The Yomiuri Shimbun (Feb. 28, 2012) Scrutinize problems of current lower house election system 衆院選抜本改革 現行制度の問題点を洗い出せ（2月27日付・読売社説）
To carry out drastic reform of the House of Representatives election system, it is indispensable to scrutinize the current system's problems and reflect on what politics should be. 衆院の選挙制度の抜本改革には、現行制度の問題点を洗い出し、あるべき政治の姿を考える作業が欠かせない。
In connection with the issue of rectifying the vote-value disparity, discussions continue in the Diet to drastically change the existing system, which combines single-seat constituencies and proportional representation, in addition to cutting the number of lower house seats. 国会では、「１票の格差」の是正問題を契機に、定数削減と合わせて、小選挙区比例代表並立制を抜本的に改めるべきだとの議論が続いている。
A suprapartisan parliamentary league of lawmakers seeking drastic reform of the lower house election system, for example, decided during its general meeting on Thursday that it will aim to introduce a multiple-seat constituency system. 超党派の「衆院選挙制度の抜本改革をめざす議員連盟」が２３日の総会で、中選挙区制の導入を目指すと決めたのもその一つだ。
More than 150 lawmakers from the ruling and opposition parties are members of the group, with former Liberal Democratic Party Secretary General Koichi Kato and Democratic Party of Japan Supreme Adviser Kozo Watanabe serving as representatives. 議連は、加藤紘一・自民党元幹事長と渡部恒三・民主党最高顧問が代表世話人を務め、１５０人超の与野党議員が参加している。
It is worth noting that the idea of reinstating the multiple-seat constituency system, which New Komeito and other political parties sought in the past, has become a suprapartisan movement involving members of the DPJ and the LDP. かつて公明党などが求めていた中選挙区制の復活が、民主、自民両党を含む超党派の動きに広がったことは注目されよう。
Discussion documents prepared by the league argue that under the current single-seat constituency system, candidates only voice opinions that go down well with everyone. 議連が作成した討議資料は、現行の小選挙区制度について、「候補者が万人受けする主張ばかりをする」と指摘している。
Because candidates need support from a wide range of people to be elected, the league says they tend to get caught up in populism. It added that candidates' policy expertise becomes impaired and their quality as a whole deteriorates. 当選に幅広い支持が不可欠なため、候補者がポピュリズムに陥りやすいというものだ。政策的専門性が低下し、「候補者の資質が全体として劣化」したという。
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Status quo yields lopsided results
In addition, as seen in the resounding victory of the LDP in the 2005 lower house election and of the DPJ in the 2009 lower house election, the documents also say the single-seat constituency system tends to make the number of seats won by a party either extremely large or very small, making politics rather unstable. また、２００５年と０９年の衆院選で自民、民主各党がそれぞれ圧勝したように、獲得議席の振れ幅が極端になり、「政治をかえって不安定化する」とも明記した。
We share such concerns. However, the most important thing is whether reinstating the multiple-seat constituency system will lead to improved politics. 問題意識は共有できる。肝心なのは、中選挙区制の復活が政治の改善につながるかどうかだ。
The multiple-seat constituency system, which was in place until 1993, drew much criticism. Under that system, political parties and policies were not given top priority when election campaigns were fought. Instead, candidates competed by doing favors for voters, which costs a lot of money. In the LDP, faction-led politics dominated. It was also pointed out that a change in government was difficult to achieve. １９９３年まで実施されていた旧中選挙区制には、多くの批判があった。選挙が政党・政策本位ではなく、個人のサービス競争に陥り、カネがかかる。自民党では、派閥政治がはびこった。政権交代が困難だとも指摘された。
The situation of politics and money has changed remarkably in the past 20 years, as has the status of faction-led politics, but a return to the harmful effects experienced in the past would be unworthy to be called reform. この約２０年間で、政治とカネや、派閥政治のあり方は様変わりしたとは言え、かつての弊害を繰り返すのでは改革に値しない。
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Many ideas in the arena
The league is discussing a plan to reduce the number of lower house seats from the current 480 to either 400 or 450. It is also considering creating constituencies with two to five seats and a new voting method. These ideas need to be thoroughly discussed. 議連は、総定数を現行４８０から４００または４５０に減らし、２人区～５人区を設ける案や投票方式を工夫することなどを検討している。十分な吟味が必要だ。
For drastic reform of the lower house election system, discussions are under way on various measures beside the proposed multiple-seat constituency system. Revisions to the current system are one idea. Another is a system combining single-seat constituencies and proportional representation with a new method of allotting proportional representation seats in a way beneficial to parties that hold a smaller number of seats from single-seat electoral contests. A proportional representation system is also being discussed. 抜本改革に向け、中選挙区制以外にも、現行制度の修正や小選挙区比例代表連用制、比例代表制なども議論の対象となっている。
One thing that must be kept in mind is that election system reform should make it difficult for a divided Diet to occur so political confusion will not be created. It is also important to think about the respective roles shouldered by the lower house and the House of Councillors, and create a lower house election system suitable for the lower house's role. 忘れてならないのは、衆参ねじれを起きにくくし、政治の混乱を招かないという視点だ。衆参の役割分担を考え、それにふさわしい選挙制度にすることも大切だ。
It is also necessary to deepen discussions by setting up an election system council of experts, rather than simply leaving the matter to politicians, who tend to care most of all about the rise and fall of their own parties. 自党の消長を第一に考えがちな政治家任せにせず、有識者による選挙制度審議会を設けて論議を深める必要もあろう。
(From The Yomiuri Shimbun, Feb. 27, 2012) （2012年2月27日01時08分 読売新聞）
(Mainichi Japan) February 27, 2012 Zero-growth plan from decades ago applies to Japan today 風知草：どこで間違えたか＝山田孝男
The scandal surrounding AIJ Investment Advisors Co., an asset-management firm where some 200 billion yen in corporate pension money has gone missing, follows the same plot as the American film "Tower Heist" (Japanese title: "Penthouse") that's currently showing in theaters across Japan. 投資顧問会社が、企業から預かった年金資金２０００億円をパーにした。公開中のハリウッド映画「ペントハウス」を地でいく事件である。
In the Hollywood version, Josh, the protagonist played by Ben Stiller, joins forces with ex-convict Slide, played by Eddy Murphy, to win back the hidden assets of wealthy businessman Arthur Shaw played by Alan Alda. In the unfolding Japanese case, it's still unclear who the bad guy is, and there are no prospects of the missing money being returned to its rightful owners. 映画の方は、金融王に年金資金を巻き上げられたベン・スティラーが、ムショ帰りの泥棒エディ・マーフィーと組み、金融王の隠し財産を奪い返す。現実の事件は、誰がどう悪いかまだ読めず、消えたカネが元に戻る見通しはない。
I read the transcript of a Feb. 8 lecture given in Osaka by investment banker Hideki Mitani, who even while working in the finance sector, has warned against the kind of avaricious capitalism that drives people to live large even if it means going into debt to do so. 折も折、金融業界にいながら「借金してでも羽振りよく」式の強欲資本主義に警鐘を鳴らす投資銀行家、神谷（みたに）秀樹（５８）の講演（８日、大阪市）の記録を興味深く読んだ。
Investment banks are financial institutions specialized in issuing corporate securities, brokering mergers and acquisitions, and offering investment advice. Following stints at Sumitomo Bank (now Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp.) and The Goldman Sachs Group, Mitani founded the investment bank Roberts Mitani in New York in 1992. 投資銀行というのは企業の証券発行や合併・買収の仲介、投資アドバイスを専門とする金融機関である。神谷は住友（現三井住友）銀行、米ゴールドマン・サックスを経て、９２年、ニューヨークで投資銀行ロバーツ・ミタニを創業した。
"The root of the problem lies in the belief that 'infinite growth equals good,'" Mitani said in the lecture. He explained that the Occupy Wall Street movement, the euro crisis and the Fukushima nuclear disaster are all consequences of "indiscreet financial expansion" that require fundamental change. 「誤りの原点は『無限の成長＝善』という信仰にある」と神谷は言う。ウォール街の占拠騒動も、ユーロ危機も、福島原発震災も、すべて「無分別な経済膨張」の帰結であり、根本から改めなければと。
I first learned of Mitani through a book titled "Nihon wa warukunai, waruino wa Amerika da" (It's Not Japan's Fault, It's America's), written by the late Osamu Shimomura, the brains behind Japanese economic policy rolled out during Hayato Ikeda's tenure as prime minister. The paperback edition of the book was published in 2009 and came with a preface written by Mitani that said: "This very book indicates the correct path that Japan should take." 私が神谷の名を初めて知ったのは、池田勇人元首相の経済ブレーンだった下村治の遺著「日本は悪くない／悪いのはアメリカだ」の文春文庫版が出た０９年である。神谷は文庫版の序文にこう書いた。「本書にこそ日本が進むべき『正しい道』が示されている」－－。
So what, then, is "the correct path?" It is the path in which we prepare ourselves for a worldwide depression, and start anew from a state of diminished equilibrium. It's a path in which we scrape away the gold-plated surface of our abnormally-bloated everyday lives, trim the fat, and move toward health. It's a path in which we are not swayed by frivolous money games, and instead reclaim a sober national economy. 正しい道はどんな道か。世界大不況を覚悟し、縮小均衡から再出発する道だ。異常に膨張した生活のメッキをはがし、ゼイ肉を落とし、健康体へ向かう道だ。浮薄なマネーゲームに振り回されず、堅実な国民経済を取り戻す道だ……。
