than in responding to the fiscal crisis and is showing no willingness to hold talks with the ruling camp over the proposed integrated reform. だが、首相の言葉尻を問うことが本質的な問題ではない。財政危機への対処よりも政権を解散・総選挙に追い込むことにこだわり、一体改革についての協議に応じる姿勢を見せない自民党などを含む政治全体の機能不全が、今回の格下げの根底に横たわる。
It seems lawmakers of both camps who are not willing to start discussing a tax hike are acting irresponsibly on the unreasonably optimistic view that it will still be a while before Japan's public finances reach a tipping point. 「財政はまだ当分は大丈夫だろう」という無責任な楽観論が、増税論議に入ろうとしない与野党議員たちの胸の内にあるのではないか。
The ruling and opposition parties should go beyond their political interests and launch nonpartisan talks on measures needed to secure long-term fiscal sustainability for the sake of the public. 与野党は打算を超えて国民の利益のため、持続可能な財政へ向け超党派の議論を始めるべきだ。
Unless Japanese political leaders demonstrate a strong commitment to addressing the problem, both international confidence in government bonds and expectations for Japanese politics will only keep sinking. その強い意思を内外に示さない限り、日本国債の信用も政治への期待も沈むばかりだ。
Demonstrations to try to force Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak to step down are spreading across Egypt. There have already been several casualties in confrontations between demonstrators and the security police. エジプトでムバラク大統領の退陣を求める市民のデモが広がった。治安部隊との衝突で死傷者も出ている。
In Cairo, a clash occurred near the Museum of Egyptian Antiquities (Egyptian Museum), which holds the world-famous gold mask of King Tutankhamen. カイロで衝突があったのは、ツタンカーメンの黄金のマスクで有名なエジプト考古学博物館のそばである。
We are surprised at these uprisings in a place known in Japan as a tourist destination. 日本人にも観光地として人気があるエジプトで、このような騒ぎになっていることは驚きである。
But the country has been under the thumb of Mubarak's authoritarian regime for three decades. Mubarak, a former military officer, has had five consecutive terms. しかし政治的には、軍人出身のムバラク大統領が５期３０年に及ぶ長期の強権体制をしいている国である。
Throughout that whole period, the country has been in a state of emergency, which was declared immediately after the assassination of President Anwar El Sadat, Mubarak's predecessor, in 1981. Citizens are not free to hold rallies, freedom of speech is controlled, and people who criticize the administration can be detained without an arrest warrant. １９８１年に前任のサダト大統領の暗殺直後に出された非常事態宣言が今も続く。そのため人々の集会は規制され、言論の自由も制限され、政権を批判すれば逮捕状なしで拘束される。
In parliamentary elections last fall, major opposition groups decided to boycott the elections halfway through the campaign because of blatant interference by the police in the electoral process. As a result, the parliament is almost completely dominated by the ruling party. 昨秋にあった人民議会選挙では、警察の露骨な選挙干渉によって、主要野党勢力が選挙を途中でボイコットし、与党が議席をほぼ独占している。
Egypt also faces an unemployment rate of nearly 10 percent, growing poverty, prices rising at nearly 20 percent a year and a widening gap between the rich and the poor. There is growing discontent at corruption among the leadership centering on the president. 非民主的な体制に加えて、１０％近い失業率、年率２０％近い物価上昇で貧困や貧富の差が広がる。さらには大統領周辺の腐敗に対する不満も強い。
In Tunisia, demonstrations led to the collapse of an authoritarian regime and sent the president into exile. A similar situation is also developing in Egypt. 市民のデモで大統領が国外に脱出して強権体制が崩れたチュニジアと似たような状況がエジプトにもある。
The people of Egypt are facing an even worse situation than the Tunisians. エジプトの民衆の窮状はより深刻である。
The per capita national income of Egypt, which has a population of 80 million, is only 60 percent of that of Tunisia, which has 10 million people. 人口８千万を抱えるエジプトの１人あたりの国民所得は、人口１千万のチュニジアの６割しかない。
Mubarak's term expires this fall. ムバラク大統領は今秋に改選を迎える。
There are rumors that he wants to hand over the presidency to his son. 息子への世襲のうわさもある。
However, there is strong criticism in Egypt of either the prospect of the 82-year-old president, who has had health problems, seeking re-election or of a nepotistic succession. 国民の間では、８２歳の高齢で健康不安を抱える大統領の続投にも、世襲にも批判が強い。
The Mubarak regime is at a critical juncture. このように見ていくと、ムバラク体制を取り巻く状況は、危機的と言わざるをえない。
Egypt has diplomatic ties with Israel and has a friendly relationship with the United States. It also serves as a go-between for Arab nations and a mediator in the Middle East peace process. エジプトはイスラエルとも国交がある親米国家で、中東和平やアラブ諸国間の仲介役、調整役でもある。
Political turmoil in this regional power could destabilize the whole Middle East. そんな地域大国の政治的混乱は、中東の不安定化につながりかねない。
To prevent the situation in Egypt from getting out of control, bloodshed must be avoided at all costs. We must not have a situation in which security forces and police are aiming guns at their own people. エジプトを最悪の事態にしないためには、治安部隊や軍が市民に銃を向けるような流血の悲劇は何があっても避けなければならない。
The only way forward is for Mubarak to announce that he will retire when his current term expires. He must declare a free and democratic election to choose the next president. そのためには、ムバラク大統領が任期満了で引退を表明し、次の大統領を選ぶ自由で民主的な選挙の実施を宣言するしかないのではないか。
If the government uses force, Islamic terrorists will win the people's hearts. 政府が暴力を使えば、イスラム過激派のテロが人々の心をつかむ。
If it treads a democratic path, it can win over Muslim moderates who support participation in elections. 民主主義による解決を進めれば、選挙参加を支持するイスラム穏健派を政治に取り込むことができる。
We want Mubarak to go down in history as the leader who introduced democracy to Egypt, not as the dictator who suppressed it. ムバラク大統領には民主化をつぶした独裁者としてではなく、エジプトに民主化をもたらした指導者として歴史に名を残してもらいたい。
Japan is one of the main providers of aid to Egypt. 日本はエジプトに対する主要援助国の一つである。
The Japanese government should work with Western countries to persuade the Mubarak regime to make the right choice for its country and its people. 欧米諸国とも相談しつつ、国と国民の将来のために賢い選択をするよう働きかけたい。
The Yomiuri Shimbun (Jan. 30, 2011) Bond downgrade a call to reform 国債の格下げ 財政再建の前進で信認回復を（1月29日付・読売社説）
The U.S. rating agency Standard & Poor's on Thursday downgraded long-term Japanese government bonds by one notch, from AA to AA minus. 米国の格付け会社、スタンダード・アンド・プアーズ（Ｓ＆Ｐ）が、日本の長期国債の格付けを「ダブルＡ」から「ダブルＡマイナス」に１段階引き下げた。
Of course, we do not have to react with undue joy or alarm to ups and downs in the rating, as it is merely an evaluation a private company has made based on its own analysis. 格付けは、民間会社が独自の分析に基づいて示した評価に過ぎず、一喜一憂する必要はない。
However, the current value of government bonds might drop and their interest rate might go up after the lowering of the rating, which is considered an indicator of creditworthiness. The government has to keep an eye on market trends. だが、国債の信用力の目安とされる格付けが下がると、国債価格も下がり、金利上昇を招く恐れがある。市場動向への警戒を続ける必要があろう。
Prime Minister Naoto Kan's government is planning to draft by June a plan to reform both social security and the tax system in an integrated manner. As the first step toward sound public finance, the government must stipulate a hike in the consumption tax rate in the draft plan to secure a stable revenue source. 菅内閣は、社会保障と税の一体改革案を６月までにまとめる方針だ。安定財源を確保するため、そこに消費税率の引き上げを明記し、財政健全化への一歩を踏み出さねばならない。
We believe it is the only way to restore the credibility of the government bonds. それが国債の信認を回復する唯一の道である。
===
Details of diagnosis
S&P explained that it decided to downgrade the Japanese government bonds because the nation's fiscal debts are the worst among advanced economies and there seems to be no easy way to reduce them. The agency also cited prolonged deflation as another factor making elimination of the budget deficit difficult. 格下げの理由をＳ＆Ｐは、日本の財政赤字が先進国中、最悪のレベルで、今後も削減が容易ではないとみられるため、と説明している。長引くデフレも財政赤字の解消を難しくする要因に挙げた。
Furthermore, it said that the Democratic Party of Japan-led administration lacks a consistent strategy on the debt problem. さらに「民主党政権には債務問題に対する一貫した戦略が欠けている」とも指摘した。
S&P announced a year ago that it was likely to lower the rating of the government bonds. The company apparently has watched the actions of the government since then and concluded that it was neither sufficiently serious about nor capable of taking measures toward fiscal rehabilitation. Ｓ＆Ｐは、１年前に格下げを予告している。その後の政権の対応を見る限り、財政再建に向けた本気度や実行力が足りないとの判断に至ったようだ。
In fact, though tax revenues are 41 trillion yen, the issuance of government bonds amounts to 44 trillion yen in the fiscal 2011 budget. This abnormal situation of debt issuance exceeding tax revenues has continued since fiscal 2010. 実際、２０１１年度予算は、４１兆円の税収に対し、国債発行額が４４兆円にのぼる。借金が税収を上回る異常事態は２年連続だ。
Total long-term debts of the central and local governments will reach 892 trillion yen by the end of fiscal 2011. This is more than 1.8 times the gross domestic product, ensuring that Japan will maintain its status among the world's advanced economies as the one in the worst fiscal condition. 国と地方の長期債務は、１１年度末で８９２兆円に及ぶ。国内総生産（ＧＤＰ）の１・８倍を超えており、先進国の中で最悪の状況が続くことになる。
===
Taxes must rise
To defuse the situation, the Kan Cabinet must launch drastic measures to increase tax revenues. こうした事態を打開するためにも菅内閣は、思い切った増収策を打ち出す必要がある。
The downgrade could be interpreted as a prompt for the administration to carry out such measures swiftly and surely. 格付けの引き下げは、その着実な実行を“催促”したものと受け止めることもできよう。
Japanese government bonds are now rated lower than those of Spain--which faces its own fiscal uncertainty--and at the same level as those of Kuwait and China. However, Japan's situation is different from those of Greece and Ireland, where downgrades have fueled economic confusion. 日本の国債の格付けは、財政不安を抱えるスペインを下回り、中国やクウェートと並んだ。だが、格下げで経済の混乱に拍車がかかったギリシャやアイルランドなどとは事情が違う。
A calm response is required in the case of Japanese government bonds because 95 percent of them are stably absorbed domestically. 日本の国債は、９５％が国内で安定的に消化されている。冷静な対応が求められる。
The prime minister was criticized for saying, "I don't know much about this kind of thing" in reference to the downgrade. He later said he simply meant he had not received detailed briefings on the issue. 菅首相は格下げについて「そういうことに疎い」と発言、批判された。「詳しく聞いていない」との趣旨だったと釈明している。
In any case, however, we have to say that Kan's remarks were indiscreet coming from the prime minister, who should take the lead in fiscal rehabilitation. 財政再建に指導力を発揮すべき首相の言葉としては、不用意だったと言わざるをえまい。
(From The Yomiuri Shimbun, Jan. 29, 2011) （2011年1月29日02時04分 読売新聞）
2011/01/28 --The Asahi Shimbun, Jan. 27 EDITORIAL: State of the Union オバマ演説―寛容と品位を求めた
American coins are inscribed with the motto "E pluribus unum," a Latin phrase meaning "Out of many, one." It derives from the United States' fight for independence from Britain, and the unity of the 13 colonies that founded the nation. Now, however, it has a broader connection to the idea that the United States is made up of people from diverse racial and religious backgrounds. 米国の硬貨には、ラテン語で「エ・プルリブス・ウヌム（多から生まれる一つ）」という標語が刻まれている。１３の植民地が結束して独立を達成したことに由来するが、現在ではもっと広く、多様な人種、宗教からなる米国が統合されていることを指す。
U.S. President Barack Obama seemed to be aiming at a regeneration of that spirit of unity in the State of the Union address Tuesday in the U.S. House of Representatives. ２５日の米連邦議会で一般教書演説をしたオバマ大統領の念頭には、この国家理念の再生があったのではないか。
The Obama administration, which took power two years ago promising to deliver change, has passed the halfway mark of its current term. In last year's midterm election, his Democratic Party suffered a crushing defeat to the Republican Party, which now holds a majority in the House of Representatives. 「チェンジ」の合言葉とともに２年前に誕生したオバマ政権は、折り返し点を迎えた。昨年の中間選挙で与党の民主党は大敗。下院の主導権を共和党に奪われた。
In the State of the Union address, Obama once again called for nonpartisanship, appealing to all parts of the political spectrum to realize that there is no realistic option other than to work together. In the context of the history of the United States, this represents much more than empty political rhetoric. 内政・外交の基本方針を示す一般教書演説で、大統領は改めて超党派路線を呼びかけた。それは、両党の歩み寄り以外に現実に可能な選択肢がないことを意味しているのだが、歴史に照らすと、単なる政治的便宜主義を超えた意味がある。
Since the 1960s, American society has seen strong reactions among conservatives to the civil rights movement, the anti-war movement, feminism, and other waves of change. Those clashes have embroiled the country in a "culture war." The rift between conservatives and liberals has grown, and Congress, where bipartisan compromise had once been a matter of course, has turned into a battleground of fundamentalisms. The grass-roots conservative Tea Party movement has spread across the nation. Radio talk shows and the Internet are amplifying the hatred. １９６０年代以降の米社会は、公民権運動、反戦運動、女性解放をめぐるフェミニズムの動きなどに、保守層が激しく反発し、文化戦争の様相を呈してきた。保守とリベラルに二極化した社会の亀裂は深まるばかりで、党派を超えた歩み寄りが当たり前だった議会は今や、原理主義の戦場となった。各地で草の根保守の茶会旋風が吹き、ラジオのトークショーやインターネットの言論が憎しみを増長させている。
The president, who was born to a white mother and an African father, tried to position himself as "a bridge" linking different ideas and cultures. However, the health-care reform bill on which he staked his administration's fate has been labeled as "socialist." It barely made it onto the statute book, and then only after a significant revisions. There are no signs of the rift in U.S. politics narrowing. Discord peaked with the shooting of a Democrat congresswoman in Tucson, Arizona, earlier this month. Some liberals have blamed radical speech by the conservatives. Conservatives have hit back at liberals, saying they are using a crime by a mentally disturbed person for political gain. 白人女性とアフリカ人男性の間に生まれた大統領は、単に黒人の立場を主張するのではなく、異なる主義や文化をつなぐ「ブリッジ」を目指して政権に就いた。しかし、政権の命運をかけた医療保険法は「社会主義」のレッテルを貼られ、かろうじて修正成立したものの分極化は止まらない。先のアリゾナ州トゥーソンの民主党議員狙撃事件で、対立は頂点に達した。リベラル派は保守派の過激な言論が背景だと言い、保守派は精神病患者の犯罪を政治利用しているとなじった。
A speech by the president mourning the shooting victims was a breakthrough in this difficult situation. Recounting stories of each victim's life, he called on the nation to transcend partisan differences and to recover civility in public discourse. He called on U.S. society to live up to the ideals of the victims of the shootings. The speech has been described as his best since taking office. この難しい局面を打開したのが、大統領の追悼演説だった。凶弾に倒れた一人ひとりのかけがえのない人生の物語を紡ぎながら、党派を超えて犠牲者たちの願いにふさわしい品位を社会に取り戻そうと訴えた。就任以来最も優れた演説だと評価されている。
A spirit of compromise has also been apparent in policies such as the lowering of corporate tax rates. An extension of tax breaks for the wealthy, accepted by the president at the end of last year, was also a concession to the Republicans. At the same time, the president also showed his toughness in winning approval for a U.S.-Russian nuclear disarmament treaty. 歩み寄りは、法人税率の引き下げなど政策でも表れた。大統領が昨年末に受け入れた富裕層に対する優遇税制の延長は、共和党への妥協である。その取引の中で、米ロの核軍縮条約の承認を勝ち取るしたたかさも見せた。
The United States is not the only country where political rhetoric has intensified and deteriorated, or where the art of compromise has been lost. Intolerance is a disease common to advanced democracies. It is a self-destructive illness. The United States' struggle over the ideals encapsulated by the motto "E pluribus unum" (out of many, one) is also our own problem. 政治のレトリックが激化、そして劣化し、妥協の技術が失われているのは米国だけではない。不寛容は先進民主主義国共通の病であり、社会を自壊させかねぬ病理である。多様でありながら一つである、という米国の理念をめぐる格闘は我々の課題でもある。
The Yomiuri Shimbun (Jan. 28, 2011) Politics cannot function on confrontation alone 代表質問 対決だけの政治は機能しない（1月27日付・読売社説）
Politics will continue to malfunction under the current divided Diet, in which the House of Councillors is controlled by the opposition bloc, if the ruling and opposition sides remain at loggerheads unnecessarily. 衆参ねじれ国会の下、与野党がいたずらに対決するばかりでは、政治の機能不全が続くだけだ。
Both need to work in a constructive manner, cooperating on certain points when necessary. 協調すべき点では協調する、という建設的な対応が与野党双方に求められる。
Interpellations began Tuesday in the Diet for party representatives to grill Prime Minister Naoto Kan on the policy speech he delivered Monday, the first day of the current regular Diet session. 菅首相の施政方針演説に対する各党代表質問が始まった。
Sadakazu Tanigaki, president of the main opposition Liberal Democratic Party, harshly criticized the Democratic Party of Japan over its pledges for the House of Representatives election in 2009, saying the DPJ had committed "the biggest deliberate violation of a campaign platform in the history of constitutional politics." 自民党の谷垣総裁は、民主党の衆院選の政権公約について「憲政史上最大の確信犯的な公約違反」と厳しく批判した。
Tanigaki made his confrontational attitude toward the Kan administration clear, demanding an early dissolution of the House of Representatives for a snap general election. "[The government and the ruling party] must admit the mistakes in the election pledges, apologize to voters and seek a voter mandate," Tanigaki said in the Diet. さらに、「公約の過ちを認め、有権者におわびしたうえで信を問い直すべきだ」として、早期の衆院解散・総選挙を要求し、菅政権との対決姿勢を鮮明にした。
Kan riposted, insisting that many election pledges have been implemented or the process to realize them begun, and rejected early dissolution of the lower house. 菅首相は、「公約の多くは実施・着手されている」と反論し、早期解散を否定した。
However, the prime minister also said he plans to "examine" the election pledges by September and that in the event he revised the pledges, he would carefully explain to the public to obtain their understanding. ただ、今年９月までに公約を「検証」し、「見直す時は、国民に丁寧に説明し、理解を得たい」とも語った。
===
Election promises kaput
We consider the prime minister's perception to be too rosy. In its election pledges, the DPJ claimed it would be possible to squeeze out 16.8 trillion yen in fiscal resources by reorganizing allocations in the more than 200 trillion yen state budget. However, it is already apparent that the election pledges have fallen apart. 首相の認識は甘い。２００兆円余の総予算を組み替えれば、必要な１６・８兆円の財源を捻出できるとした公約の破綻は既に明白だ。
If the prime minister still obstinately insists that he will "examine" the pledges, he is simply procrastinating. それでも「検証」と強弁するのは問題の先送りでしかない。
Given that the government will compile plans for comprehensive tax reform, including a consumption tax hike, in June, it would be reasonable for the government to comprehensively review election pledges in parallel with the tax system. We urge the government to make a fresh start, frankly admitting its past mistakes and offering apologies to the public. ６月に消費税を含む税制抜本改革案をまとめるなら、それと並行して公約の全面見直しに取り組むのが筋である。過去の誤りを率直に認め、国民に謝罪することから出直しを図るべきだ。
Tanigaki grilled the prime minister about the appointment of Kaoru Yosano as state minister in charge of economic and fiscal policy in a recent Cabinet reshuffle, asking whether there are conflicting opinions within the Cabinet. 谷垣総裁は、与謝野経済財政相の入閣について「閣内不一致はないか」と追及した。
Kan dodged the question. "It won't be possible for the Cabinet to be in disagreement by the time the reform plan is compiled in June," he said. 首相は、６月に成案を得る段階では「内閣の不統一はあり得ない」とかわした。
As Tanigaki pointed out, however, Yosano supports a consumption tax hike and is hardly in step with DPJ members. As Kan is the one who appointed Yosano to the Cabinet, he must expedite efforts to unify opinions within the government as a step toward the goal of incorporating a consumption tax hike in the tax reform plans. 谷垣総裁の指摘通り、消費税率引き上げを持論とする与謝野氏と民主党の足並みがそろっているとは言い難い。首相は、与謝野氏を入閣させた以上、消費税率引き上げを改革案に盛り込む方向で意思統一を急がねばなるまい。
===
LDP must make an effort
Kan renewed his call to Tanigaki to hold cross-party talks to realize unified reform of social security and tax systems. However, Tanigaki effectively rejected the proposal, setting dissolution of the lower house as a precondition. 首相は、社会保障と税の一体改革での与野党協議を改めて呼びかけたが、谷垣総裁は、衆院解散が条件として、事実上拒否した。
Tanigaki apparently concluded that if the LDP agrees to hold negotiations with the ruling bloc and compile reform plans together, it would only benefit the Kan administration. But the LDP will not be able to fulfill its role as a responsible party if it refuses to budge. 協議に応じ、成案をまとめれば、結局は菅政権の得点となってしまう、という判断だろうが、それだけでは責任政党と言えない。
Even if the LDP wins the next lower house election and retakes the reins of government, it will still face difficulties in steering the upper house. Given the current seat composition in the upper house, the LDP will be a minority ruling party there even if it forms a coalition with New Komeito, meaning it will have to deal with the divided Diet. 仮に自民党が衆院選で勝利し、政権を奪還しても、今の参院の議席構成のままでは、たとえ公明党と連立を組んでも、少数与党となり、ねじれ国会に直面しよう。
To avoid such an unproductive development, it will be necessary to establish the practice of ruling and opposition parties cooperating with each other to a certain degree on key policy issues. そうした不毛な展開を避けるには、重要な政策課題では与野党が一定の協力をする慣例を作る必要がある。
As an initial step to establishing such a framework, it will be essential for the Kan administration to make bold concessions. We advise the LDP, for its part, not to act solely for its own party interests. それには、まず菅政権が政策面で大胆な譲歩をすることが欠かせない。自民党も、党利党略優先の対応は自制してほしい。
(From The Yomiuri Shimbun, Jan. 27, 2011) （2011年1月27日01時49分 読売新聞）
TUCSON, Ariz. - There are the prepared remarks for delivery by President Barack Obama for the Memorial Service for the Victims of the Shooting in Tucson, Arizona.