It was in 1987 that Shimomura made these arguments, but Kamiya stated that they still applied to us today. At the time, Ronald Reagan was in his second term as U.S. president, and the administration of Japanese Prime Minister Yasuhiro Nakasone was coming to an end. The biggest concern then was Japan's excess of exports over imports in its dealings with the U.S. A large number of Japanese called for a cooperative stance toward the U.S.; in other words, market liberalization. 下村がそう論じたのは８７年だが、今なお通用すると神谷は言う。当時、アメリカはレーガン政権２期目、日本は中曽根政権末期。日米間の懸案は日本の対米輸出超過だった。日本国内も対米協調優先、市場開放促進が大勢だった。
The 77-year-old Shimomura strongly objected to such thought. He pointed to Reaganomics -- which promoted excessive consumption through major tax cuts -- as distorting the U.S. economy, and said that there was no reason for Japan to buy U.S. products, or create unnecessary domestic demand simply because it feels apologetic for its trade surplus. そこへ「バカを言うな」と斬り込んだのが、当時７７歳の下村だ。米国経済をゆがめているのは、大減税で過剰消費をあおるレーガンの政策ではないか、日本が恐縮して米国製品を買ったり、無用な内需を掘り起こす必要などどこにもない－－と火を噴く反撃に出た。
The book's title sounds so obviously exclusionist and aggressive, which matches the image of a lone aging economist's rage. Surely it was the publisher who decided on the title, but I suspect Shimomura green-lighted it not as an expression of his anger toward the U.S., but rather toward Japanese leaders who ingratiated themselves with the U.S. 「日本は悪くない／悪いのはアメリカだ」という書名はいかにも排外的、攻撃的だが、孤高の老エコノミストの憤怒と釣り合っている。決めたのは出版社に違いないが、下村は、アメリカではなく、相手がアメリカと見れば過度に卑屈になる日本の指導層への怒りを込めて受け入れたと想像する。
Mitani's father was Shimomura's subordinate in the Ministry of Finance. On the recommendation of his father, the younger Mitani familiarized himself with Shimomura's writings from the time he was a student. Although Shimomura was originally the theorist behind Japan's high-speed economic growth policy, this changed with the oil crisis in 1973, after which he advocated zero economic growth. "The conditions for growth have been lost," he explained. 神谷の厳父は大蔵省（現財務省）で下村の後輩だった。神谷は父の勧めで学生時代から下村の著作に親しんだ。下村は高度成長政策の理論的支柱だったが、７３年の石油危機からゼロ成長論に転じ、「成長の条件が失われた」と説明した。
With the spread of energy-saving technologies and policies, Japan once again ran headlong onto the path of growth. Shimomura was forgotten. As he had explained earlier, however, an increase in domestic demand led to the burst of the economic bubble, turning Japan into a country plagued by suicides and solitary deaths. The U.S., meanwhile, became a country in which the wealthiest 1 percent rode around in Ferraris while treating money like water. 省エネが進んで再び成長が始まり、下村は忘れられた。案の定、内需拡大の末にバブルがはじけ、日本は自殺と孤独死の国になった。アメリカは１％の富豪がフェラーリに乗って札ビラを切る格差大国になった。
Shimomura had been right. 下村は正しかった。
Mitani closed his aforementioned lecture with the following plea: "Why don't we reconfirm the meaning of Shimomura's turnabout from promoting high-speed economic growth to advocating zero growth?" 「下村が高度成長論からゼロ成長論に豹変（ひょうへん）した意義を、もう一度確かめようではありませんか」。そう呼びかけて神谷の講演は終わっている。
The Yomiuri Shimbun (Feb. 26, 2012) Encourage offshore M&As that utilize yen's strength 海外Ｍ＆Ａ 強い円のメリットも生かそう（2月25日付・読売社説）
Taking advantage of the strong yen, an increasing number of Japanese companies have been boosting their overseas acquisitions. 「強い円」を武器に、日本企業が海外企業の買収を加速させている。
According to data recently released by Thompson Reuters, a major U.S. corporate information service company, the number of offshore mergers and acquisitions conducted by Japanese firms in 2011 was up a record 20 percent from the previous year. The total value of such deals rose 80 percent, also an all-time high. 米調査会社トムソン・ロイターの集計では、日本企業による海外企業のＭ＆Ａ（合併・買収）は昨年、件数で前年比２割増、金額では８割増と大幅に伸び、ともに過去最高を更新した。
Because of low growth due to the stagnant domestic economy and years of deflation, Japanese companies tend to operate defensively. The growing trend for Japanese firms to go on the offensive by venturing offshore is definitely welcome. 低成長とデフレで、日本企業の多くは「守りの経営」に閉じこもりがちだ。反転攻勢の機運が高まってきたことを歓迎したい。
If Japanese businesses can bring their overseas profits into this country, thereby leveraging their newly expanded overseas businesses to promote growth in the domestic economy and higher employment, they will surely help reinvigorate the national economy. 海外で稼いだ利益を国内に還流させ、新たな事業展開をテコに成長と雇用増加につなげれば、経済の活性化に役立つだろう。
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Buyouts spreading to Asia
The total value of Japanese companies' foreign M&As in 2011 was about 70 billion dollars (about 5.5 trillion yen). 昨年の対外Ｍ＆Ａの総額は約７００億ドルで、円換算で約５・５兆円だ。
In 2008, the value of overseas corporate buyouts by Japanese firms was much the same in dollar terms as in 2011, but was worth about 7 trillion yen when converted into the Japanese currency. ドルベースでは２００８年もほぼ同水準だったが、円に換算すると約７兆円だ。
This means the costs of overseas M&As have fallen remarkably thanks to the strength of the yen. We can safely say hyperappreciation of the yen spurs the expansion of Japanese firms spending capital offshore. 円高によって、投資負担が大きく軽減されたことになる。超円高は、対外投資の拡大にとって追い風といえる。
Although the sharp uptrend in the yen's strength seems to be pausing for the moment, Japan's currency remains at a historically high level. We hope Japanese companies stay on the offensive in their outbound M&A deals. このところ、円相場の急騰は一服しているが、なお歴史的な円高水準にある。企業には、攻めのＭ＆Ａを期待したい。
Especially conspicuous among purchases of foreign firms by Japanese companies are large-scale deals by firms that were previously considered stay-at-home businesses, such as food processing companies. This is prompted by fears of a shrinking domestic market because of the nation's declining population. 海外企業の買収は、食品などの内需型産業で大型案件が目立つ。人口の減少で国内市場の縮小が懸念されているためだ。
Japanese firms have mainly sought foreign acquisitions in the United States and Europe, but they are becoming more active in China and other Asian countries. This reflects Japanese companies' strategy of expanding their businesses in emerging countries with high growth potential. 欧米が中心舞台だったＭ＆Ａが、中国などアジアでも活発になってきた。成長が続く新興国でのビジネス拡大が狙いだろう。
It is also noteworthy that major trading houses have been moving to boost their capital spending offshore, to secure resource development rights in anticipation of resources development projects becoming more profitable due to soaring prices of natural resources. 資源高による収益を見込み、大手商社が資源権益の拡大を図る動きも活発化している。
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Bubble's bitter lessons
Japanese companies, however, should be scrupulous enough not to be overly optimistic when making outbound investments because they do not want to miss opportunities. ただし好機を逃すまいとして、投資判断が甘くなるのは禁物である。
They should bear in mind that many Japanese companies during the high- growth days of the bubble economy suffered huge debacles in their overseas investments, including property deals. 多くの日本企業がバブル期、海外の不動産投資などで大失敗した教訓を忘れてはならない。
It is vital for Japanese companies to scrutinize the actual financial conditions and business prospects of foreign firms they are planning to buy out. 投資対象とする企業の経営実態や将来性などを、しっかり“目利き”することが重要だ。
The capabilities of financial institutions that advise Japanese firms in their offshore capital investments are being tested in this respect. Ｍ＆Ａを仲介・助言する金融機関の力量も問われよう。
A stronger yen has such negative aspects as raising prices of export goods and resultant drops in sales competitiveness. 円高には、輸出品の価格上昇などによって国際競争力を低下させる負の側面もある。
Especially worrying in this connection is that an increasing number of Japanese companies, in particular such export industries as electric machinery and automobiles, have been shifting their production bases overseas, threatening to accelerate the hollowing-out of domestic industries. 懸念されるのは、電機や自動車など輸出産業を中心に、生産拠点を海外に移転する産業空洞化が進むことだ。
If Japanese companies' M&As are mainly an attempt to flee from the impact of a strong yen, their capital deals overseas could plunge into a vicious circle that further darkens already stagnant domestic business activity. 海外Ｍ＆Ａの主流が、円高の打撃をかわすための「逃避型」になれば、国内の経済活動が停滞する悪循環に陥りかねない。
In another move worthy of note, Toshiba Corp. and Sony Corp. have applied for loans from a government-backed "emergency fund to cope with the yen's appreciation" that was created last autumn to support Japanese firms' M&A operations abroad. 政府が昨秋、対外Ｍ＆Ａを後押しするため設けた「円高対応緊急基金」の活用に、東芝とソニーが名乗りを上げた。
The government and the private sector should continue to jointly propel growth in the national economy through outbound M&A deals. 今後も官民が連携し、Ｍ＆Ａによる成長戦略を推進する必要がある。
(From The Yomiuri Shimbun, Feb. 25, 2012) （2012年2月25日01時17分 読売新聞）
(Mainichi Japan) February 24, 2012 Town's 'lies' show stronger checks needed in gov't use of precious tax money 記者の目：「ウソ」で原発交付金＝古関俊樹
◇「血税」の使途、チェック徹底を