"To the families of those we've lost; to all who called them friends; to the students of this university, the public servants gathered tonight, and the people of Tucson and Arizona: I have come here tonight as an American who, like all Americans, kneels to pray with you today, and will stand by you tomorrow.
There is nothing I can say that will fill the sudden hole torn in your hearts. But know this: the hopes of a nation are here tonight. We mourn with you for the fallen. We join you in your grief. And we add our faith to yours that Representative Gabrielle Giffords and the other living victims of this tragedy pull through.
As Scripture tells us:
There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God, the holy place where the Most High dwells. God is within her, she will not fall; God will help her at break of day.
On Saturday morning, Gabby, her staff, and many of her constituents gathered outside a supermarket to exercise their right to peaceful assembly and free speech. They were fulfilling a central tenet of the democracy envisioned by our founders - representatives of the people answering to their constituents, so as to carry their concerns to our nation's capital. Gabby called it "Congress on Your Corner" - just an updated version of government of and by and for the people.
That is the quintessentially American scene that was shattered by a gunman's bullets. And the six people who lost their lives on Saturday - they too represented what is best in America.
Judge John Roll served our legal system for nearly 40 years. A graduate of this university and its law school, Judge Roll was recommended for the federal bench by John McCain twenty years ago, appointed by President George H.W. Bush, and rose to become Arizona's chief federal judge. His colleagues described him as the hardest-working judge within the Ninth Circuit. He was on his way back from attending Mass, as he did every day, when he decided to stop by and say hi to his Representative. John is survived by his loving wife, Maureen, his three sons, and his five grandchildren.
George and Dorothy Morris - "Dot" to her friends - were high school sweethearts who got married and had two daughters. They did everything together, traveling the open road in their RV, enjoying what their friends called a 50-year honeymoon. Saturday morning, they went by the Safeway to hear what their Congresswoman had to say. When gunfire rang out, George, a former Marine, instinctively tried to shield his wife. Both were shot. Dot passed away.
A New Jersey native, Phyllis Schneck retired to Tucson to beat the snow. But in the summer, she would return East, where her world revolved around her 3 children, 7 grandchildren, and 2 year-old great-granddaughter. A gifted quilter, she'd often work under her favorite tree, or sometimes sew aprons with the logos of the Jets and the Giants to give out at the church where she volunteered. A Republican, she took a liking to Gabby, and wanted to get to know her better.
Dorwan and Mavy Stoddard grew up in Tucson together - about seventy years ago. They moved apart and started their own respective families, but after both were widowed they found their way back here, to, as one of Mavy's daughters put it, "be boyfriend and girlfriend again." When they weren't out on the road in their motor home, you could find them just up the road, helping folks in need at the Mountain Avenue Church of Christ. A retired construction worker, Dorwan spent his spare time fixing up the church along with their dog, Tux. His final act of selflessness was to dive on top of his wife, sacrificing his life for hers.
Everything Gabe Zimmerman did, he did with passion - but his true passion was people. As Gabby's outreach director, he made the cares of thousands of her constituents his own, seeing to it that seniors got the Medicare benefits they had earned, that veterans got the medals and care they deserved, that government was working for ordinary folks. He died doing what he loved - talking with people and seeing how he could help. Gabe is survived by his parents, Ross and Emily, his brother, Ben, and his fianc??ce, Kelly, who he planned to marry next year.
And then there is nine year-old Christina Taylor Green. Christina was an A student, a dancer, a gymnast, and a swimmer. She often proclaimed that she wanted to be the first woman to play in the major leagues, and as the only girl on her Little League team, no one put it past her. She showed an appreciation for life uncommon for a girl her age, and would remind her mother, "We are so blessed. We have the best life." And she'd pay those blessings back by participating in a charity that helped children who were less fortunate.
Our hearts are broken by their sudden passing. Our hearts are broken - and yet, our hearts also have reason for fullness.
Our hearts are full of hope and thanks for the 13 Americans who survived the shooting, including the congresswoman many of them went to see on Saturday. I have just come from the University Medical Center, just a mile from here, where our friend Gabby courageously fights to recover even as we speak. And I can tell you this - she knows we're here and she knows we love her and she knows that we will be rooting for her throughout what will be a difficult journey.
And our hearts are full of gratitude for those who saved others. We are grateful for Daniel Hernandez, a volunteer in Gabby's office who ran through the chaos to minister to his boss, tending to her wounds to keep her alive. We are grateful for the men who tackled the gunman as he stopped to reload. We are grateful for a petite 61 year-old, Patricia Maisch, who wrestled away the killer's ammunition, undoubtedly saving some lives. And we are grateful for the doctors and nurses and emergency medics who worked wonders to heal those who'd been hurt.
These men and women remind us that heroism is found not only on the fields of battle. They remind us that heroism does not require special training or physical strength. Heroism is here, all around us, in the hearts of so many of our fellow citizens, just waiting to be summoned - as it was on Saturday morning.
Their actions, their selflessness, also pose a challenge to each of us. It raises the question of what, beyond the prayers and expressions of concern, is required of us going forward. How can we honor the fallen? How can we be true to their memory?
You see, when a tragedy like this strikes, it is part of our nature to demand explanations - to try to impose some order on the chaos, and make sense out of that which seems senseless. Already we've seen a national conversation commence, not only about the motivations behind these killings, but about everything from the merits of gun safety laws to the adequacy of our mental health systems. Much of this process, of debating what might be done to prevent such tragedies in the future, is an essential ingredient in our exercise of self-government.
But at a time when our discourse has become so sharply polarized - at a time when we are far too eager to lay the blame for all that ails the world at the feet of those who think differently than we do - it's important for us to pause for a moment and make sure that we are talking with each other in a way that heals, not a way that wounds.
Scripture tells us that there is evil in the world, and that terrible things happen for reasons that defy human understanding. In the words of Job, "when I looked for light, then came darkness." Bad things happen, and we must guard against simple explanations in the aftermath.
For the truth is that none of us can know exactly what triggered this vicious attack. None of us can know with any certainty what might have stopped those shots from being fired, or what thoughts lurked in the inner recesses of a violent man's mind.
So yes, we must examine all the facts behind this tragedy. We cannot and will not be passive in the face of such violence. We should be willing to challenge old assumptions in order to lessen the prospects of violence in the future.
But what we can't do is use this tragedy as one more occasion to turn on one another. As we discuss these issues, let each of us do so with a good dose of humility. Rather than pointing fingers or assigning blame, let us use this occasion to expand our moral imaginations, to listen to each other more carefully, to sharpen our instincts for empathy, and remind ourselves of all the ways our hopes and dreams are bound together.
After all, that's what most of us do when we lose someone in our family - especially if the loss is unexpected. We're shaken from our routines, and forced to look inward. We reflect on the past. Did we spend enough time with an aging parent, we wonder. Did we express our gratitude for all the sacrifices they made for us? Did we tell a spouse just how desperately we loved them, not just once in awhile but every single day?
So sudden loss causes us to look backward - but it also forces us to look forward, to reflect on the present and the future, on the manner in which we live our lives and nurture our relationships with those who are still with us. We may ask ourselves if we've shown enough kindness and generosity and compassion to the people in our lives. Perhaps we question whether we are doing right by our children, or our community, and whether our priorities are in order. We recognize our own mortality, and are reminded that in the fleeting time we have on this earth, what matters is not wealth, or status, or power, or fame - but rather, how well we have loved, and what small part we have played in bettering the lives of others.
That process of reflection, of making sure we align our values with our actions - that, I believe, is what a tragedy like this requires. For those who were harmed, those who were killed - they are part of our family, an American family 300 million strong. We may not have known them personally, but we surely see ourselves in them. In George and Dot, in Dorwan and Mavy, we sense the abiding love we have for our own husbands, our own wives, our own life partners. Phyllis - she's our mom or grandma; Gabe our brother or son. In Judge Roll, we recognize not only a man who prized his family and doing his job well, but also a man who embodied America's fidelity to the law. In Gabby, we see a reflection of our public spiritedness, that desire to participate in that sometimes frustrating, sometimes contentious, but always necessary and never-ending process to form a more perfect union.
And in Christina...in Christina we see all of our children. So curious, so trusting, so energetic and full of magic.
So deserving of our love.
And so deserving of our good example. If this tragedy prompts reflection and debate, as it should, let's make sure it's worthy of those we have lost. Let's make sure it's not on the usual plane of politics and point scoring and pettiness that drifts away with the next news cycle.
The loss of these wonderful people should make every one of us strive to be better in our private lives - to be better friends and neighbors, co-workers and parents. And if, as has been discussed in recent days, their deaths help usher in more civility in our public discourse, let's remember that it is not because a simple lack of civility caused this tragedy, but rather because only a more civil and honest public discourse can help us face up to our challenges as a nation, in a way that would make them proud. It should be because we want to live up to the example of public servants like John Roll and Gabby Giffords, who knew first and foremost that we are all Americans, and that we can question each other's ideas without questioning each other's love of country, and that our task, working together, is to constantly widen the circle of our concern so that we bequeath the American dream to future generations.
I believe we can be better. Those who died here, those who saved lives here - they help me believe. We may not be able to stop all evil in the world, but I know that how we treat one another is entirely up to us. I believe that for all our imperfections, we are full of decency and goodness, and that the forces that divide us are not as strong as those that unite us.
That's what I believe, in part because that's what a child like Christina Taylor Green believed. Imagine: here was a young girl who was just becoming aware of our democracy; just beginning to understand the obligations of citizenship; just starting to glimpse the fact that someday she too might play a part in shaping her nation's future. She had been elected to her student council; she saw public service as something exciting, something hopeful. She was off to meet her congresswoman, someone she was sure was good and important and might be a role model. She saw all this through the eyes of a child, undimmed by the cynicism or vitriol that we adults all too often just take for granted.
I want us to live up to her expectations. I want our democracy to be as good as she imagined it. All of us - we should do everything we can to make sure this country lives up to our children's expectations.
Christina was given to us on September 11th, 2001, one of 50 babies born that day to be pictured in a book called "Faces of Hope." On either side of her photo in that book were simple wishes for a child's life. "I hope you help those in need," read one. "I hope you know all of the words to the National Anthem and sing it with your hand over your heart. I hope you jump in rain puddles."
If there are rain puddles in heaven, Christina is jumping in them today. And here on Earth, we place our hands over our hearts, and commit ourselves as Americans to forging a country that is forever worthy of her gentle, happy spirit.
May God bless and keep those we've lost in restful and eternal peace. May He love and watch over the survivors. And may He bless the United States of America."
The Yomiuri Shimbun (Jan. 27, 2011) Slowly but surely, ease Okinawa's burden 在沖縄米軍基地 負担減を普天間移設の一歩に（1月26日付・読売社説）
Slow but steady efforts must be made to reduce the burden shouldered by residents of Okinawa Prefecture in hosting U.S. military bases there, a task that needs to be fulfilled to relocate the U.S. Marine Corps' Futenma Air Station in the prefecture. 米軍基地負担の軽減策を地道に積み重ね、普天間飛行場の移設実現につなげねばなるまい。
On Tuesday, the national and prefectural governments held another round of talks on policy issues related to U.S. bases. At a section meeting on how to alleviate the burden of hosting bases, the central government reported on the recent agreement reached between Tokyo and Washington over a plan to transfer some exercises involving fighter planes from Kadena Air Base in the prefecture to Guam. The accord can be viewed as an effort to ease the suffering endured by residents due to noise pollution from the Kadena facility. 政府と沖縄県による沖縄政策協議会の米軍基地負担軽減部会で、政府は、嘉手納基地の戦闘機訓練の一部をグアムに移転するとの日米合意を報告した。周辺住民の騒音被害の軽減を図るものだ。
Also in Tuesday's meeting, the government told prefectural and other officials it was shifting into high gear in negotiations with the U.S. administration over an earlier bilateral accord on the Gimbaru Training Area. The government emphasized its determination to ensure that the agreement, reached on the return of the training site to Japan in 1996, would be implemented in July. １９９６年に日米が合意していたギンバル訓練場の全面返還についても、政府は、今年７月の実現を目指し、米側との交渉を本格化させていると説明した。
There is no question that residents of Okinawa Prefecture have long been forced to endure an excessive burden, providing an overwhelming 75 percent of the land occupied by U.S. military bases and other facilities in this country. 在日米軍基地の７５％が集中する沖縄が、過重な負担を強いられていることは論をまたない。
Meanwhile, the significance of the U.S. armed presence in the prefecture is even greater today, given the severity of the recent security environment surrounding Japan and East Asia. 一方で、最近の日本と東アジアの安全保障環境は厳しく、米軍が沖縄に駐留する意義は大きくなっている。
===
Even small steps important
The latest agreement on the transfer of some exercises from the Kadena base, as well as the envisaged return of the Gimbaru site, point to the significance of making even the slightest headway in reducing the burden on the prefecture and obtaining support and cooperation for these actions from local residents. Doing so is indispensable for securing U.S. forces' stable use of military installations in the prefecture. 今回のような訓練移転や施設返還を通じて、沖縄の負担軽減を一歩でも進め、周辺住民の理解を広げることは、米軍基地の安定使用を確保するうえで欠かせない。
The Japanese government must continue to explore various ways of alleviating the burden born by residents in the prefecture and eventually achieve those goals. 政府は引き続き、様々な基地負担軽減策を追求し、実現していくことが求められよう。
Since last month, Prime Minister Naoto Kan and several Cabinet members associated with the base issue have visited Okinawa Prefecture. 先月以降、菅首相や関係閣僚の沖縄訪問が相次いでいる。
This comes after the Kan administration was often inclined to put off dealing with all intractable base-related problems, so we believe his government merits praise for beginning to seriously address the issue of U.S. bases in the prefecture. 菅政権は従来、難題をすべて先送りする姿勢が目立っていたが、沖縄の米軍基地問題に真剣に取り組み始めたこと自体は、前向きな動きと評価していい。
There is no doubt that the relocation of the Futenma installation is the most important task for the government in resolving the base issue. 無論、最も重要なのが普天間飛行場の移設問題である。
It will be no easy task for the Kan administration to make sure the prefectural government retracts its continued demand that the Futenma heliport be relocated outside the prefecture. Still, it is essential for it to make progress in resolving the Futenma dispute, a task that must be accomplished to help reduce the burden shouldered by residents near the heliport and restore trust in the Japan-U.S. alliance. 沖縄県側は、「県外移設」を主張しており、翻意させるのは簡単ではない。だが、普天間飛行場周辺住民の負担軽減と、日米同盟の信頼性回復の両方の観点から、問題を前進させることが大切だ。
With this in mind, the government must earnestly work to ease the burden shouldered by the prefecture as a whole and at the same time promote the development--economic, industrial and otherwise--of the prefecture, thus mending its tattered relations with local leaders and residents. This should be complemented by persistent efforts to persuade them to accept the government plan to relocate the Futenma base within the prefecture. 沖縄県全体の負担軽減や沖縄振興に誠実に取り組み、地元との関係を着実に修復する。そのうえで、普天間飛行場の県内移設について粘り強く説得を重ねる――。
All this is an obligation to be fulfilled by the Democratic Party of Japan-led government, which has created the current difficult situation involving the Futenma controversy. それが、普天間問題の困難な現状を招いた民主党政権のとるべき道であり、責任だろう。
===
Cabinet needs united voice
It is disturbing to see that Cabinet ministers related to the base issue are far from united in addressing the Futenma dispute. 疑問なのは、関係閣僚の足並みが乱れていることだ。
Foreign Minister Seiji Maehara is hurrying to obtain a final government decision about matters related to the construction of an alternative facility for Futenma. For instance, he has reportedly insisted on dropping one of two alternatives presented in an earlier report compiled by specialists from the Japanese and U.S. governments concerning how to arrange runways at a planned new airfield, and called for adopting the other as the construction method for the project. The report proposed two possible construction methods--one requiring two runways to be placed in a V-shaped configuration, and the other designed to build an extended runway in what is called the I-shaped format. Maehara's approach is apparently aimed at laying the groundwork for a successful trip to the United States by the prime minister in the spring. 前原外相は、Ｖ字案とＩ字案がある滑走路配置方式の一本化など、普天間飛行場の代替施設計画の決定を急いでいる。今春の菅首相訪米の環境整備が狙いである。
The foreign minister's stance contrasts with the negative view expressed about his idea by Defense Minister Toshimi Kitazawa. "I will not adopt a crude approach in which the Japanese and U.S. governments bypass Okinawa in making decisions," Kitazawa has said. だが、北沢防衛相は、「沖縄の頭越しで日米が物事を決める稚拙な対応はしない」と否定的だ。
It should be remembered that the Futenma issue became utterly confused partly because members of former Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama's Cabinet repeatedly expressed different positions. Kan needs to ensure that Cabinet members related to the issue of relocating Futenma speak with one voice. 閣僚がバラバラな言動を繰り返したことが、鳩山前政権が普天間問題を迷走させた一因だった。菅首相は、早期に関係閣僚の意思統一を図る必要がある。
(From The Yomiuri Shimbun, Jan. 26, 2011) （2011年1月26日01時17分 読売新聞）
Tonight I addressed the American people on the future we face together.
Though at times it may seem uncertain, it is a future that is ours to decide, ours to define, and ours to win.
I know we will.
Because, after the worst recession in decades, we see an economy growing again.
Because, after two years of job losses, we've added private-sector jobs for 12 straight months -- more than 1 million in all.
Because, time after time, when our resolve has been tested, we, as a nation, have always prevailed.
Overcoming the challenges we face today requires a new vision for tomorrow. We will move forward together, or not at all -- for the challenges we face are bigger than party, and bigger than politics.
Yet the story of America is this: We do big things.
Just as the progress of the past two years would not have been possible without your hard work, we will not realize the agenda I described tonight without you.
So as we continue this great mission together, and we set out the plans for how far we can go, I need to know that you are ready to work side by side with me once more.
Will you stand with me as we strive to win the future?
The last two years have been marked by unprecedented reforms and historic progress.
But there is much more work to do.
Moving forward, America's economic growth at home is inextricably connected to our competitiveness in the global community. The more products American companies can export, the more jobs we can create at home.
This vision for the future starts with innovation, tapping into the creativity and imagination of our people to create the jobs and industries of the future. Instead of subsidizing yesterday's energy, let's invest in tomorrow's. It's why I challenged Congress to join me in setting a new goal: By 2035, 80 percent of America's electricity will come from clean energy sources.
It means leading the world in educating our kids, giving each of our children the best opportunity to succeed and preparing them for the jobs of tomorrow.
We must build a 21st century infrastructure for our country, putting millions of Americans to work rebuilding roads and bridges and expanding high-speed Internet and high-speed rail.
We must reform government, making it leaner, smarter, and more transparent.
And we must take responsibility for our shared debt, reining in our long-term deficit so we can afford the investments we need to move our country forward.
That is the vision I laid out tonight. That is how we win the future.
It is going to take a lot of work -- but I have no doubt we are up to the task.
Half a century ago, when the Soviets beat us into space with the launch of a satellite called Sputnik, we had no idea how we'd beat them to the moon. The science wasn't there yet. NASA didn't even exist.
But after investing in better research and education, we didn't just surpass the Soviets. We unleashed a wave of innovation that created new industries and millions of new jobs.
This is our generation's Sputnik moment.
Please stand together with me:
http://my.barackobama.com/WintheFuture
It is because of each of you, who define the will of a people, that the state of our union is strong in the face of tough challenges. You are the reason our future is still bright in the face of deep uncertainty.
And you are the reason I believe that future is ours to win.
Remarks of President Barack Obama -- As Prepared for Delivery
Tuesday, January 25, 2011; 8:16 PM
Mr. Speaker, Mr. Vice President, Members of Congress, distinguished guests, and fellow Americans:
Tonight I want to begin by congratulating the men and women of the 112th Congress, as well as your new Speaker, John Boehner. And as we mark this occasion, we are also mindful of the empty chair in this Chamber, and pray for the health of our colleague -- and our friend -- Gabby Giffords.
It's no secret that those of us here tonight have had our differences over the last two years. The debates have been contentious; we have fought fiercely for our beliefs. And that's a good thing. That's what a robust democracy demands. That's what helps set us apart as a nation.
But there's a reason the tragedy in Tucson gave us pause. Amid all the noise and passions and rancor of our public debate, Tucson reminded us that no matter who we are or where we come from, each of us is a part of something greater -- something more consequential than party or political preference.
We are part of the American family. We believe that in a country where every race and faith and point of view can be found, we are still bound together as one people; that we share common hopes and a common creed; that the dreams of a little girl in Tucson are not so different than those of our own children, and that they all deserve the chance to be fulfilled.
That, too, is what sets us apart as a nation.
Now, by itself, this simple recognition won't usher in a new era of cooperation. What comes of this moment is up to us. What comes of this moment will be determined not by whether we can sit together tonight, but whether we can work together tomorrow.
I believe we can. I believe we must. That's what the people who sent us here expect of us. With their votes, they've determined that governing will now be a shared responsibility between parties. New laws will only pass with support from Democrats and Republicans. We will move forward together, or not at all -- for the challenges we face are bigger than party, and bigger than politics.
At stake right now is not who wins the next election -- after all, we just had an election. At stake is whether new jobs and industries take root in this country, or somewhere else. It's whether the hard work and industry of our people is rewarded. It's whether we sustain the leadership that has made America not just a place on a map, but a light to the world.
We are poised for progress. Two years after the worst recession most of us have ever known, the stock market has come roaring back. Corporate profits are up. The economy is growing again.
But we have never measured progress by these yardsticks alone. We measure progress by the success of our people. By the jobs they can find and the quality of life those jobs offer. By the prospects of a small business owner who dreams of turning a good idea into a thriving enterprise. By the opportunities for a better life that we pass on to our children.
That's the project the American people want us to work on. Together.
We did that in December. Thanks to the tax cuts we passed, Americans' paychecks are a little bigger today. Every business can write off the full cost of the new investments they make this year. These steps, taken by Democrats and Republicans, will grow the economy and add to the more than one million private sector jobs created last year.
But we have more work to do. The steps we've taken over the last two years may have broken the back of this recession -- but to win the future, we'll need to take on challenges that have been decades in the making.
Many people watching tonight can probably remember a time when finding a good job meant showing up at a nearby factory or a business downtown. You didn't always need a degree, and your competition was pretty much limited to your neighbors. If you worked hard, chances are you'd have a job for life, with a decent paycheck, good benefits, and the occasional promotion. Maybe you'd even have the pride of seeing your kids work at the same company.
That world has changed. And for many, the change has been painful. I've seen it in the shuttered windows of once booming factories, and the vacant storefronts of once busy Main Streets. I've heard it in the frustrations of Americans who've seen their paychecks dwindle or their jobs disappear -- proud men and women who feel like the rules have been changed in the middle of the game.
They're right. The rules have changed. In a single generation, revolutions in technology have transformed the way we live, work and do business. Steel mills that once needed 1,000 workers can now do the same work with 100. Today, just about any company can set up shop, hire workers, and sell their products wherever there's an internet connection.
Meanwhile, nations like China and India realized that with some changes of their own, they could compete in this new world. And so they started educating their children earlier and longer, with greater emphasis on math and science. They're investing in research and new technologies. Just recently, China became home to the world's largest private solar research facility, and the world's fastest computer.
So yes, the world has changed. The competition for jobs is real. But this shouldn't discourage us. It should challenge us. Remember ? for all the hits we've taken these last few years, for all the naysayers predicting our decline, America still has the largest, most prosperous economy in the world. No workers are more productive than ours. No country has more successful companies, or grants more patents to inventors and entrepreneurs. We are home to the world's best colleges and universities, where more students come to study than any other place on Earth.
What's more, we are the first nation to be founded for the sake of an idea -- the idea that each of us deserves the chance to shape our own destiny. That is why centuries of pioneers and immigrants have risked everything to come here. It's why our students don't just memorize equations, but answer questions like "What do you think of that idea? What would you change about the world? What do you want to be when you grow up?"
The future is ours to win. But to get there, we can't just stand still. As Robert Kennedy told us, "The future is not a gift. It is an achievement." Sustaining the American Dream has never been about standing pat. It has required each generation to sacrifice, and struggle, and meet the demands of a new age.
Now it's our turn. We know what it takes to compete for the jobs and industries of our time. We need to out-innovate, out-educate, and out-build the rest of the world. We have to make America the best place on Earth to do business. We need to take responsibility for our deficit, and reform our government. That's how our people will prosper. That's how we'll win the future. And tonight, I'd like to talk about how we get there.
The first step in winning the future is encouraging American innovation.
None of us can predict with certainty what the next big industry will be, or where the new jobs will come from. Thirty years ago, we couldn't know that something called the Internet would lead to an economic revolution. What we can do -- what America does better than anyone -- is spark the creativity and imagination of our people. We are the nation that put cars in driveways and computers in offices; the nation of Edison and the Wright brothers; of Google and Facebook. In America, innovation doesn't just change our lives. It's how we make a living.
Our free enterprise system is what drives innovation. But because it's not always profitable for companies to invest in basic research, throughout history our government has provided cutting-edge scientists and inventors with the support that they need. That's what planted the seeds for the Internet. That's what helped make possible things like computer chips and GPS.
Just think of all the good jobs -- from manufacturing to retail -- that have come from those breakthroughs.
Half a century ago, when the Soviets beat us into space with the launch of a satellite called Sputnik， we had no idea how we'd beat them to the moon. The science wasn't there yet. NASA didn't even exist. But after investing in better research and education, we didn't just surpass the Soviets; we unleashed a wave of innovation that created new industries and millions of new jobs.
This is our generation's Sputnik moment. Two years ago, I said that we needed to reach a level of research and development we haven't seen since the height of the Space Race. In a few weeks, I will be sending a budget to Congress that helps us meet that goal. We'll invest in biomedical research, information technology, and especially clean energy technology -- an investment that will strengthen our security, protect our planet, and create countless new jobs for our people.
Already, we are seeing the promise of renewable energy. Robert and Gary Allen are brothers who run a small Michigan roofing company. After September 11th, they volunteered their best roofers to help repair the Pentagon. But half of their factory went unused, and the recession hit them hard.
Today, with the help of a government loan, that empty space is being used to manufacture solar shingles that are being sold all across the country. In Robert's words, "We reinvented ourselves."
That's what Americans have done for over two hundred years: reinvented ourselves. And to spur on more success stories like the Allen Brothers, we've begun to reinvent our energy policy. We're not just handing out money. We're issuing a challenge. We're telling America's scientists and engineers that if they assemble teams of the best minds in their fields, and focus on the hardest problems in clean energy, we'll fund the Apollo Projects of our time.
At the California Institute of Technology, they're developing a way to turn sunlight and water into fuel for our cars. At Oak Ridge National Laboratory, they're using supercomputers to get a lot more power out of our nuclear facilities. With more research and incentives, we can break our dependence on oil with biofuels, and become the first country to have 1 million electric vehicles on the road by 2015.
We need to get behind this innovation. And to help pay for it, I'm asking Congress to eliminate the billions in taxpayer dollars we currently give to oil companies. I don't know if you've noticed, but they're doing just fine on their own. So instead of subsidizing yesterday's energy, let's invest in tomorrow's.
Now, clean energy breakthroughs will only translate into clean energy jobs if businesses know there will be a market for what they're selling. So tonight, I challenge you to join me in setting a new goal: by 2035, 80% of America's electricity will come from clean energy sources. Some folks want wind and solar. Others want nuclear, clean coal, and natural gas. To meet this goal, we will need them all--? and I urge Democrats and Republicans to work together to make it happen.
Maintaining our leadership in research and technology is crucial to America's success. But if we want to win the future ? if we want innovation to produce jobs in America and not overseas ? then we also have to win the race to educate our kids.
Think about it. Over the next ten years, nearly half of all new jobs will require education that goes beyond a high school degree. And yet, as many as a quarter of our students aren't even finishing high school. The quality of our math and science education lags behind many other nations. America has fallen to 9th in the proportion of young people with a college degree. And so the question is whether all of us -- as citizens, and as parents -- are willing to do what's necessary to give every child a chance to succeed.
That responsibility begins not in our classrooms, but in our homes and communities. It's family that first instills the love of learning in a child. Only parents can make sure the TV is turned off and homework gets done. We need to teach our kids that it's not just the winner of the Super Bowl who deserves to be celebrated, but the winner of the science fair; that success is not a function of fame or PR, but of hard work and discipline.
Our schools share this responsibility. When a child walks into a classroom, it should be a place of high expectations and high performance. But too many schools don't meet this test. That's why instead of just pouring money into a system that's not working, we launched a competition called Race to the Top. To all fifty states, we said, "If you show us the most innovative plans to improve teacher quality and student achievement, we'll show you the money."
Race to the Top is the most meaningful reform of our public schools in a generation. For less than one percent of what we spend on education each year, it has led over 40 states to raise their standards for teaching and learning. These standards were developed, not by Washington, but by Republican and Democratic governors throughout the country. And Race to the Top should be the approach we follow this year as we replace No Child Left Behind with a law that is more flexible and focused on what's best for our kids.
You see, we know what's possible for our children when reform isn't just a top-down mandate, but the work of local teachers and principals; school boards and communities.
Take a school like Bruce Randolph in Denver. Three years ago, it was rated one of the worst schools in Colorado; located on turf between two rival gangs. But last May, 97% of the seniors received their diploma. Most will be the first in their family to go to college. And after the first year of the school's transformation, the principal who made it possible wiped away tears when a student said "Thank you, Mrs. Waters, for showing that we are smart and we can make it."
Let's also remember that after parents, the biggest impact on a child's success comes from the man or woman at the front of the classroom. In South Korea, teachers are known as "nation builders." Here in America, it's time we treated the people who educate our children with the same level of respect. We want to reward good teachers and stop making excuses for bad ones. And over the next ten years, with so many Baby Boomers retiring from our classrooms, we want to prepare 100,000 new teachers in the fields of science, technology, engineering, and math.
In fact, to every young person listening tonight who's contemplating their career choice: If you want to make a difference in the life of our nation; if you want to make a difference in the life of a child ? become a teacher. Your country needs you.