A report in The Mainichi Shimbun revealed that the Oi Municipal Government in Fukui Prefecture, the location of Kansai Electric Power Co.'s Oi Nuclear Power Plant, received 2.5 billion yen in "nuclear power plant grants" after submitting a fake business proposal to the central government. Naturally, one can point the finger at the town assembly whose members all kept quiet despite knowing, in the words of one town official, that the town "lied to the government." Yet at the same time, the fact that the government's screening system could not see through this "lie" is problematic. 関西電力・大飯原発のある福井県おおい町が国に虚偽の事業計画を提出し、「原発交付金」２５億円を受け取っていたことが毎日新聞の報道で明るみに出た。「国にウソをついた」（町幹部）ことを町議会の議員全員が知りながら、それを黙認していた町も町だが、町の「ウソ」を見抜けなかった国の審査体制にも問題がある。
In the wake of the disaster at the Fukushima No. 1 Nuclear Power Plant, reviews of the government's energy policies have been mulled, and the status of such grants, which are funded by taxes, has come under scrutiny. Unless an effective checking system is in place the public will not agree to having the grant system continue. 福島第１原発事故を機に、国のエネルギー政策の見直しが検討され、交付金のあり方も問題になっている。交付金の原資は税金だ。実効的なチェック体制がなければ、交付金制度継続への国民の理解は得られない。
◇原発マネー入り 貧しい町が一変
The public finances of Oi, a town of about 8,800 people cannot be separated from nuclear power facilities. In the 1960s, the town was so short of funds that it was unable to pay the wages of its town workers, but the when the Oi Nuclear Power Plant started operating in 1979, the situation changed completely. The town received a huge amount of nuclear power plant-related grants and fixed property tax and used the money to build hot spring facilities, a sports park and a stream of other lavish structures. Prefectural government officials said that as of fiscal 2009, the town had received 32.2 billion yen. 人口約８８００人のおおい町の経済は原発と切り離せない。１９６０年代、町は職員給与を支払えないほどの財政難だったが、７９年に大飯原発が稼働し始めると、状況が一変。多額の固定資産税や原発交付金が入り、温泉や総合運動公園など豪華施設が次々に整備された。県によると、０９年度までに町が受けた交付金は総額約３２２億円に上る。
As the cash flowed in, the town in 1991 established a plan to turn its image from a nuclear plant town into a resort town, and a marina and other facilities were prepared. However, when the town sought an operator for a hotel that was to be a centerpiece of the resort, it struggled to find anyone due to poor economic conditions. With no sightseeing spots in the area it was hardly a favorable location, and eventually only one party applied. こうした中、町は９１年、「原発の町からリゾートの町に」を合言葉に、リゾート施設の整備計画を策定した。マリーナなどが整備されたが、０５年にその中核施設であるホテルの事業者を公募した際は、不況で募集が難航。周囲に観光地がないなど立地条件も悪く、結局、応募は１業者だけだった。
Here the town told its first "lie" to the government as it eyed more nuclear plant-related grants. ここで町は、交付金の支給をあてこみ、国への申請で最初の「ウソ」をつく。
The hotel operator formulated a business plan stating that it expected about 60,000 visitors a year, with the total cost of the project reaching 5.9 billion yen (Plan A). The town meanwhile prepared a 6 billion yen plan (Plan B) that envisaged 105,000 visitors a year. The town made preparations to formally adopt Plan A, but when applying for a grant it presented Plan B to the central government, showing a higher number of visitors. At the time, business at facilities funded by grants was slow, leading to criticism. It is believed the town's submission of a fictitious business plan was based on the conclusion that projects which forecasted low profitability would be less likely to be eligible for grants. 業者は年間来場者を約６万人と予測し事業計画（総額約５９億円）＝仮にＡ計画＝を立てた。一方、町が事前に作った計画（同約６０億円）＝仮にＢ計画＝では、年間来場者を１０万５０００人と予測した。町は実際はＡ計画を正式採用し準備を進めたが、交付金申請の際は、利用者予測が多かったＢ計画を国に提出した。当時、交付金で建てた各地の施設の運営が低迷、批判されており、「採算性を低く見積もると交付金が出にくい」との判断が、この虚偽申請の背景にあったと見られる。
The town then told a second "lie." さらに町は２度目の「ウソ」をつく。
When the government screened Plan B -- that is, the fake plan -- to decide whether or not to provide a grant, it judged that about 1 billion yen in operating expenses could be cut. The government urged the town to make these reductions, but the operator, which was already proceeding with Plan A responded, "It's impossible to make any cuts under our plan." Eventually the town decided to secretly cover about 700 million yen of the requested cuts to help make the amounts add up. Of course, it did not inform the government about this "covert operation." Ｂ計画、すなわち虚偽の計画を基に交付金給付の可否を審査してきた国は、事業費のうち約１０億円の削減が可能だと判断。町にこれを求めた。だが、すでにＡ計画で事業を進めてきた業者が「我々の計画（Ａ計画）では削減は無理だ」と反発。結局、町は国が求めた削減分のうち約７億円をひそかに自ら負担することにし、つじつまを合わせた。無論、国には当時この「秘密工作」を知らせていない。
As a result, the project passed government screening, and 2.5 billion yen was paid out. Construction of the hotel was completed in 2009, but the occupancy rate last fiscal year stood at just 30 percent. これで国の審査は通り、国は交付金２５億円を支給。ホテルは０９年完成したが、昨年度の稼働率は３割にすぎない。
◇透明性を高める外部審査委公開
There are two problem points in this case: Firstly, obviously, is the town's response. The background to the case was reported at a meeting of all members of the town assembly in 2007, and a town official confessed, "We lied to the government." But this was not brought forward as a problem, and at a plenary session of the town assembly two days later the project was approved. Town assembly members at the time pointed out that the project was already proceeding, and it could not be halted at such a late stage. But as a result, some 700 million yen of the town's tax funds were eaten up. There is no doubt that the town assembly checking system failed to function as a result of the town's reliance on grants for many years and its desensitization to the fact that it was using public funds. 問題点は二つある。まず、当然ながら町の対応だ。一連の経緯は０７年、町議会の全員協議会に報告され、町幹部が「国にウソをつきました」と告白した。だが問題にならず、２日後の本会議で事業は承認された。当時の町議らは「事業が進展しており、今さら反対できなかった」と弁明するが、それで約７億円もの町税が浪費された。議会のチェック機能が全く働かなかった背景には、交付金に長年依存し、公金感覚がマヒした町の体質があるのは間違いない。
Secondly is the central government's response. Being a case in which a local government was deceiving the central government, the central government was primarily a victim, but I think it has room for improvement. For example, it could open meetings of the external screening committee of the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry's Agency for Natural Resources and Energy to the public. The agency says that meetings are not made public "to allow members to freely state their opinions," but in the Oi Municipal Government's case, it is likely that the town's false application would have been detected. 次に国の対応だ。「行政（町）が行政（国）を欺く」という構図の中、国は一義的には被害者だが、改善の余地はあると思う。例えば、透明性を高めるため、交付金の給付を審査する経済産業省資源エネルギー庁の外部審査委員会を公開してはどうか。同庁は「委員が自由に意見を言えるためにも、公開にはなじまない」と話すが、今回、公開されていれば、町の虚偽申請を見抜く可能性は十分あった。
I also want to mention the examination system after grants are paid out. The agency says that inspections are the responsibility of the Board of Audit of Japan, but it's possible Board of Audit inspections could come too late. There is rather a need to review the screening system of external screening committees. If such a screening were applied to the Oi Municipal Assembly and the hotel operator, the false claim could easily have been detected. And if the screening system is strengthened, this will help prevent false applications in the first place. If problems are found only after the building is constructed, then it will be extremely difficult to recover the grant money. 交付金支給後の検証体制にも触れたい。同庁は「検証は会計検査院の役目」と話すが、それでは遅きに失する可能性がある。やはり外部審査委員会の審査体制を見直すべきだ。今回、町議会や業者にあたれば簡単に虚偽申請はわかったはずだ。審査体制が強固になれば、虚偽申請の防止にも役立つ。建物の工事終了後に不正が見つかった場合、失われた交付金を回収するのは非常に困難になる。
In promoting nuclear power plants, the central government has enticed local bodies to host plants with a huge amount of grants. But the grants are originally collected as taxes on top of electricity charges. Officials need to be more aware that each grant they dish out is hard-earned tax money. 国は原発推進で立地自治体に交付金という「アメ」を大量につぎ込んできた。だが交付金の原資は国民の電気料金に上乗せして徴収される税金だ。交付金が「血税」だということを関係者は再認識すべき時にきている。
(By Toshiki Koseki, Osaka City News Department) （大阪社会部）
The Yomiuri Shimbun (Feb. 24, 2012) Make farming attractive to young generations 新規就農支援 魅力ある産業へ若者呼び込め（2月23日付・読売社説）
We hope that enticing young generations to the farming industry will be a step to reinvigorate the nation's agriculture. 若者たちを呼び込むことで、日本農業を活性化させる契機としたい。
From fiscal 2012, the Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Ministry will introduce a new measure to encourage people to enter farming. 農林水産省が新たな就農支援策を、２０１２年度から導入する。
It will be the first item to be introduced as part of the government's program for revitalizing the nation's farming industry, which was decided on in autumn with an eye on Japan's entry into talks regarding the Trans-Pacific Partnership multilateral trade framework. 環太平洋経済連携協定（ＴＰＰ）の交渉参加をにらみ、政府が昨秋に決定した農業再生計画の第１弾である。
The nation's agricultural population has decreased 20 percent in five years to 2.6 million, and it is expected to decrease by another 1 million over the next 10 years. 日本の農業人口は５年間で２割減り、２６０万人となった。今後１０年でさらに１００万人減少すると予想されている。
The accelerated graying of farmers is another cause for concern, as the average age of farmers has reached 66. 農家の平均年齢は６６歳に達し、高齢化の加速も憂慮すべき状況だ。