Of course, the education race doesn't end with a high school diploma. To compete, higher education must be within reach of every American. That's why we've ended the unwarranted taxpayer subsidies that went to banks, and used the savings to make college affordable for millions of students. And this year, I ask Congress to go further, and make permanent our tuition tax credit ? worth $10,000 for four years of college.
Because people need to be able to train for new jobs and careers in today's fast-changing economy, we are also revitalizing America's community colleges. Last month, I saw the promise of these schools at Forsyth Tech in North Carolina. Many of the students there used to work in the surrounding factories that have since left town. One mother of two, a woman named Kathy Proctor, had worked in the furniture industry since she was 18 years old. And she told me she's earning her degree in biotechnology now, at 55 years old, not just because the furniture jobs are gone, but because she wants to inspire her children to pursue their dreams too. As Kathy said, "I hope it tells them to never give up."
If we take these steps -- if we raise expectations for every child, and give them the best possible chance at an education, from the day they're born until the last job they take -- we will reach the goal I set two years ago: by the end of the decade, America will once again have the highest proportion of college graduates in the world.
One last point about education. Today, there are hundreds of thousands of students excelling in our schools who are not American citizens. Some are the children of undocumented workers, who had nothing to do with the actions of their parents. They grew up as Americans and pledge allegiance to our flag, and yet live every day with the threat of deportation. Others come here from abroad to study in our colleges and universities. But as soon as they obtain advanced degrees, we send them back home to compete against us. It makes no sense.
Now, I strongly believe that we should take on, once and for all, the issue of illegal immigration. I am prepared to work with Republicans and Democrats to protect our borders, enforce our laws and address the millions of undocumented workers who are now living in the shadows. I know that debate will be difficult and take time. But tonight, let's agree to make that effort. And let's stop expelling talented, responsible young people who can staff our research labs, start new businesses, and further enrich this nation.
The third step in winning the future is rebuilding America. To attract new businesses to our shores, we need the fastest, most reliable ways to move people, goods, and information -- from high-speed rail to high-speed internet.
Our infrastructure used to be the best -- but our lead has slipped. South Korean homes now have greater internet access than we do. Countries in Europe and Russia invest more in their roads and railways than we do. China is building faster trains and newer airports. Meanwhile, when our own engineers graded our nation's infrastructure, they gave us a "D."
We have to do better. America is the nation that built the transcontinental railroad, brought electricity to rural communities, and constructed the interstate highway system. The jobs created by these projects didn't just come from laying down tracks or pavement. They came from businesses that opened near a town's new train station or the new off-ramp.
Over the last two years, we have begun rebuilding for the 21st century, a project that has meant thousands of good jobs for the hard-hit construction industry. Tonight, I'm proposing that we redouble these efforts.
We will put more Americans to work repairing crumbling roads and bridges. We will make sure this is fully paid for, attract private investment, and pick projects based on what's best for the economy, not politicians.
Within 25 years, our goal is to give 80% of Americans access to high-speed rail, which could allow you go places in half the time it takes to travel by car. For some trips, it will be faster than flying -- without the pat-down. As we speak, routes in California and the Midwest are already underway.
Within the next five years, we will make it possible for business to deploy the next generation of high-speed wireless coverage to 98% of all Americans. This isn't just about a faster internet and fewer dropped calls. It's about connecting every part of America to the digital age. It's about a rural community in Iowa or Alabama where farmers and small business owners will be able to sell their products all over the world. It's about a firefighter who can download the design of a burning building onto a handheld device; a student who can take classes with a digital textbook; or a patient who can have face-to-face video chats with her doctor.
All these investments -- in innovation, education, and infrastructure ? will make America a better place to do business and create jobs. But to help our companies compete, we also have to knock down barriers that stand in the way of their success.
Over the years, a parade of lobbyists has rigged the tax code to benefit particular companies and industries. Those with accountants or lawyers to work the system can end up paying no taxes at all. But all the rest are hit with one of the highest corporate tax rates in the world. It makes no sense, and it has to change.
So tonight, I'm asking Democrats and Republicans to simplify the system. Get rid of the loopholes. Level the playing field. And use the savings to lower the corporate tax rate for the first time in 25 years ? without adding to our deficit.
To help businesses sell more products abroad, we set a goal of doubling our exports by 2014 -- because the more we export, the more jobs we create at home. Already, our exports are up. Recently, we signed agreements with India and China that will support more than 250,000 jobs in the United States. And last month, we finalized a trade agreement with South Korea that will support at least 70,000 American jobs. This agreement has unprecedented support from business and labor; Democrats and Republicans, and I ask this Congress to pass it as soon as possible.
Before I took office, I made it clear that we would enforce our trade agreements, and that I would only sign deals that keep faith with American workers, and promote American jobs. That's what we did with Korea, and that's what I intend to do as we pursue agreements with Panama and Colombia, and continue our Asia Pacific and global trade talks.
To reduce barriers to growth and investment, I've ordered a review of government regulations. When we find rules that put an unnecessary burden on businesses, we will fix them. But I will not hesitate to create or enforce commonsense safeguards to protect the American people. That's what we've done in this country for more than a century. It's why our food is safe to eat, our water is safe to drink, and our air is safe to breathe. It's why we have speed limits and child labor laws. It's why last year, we put in place consumer protections against hidden fees and penalties by credit card companies, and new rules to prevent another financial crisis. And it's why we passed reform that finally prevents the health insurance industry from exploiting patients.
Now, I've heard rumors that a few of you have some concerns about the new health care law. So let me be the first to say that anything can be improved. If you have ideas about how to improve this law by making care better or more affordable, I am eager to work with you. We can start right now by correcting a flaw in the legislation that has placed an unnecessary bookkeeping burden on small businesses.
What I'm not willing to do is go back to the days when insurance companies could deny someone coverage because of a pre-existing condition. I'm not willing to tell James Howard, a brain cancer patient from Texas, that his treatment might not be covered. I'm not willing to tell Jim Houser, a small business owner from Oregon, that he has to go back to paying $5,000 more to cover his employees. As we speak, this law is making prescription drugs cheaper for seniors and giving uninsured students a chance to stay on their parents' coverage. So instead of re-fighting the battles of the last two years, let's fix what needs fixing and move forward.
Now, the final step -- a critical step -- in winning the future is to make sure we aren't buried under a mountain of debt.
We are living with a legacy of deficit-spending that began almost a decade ago. And in the wake of the financial crisis, some of that was necessary to keep credit flowing, save jobs, and put money in people's pockets.
But now that the worst of the recession is over, we have to confront the fact that our government spends more than it takes in. That is not sustainable. Every day, families sacrifice to live within their means. They deserve a government that does the same.
So tonight, I am proposing that starting this year, we freeze annual domestic spending for the next five years. This would reduce the deficit by more than $400 billion over the next decade, and will bring discretionary spending to the lowest share of our economy since Dwight Eisenhower was president.
This freeze will require painful cuts. Already, we have frozen the salaries of hardworking federal employees for the next two years. I've proposed cuts to things I care deeply about, like community action programs. The Secretary of Defense has also agreed to cut tens of billions of dollars in spending that he and his generals believe our military can do without.
I recognize that some in this Chamber have already proposed deeper cuts, and I'm willing to eliminate whatever we can honestly afford to do without. But let's make sure that we're not doing it on the backs of our most vulnerable citizens. And let's make sure what we're cutting is really excess weight. Cutting the deficit by gutting our investments in innovation and education is like lightening an overloaded airplane by removing its engine. It may feel like you're flying high at first, but it won't take long before you'll feel the impact.
Now, most of the cuts and savings I've proposed only address annual domestic spending, which represents a little more than 12% of our budget. To make further progress, we have to stop pretending that cutting this kind of spending alone will be enough. It won't.
The bipartisan Fiscal Commission I created last year made this crystal clear. I don't agree with all their proposals, but they made important progress. And their conclusion is that the only way to tackle our deficit is to cut excessive spending wherever we find it -- in domestic spending, defense spending, health care spending, and spending through tax breaks and loopholes.
This means further reducing health care costs, including programs like Medicare and Medicaid, which are the single biggest contributor to our long-term deficit. Health insurance reform will slow these rising costs, which is part of why nonpartisan economists have said that repealing the health care law would add a quarter of a trillion dollars to our deficit. Still, I'm willing to look at other ideas to bring down costs, including one that Republicans suggested last year: medical malpractice reform to rein in frivolous lawsuits.
To put us on solid ground, we should also find a bipartisan solution to strengthen Social Security for future generations. And we must do it without putting at risk current retirees, the most vulnerable, or people with disabilities; without slashing benefits for future generations; and without subjecting Americans' guaranteed retirement income to the whims of the stock market.
And if we truly care about our deficit, we simply cannot afford a permanent extension of the tax cuts for the wealthiest 2% of Americans. Before we take money away from our schools, or scholarships away from our students, we should ask millionaires to give up their tax break.
It's not a matter of punishing their success. It's about promoting America's success.
In fact, the best thing we could do on taxes for all Americans is to simplify the individual tax code. This will be a tough job, but members of both parties have expressed interest in doing this, and I am prepared to join them.
So now is the time to act. Now is the time for both sides and both houses of Congress -- Democrats and Republicans -- to forge a principled compromise that gets the job done. If we make the hard choices now to rein in our deficits, we can make the investments we need to win the future.
Let me take this one step further. We shouldn't just give our people a government that's more affordable. We should give them a government that's more competent and efficient. We cannot win the future with a government of the past.
We live and do business in the information age, but the last major reorganization of the government happened in the age of black and white TV. There are twelve different agencies that deal with exports. There are at least five different entities that deal with housing policy. Then there's my favorite example: the Interior Department is in charge of salmon while they're in fresh water, but the Commerce Department handles them in when they're in saltwater. And I hear it gets even more complicated once they're smoked.
Now, we have made great strides over the last two years in using technology and getting rid of waste. Veterans can now download their electronic medical records with a click of the mouse. We're selling acres of federal office space that hasn't been used in years, and we will cut through red tape to get rid of more. But we need to think bigger. In the coming months, my administration will develop a proposal to merge, consolidate, and reorganize the federal government in a way that best serves the goal of a more competitive America. I will submit that proposal to Congress for a vote -- and we will push to get it passed.
In the coming year, we will also work to rebuild people's faith in the institution of government. Because you deserve to know exactly how and where your tax dollars are being spent, you will be able to go to a website and get that information for the very first time in history. Because you deserve to know when your elected officials are meeting with lobbyists, I ask Congress to do what the White House has already done: put that information online. And because the American people deserve to know that special interests aren't larding up legislation with pet projects, both parties in Congress should know this: if a bill comes to my desk with earmarks inside, I will veto it.
A 21st century government that's open and competent. A government that lives within its means. An economy that's driven by new skills and ideas. Our success in this new and changing world will require reform, responsibility, and innovation. It will also require us to approach that world with a new level of engagement in our foreign affairs.
Just as jobs and businesses can now race across borders, so can new threats and new challenges. No single wall separates East and West; no one rival superpower is aligned against us.
And so we must defeat determined enemies wherever they are, and build coalitions that cut across lines of region and race and religion. America's moral example must always shine for all who yearn for freedom, justice, and dignity. And because we have begun this work, tonight we can say that American leadership has been renewed and America's standing has been restored.
Look to Iraq, where nearly 100,000 of our brave men and women have left with their heads held high; where American combat patrols have ended; violence has come down; and a new government has been formed. This year, our civilians will forge a lasting partnership with the Iraqi people, while we finish the job of bringing our troops out of Iraq. America's commitment has been kept; the Iraq War is coming to an end.
Of course, as we speak, al Qaeda and their affiliates continue to plan attacks against us. Thanks to our intelligence and law enforcement professionals, we are disrupting plots and securing our cities and skies. And as extremists try to inspire acts of violence within our borders, we are responding with the strength of our communities, with respect for the rule of law, and with the conviction that American Muslims are a part of our American family.
We have also taken the fight to al Qaeda and their allies abroad. In Afghanistan, our troops have taken Taliban strongholds and trained Afghan Security Forces. Our purpose is clear -- by preventing the Taliban from reestablishing a stranglehold over the Afghan people, we will deny al Qaeda the safe-haven that served as a launching pad for 9/11.
Thanks to our heroic troops and civilians, fewer Afghans are under the control of the insurgency. There will be tough fighting ahead, and the Afghan government will need to deliver better governance. But we are strengthening the capacity of the Afghan people and building an enduring partnership with them. This year, we will work with nearly 50 countries to begin a transition to an Afghan lead. And this July, we will begin to bring our troops home.
In Pakistan, al Qaeda's leadership is under more pressure than at any point since 2001. Their leaders and operatives are being removed from the battlefield. Their safe-havens are shrinking. And we have sent a message from the Afghan border to the Arabian Peninsula to all parts of the globe: we will not relent, we will not waver, and we will defeat you.
American leadership can also be seen in the effort to secure the worst weapons of war. Because Republicans and Democrats approved the New START Treaty, far fewer nuclear weapons and launchers will be deployed. Because we rallied the world, nuclear materials are being locked down on every continent so they never fall into the hands of terrorists.
Because of a diplomatic effort to insist that Iran meet its obligations, the Iranian government now faces tougher and tighter sanctions than ever before. And on the Korean peninsula, we stand with our ally South Korea, and insist that North Korea keeps its commitment to abandon nuclear weapons.
This is just a part of how we are shaping a world that favors peace and prosperity. With our European allies, we revitalized NATO, and increased our cooperation on everything from counter-terrorism to missile defense. We have reset our relationship with Russia, strengthened Asian alliances, and built new partnerships with nations like India. This March, I will travel to Brazil, Chile, and El Salvador to forge new alliances for progress in the Americas. Around the globe, we are standing with those who take responsibility ? helping farmers grow more food; supporting doctors who care for the sick; and combating the corruption that can rot a society and rob people of opportunity.
Recent events have shown us that what sets us apart must not just be our power -- it must be the purpose behind it. In South Sudan ? with our assistance -- the people were finally able to vote for independence after years of war. Thousands lined up before dawn. People danced in the streets. One man who lost four of his brothers at war summed up the scene around him: "This was a battlefield for most of my life. Now we want to be free."
We saw that same desire to be free in Tunisia, where the will of the people proved more powerful than the writ of a dictator. And tonight, let us be clear: the United States of America stands with the people of Tunisia, and supports the democratic aspirations of all people.
We must never forget that the things we've struggled for, and fought for, live in the hearts of people everywhere. And we must always remember that the Americans who have borne the greatest burden in this struggle are the men and women who serve our country.
Tonight, let us speak with one voice in reaffirming that our nation is united in support of our troops and their families. Let us serve them as well as they have served us -- by giving them the equipment they need; by providing them with the care and benefits they have earned; and by enlisting our veterans in the great task of building our own nation.
Our troops come from every corner of this country ? they are black, white, Latino, Asian and Native American. They are Christian and Hindu, Jewish and Muslim. And, yes, we know that some of them are gay. Starting this year, no American will be forbidden from serving the country they love because of who they love. And with that change, I call on all of our college campuses to open their doors to our military recruiters and the ROTC. It is time to leave behind the divisive battles of the past. It is time to move forward as one nation.
We should have no illusions about the work ahead of us. Reforming our schools; changing the way we use energy; reducing our deficit ? none of this is easy. All of it will take time. And it will be harder because we will argue about everything. The cost. The details. The letter of every law.
Of course, some countries don't have this problem. If the central government wants a railroad, they get a railroad -- no matter how many homes are bulldozed. If they don't want a bad story in the newspaper, it doesn't get written.
And yet, as contentious and frustrating and messy as our democracy can sometimes be, I know there isn't a person here who would trade places with any other nation on Earth.
We may have differences in policy, but we all believe in the rights enshrined in our Constitution. We may have different opinions, but we believe in the same promise that says this is a place where you can make it if you try. We may have different backgrounds, but we believe in the same dream that says this is a country where anything's possible. No matter who you are. No matter where you come from.
That dream is why I can stand here before you tonight. That dream is why a working class kid from Scranton can stand behind me. That dream is why someone who began by sweeping the floors of his father's Cincinnati bar can preside as Speaker of the House in the greatest nation on Earth.
That dream -- that American Dream -- is what drove the Allen Brothers to reinvent their roofing company for a new era. It's what drove those students at Forsyth Tech to learn a new skill and work towards the future. And that dream is the story of a small business owner named Brandon Fisher.
Brandon started a company in Berlin, Pennsylvania that specializes in a new kind of drilling technology. One day last summer, he saw the news that halfway across the world, 33 men were trapped in a Chilean mine, and no one knew how to save them.
But Brandon thought his company could help. And so he designed a rescue that would come to be known as Plan B. His employees worked around the clock to manufacture the necessary drilling equipment. And Brandon left for Chile.
Along with others, he began drilling a 2,000 foot hole into the ground, working three or four days at a time with no sleep. Thirty-seven days later, Plan B succeeded, and the miners were rescued. But because he didn't want all of the attention, Brandon wasn't there when the miners emerged. He had already gone home, back to work on his next project.
Later, one of his employees said of the rescue, "We proved that Center Rock is a little company, but we do big things."
We do big things.
From the earliest days of our founding, America has been the story of ordinary people who dare to dream. That's how we win the future.
We are a nation that says, "I might not have a lot of money, but I have this great idea for a new company. I might not come from a family of college graduates, but I will be the first to get my degree. I might not know those people in trouble, but I think I can help them, and I need to try. I'm not sure how we'll reach that better place beyond the horizon, but I know we'll get there. I know we will.
We do big things.
The idea of America endures. Our destiny remains our choice. And tonight, more than two centuries later, it is because of our people that our future is hopeful, our journey goes forward, and the state of our union is strong.
Thank you, God Bless You, and may God Bless the United States of America.
POINT OF VIEW/ Yuzuru Takano: TPP could be a blessing if Japan has a strategy
2011/01/22 Print Share Article
Yuzuru Takano (The Asahi Shimbun) There's a new buzzword in Japan these days. Many Japanese are talking about the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), a multilateral free trade agreement being negotiated by nine Pacific-Rim countries, including the United States and Australia. The conversations come across if a new "black ship" was on the horizon that could create a national crisis for Japan.
Given the TPP principle of no exemption from tariff elimination, the alarmist language used in Japan for discussing the pact is hardly surprising. But the reality of the initiative is quite different from what many Japanese seem to think it is.
For one thing, there are too many and deep disagreements among the countries involved in the negotiations for the proposal to be regarded as posing a serious threat to Japan.
The United States, for instance, is adamant in rejecting the liberalization of trade in sugar. A great many American farmers feel the same way. The U.S. stance toward the issue has made Australia and other sugar-exporting countries positively frantic.
The participating countries are pursuing widely different agendas in the TPP talks.
Washington is seeking to apply the terms of the bilateral free trade agreements it has concluded with various trade partners to the TPP rules without any major change. Australia, for its part, wants to work out new trade rules from scratch. New Zealand, Singapore, Chile and Brunei are in favor of simply expanding their existing TPP framework known as P4.
Deborah Elms, head of the Temasek Foundation Centre for Trade and Negotiations in Singapore, who is well-versed in the TPP negotiations, says it will be extremely difficult for the countries to strike a deal during the 2011 summit meeting of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum, to be held in November in Hawaii.
Second, no country is putting any pressure on Japan to open up its market. The U.S. government, which is leading the negotiations, has its sights set on fast-growing emerging economies in Asia, such as Vietnam. In fact, Washington is not quite happy about the participation of countries, such as Japan, which are expected to demand exceptions to trade liberalization, causing delays in the negotiations.
Japan is under no external pressure to join the TPP talks. It is a decision Japan can and should make from its own strategic viewpoint.
The P4 agreement, which took effect in 2006, is designed to achieve a high level of trade liberalization. That's one of the reasons for the Japan's wariness about the TPP pact.
But the P4 in reality is far more symbolic than substantial.
The two core members, Singapore and New Zealand, are both small countries with populations of slightly more than 4 million. Singapore is a country focused on commerce and industry, while New Zealand is an agriculture-oriented nation. Their trade relationship is mutually complementary. So, the two countries struck a bilateral free trade agreement before the P4 was launched.
Both the benefits and costs of the P4 are small for the two core members. The framework will have substantial economic implications only when major trading powers have joined it through serious efforts for harmonizing the differing interests among the participants.
The P4 imposes restrictions on the movements of workers among the member nations and is different in this respect from the European Union, which allows citizens of the member countries to freely cross borders within the region.
In considering its participation in the TPP talks, Tokyo has made various estimates on the assumption that Japan would be required to scrap its prohibitive tariffs on rice imports. Japan also trails South Korea in the race to conclude free trade deals with key trade partners.
But it is highly questionable whether such efforts are meaningful at the moment while the process of international negotiations on the rules for the envisioned pact is just beginning. Disagreements among the major players remain wide and deep.
Instead of being intimidated by hypothetical threats, Japan should start mapping out a shrewd diplomatic strategy for the TPP negotiations designed to protect its national interests while securing whatever benefits it could get from the pact.
* * *
Yuzuru Takano is a correspondent at The Asahi Shimbun's New Delhi Bureau.
The Yomiuri Shimbun (Jan. 26, 2011) Govt must earn opposition's help 施政方針演説 政策実現へ周到な戦略で臨め（1月25日付・読売社説）
Prime Minister Naoto Kan must have a well-prepared strategy, beyond merely hoping for cooperation from opposition parties, to realize important policies. 重要な政策での協議をただ野党に求めるだけでなく、実現への戦略を持って臨むべきだ。
Kan made his first administrative policy speech on the opening day of the ordinary Diet session Monday. He called on the opposition camp to take part in consultations to resolve such pending issues as integrated reform of the social security and tax systems and whether to join negotiations over the Trans-Pacific Partnership free trade agreement. 通常国会が開幕し、菅首相が、初めての施政方針演説を行った。社会保障と税の一体改革や環太平洋経済連携協定（ＴＰＰ）参加問題など懸案を解決するため、野党に協議に応じるよう呼びかけた。
Given a divided Diet in which the ruling coalition parties have less than a two-thirds majority in the House of Representatives while the House of Councillors is controlled by opposition parties, cooperation with the opposition camp is indispensable to passing budget-related and other important bills through the Diet. 衆参ねじれ国会の下、予算関連法案や重要法案を成立させるにも野党の協力は欠かせない。
We do not dispute the need for the prime minister's seemingly desperate call for cooperation. 切羽詰まった感のある首相の主張に、異論はない。
Will Kan make thorough preparations and exhibit determination to work out a consensus within his Democratic Party of Japan to obtain agreement from the opposition parties that have been cranking up their confrontational stance toward the DPJ-led government? 問題は、民主党内をまとめ、対決色を強める野党からも合意を得るだけの周到な準備と強い意志が首相にあるかどうかである。
Kan has announced a plan for the government and ruling parties to determine the direction of social security reform in April and put together a reform plan also involving the tax system in June. 首相は既に、政府・与党として４月に社会保障改革の方向性を出し、６月に税を含む改革案をまとめる考えを明らかにしている。
===
Present concrete measures
Unless the government and ruling parties present concrete measures, the opposition camp cannot be expected to join policy consultations. 政府・与党が、具体的な方針を示さなければ、協議を求めても、野党側は受け入れまい。
To expedite talks with the opposition, it is necessary for the ruling coalition parties to hold sufficient discussions on additional burdens to be borne by the people from as early as April--when they decide on the direction of social security reform--to seek the people's understanding on reforms they are going to promote. 野党との協議を急ぐためにも、４月の段階から国民の負担増に関して十分議論し、国民にも正面から理解を求める必要がある。
In his policy speech, Kan said the ruling and opposition parties "share the awareness of issues and many points of contention." His perception is reasonable. The opposition camp, for its part, has no reason to refuse to enter into talks with the ruling parties. 首相は演説の中で、与党と自民、公明など野党との間に「問題意識と論点の多くは共有されている」と述べた。妥当な認識である。野党側も協議を拒否する理由はないのではないか。
Concerning another major political issue, Japan's potential involvement in the TPP negotiations, Kan said his government would draw a conclusion on the matter in June. The government needs to expedite efforts to build a consensus in favor of taking part in the multilateral TPP negotiations, which have been accelerating under the leadership of the United States. もう一つの大きな政治課題であるＴＰＰへの参加問題について、首相は６月をめどに結論を出すと言明した。しかし、米国の主導で関係国のＴＰＰ交渉は加速している。交渉参加への合意形成を急ぐ必要があるだろう。
Definitely lacking in the prime minister's speech was a sense of crisis over state finances, which have been deteriorating with combined debts of national and local governments ballooning to a staggering 868 trillion yen at the end of the current fiscal year. 首相の演説で、決定的に欠けていたのは、国・地方の借金残高が今年度末で８６８兆円にものぼる国家財政への危機感だ。
===
Review policy goals
In its 2009 general election campaign platform, the DPJ pledged to make highway tolls free and to provide public handouts, such as child-rearing allowances. But it is now clear the government cannot afford such measures. The DPJ should drastically review its platform, which said it would be possible to secure fiscal resources for such policies if wasteful spending was slashed under a DPJ-led government. 高速道路の無料化や子ども手当などバラマキ政策を続ける余裕はない。無駄を見直せば財源を生み出せるとしてきた政権公約を抜本的に改めるべきだ。
In regard to the DPJ's slogan of "lawmaker-led politics," the party has just reflected on and revised its stance of eliminating bureaucrats from the process of policymaking and coordination, which it admitted went overboard. 民主党の看板である「政治主導」については、政策立案・調整から官僚を排除してきたことが行き過ぎだったと自ら反省し、見直したばかりではないか。
If the DPJ demonstrates its willingness to carry out a sweeping review of its campaign platform, it will help the government secure smooth functioning in the split Diet. 政権公約を大胆に修正する意思を明確にすることが、ねじれ国会を乗り切る手だてにもなる。
Kan concluded his speech by saying the public expects the Diet to hold a constructive debate and draw conclusions promptly. He called on all Diet members to make this Diet session a "forum of in-depth deliberations." 首相は、演説の最後で、国民が国会に期待するのは建設的な議論と、先送りせず結論を出すことだと述べ、今度こそ「熟議の国会」にしようと全議員に訴えた。
He is quite right. We do not want to see a repetition of the unproductive extraordinary Diet session that ended early last month. その通りである。臨時国会の二の舞いは見たくない。
(From The Yomiuri Shimbun, Jan. 25, 2011) （2011年1月25日01時30分 読売新聞）
In Japanese eyes, what kind of country is Vietnam? For the older generation, Vietnam evokes images of winning its war of national liberation against France and the United States. For the young generation, Vietnam might be a cheap vacation spot where they can buy cute bric-a-brac. Of late, Vietnam is gaining attention as a potential buyer of nuclear power plants and Shinkansen trains. 日本にとって、ベトナムとはどんな国だろう。
But, the Japanese don't know much about Vietnam's political system or its society. ところが政治体制や社会のあり方についてはあまり知られていない。
And now in Vietnam, the Communist Party that single-handedly rules the country has held its party congress, which takes place once every five years, and selected as its new general secretary, Nguyen Phu Trong. This is the first change of party leader in 10 years. そのベトナムで一党独裁を続ける共産党が５年に一度の大会を開き、グエン・フー・チョン氏を新書記長に選んだ。１０年ぶりの最高指導者交代だ。
In the 10-year plan adopted by the congress, the leaders intend to carry on the annual 7-8 percent average economic growth, and become an industrialized country by 2020 by nearly tripling the GDP per capita to $3,000 (249,000 yen). 大会で承認された１０カ年計画では、今後も年平均７～８％の経済成長を続け、２０２０年には１人当たりの国内総生産を現在の３倍近い３千ドルにして工業国入りをめざすという。
An ambitious goal, but the economic environment changing. 意欲的な目標だが、足元の経済環境は最近、変調を来している。
Vietnam's currency is losing value, inflation is on the rise, fiscal and trade deficits are increasing. The national shipbuilding company is in a management crisis, and investors are losing trust. 通貨安とインフレが進み、財政と貿易の赤字が膨らむ。国営造船会社の経営危機が投資家の不信を招いている。
It has been a quarter of a century since the country began its "doi moi" policies of creating a market economy. Despite great progress economically, the income disparity is growing larger. The people are disgruntled by corruption that permeates the government. 市場経済化を中心に据えたドイモイ政策を始めてから四半世紀。経済を大きく発展させた半面、貧富の差は拡大する一方だ。政権に染みついた汚職体質に国民の不満は高まっている。
For the new administration, its immediate task is to purge itself of this corruption, ease the disparity and manage economic policies. 新執行部にとっては、経済政策のかじ取りとともに、腐敗の根絶や格差是正が喫緊の課題だ。
In contrast to economic growth, progress in political-social reform, in things like democratization and human rights protection, tend to be extremely slow. It seems that within the party, there was much debate about the latest shuffling. Almost nothing of what was actually said has been made public, and a review is impossible. 経済成長に比べ、民主化や人権保障といった政治・社会改革の歩みはきわめて遅い。党内では、今回の人事をめぐって様々な論争があったようだが、議論の中身はほとんど公開されておらず、検証するすべはない。
There is no end to the incarceration of anti-government activists and repression of religion. According to Reporters without Borders and its ratings of countries and journalistic freedoms, Vietnam ranks 165th among 178 countries and regions. 反体制活動家の拘束や宗教者への弾圧も絶えない。「国境なき記者団」が発表する報道の自由度のランクでは、１７８カ国・地域中１６５位だ。
Doi moi means renovation. The new administration needs to embark upon an ambitious doi moi in its political and social reform, as well. ドイモイとは刷新を意味する。新執行部は、政治や社会改革の面でも大胆なドイモイに踏み出す必要がある。
In that sense, the general election scheduled for May is gaining attention. The right of people to stand for office is limited, so just how many non-Communist Party nominees and nominees without support from party-related organizations manage to gain office is a thing to watch. There were less than 10 percent in the last election. その意味で注目されるのは、５月の国会議員選挙だ。立候補に制限があるなかで、共産党員以外の人や党傘下組織の推薦を得ない候補がどの程度当選するか。前回は１割に満たなかった。
For Japan, Vietnam is a promising market and a place for investment. The Kan government seems intent on living or dying by the Trans Pacific Partnership agreement, and Vietnam has already started negotiations with other countries about its entry. 日本にとって、ベトナムは有望な市場であり投資先だ。菅政権が命運をかける環太平洋パートナーシップ協定への加盟交渉にもすでに入っている。
Japan is also seeking cooperation in national security, with an eye on China's rapid military expansion, and intends to start a joint development project with Vietnam for rare earth minerals. 軍事力を急拡大させる中国との見合いで安全保障面での協調も模索し、レアアースの共同開発にも踏み出す。
Japan and Vietnam consider each other as "strategic partners for peace and prosperity in Asia." 日本とベトナムはお互いを「アジアの平和と繁栄のための戦略的なパートナー」と位置づけている。
If so, the Japanese government should also encourage Vietnam in its democratization and political reform efforts. とすれば日本政府は、民主化や政治改革をも後押しするべきだろう。
Japan should occasionally point out to Vietnam things that may not necessarily sit well, like human rights issues. That kind of attitude should, in the long run, lead to a better relationship between the two countries, and help create a stable Vietnam. 人権問題など相手の耳に痛いことでも時には注文をつける。そうした姿勢が長期的には両国関係の発展やベトナムの安定にもつながるはずだ。
POINT OF VIEW/ Erikawa, Haruo: You have to treat your own name with respect BY MASAAKI TONEDACHI SENIOR STAFF WRITER
2011/01/22 Print Share Article
Erikawa, Haruo at Wakayama University in Wakayama (Nanako Ito) When introducing ourselves in English, most of us automatically put our given name before our family name, even though the Japanese way is always the other way round--surname followed by given name. Erikawa, Haruo, a Wakayama University professor who has studied the effects of school English education on Japanese thinking, says it is high time for Japanese to reclaim the traditional Japanese way of greeting one another. Following are excerpts of his interview with The Asahi Shimbun. (At his request, the professor's family name is given first).
* * *
Question: Why do most Japanese put their given name before their family name when introducing themselves in English?
Answer: I think it's largely the result of decades of English education in our country. I've checked school English textbooks dating back to the last century, and discovered that a 1904 textbook, approved by the education ministry, was the first to give an example of a Romanized "back-to-front" Japanese name--S. Imagawa.
All English textbooks before this showed the surname preceding the given name. Since 1904 was the year Japan went to war with Russia, you could say the transition coincided with Japan's debut on the international political scene. Although Japanese politicians and intellectuals had started following the Western custom of putting the given name before the family name since the 1880s, the general public didn't pick up the habit until much later, when English education became popular.
Q: After the war with Russia, Japan joined the ranks of the great powers.
A: Japan continued to stick to the Western custom, even when nationalism was at its height in the final years of World War II. For instance, an English textbook published in 1944 refers to Japan's Naval Marshal General and commander-in-chief of the Combined Fleet as "Isoroku Yamamoto," not Yamamoto Isoroku as he should be referred to in Japanese. This goes to show how firmly this Western habit of putting the given name before the family name had taken hold in Japan by then.
Q: Didn't anyone think this was kind of "un-Japanese"?
A: Take a look at this book. It's "Mitchell's New School Geography," written by the American geographer Samuel Augustus Mitchell (1792-1868). Copies of this book were imported to Japan and revered as a geography textbook during the early years of the Meiji Era (1868-1912). Mitchell refers to Europeans and Americans as "civilized and enlightened nations," and Japanese as "half-civilized." This was how members of Japan's upper classes saw themselves. I should imagine they accepted the superiority of Westerners and believed they could enhance themselves by becoming like them.
Q: But it is also said that Japanese are culturally disposed to adapt to foreign cultures. So, the argument holds that if Westerners put their given names before their family names, it is only natural and polite that we should do likewise when we are with them. In fact, I think quite a few people believe so.
A: It is true we are culturally flexible or adaptable by tradition. This way, we avoid friction and maintain good human relations. We take the trouble to make ourselves understandable to foreigners. I also believe this has something to do with the fact that Japanese have been attracted to foreign cultures since ancient times. But those days are now over.
Q: What is your rebuttal to people who say it's no big deal whether we put the surname first or second?
A: A person's name is a valuable piece of information about the person. Anyone who doesn't treat his or her own name with respect is incapable of respecting someone else's name. If I may say so, I think the prewar Japanese government forced Koreans to adopt Japanese names because Japanese failed to understand the significance of what it is to have a name. It's very much to do with personal identity, and I think the time has come for us to really think about it. And I expect this of politicians in particular.
Q: Why politicians?
A: Politicians need to understand that their names are part of Japan's sovereignty. Let's say our prime minister is in negotiation with a representative of a foreign country--America, Russia, whatever. The moment he introduces himself as "Naoto Kan," he is acknowledging the hegemony of the country he is negotiating with.
Q: How so? Would you please elaborate?
A: Because our prime minister is Japanese, and he is "Kan Naoto," not "Naoto Kan." Letting his name be used back-to-front is tantamount to ceding control to his negotiating partner. I strongly wish anyone who engages in diplomacy or international negotiations would get it into their heads that how they say their own names affects their sovereignty. By casually embracing the Western custom of putting the given name ahead of the family name, they effectively lose the first round of negotiations by default.