It is essential to recruit ambitious people from various regions and industries to develop a robust agriculture industry that can withstand the wave of trade liberalization. 貿易の自由化に耐えられる強い農業を実現するには、広範な地域や業種から、意欲ある人材を確保することが欠かせない。
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Cash for new farmers
Under the new measure, the government will provide 1.5 million yen annually for up to seven years, including a two-year training period, to people under 45 who wish to begin farming. 新制度は、農業を志す４５歳未満の人を対象に、２年間の研修を含めて最長７年間、毎年１５０万円ずつ支給する。
Each newcomer can receive a maximum total of 10.5 million yen. The government has secured more than 10 billion yen in the budget for the inaugural year. １人当たり最大１０５０万円で、初年度の予算は１００億円超にのぼる。
The new measure differs from available government support to new farmers, such as providing interest-free loans and subsidizing the purchase of farm machines and tools. The government has taken a decisive step to cover newcomers' expected shortage of income by directly giving them cash. 無利子融資や農機具購入の助成といった従来型の支援と違い、補助金の直接支給による収入補填(ほてん)方式に踏み込んだ。
One of the reasons young people hesitate to become farmers is concern their earnings are likely to be low in the early years. 若い世代が農業を敬遠する一因は、就農直後の低収入への不安だ。
The government aims to double the number of young people entering farming, now at about 10,000 each year, by easing their anxiety about income. それを和らげ、年間１万人程度にとどまる若手新規就農者を２万人に倍増する狙いがある。
The model for this new measure is a similar support program introduced in France in the 1970s. １９７０年代に同様の支援策を実施したフランスが、今回のモデルとなっている。
The proportion of farmers aged under 40 doubled in 30 years to 30 percent in that country, according to sources. ４０歳未満の農業者比率が３０年間で３割に倍増する効果を上げたという。
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Help farmers stand on own feet
The government needs to be careful that the new measure does not end up as a mere handout policy. 注意したいのは、新たなばらまき政策に終わらせないことだ。
The agriculture ministry and local governments need to check on new farmers and give them thorough instruction on how to stand on their own feet in the future. 農水省や自治体は、新規就農者の経営状態をチェックすると同時に、常に自立への指導を徹底する必要がある。
We hope the ministry and local governments will create an environment in which support for new farmers is effective enough to keep them in the industry. 支援が十分効果を上げ、就農者が農業を継続できる環境整備を図ってもらいたい。
The important point in increasing the number of new young farmers over the medium and long term is to make the agricultural industry attractive to young generations and make it possible for farmers to profit sufficiently. 中長期的に若手の就農者を増やすポイントは、何よりも若者が魅力を感じる農業、稼げる農業に再生することである。
The farming industry would become a growth field if farmers and agricultural corporations accelerated their advancement into food processing and marketing. Agriculture should no longer be satisfied to exist in a primary-industry framework and should add elements of secondary and tertiary industries. 農家や農業法人がもっと食品加工や販売分野に進出し、１次産業に２次、３次をプラスした「６次産業化」を目指せば、農業は成長産業に変わるはずだ。
There are already successful examples of people who have moved from the information technology, financial and other industries to the farming industry, developing agricultural businesses free from conventional mind-sets. 情報技術（ＩＴ）や金融など異業種から参入した人材が、旧来の発想にとらわれない農業ビジネスを展開している成功例は多い。
Such successful people have increased their earning power by producing high-value-added farm products after studying the tastes of customers and finding markets abroad. 顧客の好みを把握し、付加価値の高い農産物を作ったり、海外に販路を開拓したりして、収益力を高めている。
We want to urge the agriculture ministry to review various laws, regulations and customs, such as the Agricultural Land Law, which limits corporations' entry into agriculture. 農水省は、企業の農業参入を制限する農地法など様々な法規や慣行を見直すことが求められる。
(From The Yomiuri Shimbun, Feb. 23, 2012) （2012年2月23日01時13分 読売新聞）
The Yomiuri Shimbun (Feb. 23, 2012) 2nd bailout for Greece not an end to debt crisis ギリシャ支援策 危機を回避できても残る懸念（2月22日付・読売社説）
A second bailout plan by the European Union and other concerned parties to deal with Greece's debts has finally been sealed by eurozone finance ministers. 欧州連合（ＥＵ）などによるギリシャ向けの第２次支援策の実施が、ようやく決まった。
Greece, which is suffering from an ever-worsening debt crisis, is scheduled to redeem a large amount of government bonds on March 20. Without further debt relief measures, it would have been difficult for the country to collect funds, resulting in a default that surely would have an adverse effect that will rock global markets. 財政危機のギリシャは３月２０日に国債の大量償還を予定する。支援が滞ると資金繰りに行き詰まり、世界の市場を揺るがす債務不履行（デフォルト）に陥るほかない。
We welcome this development. The Europeans were able to arrive at the bailout agreement in the 11th hour, a step forward in averting default for the time being. 土壇場で支援決定にこぎつけ、当面のデフォルト回避へ前進したことをひとまず歓迎したい。
The second bailout plan agreed on by the eurozone finance ministers has two main components. The first is a 130 billion euros (about 14 trillion yen) rescue package by the EU and the International Monetary Fund. Second, private financial institutions holding Greek debt in the form of government bonds will take further losses on their nominal value. ユーロ圏財務相会合が合意した第２次支援策は、ＥＵと国際通貨基金（ＩＭＦ）による１３００億ユーロ（約１４兆円）の融資と、民間金融機関が保有するギリシャ国債の元本削減が柱である。
===
Distrust delayed agreement
An outline of the new program had been drawn up in autumn last year. But at the time, eurozone members' distrust of Greece, which by then had already broken several times its promise to rehabilitate its finances, was strong, resulting in a delay to the agreement. 支援の大枠は昨秋固まったが、財政再建の公約を何度も破ってきたギリシャに対する不信感は根強く、決定が大幅に遅れた。
Last week, the Greek parliament passed an austerity bill that was demanded by eurozone countries and the IMF as one of the conditions for extending the second bailout. It includes additional measures to cut its fiscal spending, and leaders of the country's ruling coalition parties have submitted written promises to European leaders, pledging the politicians' continued efforts at fiscal rehabilitation. ギリシャは先週、ユーロ圏などから条件として求められた関連法を成立させ、追加の歳出削減策をまとめた。連立与党は財政改革に取り組む誓約書も提出した。
France, Germany and other countries have recognized these efforts by deciding in favor of the second bailout. We think the decision is not only brave, but also appropriate. It will no doubt contribute to the stabilization of the euro, too. 独仏両国などが、こうした努力を評価し、２次支援策を決断したのは妥当と言える。通貨ユーロの安定にも寄与しよう。
That said, worries about the future remain. だが、先行きに不安も残る。
Greece is likely to hold a general election in April. Antonis Samaras, the leader of the second largest party in the ruling coalition, which leads in voter polls, pledged his party will remain committed to the austerity measures to be implemented by the current administration. However, he also hinted at a possibility they will be reviewed. ギリシャでは４月にも総選挙が行われる。優勢が伝えられる与党第２党の党首は、現政権の緊縮策を引き継ぐとしているが、見直しの可能性も示唆している。
Demonstrations against the austerity measures have been ongoing in Greece. The EU and IMF must keep a watchful eye to ensure the country's administration does not go along with public opinion and loosen its firm stance on fiscal reform. 国内では、緊縮策に反対するデモが続いている。世論に迎合し、政府の改革姿勢が緩まないかどうか、ＥＵとＩＭＦは厳しく監視しなければならない。
===
Walk the walk
Greece is now committed to cutting its debt to 120.5 percent of its gross domestic product in 2020 from the current rate of about 160 percent. However, there are fears the country's economy could further deteriorate, resulting in less progress in fiscal reform. ギリシャは、国内総生産（ＧＤＰ）に対する債務残高比率を現在の約１６０％から２０２０年に約１２０％に低下させる計画だ。しかし、景気が一段と悪化し、財政再建が進まない恐れがある。
The path ahead for Greece is thus a thorny one: It must carry out biting fiscal rehabilitation measures, while at the same time making efforts to rejuvenate the economy. The Greek government will need strong determination to get things done. ギリシャにとっては、財政再建を着実に実行しつつ、景気回復も図らねばならない茨の道が続く。断固たる実行力が求められる。
If Greece were to stop short of reforming its state finances and asked again for further assistance, countries such as Germany and France would become incensed and refuse additional rescue packages. 改革にまたも行き詰まり、さらなる追加支援を仰ぐ事態を招けば独仏などの反発は必至だ。
In such a situation, the cooperative bond among eurozone countries would lose strength and the idea of a eurozone without Greece could become closer to reality. その時は、ユーロ圏の連携が揺らぎ、ギリシャのユーロ離脱論も現実味を帯びることだろう。
Finance ministers and central bank chiefs from the Group of 20 nations, including Japan, the United States, European countries and newly emerging economies, are scheduled to hold a two-day meeting in Mexico this weekend. 今週末からメキシコで、日米欧と新興国による主要２０か国・地域（Ｇ２０）の財務相・中央銀行総裁会議が開かれる予定だ。
The G-20 needs to urge Greece and other European nations afresh to continue doing all they can do toward overcoming the debt crisis. At the same time, the G-20 nations must reaffirm their ties and aim at stabilizing the global economy. Ｇ２０は、ギリシャと欧州に、危機克服への継続した努力を改めて求める必要がある。併せて、Ｇ２０の結束を再確認し、世界経済の安定を目指さねばならない。