But let me hasten to add that I am anything but a flaming nationalist. On the contrary, I believe firmly that any narrow nationalism must be shunned at all costs. When I think of Japan's fawning subservience to the West and arrogance toward our Asian neighbors during the Meiji Era, I can see how these sentiments paved the way for colonialism and the wars of aggression that ensued. If Japan had tried to deal with other nations equally and fairly, it could have avoided such tragedies.
Q: The majority of English-language publications issued in Japan put the given name before the surname. But stories filed from Japan on an APEC meeting, for instance, had the names of the Chinese and South Korean leaders in their correct order--that is, surname followed by given name--but incorrectly for the Japanese prime minister.
A: I know. That was illogical and bizarre. All I can say is, "Let's stop this." And the media should know better, as should English teachers in Japan. It's the responsibility of the English-language media and English teachers here to undo what they have done.
But there's one welcome development. Since 2002, all junior high school English textbooks began putting the surname first for Japanese names. In 2000, the Japanese Language Council recommended to the government that all Romanized Japanese names be written in their proper Japanese order--surname followed by given name--as in Yamada Haruo.
Q: But after all these decades, wouldn't changing the rule only invite confusion? I mean, foreigners who aren't familiar with Japanese names won't be able to tell which is the surname and which is the given name, will they?
A: Progress is born from chaos. So long as the status quo continues, nothing new will be born. I should actually hope the inevitable confusion will enable foreigners to realize that theirs is not the only acceptable standard in our diversified world.
Q: How would you suggest English teachers handle the transition?
A: Once senior high school English textbooks begin following the example of junior high school textbooks, I think the entire national perception will change. But the change should not be forced on the people by the government. The change should come gradually over time.
I have a favor to ask of elementary school English teachers. Foreign language activities will become compulsory from next scholastic year, and youngsters will learn how to write Romanized Japanese names for the first time. I ask the teachers to really think what it means.
* * *
Erikawa, Haruo is a professor at Wakayama University. After studying the history of modern Japanese economics at Osaka City University, Erikawa specialized in the history of English education in Japan at Kobe University Graduate School. He is an authority on English education policies and teaching materials dating back to pre-Meiji Restoration days. His published works include "Kindai Nihon no Eigo-ka Kyoiku-shi" (History of English education in modern Japan) and "Nihon-jin wa Eigo o Do Manande Kitaka" (How Japanese have studied English).
The Yomiuri Shimbun (Jan. 25, 2011) Opposition LDP must take responsible policy role 自民党大会 政策で責任政党の役割果たせ（1月24日付・読売社説）
As long as it aims to retake the reins of government, the Liberal Democratic Party must responsibly involve itself in tackling impending issues such as whether to raise the consumption tax rate and join negotiations over the Trans-Pacific Partnership free-trade agreement. 政権奪還を目指す以上は、責任政党として、喫緊の課題である消費税率引き上げや環太平洋経済連携協定（ＴＰＰ）参加の問題などにも積極的にかかわっていくべきだ。
In its annual convention Sunday, the LDP adopted an action plan to retake power as quickly as possible by pushing the Democratic Party of Japan-led government into dissolving the House of Representatives for a snap general election. 自民党が定期党大会を開いた。民主党政権を衆院解散・総選挙に追い込み、早期に政権復帰を果たすとする運動方針を採択した。
LDP President Sadakazu Tanigaki took a confrontational stance toward the government led by Prime Minister Naoto Kan, saying: "We'll grill the DPJ-led government over its policy failures. It's our responsibility as a fighting opposition party." 谷垣総裁は「民主党の失政を徹底的に追及する。戦う野党としての責務だ」と述べ、菅政権への対決姿勢を強く打ち出した。
But it can hardly be said the party has fully recovered its strength, as its action plan mentions it is too early to conclude that its stunning victory in last summer's House of Councillors election meant the voters want the LDP to return to power. しかし、運動方針が、昨夏の参院選勝利は「政権に戻ってこい」との有権者の意思表示と見るのは早計、と書いている通り、党勢が回復したとは言いがたい。
In recent opinion polls, more people have picked the LDP over the DPJ as the party they would vote for in the lower house proportional representation bloc election. But it is reasonable to attribute this preference to the DPJ's failures. The LDP needs to play a role to check the DPJ-led government as well as to make steady efforts to regain public trust. 最近の世論調査で、衆院比例選の投票先として民主党を上回っているのも“敵失”が要因と見るべきだろう。自民党は、民主党政権を厳しくチェックするとともに、国民の信頼を取り戻す地道な努力を重ねることが必要である。
===
Rigid stance doesn't help
It is indispensable for the LDP to show a constructive stance on policy matters that could determine the nation's fate because it would have to tackle these issues if it regained power. 特に、国の命運を左右するような政策課題では、建設的な姿勢を示すことが大切だ。政権に復帰すれば、直ちに取り組まねばならない課題ではないか。
Tanigaki said at the party convention the DPJ must give up on the policies outlined in its campaign platform for the 2009 lower house election as a prerequisite for suprapartisan talks on reforming the tax and social security systems. 谷垣総裁は大会の中で、税制・社会保障改革を巡る超党派協議について、民主党による衆院選政権公約の「撤回」が協議に入るための「前提」との考えを示した。
He also complained that Kaoru Yosano, a former LDP lawmaker and currently state minister in charge of economic and fiscal policy, has assumed the post in charge of these issues. 自民党出身の与謝野経済財政相がこの問題に関する司令塔になったことにも反発した。
It is true that many of the government's policies, such as cash handouts for child-rearing and other allowances, must be reexamined. But if the LDP clings to the position of not consulting with the government unless the DPJ gives up on the policies in its campaign platform, there will be no progress in discussions about key issues. 子ども手当などのバラマキ施策をはじめ、多くの点で見直しが必要なのは確かだ。しかし、撤回しない限り協議に応じない、というのでは議論が先に進まない。
The LDP must enter into talks with the ruling coalition without setting any conditions if the latter compiles and offers concrete measures on tax and social security system reforms. The LDP also should put aside its grudge against Yosano. 政府・与党が税制・社会保障改革に対する具体的な見解をまとめて提示してくるなら、前提をつけずに協議の席につくべきではないか。与謝野氏へのわだかまりも脇に置くべきだ。
===
Why no reference to TPP?
It is beyond our understanding that the LDP's action plan does not refer to participation in the TPP. Its secretary general, Nobuteru Ishihara, said before that the party would clarify its position on the matter in March. 運動方針にＴＰＰ参加問題への言及がないのも解せない。石原幹事長は以前、３月中に賛否をはっきりさせると言明したはずだ。
Many LDP lawmakers fear the party will lose votes if it pushes TPP participation, a policy strongly opposed by agricultural organizations. 党内には、ＴＰＰ参加を打ち出した場合、これに断固反対を訴える農業団体が離反して票を失うと懸念する議員が多い。
If the LDP hesitates to clarify its position on the TPP issue for that reason, it is not qualified to criticize the ruling coalition parties. The LDP, for its part, must promptly work out an intraparty consensus in favor of TPP participation. それが理由で態度を曖昧にするなら、与党を批判できまい。自民党もＴＰＰ参加の方向で早急に党内の意見をまとめるべきだ。
The issue over the relocation of the U.S. Marine Corps' Futenma Air Station in Okinawa Prefecture has been left pending since the LDP was in power. 外交面でも、米軍普天間飛行場の移設問題は、自民党が積み残した課題である。
The LDP cannot avoid criticism for being irresponsible if it sticks only to criticizing the DPJ. 民主党をただ批判するだけでは無責任のそしりを免れない。
(From The Yomiuri Shimbun, Jan. 24, 2011) （2011年1月24日01時11分 読売新聞）
2011/01/24 --The Asahi Shimbun, Jan. 22 小沢氏の姿勢―国会を台なしにするのか EDITORIAL: Ozawa and the Diet
It now seems former Democratic Party of Japan chief Ichiro Ozawa will, after all, not appear before the Lower House Deliberative Council on Political Ethics to explain his questionable political fund reports. This is very regrettable. 民主党の小沢一郎元代表の政治資金問題で、小沢氏による衆院政治倫理審査会での説明が実現しない見通しになった。極めて残念な結果である。
Referring to the issue of when he would appear before the council, Ozawa has told the chairman of the panel that he thought his best option was to attend a council meeting "after the enactment of the budget." By dictating the timing of his appearance, Ozawa effectively refused the request. 小沢氏は出席の時期について「予算成立後を最優先とする」と条件をつけ、事実上、拒否する考えを政倫審会長に伝達した。
In response to Ozawa's action, DPJ Secretary-General Katsuya Okada announced his intention to abandon his plan to have the council vote on asking Ozawa to attend a council meeting. これを受けて岡田克也幹事長が、出席を求める議決を断念する意向を示した。
Ozawa is soon to be indicted over the falsified political funds reports according to an October decision by a prosecution inquest committee. 小沢氏はまもなく強制起訴される。
His right to try to clear his name through the courts as a defendant in a criminal case should be protected. So from this point of view, the principle of "innocent until proven guilty" is naturally applied to Ozawa. 一人の刑事被告人として、法廷で潔白を訴える権利が守られるべきなのはいうまでもない。そこでは当然ながら「推定無罪」の原則が適用される。
But we must point out that Ozawa as a politician is acting in a way that is inconsistent with what he has said. しかし、政治家小沢氏に対しては言行不一致を指摘しなければならない。
After the prosecution inquest panel decided, for a second time, that Ozawa should be prosecuted, setting the stage for his forced indictment, the DPJ heavyweight said he would comply with any Diet decision concerning his appearance before the ethics council at any time. 小沢氏は検察審査会の２度目の議決で強制起訴が決まったあと、政倫審出席について「国会の決定にはいつでも従う」と述べていた。
Recently, however, Ozawa has been arguing there is no good reason why he should appear before the panel since the judicial process concerning the case is already under way. But he has also indicated his intention to attend a council meeting sometime during the regular Diet session, according to comprehensive judgment as a politician. 最近は、「すでに司法手続きに入っている」から出席する合理的理由はないと主張する一方、政治家としての総合判断から通常国会中にはいずれ出席するとしていた。
Already a year has passed since the Tokyo District Public Prosecutors Office searched Ozawa's office and other locations in connection with the scandal. He has not taken any of the many opportunities to explain himself that came up during the period. And he is still setting conditions for every step. 東京地検が小沢氏の事務所などを捜索してからすでに１年。国会で説明する機会はいくらでもあったのに果たさず、いまだに条件をつけている。
It is hard not to believe that he is trying to escape the ordeal of being grilled over the scandal in public by playing for more time. 時間を稼ぎ、「逃げ切り」を図る戦術と見なすほかあるまい。
As he has himself stressed, Ozawa played the central role in the creation of the Deliberative Council on Political Ethics in 1985. 小沢氏自身が強調しているように、政倫審の生みの親は小沢氏である。
Faced with the challenge of how to restore the public's trust in politics, which was shattered by the Lockheed payoff scandal in the mid-1970s, Ozawa, who then headed the Lower House Rules and Administration Committee, took the initiative in developing the code of political ethics and creating the council as a body to enforce the rules. ロッキード事件で損なわれた政治への信頼をどう回復するのか。衆院議院運営委員長だった小沢氏が対処にあたり、２６年前に生まれたのが政治倫理綱領であり、その実効を上げるための政倫審だった。
The code says that Diet members, when they are suspected of having acted in a way that betrays political ethics, must make sincere efforts to clarify the facts and their responsibility. 綱領にはこう記されている。 「われわれは、政治倫理に反する事実があるとの疑惑をもたれた場合にはみずから真摯（しんし）な態度をもつて疑惑を解明し、その責任を明らかにするよう努めなければならない」
Has Ozawa forgotten this rule? If he maintains his recalcitrant attitude toward the issue and refuses to fulfill his responsibility as a lawmaker to give the public a satisfactory accounting of the flawed reports, his very commitment to the political reform he has advocated for so long will be in serious doubt. この言葉を、小沢氏は忘れたのだろうか。小沢氏がかたくなな姿勢を崩さず、政治家としての説明責任を果たさないのなら、小沢氏が唱道してきた政治改革は果たして真摯なものだったのか、原点から疑われることになろう。
Ozawa's latest move is expected to prompt the DPJ leadership to consider steps such as summoning him to the Diet as a sworn witness or urging him to leave the party. この事態を受けて、民主党執行部は証人喚問や、離党勧告の検討に入る。
That will be a natural response to his refusal to appear before the ethics council. 小沢氏が政倫審出席を拒否する以上、当然の対応である。
If the ruling party overlooks Ozawa's irresponsible behavior and fails to take action against him, the regular Diet session convening on Monday will again get mired in a futile partisan battle over the issue of money in politics. これを見過ごし、何もせずに放置すれば、週明けに召集される通常国会はまたしても「政治とカネ」をめぐる不毛な対立に終始するだろう。
There is a long list of important policy challenges that need to be addressed immediately, including the budget for new fiscal year, integrated tax and social security reform, free trade and the regeneration of Japanese agriculture. 新年度予算をはじめ社会保障と税の一体改革、自由貿易と農業再生など、重要な政策課題は多い。
Is it acceptable to allow the Ozawa issue to ruin the opportunity for mature and constructive debate on these crucial challenges? そのための「熟議」の場を台なしにして良いのか。
Both Ozawa and the DPJ leadership should ask themselves this question. 小沢氏と民主党執行部の双方が問われている。
The prices of cereals and crude oil are soaring. These commodities directly affect ordinary people's lives, and their rising cost is threatening to disrupt both the Japanese and the global economies, which are already on a shaky footing. 国民生活に直結する穀物や原油の国際価格が急騰している。いまも不安定な世界と日本の経済にとって大きな波乱要因になりかねない。
The prices of wheat, soybeans and corn have reached their highest levels in two and a half years. Oil futures prices in the U.S. crude market have surpassed 90 dollars per barrel, their highest point since the collapse of U.S. investment bank Lehman Brothers in the autumn of 2008 triggered a global financial crisis. 小麦、大豆、トウモロコシの価格は２年半ぶりの高値水準になった。米国原油市場の先物価格は１バレル＝９０ドル超で、２００８年秋のリーマン・ショック後の最高値圏まで上がった。
The upswing in cereal prices was triggered by supply worries caused mainly by poor weather in Australia, Russia and Latin America, but there are also some structural factors behind the trend. The world population is projected to increase by 2 billion in the next four decades. That rapid growth, combined with economic expansion in emerging countries, is certain to cause an explosive increase in the demand for food. 穀物高騰のきっかけは、オーストラリア、ロシア、南米での天候不順といった輸出国での供給不安だが、それがなくても穀物価格を上げる構造的要因がある。世界人口は今後４０年間に２０億人も増える見込みで、新興国の経済成長により食料需要が爆発的に増えるのも確実である。
Global monetary easing is also adding fuel the commodity price fire. In particular, large-scale quantitative easing by the United States is driving up food and oil prices by causing large amounts of money to flow into commodity markets. さらに相場上昇に拍車をかけているのが世界的な金融緩和だ。とりわけ大がかりな量的緩和を続ける米国の金融政策の影響は大きく、巨額のマネーが商品市場に流れ込んでいる。
The current situation is similar to 2008, when famine caused by disruption to food imports sparked riots in many poor countries. There should be no repeat of such social unrest. この状況は０８年ごろと似ている。当時、貧しい国々では食料が輸入できず飢餓が広がり、暴動が相次いだ。こうした事態を再び引き起こさないようにしなければならない。
Industrial countries are also beset by problems. Three years ago, Japan found itself facing a toxic mixture of a general decline in prices but inflation in food and energy prices. Troubling signs of this malady are beginning to be seen in the United States and Europe. 先進国も難題を抱えている。３年前、日本は物価が全体的に下がるデフレのもと、食料とエネルギーはインフレ状態という「複雑骨折」に陥った。いま米欧各国でも、それに似た症状が出つつある。
In such circumstances, retail sales weaken and income remains stagnant, while the prices of the daily essentials of food and energy keep rising. This situation is especially hard for people with low incomes and undermines economic stability. このような状況下ではモノが売れず所得は増えない。にもかかわらず生活必需品の食料とエネルギーの価格だけが上昇してしまう。これでは低所得者ほど生活が圧迫され、経済はますます不安定になる。
The problem is that it is hard to find an effective fiscal or monetary policy remedy for the disease. The U.S. exemplifies the problem. 厄介なのは、財政や金融政策で効果的な対処法が見いだしにくいことだ。その典型例が米国である。
Last autumn, the U.S. Federal Reserve embarked on a drastic program of quantitative easing, which chiefly involved buying securities as a way of getting more dollars into the economy. The aim was to prevent the nation's economy from falling into a deflationary downturn. 米金融当局は昨秋、デフレ突入を回避するために思い切った量的緩和に踏み切った。
The Fed's strategy has worked to some extent, but it has also led to rises in gas prices. The consequences of the policy are now dampening America's economic recovery. その狙いはある程度は成功したものの、巡り巡ってガソリン価格の上昇をもたらし、米国景気に冷や水を浴びせつつある。
Global excess liquidity is raising concern about the creation of economic bubbles in emerging countries. Monetary authorities in Japan, the United States and Europe should be aware that excessive monetary easing can cause serious evils. Emerging countries, for their part, should be more attentive to the risks of economic growth at breakneck speed. あふれ出すマネーは新興国に新たなバブル経済を生む危険も懸念されている。日米欧の金融当局は、度を超した金融緩和に副作用もあることを再認識すべきだ。新興国も急成長の危うさに目を配る必要がある。
The economies of industrial and emerging countries appear to be getting increasingly interdependent. Both camps keep an eye on developments that have huge implications for the world economy and should step up their efforts at policy coordination. 先進国と新興国の経済は、ますます深くつながり合うようになっている。ともに世界経済への影響について警戒をおこたらず、政策協調を強めることが大切だ。
Unfortunately, there is no miracle cure for the problem of surging food and oil prices. The only plausible approach is for countries to keep making serious but low-profile efforts to increase domestic cereal production and stockpiles; to promote wider use of renewable energy sources, which also help slow global warming; and to move carefully toward increasing nuclear power generation. 穀物高と原油高を抑える即効薬は、残念ながら見当たらない。地道ではあるが穀物の増産や備蓄の強化、地球温暖化対策にも通じる再生エネルギーの拡大、原子力発電の秩序ある増強といった課題に各国が真剣に取り組むことしかないだろう。
China must fulfill intl responsibilities The Yomiuri Shimbun (Jan. 24, 2011) 膨張中国 経済力に見合った責任を果たせ（1月23日付・読売社説）
China, which is on the way to superpower status with its economic wealth and military strength, has become increasingly assertive. 豊かな経済力と強大な軍事力を後ろ盾に、超大国への道を歩む中国が自己主張を強めている。
Moves by this rising nation have the potential to bring structural changes to the balance of power in the Asia-Pacific region. 興隆著しい中国の動きは、アジア太平洋地域における勢力分布に構造的変化をもたらしかねない。
◆南シナ海に権益拡大
While calling on Beijing for self-restraint, Japan must join hands with neighboring countries and show a resolute stance against China if it takes any actions aimed at achieving hegemony. 日本は中国に自制を求めつつ、覇権的な行動があれば、近隣諸国と連携し、毅然(きぜん)とした対応を取ることが肝要である。
In early January, the Chinese government announced a policy of quickly enacting maritime laws to strengthen the policing of its waters. 中国は今月上旬、海洋法規の立法化を加速させ、海上取り締まりを強化する方針を公表した。
Meanwhile, Beijing last spring expanded its claimed area of "core interests," which had been limited to Taiwan and Tibet, to the South China Sea. 昨年春には、台湾とチベットに限っていた「核心的利益」の適用範囲を南シナ海にも拡大した。
===
Freedom of seas paramount
Concerning this development, U.S. President Barack Obama stressed in front of Chinese President Hu Jintao at a joint press conference, held Wednesday after U.S.-China summit talks, that the United States has a fundamental interest in "maintaining freedom of navigation" in East Asia. これに関し、オバマ米大統領は先の米中首脳会談後の記者会見で、中国の胡錦濤国家主席を前に、「東アジアでの自由航行権の確保」は米国にとって重要な利益だ、と強く訴えた。
The South China Sea is an important area where the interests of Japan, Southeast Asian countries and the United States coincide. Beijing's stance of treating the area as if it were China's own territory cannot be tolerated. 南シナ海は東南アジアや米国、日本など各国の利害が錯綜(さくそう)する重要な海域だ。これを自国領のように扱う中国の姿勢は、断じて受け入れられるものではない。
China's defense spending has seen double-digit increases every year for 21 years through 2009. Its navy and air force now have greatly enhanced hardware at their command. 中国国防費は、一昨年までの２１年間、２ケタ増を記録し、海、空軍の装備も大幅に強化された。
China is said to be pursuing a long-term maritime strategy. Its initial aim is to gain command of the seas and airspace inside the so-called "first island chain," a strategic defense line that runs from the Japanese archipelago to the South China Sea via Okinawa Prefecture and Taiwan. 中国は長期的な海洋戦略を立てている。日本列島―沖縄―台湾―南シナ海を結ぶ「第１列島線」の内側で、制海権や制空権を確保するのが当面の目標だ。
To achieve this goal, Beijing has developed an antiship ballistic missile dubbed an "aircraft carrier killer" and is building a few aircraft carriers of its own. It also has carried out trial flights of a next-generation stealth fighter. そのため“空母キラー”と言われる対艦弾道ミサイルを開発し、複数の航空母艦を建造中だ。次世代ステルス戦闘機の試験飛行も始めている。
The country also wants to expand its military control to the "second island chain" that runs from the Ogasawara Islands down to Guam, beyond the East China Sea. This is to keep U.S. forces at bay in the western Pacific, with the eventual absorption of Taiwan in mind. さらに台湾統一を念頭に、西太平洋への米軍の接近を阻止すべく「第２列島線」まで軍事的支配を拡大させることを狙っている。
Japan's Senkaku Islands are located in an area within the "first island chain" where China is developing oil fields beneath the seabed. 尖閣諸島は「第１列島線」の内側に位置し、中国が海底油田の開発を進めている海域でもある。
===
Strong response appropriate ◆経済力背景に強硬姿勢
Since a Chinese fishing boat rammed two Japan Coast Guard patrol ships in waters off the Senkaku Islands in September, China has frequently dispatched fisheries patrol boats to the area, apparently based on its maritime strategy. 昨年９月の中国漁船衝突事件の発生以降、中国が尖閣近海に漁業監視船を頻繁に送り込んでいるのも、こうした海洋戦略に沿ったものだろう。
It was appropriate that the government decided to enhance the defense of the Nansei Islands and the other islands in the new National Defense Program Outline adopted at the end of last year. 政府が昨年末、新たな「防衛計画の大綱」を決定し、南西諸島など島嶼(とうしょ)防衛の強化を打ち出したのは適切な判断だった。
It is also reasonable that the Japan Coast Guard is seeking revisions, including enhancement of maritime police authority, to relevant laws to strengthen its patrol and warning systems in response to the incident off the Senkaku Islands. また、海上保安庁が尖閣での事件を受け、海上警察権の強化など関係法令を改正し、監視や警戒態勢を強めることも当然である。
Through diplomatic channels, the government must also demand that China honor Article 1 of the Japan-China Peace and Friendship Treaty, which says that each country shall respect the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the other. 互いの主権と領土保全の尊重を決めた日中平和友好条約１条の履行を中国側に求める日本の外交努力も欠かせない。
Meanwhile, for the sake of regional security including the safety of sea lanes, Tokyo must further deepen its partnerships with Australia, India, South Korea, the United States and other countries that share its concerns over China's military buildup. 米国や韓国、豪州、インドなど中国の軍備増強に懸念を共有する国々と、海上交通路の安全確保など域内の安全保障分野で一層、連携を深めなければならない。
China recently has started taking a harder stance because it has changed its diplomatic policy. 最近、中国が特に強硬な姿勢を示すようになったのは、外交方針を変更したためだ。
Beijing has recently emerged from 20 years of following a policy, advocated by late Chinese leader Deng Xiaoping, of keeping a low profile without showing its true colors. これまでの過去２０年余りの方針は、最高権力者だったトウ小平氏が唱えた、実力を隠して低姿勢を保つという「韜光養晦(とうこうようかい)」だった。
The policy aimed to avoid friction with other countries and concentrate the nation's resources on domestic development as socialism ebbed away with the collapse of the Soviet Union. ソ連崩壊で社会主義が退潮したため、対外的摩擦を避け、国内建設に集中する狙いがあった。
However, the Hu administration changed this policy in the summer of 2009 to a diplomatic stance of voicing its national interests more loudly. しかし、胡錦濤政権は一昨年夏、自国の国益を積極的に主張する外交姿勢へと切り替えた。
The biggest reason for this change was China's accumulation of economic power, with a gross domestic product that was set to overtake that of Japan for the rank of second-largest in the world. 国内総生産（ＧＤＰ）が日本を抜いて世界２位になった、と確実視されるほど経済力を蓄えたことが一番の理由だろう。
With its wealth of foreign currency reserves, China has become the largest purchaser of U.S. Treasury bonds. Also, the country has recently been purchasing government bonds of some European countries in fiscal crisis. 豊富な外貨準備を使って、米国国債の最大の購入国となっているのに加えて、最近は財政危機にあえぐ欧州諸国の国債まで買い付ける勢いだ。
===
China faces domestic unease ◆総合的な対中戦略を
Members of China's current leadership under Hu, chief of the Chinese Communist Party as well as president of the country, are likely to retire at the party congress to be held in autumn 2012. Xi Jinping, vice president of the country, is likely to succeed to the post of general secretary. 胡党総書記（国家主席）が率いる現指導部は、来年秋の共産党大会で引退し、習近平国家副主席に総書記を引き継ぐと見られる。
In China, a small number of businesspeople, along with government and party bureaucrats, monopolize wealth and power, while some of the public continues to suffer from dire poverty. 中国では、少数の実業家と党・政府官僚が富と権力を独占する一方で、国民の一部は貧困にあえいでいる。
Frustration within Chinese society over widespread corruption, oppression of ethnic minorities such as Tibetans and Uighurs, and other issues is said to be approaching its limit. 汚職の蔓延(まんえん)や、チベット族やウイグル族への少数民族弾圧などで、社会の不満は限界に近づいているとされる。
If China neglects political reform, puts priority only on economic development and continues a high-handed approach to its international relationships, it could become a destabilizing factor for East Asia. 経済開発を優先して政治改革を怠り、高圧的な対外姿勢を続けるようでは、東アジアの不安定要因になりかねない。
The international community must patiently keep urging China to respect universal values such as democracy and human rights and to fulfill responsibilities commensurate with its national power. 国際社会は、中国が民主主義・人権といった普遍的な価値観を尊重し、その国力に見合った責任を果たすよう、粘り強く働きかけて行かなければならない。
Japan needs to construct a new strategy against China based on a comprehensive vision including diplomatic, security and economic considerations. 日本は、外交・安保、経済を含む総合的な観点に立った対中国戦略を構築する必要がある。
(From The Yomiuri Shimbun, Jan. 23, 2011) （2011年1月23日01時13分 読売新聞）
POINT OF VIEW/ Kumiko Torikai: Japan needs new paradigm of English education BY MASAAKI TONEDACHI SENIOR STAFF WRITER
2011/01/22 Print Share Article
Few people today would disagree that English is an international common language. But what, exactly, is English that is truly universal, and how should it be taught in Japanese schools? Kumiko Torikai, a Rikkyo University professor and former professional simultaneous translator who teaches English language courses on radio and television, is calling for a major shift in the paradigm of English education in Japan. Following are excerpts of her interview with The Asahi Shimbun.
* * *
Question: There once was a major controversy over whether English education should focus on practicality or pure learning. Today, the focus is clearly on improving students' communication skills in English. But some who stress importance of grammar and reading comprehension are calling for a review of the policy. Why do you think English education is always a subject of controversy?
Answer: The major controversy you refer to is the one that erupted in 1974, I assume. Wataru Hiraizumi, then an Upper House legislator and a former diplomat, created quite a stir that year with his argument that students ought to be taught practical English. He offered his own recommendations on how to go about it. But Shoichi Watanabe, then a Sophia University professor, challenged Hiraizumi head-on and demanded, "What's wrong with teaching English purely for the sake of turning out culturally well-rounded students?"
The controversy was never resolved, and the same back-and-forth is still going on today. The way I see it, the issue boils down to whether English taught at schools is usable or unusable. After the collapse of the asset-inflated economy in the 1990s, Japanese companies became unable to spend much money on in-house English training and company-sponsored studies abroad for their employees, and the business community at large exerted pressure on the government to do something about English education. The business community was not happy with the English education system that turned out students who could read and write English but couldn't speak it, even if they went all the way to university.
Anyway, the government did heed the business community, and the English education system underwent a major overhaul. The education ministry's school curriculum guidelines in the 1990s called for greater emphasis on improving students' communication skills in English. The education ministry policy is linked with demand for practicality and the debate on English education theory.
The schools have since followed the guidelines so faithfully that some people, who believe in the importance of grammar and comprehension, insist today that the pendulum must swing back. These people are concerned that not only have students' communication skills not improved, but also that their basic academic performance standard itself has declined.
Q: I think many people today still associate English lessons in schools with grammar and comprehension.
A: What always stumps me is why people are unaware of what English education is really like today. As parents, don't they ever try to find out how their children are being taught? Don't they ever look at their children's English textbooks? I really don't understand. Even at government council meetings, prominent business leaders complain about the state of English education in schools and lament that students are being taught only to read and write English, so they can't really hold conversations in English. These distinguished individuals become quite annoyed whenever I open my mouth and point out to them, "English education has changed significantly over the last decade or two. The problem today is that conversation skills are being overemphasized. You say students can only read and write but can't converse in English, but that's an old story that is no longer true."
Q: Why do you think people are unaware of the reality?
A: Beats me. Perhaps people in their 40s and older have inerasable memories of how rigorously they were drilled in grammar and comprehension, and yet never became proficient in spoken English. But Japanese companies today are pretty harsh on workers who can't speak English. So, these middle-aged and older people feel they were short-changed by the English education system. I imagine they even hold a grudge.
Q: A grudge, you say?
A: Yes, they blame their schools, believing they would have become fluent in English had the schools taught them properly. Let's say a businessman goes to New York for the first time, screws up his courage to speak English to his American business partners, but they don't understand what he's saying. He is disappointed and mortified, and blames the English education he received for his humiliating inability to communicate in English. When he goes back home, still smarting from his unhappy experience, he tells his children, "You'd better work really hard on your English. Don't bother with reading and writing. All you need is to be able to speak English and be understood by English speakers."
In my opinion, however, for years many Japanese businessmen have been able to somehow manage on their own in English in foreign countries precisely because they had been taught in school to read and write. Without that basic training, they wouldn't have been able to function overseas.
Q: Personally, whose side are you on--the people who stress communication skills or those who stress grammar and comprehension?
A: Both. They are both right. The problem today is that kids are doing poorly in both areas. It's about time language experts in both camps stopped quibbling and put their heads together to work out an effective English education system that best matches the needs of Japanese students and will help them do better in both areas. Once the kids have learned the basics, I believe the schools will have fully accomplished their mission. Beyond that, it's up to each individual to further brush up his or her
he or she wishes.
English as a universal language
Q: In this age of globalization, what sort of English should we be studying? I understand you have been calling for a major shift in the paradigm of English education.
A: Everyone talks about globalization and says English is the common international language of our era, but I wonder how many people really understand what they are saying. Today, English is no longer the language of Americans and British and other native speakers of English alone. There are about 400 million people whose native tongue is English. But English is also the official language of countries such as India and Singapore, and when you factor in the peoples of such countries, plus those who speak English as a foreign language, the total number of English speakers by far exceeds 1 billion around the world. For most Japanese people, their probability of speaking English with non-native speakers of English is much higher than with native speakers. This means our present era no longer requires us to mold our English to the standard of English spoken by Americans and British. This is why I am calling for a paradigm shift in English education.
Q: Would you please elaborate?
A: Japanese and other non-native speakers of English tend to forget to use the definite article "the." For instance, instead of saying "the Nobel Prize," we say "Nobel Prize." Native speakers of English say we sound awkward. But that's only how they feel, and non-native speakers could care less. If the meaning is clear, there isn't any problem. And the sort of English that is perfectly intelligible to non-native speakers is the "international English" that serves as a common language of the world.
Q: But then, wouldn't English to cease to be English?
A: Of course, if everyone around the world started mangling English as they pleased, English would cease to function as a common language. So, what is the "core" English grammar and pronunciation that ought to be protected to keep the language's integrity? Studies to determine the core are being done now, mainly in Europe. Once it has been determined, all that needs to be done is to structure English education around that core. We will no longer have to try to pronounce words exactly as Americans or British do.
Q: That means our tendency to mix up the "l" and "r" sounds will no longer be a problem?
A: Exactly. Experiments have been done, in which non-native speakers of English from various countries were made to listen to distinguish between "l" and "r" sounds, and nobody had any problem. It's really just a matter of understanding the context.
Q: While I was in school, I was taught to work very hard to get my "l" and "r" right, because it wouldn't do to say "lice" when ordering "rice" in a restaurant.
A: Nobody orders lice in a restaurant, so it's a non-issue. Again, it's a matter of context. People can readily understand you mean "the" when you pronounce it as "za." On the other hand, I would advise Japanese students of English to work on consonant clusters and try to fine-tune their cadence, so native speakers will be better able to understand them. That said, however, the most important thing to bear in mind is to enunciate each word clearly. There is no need to mimic the American or English accent, nor do you ever have to memorize idiomatic phrases. It is enough for students to learn basics in grammar. When they speak English, they don't have to mind making grammatical errors.
Q: Are Americans and British to be the ultimate judges of what can be considered acceptable English and what cannot?
A: No. The studies being conducted in Europe, as I mentioned earlier, include collecting diverse samples of English being spoken by non-English speakers and checking their intelligibility to other nationals. If nobody can understand what is being said, then steps will have to be taken to ensure that nobody else will learn to speak in the same manner.
The age is long over when native speakers of English alone determine what is acceptable and what isn't. Should they insist on forcing their own standard on the rest of the world, they would be seen as just a bossy, self-serving minority. I regret to say this to Americans and British, but English has ceased to be their private property. I'm sure they aren't happy about strange English gaining legitimacy. But since we non-native speakers are working hard to be proficient in English, surely they can be accommodating enough to meet us halfway.
Q: Many students of English want to learn "natural English," the sort of English that is spoken by people in the United States and Britain. What are your thoughts about this?
A: I can quite empathize with the students, as I myself was attracted to America as a girl and that's what motivated me to learn English. And as an English teacher, I am sometimes tempted to teach interesting colloquial American expressions to my students. But I don't. What merit is there for my students in learning expressions only Americans can understand? None. Such expressions do not belong in the international language that needs to be taught. Of course, it's a different story altogether if you are already quite proficient in English or you intend to become a cultural or linguistic expert. All I'm saying is that colloquial expressions that are current only in limited areas should not be taught in public schools as part of compulsory English education. Public schools should focus strictly on teaching English as a universal language.
Q: In other words, you are saying that a distinction should be made between English as a universal language and American and British English as a "local dialect."
A: Exactly. Now that English has become established as a universal language, it has to be treated differently from any other language.