(From The Yomiuri Shimbun, Feb. 22, 2012) （2012年2月22日01時25分 読売新聞）
語彙、 raison d'etre レイゾンデトラ 存在理由（語源フランス語） paleolithic ペイリオリティク 旧石器（時代）の
（スラチャイ）
(Mainichi Japan) February 21, 2012 Editorial: Mainichi vows to be forum of constructive opinions as it marks 140th anniversary 社説：毎日創刊１４０年 今こそ新聞の気概で
Feb. 21, 2012, marks the 140th anniversary of the publication of the Mainichi Shimbun's inaugural issue. Over the past 140 years, society has undergone drastic changes, and roles that the public expects newspapers to play have also greatly changed. 毎日新聞は今日、創刊１４０年を迎えた。長い年月の間に社会のあり様は大きく変わり、人々が新聞に求める機能も変化してきた。
The role of newspapers to report news speedily and accurately has remained unchanged. At the same time, however, the spread of the Internet has called into question the raison d'etre of printed media including newspapers. 迅速で正確な報道は変わらずに大切な仕事だが、一方でインターネットが浸透する中、活字媒体そのものの存在意義も問われる時代となった。
We would like to consider the roles that newspapers should play in modern society from the viewpoints of unearthing news and dispatching our news analysis and opinions. ここでは、現代における新聞の役割を「ニュースの掘り起こし」と「解説・オピニオン発信」の二つをキーワードに考えたい。
To unearth hidden news, it is necessary for journalists to question common knowledge, be aware of their role of serving public interests and patiently gather materials. ニュースを掘り起こすためには世間の常識を疑い、報道の公益性を自覚し、粘り強い取材をすることが必要だ。
One example of such efforts is a Mainichi Shimbun scoop in 2000, which uncovered that what a researcher claimed was the excavation of paleolithic stoneware was a fabrication. The reporter who covered the case confirmed the fabrication by repeatedly examining what the researcher called the excavation site. たとえば、旧石器発掘が捏造（ねつぞう）だったことを暴いた２０００年の毎日新聞のスクープは、定説に疑問を持ち、捏造を続けていた研究家の発掘現場を継続的に取材することで実現した。
In a campaign from 2008 that called for relief measures for children who were not covered by public insurance programs, a reporter who learned that there were children who cannot receive medical treatment because their parents failed to pay national health insurance premiums patiently examined and confirmed the details of the matter. ０８年からの「無保険の子」救済キャンペーンは、親の国民健康保険料の滞納が原因で医者にかかれない子供がいることを知った記者が、実態を地道に調べて実ったものだった。
The Mainichi's scoop on the fabrication of the excavation of paleolithic stoneware forced publishers to rewrite their school textbooks' descriptions of the old stone age, while the campaign on children not covered by public health insurance programs led to the enactment on new legislation. We are determined to continue such news coverage. 前者は教科書を書き換え、後者は新しい法律ができるきっかけになった。今後もこういった報道をめざしていきたいと私たちは思う。
Newspapers are expected to play an increasingly important role in analyzing various social issues and publish commentaries and a range of opinions on these matters. Such analysis and opinions are supposed to shed light on background factors behind various issues, present options to solve them and clarify the risk involved in them. To do so, we need to eliminate rigid views and view various matters from a broad viewpoint. 内外で起こっている事象を解説し、それに対しての多様な意見を掲載する機能も今後、ますます重要さを増す新聞の役割だろう。その問題の背景は何なのか。どんな選択肢があるのか。その場合のリスクは何か。大切なのは硬直した考え方を排し、立体的に物事を見据える姿勢だ。
Japanese society is now filled with a sense of stagnation due partly to the prolonged recession and the public's distrust of politics. Moreover, the March 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake that devastated extensive areas of northeastern Honshu has highlighted various problems involving Japan. 長引く不況や政治への信頼失墜もあって、今、社会には閉塞（へいそく）感が漂っている。また、昨年の東日本大震災は、この国のさまざまな課題を浮き彫りにした。
History has shown that in such an age, narrow-minded nationalism and overly emotional opinions tend to be prevalent. We must not forget lessons we have learned from newspapers' involvement in Japan's moves to proceed to World War II against the backdrop of such nationalism. こういう時には得てして、偏狭なナショナリズムや情緒的な意見がはびこりやすいのは歴史が教える通りだ。先の大戦へと突き進んだ流れに新聞も加担したことへの自省は、いつまでも忘れてはならない。
The Mainichi Shimbun is determined to serve as an intersection for various level-headed and constructive opinions and as a place in which we offer materials for discussion that can help our readers develop their own opinions. 毎日新聞は冷静で建設的なオピニオンが多彩に飛び交う交差点でありたい。さまざまに考えるきっかけや材料を提供し、読者が考えを深める広場でありたいと思う。
With a bit of self-pride, we would like to cite a sense of humor and a spirit of unfettered discussion as the characteristics of the Mainichi Shimbun. The career of those working for newspaper companies would quickly end if they became bureaucratic. We would like to adhere to the basics of newspaper workers of raising their awareness about various issues and checking up on authorities. いささかの自負を込めて、毎日新聞の特質として野性味とユーモアを挙げたい。新聞社で働く人間が官僚的になったらオシマイだ。一人一人が問題意識を持ち、権力をチェックする。そんな新聞人の原点を大切にしたいと思う。
It is important for the Mainichi to have human empathy in its news coverage. A sense of humor and empathy can derive from objectiveness with which one views oneself through the eyes of others. We are determined to continue to boldly and humbly make history as a news organization with our readers right beside us. また、報道に際しては人情を忘れないようにしたい。ユーモアやぬくもりとは、自分自身を他人の目で見るような客観性から生まれるものだろう。果敢に、しかし謙虚さを忘れず、読者のみなさんとともに新しい歴史を刻んでいきたい。
(Mainichi Japan) February 20, 2012 Changing TEPCO in wake of nuclear disaster 風知草：東電、どう変える？＝山田孝男
Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry Yukio Edano and Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO) President Toshio Nishizawa have clashed over the utility's future, with Edano demanding that TEPCO hand its management rights to the government in the wake of the Fukushima nuclear disaster, and Nishizawa arguing that private operation of the company should be retained. Will reforms be forced through by state power, or will they be implemented independently by TEPCO? In this tense situation I think it is TEPCO that has the weaker hand. 枝野幸男経済産業相（４７）が東京電力に「経営権を渡しなさい」と迫り、東電の西沢俊夫社長（６０）が「民間のままが望ましい」と粘っている。国家権力による強制的改革か、自主的改革かという攻防だが、東電の分が悪いと私は思う。
興味深い逸話がある。
The Jan. 22 morning edition of the Nikkei business newspaper's Tokyo edition featured the front-page headline "Smart meters to be introduced by TEPCO in 17 million households -- almost every home." 日経新聞１月２２日朝刊（東京版）の１面トップは「スマートメーター／東電、１７００万世帯に導入／ほぼ全家庭に」というニュースだった。
Smart meters are digital power meters that do not simply display the total electricity usage like analog meters, but enable users to constantly check -- and control -- how much power they use. They do not need to be checked by meter inspectors, and have been touted as instruments that could contribute to power conservation while helping cut management costs. スマートメーター（ｓｍａｒｔｍｅｔｅｒ）はデジタル式の電力メーターである。使用量の累計を示すだけの従来のアナログ式と違い、どれくらい使っているか、利用者は常にチェックし、制御できる。検針員もいらない。省エネと経営コスト削減の切り札になると言われている。
The introduction of smart meters is one of the special features of a comprehensive special business plan that TEPCO will compile next month. But from where the company will acquire these meters remains a point of controversy. その導入計画は、東電が来月まとめる総合特別事業計画の目玉の一つである。注目の論点はスマートメーターをどこから調達するかだった。
Under a TEPCO draft, the meters were to be purchased from a group company for 20,000 to 30,000 yen apiece -- despite the fact that the standard price for overseas manufacturers was about 10,000 yen each. Smart meters have already been put to use in the United States, Germany and Canada. 東電の原案は系列企業から１台２万～３万円の特注機器を３００万台調達するというものだった。海外メーカーの標準は１台１万円程度（米、独、カナダが先行）なのに。
At this point, the Nuclear Damage Liability Facilitation Fund stepped in. The fund is an amalgamated union of members from the public and private sectors backing up TEPCO, amid its financial woes in the wake of the nuclear disaster. To TEPCO, it is like an occupation army. Its stance of seeking nationalization of the utility is no different from that of the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry. そこで「原子力損害賠償支援機構」が動いた。これは破綻しかけた東電をバックアップする官民合同組織。東電から見れば占領軍のような存在だ。東電の国有化を探る立場は経産相と同じ。
The fund dismissed the utility's draft -- formed under a "TEPCO village" mentality favoring family companies -- and altered it to allow international bidding. The Nikkei reported the amended plan and the background behind it. この機構が、ファミリー企業優先の「東電ムラ」感覚の原案を差し止め、国際入札方式に修正した。日経は経緯も含めて修正案を伝えた。
According to those with background knowledge on the amendments, it was around late November or early December last year that TEPCO presented its draft to the liability facilitation fund. It was an urgent report that the company said would be publicly announced two days later. But the fund reportedly fiercely opposed the sudden move, asking TEPCO what on earth it was doing. 修正の経緯を知る関係者によれば、東電が原案を機構に示したのは昨年１１月末か１２月初めのこと。それも「あさって発表します」という切羽詰まった通告だった。機構側が「どういうことだ」と反発、激しいやりとりになったという。