Q: Do you mean that English, as a universal language, must be "isolated" from its cultural background? But any student of a foreign language is told of the need to study and understand the culture of the people who speak it. What are we supposed to do?
A: Realistically speaking, I'm aware you can never completely isolate English from its deeply-embedded history, culture and popular tradition. This is the real dilemma, but I think it's ultimately up to each teacher to decide what to do. If English is to be taught as a tool of communication, then the teacher should at least make a conscious effort not to teach American or British culture without some really good reason. I know I'm going to come under a lot of fire for saying so. But mine is the only way to overcome the "hegemony of the English language."
One important element of English as a universal language is that it allows each speaker to color it with his or her own cultural background and project his or her own personality. For instance, when you say something to an American and the American tells you, "We don't say that in the States," you can respond, "I'm sure you don't, but we do in Japan."
Q: I like that.
A: Come to think of it, many conversations in English take place between non-native speakers of English who are not proficient in the language. A typical conversation may begin like this: "I'm sorry I don't speak your language. I wish I could." "It's for me to apologize for not speaking your language. But we can at least try to understand each other in English, can't we?"
Japanese can speak English like typical Japanese, and Chinese can speak their version of English, and they can still communicate with each other so long as both parties stick to the basics or "core" of what is English as a universal language. This is how it should be.
* * *
Kumiko Torikai is a professor at Rikkyo University Graduate School of Intercultural Communication. Her specialty is the theory of linguistic communication. A former professional simultaneous interpreter, Torikai currently hosts a Japan Broadcasting Corp. program titled "Nyusu de Eikaiwa" (English conversation on current events). Her published works include "Tsuyakusha to Sengo Nichi-bei Gaiko" (Interpreters and postwar Japan-U.S.
Kaleidoscope of the Heart: How to relax in exam rooms 香山リカのココロの万華鏡：試験本番の緊張 ／東京
Exam season has begun. 入試シーズンが始まった。
Since I hold duties at both a university and a hospital, I can be found both raising students tensions by yelling out orders like "Please close your books!" when I supervise exams at the university, and I can also be found trying to soothe young people at the hospital who have tests coming up, saying "Let's just take it easy." Though I feel like my actions contradict themselves, I tell myself that that's just the way things are. 病院と大学というふたつの職場を持つ私は、大学で入試監督をするときは「ハイ、早く参考書をしまってください！」と緊張感を高めるようなことを言い、病院では受験を控えた若い患者さんに「まあ、のんびりやればいいんじゃないの」などと言う。我ながら矛盾していると思うが、「仕方ない」と割りきっている。
Sometimes, in the consultation room, I'm asked by patients how they can relax when taking exams. Of course, there is no magic pill that will instantly relieve one's tension, but there are two general kinds of methods one can use to help oneself relax. 診察室ではときどき、「どうすれば緊張しないで試験を受けられますか」ときかれることがある。一瞬でリラックスできる特効薬があるわけではないが、一般的にはふたつの方法が考えられる。
One is an old-style approach to easing nerves in Japan: writing the character for "person" in the palm of your hand with your finger and swallowing. You don't have to do that, of course. You can just tell yourself, "It's alright, it's alright," or anything that will reassure you. What's most important is to do this same ritual several times before the exam, such as at practice tests. By doing this, you will create in yourself a conditioned response, triggered by the ritualized words and actions, that when performed, will flip your switch into "relaxed mode." ひとつめは、あまりに古典的だが「てのひらに“人”と指で書いてのみ込む」といった“おまじない”。動作を伴わなくても、「絶対だいじょうぶ、だいじょうぶ」と自分に言い聞かせる、などのことばでもよい。 このおまじないの内容は毎回あまり変えないこと、そして本番前に模試などで何度か練習しておくことが大切だ。決まった動作、ことばがきっかけで、すぐにリラックスモードのスイッチが入る、という条件反射を作っておくのだ。
As for me, my phrase is, "When this is over, I can go home and sleep." When I say this, I can momentarily regain the feeling of when I'm relaxing in bed, and my nervousness eases. However, I have to be a little careful that I don't relax too much and lose my drive! ちなみに私の場合は、「これが終わったら帰って寝られる」。このことばを唱えると、ベッドでくつろいでいる気分が一瞬で戻ってきて、緊張がゆるむ。ただ、ほっとしすぎてやる気までなくなるのが、ちょっと問題だ。
The other general kind of method is to distract oneself from the situation. それから、もうひとつの方法は、「現実から目をそむける」という方法。
The experience of feeling that, "It's finally time for the real thing," and having one's mind go blank at the exam is one that I imagine everyone can relate to. But by keeping oneself in "normal, everyday mode" when taking the test, this can be averted. To do this, it may be necessary to pull a few "tricks," like listening to your favorite music or reading the manga comics you always do right up until the test. 「いよいよ試験だ」と実感したとたん、頭が真っ白に、といった経験は誰にでもあるはず。だから、いま自分がどういう状況にいるか、あまり考えないようにして日常モードで試験に臨むのだ。そのためには、直前までいつもの音楽を聴くとかマンガ本を開く、といった“演出”も必要かもしれない。
When I'm in a stressful situation, I employ this method by observing those around me and imagining things about them. "I wonder if that person dyes their hair?" or "I wonder if that person has kids or if they're single?" or "That's a fashionable sweater. I wonder if it's mail-order?" The more pointless and trifling the content of the things I imagine, the better they are at reducing my tension. 私の場合は、緊張する場面では、周囲の人たちを観察してあれこれ想像することにしている。「あの人、白髪を染めているのかな」「子どもが３人くらいいるのかな、それともシングルか」「おしゃれなセーターだけど通販かな」など、なるべくクダラナイ想像のほうが、緊張を解きほぐすのには効果的だ。
To those students preparing to take exams, why not observe the exam supervisors and guess how old they are. However, if I happen to be one of those exam supervisors, I hope you won't think to yourself, "She seems like she's trying to make herself look young, but I bet she's pretty old." これから受験する人たちも、試験会場で監督を観察しながら「この先生、何歳くらいかな」などと想像してみてはどうだろう。でも、もし私が入試監督をしていたら、そのときは「なんだか若づくりだけど、けっこうトシかも」などとは想像しないでほしい。
All joking aside, I wish all students facing exams the best of luck. (By Rika Kayama, psychiatrist) 何はともあれ、受験生の健闘を祈りたい。
(Mainichi Japan) January 23, 2011 毎日新聞 2011年1月18日 地方版
The Yomiuri Shimbun (Jan. 23, 2011) Learn Senkaku lessons: Beef up crisis control 尖閣沖漁船衝突 事件を総括し危機対応見直せ（1月22日付・読売社説）
Prosecutors in Tokyo and Naha brought two related incidents to their final legal conclusions Friday as they decided to indict neither the captain of a Chinese fishing boat that crashed into two Japan Coast Guard patrol ships off the Senkaku Islands in Okinawa Prefecture last year nor the former JCG officer who leaked video footage of that incident onto the Internet. 尖閣諸島沖の中国漁船衝突事件と、元海上保安官によるビデオ映像流出事件の捜査は、元保安官と中国人船長がともに不起訴（起訴猶予）となることで終結した。
There were multiple problems with the entire process of the government's handling of the two cases--from the arrest and release of the Chinese captain to the splash the leaked video made on the Internet. 中国人船長の逮捕から釈放、さらにビデオ流出に至る過程で、政府の対応には極めて問題が多かった。
The government must now take this opportunity to improve its crisis management and information control policies by fully and closely examining the development of the two cases. これを機に、政府は事件全体を総括し、危機対応や情報管理の見直しを進めねばならない。
Prosecution authorities decided not to indict the former JCG officer, whose papers had been sent to the Tokyo District Public Prosecutors Office on suspicion of violating his duty to preserve secrets under the National Civil Service Law. They did so in consideration of several points, including the fact that every employee at the JCG could view the footage in question due to sloppy handling by the JCG. 検察当局が、国家公務員法の守秘義務違反の疑いで書類送検されていた元保安官を不起訴にしたのは、問題の映像が海上保安庁のずさんな管理により、海保職員なら誰でも見られる状態にあった点などを考慮したためだ。
The former officer already resigned after he was given a 12-month suspension from duty. This probably also affected the decision. 元保安官が停職１２か月の懲戒処分を受け、既に辞職したことも影響したのだろう。
===
No official revelation
There was no doubt of the illegality of the actions of the Chinese fishing boat that rammed the JCG patrol vessels in Japanese territorial waters. 日本の領海内で海保の巡視船に体当たりした中国漁船の違法行為は、疑う余地がなかった。
Despite that, the government did not make the video footage recorded by the JCG public immediately after the incident and thus missed the chance to use it to convince the world of the legitimacy of Japan's arrest of the captain. にもかかわらず政府は、事件直後に映像を公開せず、日本側の正当性をアピールする機会を逃した。
The government continued to refuse to reveal the footage to the general public. Such inaction virtually invited the video leak to occur. その後もビデオの一般公開を拒み続け、結果として元保安官によるビデオ流出を招いた。
It is crystal clear that the government made bad judgments. 政府の判断ミスは明白だ。
Opposition parties passed censure motions against former Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshito Sengoku and former Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism Minister Sumio Mabuchi in the House of Councillors. 仙谷由人前官房長官と馬淵澄夫前国土交通相は参院で問責決議を可決された。
In the eyes of the public, some politicians would have to take responsibility for the cases. Thus, it is safe to say that this current of public opinion supported the opposition parties' demands that the two ministers be removed from office. 両者の更迭を求める野党の姿勢を、政治のけじめなしでは済まされない、という世論が支えたと言える。
Clearly, the government must immediately tackle the task of improving its information control system. As the video leak case shows, information can spread across the Internet in the blink of an eye. The government must provide a thorough education in ethics to public servants concerning the handling of information. 情報管理態勢の整備を急ぐことは言うまでもない。ビデオ映像流出が示す通り、ネット上で情報が瞬時に拡散する時代である。情報の取り扱いに関する公務員の倫理教育も徹底すべきだ。
===
Political settlement surely made
Meanwhile, Naha prosecutors said Friday they decided not to indict the Chinese captain for reasons including the fact that there were no injuries in the incident. 一方、中国人船長については、検察は衝突で負傷者が出なかったことなどを不起訴理由に挙げた。
However, we believe that prosecutors had already decided not to pursue criminal punishment of the captain when he was released and sent back to China, even though the case against him had not officially been dropped at that point. だが、処分保留のまま釈放し中国に送還した時点で、刑事罰は問わないとの結論を事実上出していたというのが実情だろう。
It is still not known exactly what happened in the process leading up to the captain's release. The government has called it an independent decision by the prosecutors. But we believe a political settlement must have been made on the matter due to pressure from China--including the detention of Japanese company employees in that country. 釈放の経緯は不透明なままだ。政府は検察独自の判断だったと説明しているが、日本人社員の拘束など中国側の圧力で政治決着が図られたことは間違いあるまい。
We would like the government to seriously consider the fact that it has caused the Japanese people to doubt the independence of the justice system. 司法の独立に対する不信感を国民に与えたことを、政府は深刻に受け止めてもらいたい。
Another necessary step is the strengthening of the JCG's activities in guarding the nation's territorial waters. 無論、海保による領海警備も強化する必要がある。
The Senkaku collision case has raised various issues that the government has to consider in the fields of diplomacy and national security. 漁船衝突事件は、外交・安全保障の面で、様々な課題を突きつけた。
How should Japan build relationships hereafter with China, which is making increasing territorial claims and expanding its military presence on the sea? We again urge the government to study this question from a political viewpoint, learning valuable lessons from the two incidents. 外洋進出を強める中国との関係を今後どう築いていくのか、政治的な観点からも事件を教訓にした検討が改めて求められよう。
(From The Yomiuri Shimbun, Jan. 22, 2011) （2011年1月22日01時20分 読売新聞）
2011/01/22 --The Asahi Shimbun, Jan. 21 EDITORIAL: China now No. 2 in GDP 日中ＧＤＰ逆転―共に豊かさを問う時代
Today's China, which has climbed from third to second place in the world's economic standings, in many ways resembles the Japan of four decades ago. A chorus will soon arise, if it has not already, of people in China questioning the meaning of wealth amid this economic leap forward. 経済力の指標が３位から２位になる中国の姿は、約４０年前の日本と重なる。躍進の中で、豊かさを問い直すうねりも本格化するだろう。
In May 1970, The Asahi Shimbun started publishing a series about the downside of Japan's economic growth, under the title "Down with GNP." At that time, Japan's economy was in the final stage of what was called the Izanagi boom of prolonged expansion, and Expo 70 was running in Osaka. 「くたばれＧＮＰ」という連載を朝日新聞が始めたのは、１９７０年５月だった。いざなぎ景気の終末期。大阪万博が開かれていた。
Two years earlier, Japan had overtaken West Germany to become the second-largest economy in the free world. "Isn't there any other way to measure the affluence of a society?" asked the first piece in the Asahi series. It went on to highlight the undesirable byproducts of economic growth, such as waste, pollution, overwork and depopulation. その２年前に国民総生産（ＧＮＰ）で西ドイツを抜き自由経済圏で２位に躍り出た。浪費、公害、過労、過疎など成長の暗部をえぐった連載の初回には「ほかに社会の豊かさをはかる物差（ものさし）はないのか」とある。
Japan's economic growth, however, would soon lose steam amid the negative effects of the "Nixon shock" and the oil crisis. Osamu Shimomura, an economist who was the chief architect of the government's economic policy aimed at doubling national income during the high growth era, declared, "Now that the economic environment has changed, we have to accept zero growth." 間もなくニクソン・ショック、石油ショックに見舞われて日本経済は減速。所得倍増論のプランナー下村治氏は「環境が変わった以上、ゼロ成長しかない」と喝破した。
But neither Japan's political leaders nor the public accepted that new reality with such philosophical resignation. The country simply kept on pursuing economic growth even at the costs of sharply rising government debt and soaring land prices. In 1993, Japan switched its leading measure of economic output from gross national product to gross domestic product. だが、為政者も国民もそこまで達観できず、国債増発や土地の高騰まで甘受しつつ成長にこだわった。その指標は、９３年から国内総生産（ＧＤＰ）になった。
Japan surpassed the former Soviet Union when it became the second-largest economy in the world. But the economic bubbles that formed in the late 1980s eventually collapsed. The government responded to the ensuing downturn with a string of fiscal stimulus packages composed mainly of public works spending. The government has since issued more and more bonds to finance these stimulus packages amid a revenue shortage. As a result, Japan's outstanding government debt is now close to 200 percent of its GDP. 旧ソ連を抜いて世界第２位になる一方でバブルが崩壊。公共事業に偏った景気対策の連発や税収不足などで国債は増発の一途をたどる。残高は今やＧＤＰの２倍に近い。
Japan's economic growth is too feeble to pull the nation out of deflation. The government has mapped out a new "growth strategy," but no one knows if it will be effective. 成長力が弱く、デフレから抜けられない。「成長戦略」はできたが、その効果はあいまいだ。
The bigger question is whether government policies should focus more on the quality and security of life than on enlarging the economic pie. There has been little progress toward the fundamental reforms needed in taxation, fiscal responsibility and social security to deal with this question. 経済全体のパイを大きくするだけでなく、生活の質や安心こそ大切ではないか、との問いは膨らむばかり。だが、それに答えるはずの税財政、社会保障の抜本改革は、いっこうに進まない。
Japan's situation has much to teach people in China as they ponder the future course of their country. こうした日本の状況は、中国の人々が今後の進路を考える上で大いに参考になるに違いない。
China's per capita GDP is still one-10th that of Japan. But China has reached a stage of economic development where people are starting to demand a higher quality of life. Japan also went through an era when people's calls for more of freedom, justice, environmental protection and security had huge political repercussions, even while new cars sold like hotcakes. China seems bent on ensuring that its economy will keep growing at strong annual rates of 8 percent or higher, partly to ease the political pressure. 中国のＧＤＰも１人当たりでは日本の１０分の１だが、ここまで来ると生活の「質」への要求が高まる。自動車が飛ぶように売れる半面、自由や公正、環境、安心への要求が政治を揺さぶることは日本で経験済みだ。政治への圧力を和らげるためにも、中国は年８％以上の高度成長を維持しようとしているようである。
China will eventually become an economic superpower. But there is also the danger that China may follow the path of Japan as problems accumulated through rapid economic growth, such as a wider income gap, inefficient investment and pollution, lead to the bursting of bubbles and economic stagnation. That's why pursuing only high economic growth would be risky for China. 中国はいずれ経済超大国になろう。だが、格差の拡大や非効率な投資、環境汚染など経済のひずみが蓄積され、日本のようなバブル崩壊から停滞に陥る恐れもある。だからこそ、高い成長を追い求めるだけでは危うい。
Beijing should make serious efforts to ensure stability reigns in the lives of people and balanced economic development. 国民生活の安定を図り、均衡のとれた発展の道を歩むことが必要だ。
Tackling this challenge effectively requires promoting democracy in both the political and economic spheres. China needs to end its current system in which the Communist Party and the government are solely responsible for economic management. Instead, it should opt for allowing business greater independence and individuals and households more freedom of choice. それには政治と経済の両分野にわたる民主化が避けて通れない。共産党と政府が経済運営の全責任を負う方式を改め、企業の自律や個人と家計の選択の自由を拡大することだ。
What is true affluence? Japan has long struggled to find a satisfactory answer to this question. China will inevitably face the same question in coming years. As it tries to figure out an answer, a maturing China may find a new vision for its relations with Japan and the rest of the world. 真の豊かさとは何か。日本が答えあぐねてきた問いを、中国もまた自問してゆくのだろう。その先に、成熟へ向かう中国と日本、そして世界の新しい関係が描かれる。