Digitalization is convenient, but the system becomes delicate as a result. Furthermore, TEPCO cannot suddenly adopt a ruthless approach toward meter checkers and employees of affiliated companies. Outstanding issues remain, but at the same time, the challenge of overcoming conservatism and efforts to break away from inertia should not be viewed lightly. Isn't this a lesson we have learned from the nuclear disaster that occurred against a backdrop of collusive relationships and slack attitudes? デジタル化は便利だが、システムは脆弱（ぜいじゃく）になる。検針員や系列企業の社員の雇用に無慈悲でいいということはない。課題は残るが、旧弊を破る挑戦、惰性を断ち切る努力を軽く見るべきではない。それが、癒着とたるみを背景に起きた原発事故の教訓ではなかったか。
In exchange for formulating a general special business plan, the government is to inject 1 trillion yen into TEPCO. But the minister of economy, trade and industry, setting his sights squarely on the TEPCO president, said Feb. 13 that unless TEPCO gives the government a level of voting rights that correspond to the level of funding, then he has no intention of accepting the business plan while he remains in office. 総合特別事業計画の策定と引き換えに政府は東電に１兆円出資する。経産相が東電社長を見据え、出資に見合う議決権をくれなければ「私がこの任にある限り（計画を）認定するつもりは全くありません」とタンカを切った（１３日）。
"A level corresponding with the level of funding" means a two-thirds share of voting rights at general shareholders meetings. If the government obtains this share, it will be able to realign TEPCO's operations. This enables split handling of TEPCO's power generation and distribution businesses. 出資に見合うレベルとは株主総会の議決権の３分の２超。それを握れば、政府は東電の事業を再編できる。今は一体の発電と送電を別々に営むこと（発送電分離）もできる。
Some have received this idea in the hope that it will bring life to the economy. Others, however, have criticized it, saying that it could result in an unstable supply of power and end up destroying economic foundations. それで経済が活性化するという期待と、電力供給が不安定化して逆に経済基盤を壊すという批判がある。
So is the government aiming to separate the power generation and distribution businesses? 政府は分離を目指すのか。
One government official deeply involved in the process commented, "We have no interest in dogmatic adherence to plans to separate power generation and distribution. What we essentially want to do is review the high economic growth system in which investment in infrastructure surged with the construction of nuclear power plants, and change it to a system suiting an age of power conservation in which no new nuclear power plants are constructed. We think someone should be brought in from outside to head the company (TEPCO)." 渦中の政府関係者に聞くと、こう答えた。 「教条主義的な発送電分離論に関心はない。原発増設で設備投資が急伸した高度成長の体制を見直し、原発新設ゼロと節電の時代に合う体制に変えることが基本。旗振り役のトップは社外から迎えたい」
I respect Nishizawa for fighting his cause without remuneration, but the limits of internal reform at TEPCO have already become apparent. 無給で奮闘の西沢社長には頭が下がるが、体制内改革の限界は既に明らかだ。
The Ministry of Finance is opposed to the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry acquiring a two-thirds share of voting rights, as it will have to foot the financial bill if those rights are obtained. 財務省は３分の２の議決権掌握に反対だ。握れば財政負担を迫られるから。
The prime minister, who has his mind set on increasing the consumption tax, has little interest in TEPCO reform. 「増税」一点突破主義の首相は東電改革に関心が薄い。
That may be the case, but at the same time I don't want the Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry to lose hope. それが現実だが、経産相にメゲてもらっては困る。
I'm looking forward to seeing the government lead the company forward. 政治主導に期待する。（敬称略）（毎週月曜日掲載）
--The Asahi Shimbun, Feb. 17 EDITORIAL: Consumers should lead the charge to reform power industry 東電処理と電力改革（下）―消費者が選ぶ時代に
The process of putting the embattled Tokyo Electric Power Co. under state control will likely serve as the ace in the hole for efforts to reform the electric power industry. 国有化を通じた東京電力の処理は、電力システム改革の切り札になる。
The objective is to create an electric power market in which new entrants can compete on an equal footing with major players. めざすのは、新規参入者が公平に競争できる電力市場だ。
This would help ensure a stable power supply, the most formidable challenge facing Japan as it grapples with ways to lessen its dependence on nuclear energy. それは、日本が原発への依存度を減らしていくにあたって、最大の課題である電力の確保にも結びつく。
First, there should be more companies that generate electricity. まず、発電の担い手を増やさなければいけない。
Given the growing urgency to fight global warming, efforts must focus on renewable energy sources and natural gas. 温暖化対策を考えれば、自然エネルギーや天然ガスの分野が中心だ。
At the same time, efforts must be made to reduce the redundancy of electric facilities and equipment by linking distant power plants with areas where demand for electricity is great. 同時に、全国各地の発電所と需要地を効率よく結んで、電力設備のムダをなくす。
To accomplish these goals, the government has no choice but to dissolve the current setup in which electric utilities have regional monopolies. This would also mean doing away with the system in which a single utility handles all power generation, transmission and distribution. どちらも、全国を分割して支配する「地域独占」「発電・送電・配電一体」という電力体制を改めることが不可欠だ。
Since the 1990s, the market for power generation and distribution has been nominally opened to new entrants. ９０年代以降、制度上は発電や小売りの自由化が進められた。
But major power suppliers with vested interests have resorted to various means to block the entry of new businesses. Liberalization of the market is, in fact, in name only. The framework for the power industry needs to be drastically redesigned. だが、既得権者の電力大手がさまざまな手で新規参入を阻み、有名無実化している。制度設計をやり直す必要がある。
Changes are taking place, however. すでに変化は起きている。
The March 11 Great East Japan Earthquake and tsunami served as a wake-up call for quite a few companies and local governments. They now realize the risks of relying solely on TEPCO for power supply. Moves to switch contracts to new suppliers are gaining momentum. 震災を機に、東電だけに電力を依存する危うさを実感した企業や自治体は少なくない。新規事業者に契約を切り替えようとする動きが加速している。
For their part, those start-ups have been hoping to expand their power generation facilities to bolster their supply capability. 新規事業者も、供給力を上げるために発電設備を増やしたいところだ。
Clear direction needed ■政権の意思を明確に
However, they remain skeptical of the government’s commitment to overhaul the power industry and are unable to decide whether to go ahead with their plans. Operators of renewables must be harboring similar doubts. しかし、いまのところ踏み切れずにいる。国が本当に電力改革に踏み込むのか、疑心暗鬼だからだ。自然エネルギーの発電業者も同じ心境だろう。
The administration of Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda must make its stance on this issue explicit and announce that it will drastically liberalize the electricity market. 野田政権は大胆な電力自由化への意思を明確にすべきだ。
The administration would signal it is deadly serious about implementing bold reform if it sticks to its resolve to nationalize TEPCO. 東電の国有化に向けた断固たる姿勢は、その象徴となる。
If it is to encourage new investments in the power industry, the government must also create a mechanism that allows power companies to sell electricity freely. 新たな投資を促すには、電力をもっと自由に売れる仕組みを整えることも重要になる。
The key to the creation of such a setup is the electricity wholesale market. An electric power exchange system has already been established to spur price competition through trading by adjusting demand and supply efficiently. ポイントは電力卸売市場だ。売買を通じて価格競争を促し、需給を効率的に調整するため取引所が設けられている。
But the exchange has failed to generate the intended result because of the low volume of transactions. Utilities that control transmission networks are to blame for this because they are reluctant to invigorate the electricity market. ところが、実際には取引量が限られ、思ったような効果をあげていない。送電網を握る電力大手が市場の活用には冷ややかだからだ。
After the reactor meltdowns at the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant and damage to thermal power plants created a power shortage last year, TEPCO restricted the use of transmission networks by other power companies to manage supply and demand in an integrated manner. As a result, trading at the exchange stopped. 震災で電力不足に陥った際、東電は需給を一元的に管理するため、送電網の利用を制限し、取引所での売買はとまった。
Companies that had contracts with other suppliers were also affected by rolling blackouts implemented by TEPCO. 東電以外の事業者と契約していた企業も、計画停電に巻き込まれた。
But they did not openly complain about or criticize TEPCO, apparently in fear that any sign of resistance would incur the wrath of this all-powerful utility. それでも、表立った苦情や批判が少なかった背景には、後々のことを考えて、強大な支配力をもつ東電に逆らうことへの不安があった。
Given this background, we cannot expect diversified players to enter the market. The government should not allow a single company to disrupt, for selfish reasons, stable power supply by competitors. Transmission networks must become part of an infrastructure that anyone can use equally. これでは多様なプレーヤーの参入は望めない。１社の都合で他社の安定供給まで妨げられる事態を避けるためにも、送電網は誰もが公平に利用できるインフラにしなければならない。
This is why the transmission and generation of power needs to be separate. 送電部門を発電部門から切り離す「発送電分離」が求められるゆえんである。
Transmission networks for larger areas ■送電網の広域運用を
The government is weighing three plans, from one that separates power generation, transmission and distribution to one in which different companies own each function. 政府内では、機能を分離する形から所有会社を別々にする方法まで３案が検討されている。
Currently, transmission networks are owned by regional utilities. Apart from TEPCO, which will be brought under state control, a new law should be established to separate transmission networks from those utilities. 送電網は現在、電力大手の設備だ。国有化される東電はともかく、他の電力会社が持つ送電網を完全に切り離すには、新たな法律が必要になろう。
Even though it will take much time and effort, companies that are separate from electric utilities should handle transmission networks. That would ensure their independence. The final blueprint should be presented to the power industry so that the separation of the functions can be implemented in phases. だが、手間がかかっても将来的にはまったく別の企業にして独立性を確保すべきだ。そうした最終的な姿を示し、段階的に分離を進めることだ。
TEPCO should be split up into separate companies responsible for power transmission and generation, respectively. Then, the foundation for setting up a streamlined, neutral transmission company should be laid out. In this context, the cost structure of transmission networks must be made transparent. New entrants have often complained about expensive fees for using transmission networks. The basis for cost calculation should also be made transparent. 東電を分社化し、送電部門を発電部門と別会社にする。そのうえで、送電網のコスト構造を明らかにし、合理化して中立的な送電会社に向けた基盤をつくる。新規業者が「高すぎる」と批判する送電網の使用料も、算出根拠を透明にする。
Transmission network infrastructures can be used more efficiently when they cover wider areas. もともと送電網は、広域になるほど効率的に運用できる。
However, different frequencies are used in western and eastern Japan despite the country’s small size, and lines connecting between utilities are not equipped to handle a large amount of electricity in the event of a power crunch. This situation is the inevitable outcome of the existing system in which regional utilities dominate. それなのに、日本は狭い国土の東西で周波数が異なり、電力会社間の連携線も細い。地域独占を続けてきた結果だ。
Why not start by getting TEPCO’s transmission subsidiary to operate the transmission networks of Tohoku Electric Power Co. and Hokkaido Electric Power Co., both of which are in the 50-hertz zone. Since the Tohoku region and Hokkaido are particularly suited for wind-power generation, this could lead to the increased use of renewable energy. 東電の送電子会社を軸に、５０ヘルツ帯の東北電力、北海道電力と一体運用するところから始めてはどうか。東北、北海道は風力発電の適地であり、自然エネルギーの普及にもつながる。
A public watchdog is also needed to monitor the use of transmission networks. It should be authorized to coordinate supply and demand by working in tandem with the electricity wholesale market. If it is empowered to instruct power generation companies in emergencies, it would lead to the establishment of a power market where fairness is secured. 送電網の運用を監視する公的機関も必要だ。電力卸売市場と連携して、需給の調整を担わせる。いざというときは発電会社にさまざまな命令を出せるようにすれば、市場機能を生かした公正な電力市場にできる。
■地域独占による弊害
For households, the installation of “smart meters” should be promoted as soon as possible. Diversified fee structures should also be made available. If consumers can buy electricity generated by renewables and choose payment plans to suit their lifestyle, power companies will move to meet their needs. 家庭向けでは、通信機能がついた「スマートメーター」の普及を急ぎ、料金体系を多様化させる。消費者が自然エネルギーによる電力を購入したり、自分の生活に合わせた料金メニューを選んだりするようになれば、電力会社は利用者の意向を反映するようになる。
The Fukushima disaster drove home to us the closed nature of the power industry and the harmful nature of maintaining regional monopolies. To clean up the mess left by the disaster, we, as a nation, have no choice but to shoulder a financial burden. 私たちは原発事故を通じて、電力会社の閉鎖性や地域独占の弊害を嫌というほど味わった。事故の後始末で、経済的な負担も背負わざるをえない。
We need to reinvent the power industry, changing it from one manipulated by suppliers to one allowing consumers to take the initiative. 供給者側に都合のいい電力体制から、利用者が主導権を握る時代へ。
Our awareness of the urgency to revamp the power industry will pave the way for such reform. 私たちの問題意識が改革への原動力となる。
(Mainichi Japan) February 18, 2012 With parties foundering, now may be time for direct election of PMs 松田喬和の首相番日誌：浮上するか、公選制
The support rate for the Cabinet of Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda has been declining. Recent opinion polls by media organizations all show that his administration's approval rating has plunged to somewhere in the 30 percent neighborhood, while the disapproval rate has climbed to some 50 percent. 野田佳彦政権の内閣支持率低下が依然続いている。最近出されたマスコミ各社の調査では、軒並み支持率は３０％前後に下落。逆に不支持率は５０％前後まで上昇した。
"Basically, I should take the results seriously," said Prime Minister Noda during a House of Representatives Budget Committee session when asked about the unpopularity of his Cabinet. However, he also stressed that sometimes the prime minister "has to be ready to convince the public even when faced with harsh opinions at a particular moment." この点を衆院予算委でただされた野田首相は「基本的には真摯（しんし）に受け取るべきだ」と述べる一方「現状では厳しい世論であっても、それを説得することを覚悟しなくてはならない場面もあると思う」と強調した。
Noda is absolutely determined to raise the consumption tax -- something which most opinion poll respondents oppose. On the other hand, with Japan facing an increasingly greying society, members of the public are becoming more aware that it would be impossible to maintain the current social security system without a consumption tax hike. Noda is apparently encouraged by this growing recognition. 野田首相が不退転の決意で臨んでいる消費増税について、世論調査では反対論が上回っている。一方、一層進む高齢化社会で、消費増税なしに社会保障制度を維持することは不可能との認識も広まっている。これに野田首相も意を強くしたようだ。
Nevertheless, the ruling Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ) has seen its party approval rate fall, while the largest opposition Liberal Democratic Party's support rate remains stuck in neutral. As a result, the number of independents has jumped from somewhere around 50 percent to nearly 70 percent, according to one survey. ただ、政党支持率では民主党は下落し、自民党も伸び悩み。結果として無党派層が増え、半数前後から７割近くという調査結果が出ている。
This demographic is the target of the host of newly emerging parties across the nation. この層をターゲットとする新党作りが各地で起きている。
One of them, "Osaka Ishin no Kai" (Osaka Restoration Association), a regional party led by Osaka Mayor Toru Hashimoto, has drawn up a manifesto called "Senchu Hassaku" -- the same title given to policy proposals thought to have been drafted by the late-Edo era revolutionary hero Sakamoto Ryoma. 橋下徹大阪市長率いる大阪維新の会は公約集「船中八策」を早くも打ち出した。
Prime Minister Noda hailed the local party's policy pledges, saying, "It's good to raise questions about the way this country should be from various perspectives." Mayor Hashimoto was apparently flattered by the remarks, responding, "I'm glad the prime minister commented on what one local political group has been doing." 予算委で「船中八策」への感想を求められた野田首相は、「国のあるべき姿を、いろんな立場から問題提起することはよい」と歓迎。それを聞いた橋下市長も「一ローカルの政治グループのやっていることにコメントしていただき、うれしい」と呼応した。
The Hashimoto-version of "Senchu Hassaku" (literally, eight proposals made aboard ship) advocates direct election of the prime minister. Such a system has often been proposed in times of political chaos. In a recent opinion poll, over 70 percent of respondents favored the direct election of prime ministers. 「船中八策」で注目すべきは、首相公選制だ。過去にも政治が機能不全に見舞われると、首相公選制が浮上していたが、今回も７割以上が賛成の調査結果も出ている。
Former Prime Minister Yasuhiro Nakasone, who has been advocating direct election of prime ministers for some 50 years under the slogan, "Let's be able to choose our lovers and our prime ministers," underscores the advantages of the system. 「恋人と首相は自分で選ぶ」を、キャッチコピーに半世紀前から首相公選制を提唱している中曽根康弘元首相は、そのメリットを力説する。
"What is appropriate for Japan as a communal nation is a system to elect the people by the people. 「共同体国家の日本にふさわしいのは、国民を国民が選ぶ制度だ。
If we set the (prime minister's) term at four years, with a maximum of two terms, the country's executive power would be stable. 任期を４年とし、再選までとすれば、国の執行権は安定する。
It is irrational that while people can directly elect the heads of their local governments, they can't do the same with the prime minister. 自治体の首長を直接選びながら、首相は別というのはおかしい。
Based on past experience, the Japanese people should have enough self-esteem to know they have the right to elect their own prime minister. これまでの経験から、国民は首相を選べる有資格者と自負しているはずだ。
Once elected, the person would be appointed as prime minister by the Emperor," Nakasone said. 選出された首相を天皇が任命すればよい」
--The Asahi Shimbun, Feb. 16 EDITORIAL: Put TEPCO under new management as part of restructuring effort 東電処理と電力改革（上）―国民負担は避けられない
■国の責任でリストラ徹底
Japan is beset by an unprecedented nuclear disaster. In this editorial, one of two devoted to the issue, we outline steps the government is being forced to consider to reform the nation's troubled power industry. Central to this issue is the future of Tokyo Electric Power Co., the embattled operator of Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant, which faces financial ruin. かつてない原発事故を起こした東京電力をどのように処理していくか。それは、電力システム改革への試金石ともなる。 ２回にわけて、私たちの考え方を示したい。
◇ ◇ ◇
Few people would dispute that TEPCO has an obligation to shoulder the bulk of the colossal costs associated with the catastrophe at the Fukushima plant. 福島第一原発の事故にともなう巨額の費用は、東電に徹底的に負担させる。ほとんどの人は異論あるまい。
Clearly, it is impossible for the utility to bear all the costs. There is no doubt that taxpayers will end up footing a substantial portion of the bill through higher electricity rates or taxes. しかし、とても追いつかないだろう。最後は、電気料金や税金の形で国民が負担せざるをえない。
This is the reality confronting TEPCO in determining the company's future. これが東電処理の現実だ。
But first, let us take a look at the plan the government is drawing up to ride out the crisis. 政府がいま進めている計画を確認しておこう。
It has decided to inject public funds totaling 1 trillion yen ($12.75 billion) into the company, which has little chance of surviving on its own. 経営難に陥っている東電に対し、１兆円の国費を資本注入することは既定路線だ。
The huge injection of taxpayer money is aimed at preventing disruptions in electricity supply and turmoil in financial markets. 電力の供給が滞ったり、金融市場が混乱したりするのを避けるための措置である。
But the Finance Ministry is voicing doubts about the wisdom of the government acquiring a more than two-thirds stake in the company, which would make it directly responsible for the utility’s management. That, the ministry fears, could entail an additional fiscal burden for the government in the future. ところが、東電の３分の２超の株式を取得して、経営に直接、責任を負うことには、財務省から慎重論が出ている。将来的な財政負担につながりかねないという理由からだ。
Instead, it wants the government to provide funds to tide over TEPCO for the time being. Under this scenario, TEPCO would remain as a private-sector company and eventually pay back the money it receives from the government. 国が必要な資金を出すにしても、あくまで「当面」のこと。民間企業としての東電を残し、いずれは返してもらう――。そんな思惑である。
At first glance, this idea is attractive, at least from the viewpoint of minimizing the financial burden on the public. This is because the nuclear damage liability facilitation fund law, enacted to enable the government to help TEPCO pay compensation to victims of the nuclear disaster, is also rooted in this concept. 国民負担の回避という点で、この理屈は一見、もっともらしい。東電の賠償資金を国が支援するために施行された原子力損害賠償支援機構法も、そうした考え方に立っている。
But does it really make sense, from a long-term perspective, to allow TEPCO to continue to exist in its current form? だが、長い目で見て、いまの東電を存続させることは合理的なシナリオだろうか。
For TEPCO to pay back the money, the government would have to maximize the profits the company earns. To protect TEPCO’s monopoly on the regional power market, the government would have to make it almost impossible for other players to enter the market. 東電から確実に返済させるには、できるだけ稼いでもらわなければならない。それには、東電の地域独占を守り、電力市場への新規参入はできるだけ少なくしたほうが得策だ。
In short, there would be a powerful disincentive for the government to embark on reforming the nation’s electricity supply system. つまり、電力改革にはまともに手をつけないということになる。
There would be no momentum for drastic restructuring and selling off power plants. 発電所売却などの思い切ったリストラも進まない。
The TEPCO management would have a strong incentive to minimize the compensation it pays to victims. This could result in further delays in the company’s negotiations with victims over compensation. 経営陣には、賠償額をできるだけ抑えようという誘因がはたらく。被害者との交渉は、いま以上に遅れかねない。
Still, it would be a tall order for TEPCO to raise the necessary funds to stay in business. それでも、東電が必要な資金を捻出するのは至難のわざだ。
The job of cleaning up the nuclear mess could be a financial black hole. As for the costs of decommissioning the crippled reactors, it is not even clear how the melted nuclear fuel could be recovered. 廃炉費用ひとつとっても、溶け出した核燃料の回収は手法のめどすら立っていない。
It is generally estimated that tens of billions of yen are needed to decommission a reactor that has reached the end of its useful life. But TEPCO must deal with four reactors that have been disabled by the accident. It will take three to four decades to dismantle these facilities. The total bill will most definitely balloon to more than 1 trillion yen. ふつうに寿命を迎えた原発でも、廃炉には数百億円かかるとされる。ましてや事故炉が４基だ。最終撤去まで３０～４０年かかる。総額が兆円単位に膨らむことは間違いない。
The cost will further grow if the two remaining reactors at the Fukushima No. 1 plant and the four reactors at the Fukushima No. 2 plant are factored in. 福島第一原発の残り２基と福島第二原発の４基も含めれば、費用はさらに増える。
The company is already under financial strain due to growing fuel costs resulting from expanded use of thermal power generation. 足元では、火力発電の増強による燃料代の高騰が経営をゆさぶる。
It is impossible to estimate how much money will be needed to decontaminate areas hit by radioactive fallout. 除染の費用は、いくらになるか見当もつかない。
TEPCO has no choice but to cut back on new investment. In doing so, it runs the risk of seriously undermining its ability to provide proper maintenance of its power supply facilities. That, in turn, could jeopardize the electricity supply situation to the Tokyo metropolitan area. 追い込まれる東電は新規投資を手控えるだろう。電力設備の保守すら危うくなれば、首都圏の電力供給に支障が出る。
If the government wanted to avoid providing public funds to bail out TEPCO by making sure the firm will generate sufficient profits, it would have no choice but to force businesses and households in Tokyo and surrounding areas to accept exorbitant hikes in electricity bills. 結局、財政負担を回避するため、東電に利益を確保させようとすると、首都圏の企業や家庭に、法外な料金値上げを求めざるをえない。
Another option would be for the government to take control of TEPCO's management, fully expecting to be forced to use taxpayer money. もう一方の道は、国民負担を覚悟のうえで、国が経営権を握るルートだ。
The responsibility for the catastrophe rests primarily with TEPCO. That said, the government had been promoting nuclear power generation as a national policy. 今回の事故の責任は一義的には東電にあるが、原子力発電は「国策」でもあった。
It had prompted the expansion of nuclear power generation, permitted the construction of the nuclear power plant and overlooked the company’s failure to take sufficient safety measures. Nobody would argue that the government shares in the responsibility for the accident. 政府が推進し、建設を許可し、安全対策への怠慢を放置してきた。国にまったく責任がないと考える人はいないはずだ。
In the scandal over cases of AIDS contracted from contaminated blood products and hepatitis B contracted from childhood vaccination, the government has decided to provide financial relief and pay compensation to victims. In doing so, it is taking responsibility for the policy mistakes that led to the public health disasters. 薬害エイズやＢ型肝炎では、政策責任をとって国が被害者の救済や賠償を担った。
If the government decides to assume ultimate responsibility to deal with the aftermath of the nuclear disaster triggered by the March 11 Great East Japan Earthquake and tsunami, it would be able to use the process to open up new possibilities for the nation’s power market. 今回の後始末も、最後は国として引き受ける。そこさえ腹を決めれば、東電処理を電力市場の新しい可能性へとつなげられる。
Herein lies the biggest significance of nationalizing the utility. 国有化の最大の意味は、そこにある。
Obviously, the financial burden to the public should be kept to a minimum. もちろん、国民負担は最小限にとどめるべきだ。
That would require the government to exhaustively restructure TEPCO to scrape up as much cash as possible to pay off the debt. そのためには、まず東電のリストラを徹底し、負債にあてる原資を最大限ひねり出す必要がある。
TEPCO is effectively in a state of negative net worth as its liabilities exceed its assets. 東電は実質的に債務超過の状態だ。
Free market principles would dictate that the company should go face legal bankruptcy procedures. 本来なら、市場のルールに従って破綻（はたん）処理されるはずの企業である。
The company’s stock should be declared valueless. Even though it has used up a big chunk of its capital surplus to deal with the situation, TEPCO still has some 900 billion yen in equity capital. 株式の価値はゼロにする。東電は剰余金を相当取り崩したものの、９千億円ほどの資本金がある。
As long as taxpayer money is used to deal with the utility mess, shareholders should accept the loss of their investment in the company. 国民の税金が投じられる以上、株主が損失を負担するのは当然だ。
The government should also require the company’s creditor banks to forgive at least part of the debts owed by TEPCO to them. 金融機関にも一定の債権放棄を求める。
Financial institutions are supposed to impose market discipline on corporate financing by lending money to companies at interest rates that reflect the risks of their businesses assessed through rigorous examinations. 融資先の事業リスクを審査してリスクに見合った金利をつけることで市場の規律を働かせるのが金融の役割だ。
But the banks had been providing funds to TEPCO at favorable terms. That’s because there was a tacit understanding that the government would protect regional power monopolies at any cost. にもかかわらず、銀行は東電に有利な条件で資金を提供してきた。地域独占の電力会社は何があっても政府が守るという暗黙の理解があったからだ。
That attitude reflects their underestimation of the safety risks of nuclear power generation. The financial institutions should pay the price for that. それは、原発リスクを過小評価してきたことの裏返しでもある。金融機関は結果責任をとらなければならない。
It is not easy to decide how to deal with TEPCO bonds, which are secured by specific company assets. 社債（東電債）は担保付きであり、扱いはむずかしい。
But the value of the company’s electricity business has been deeply compromised. There should be a reasonable way to reduce the value of the bonds in line with the decline in the value of the underlying assets. ただ東電の電気事業の価値そのものは大きく毀損（きそん）している。担保の目減りを社債の償還額に反映させる考え方もあるはずだ。
The government should figure out what to do through dialogue with the market. 市場との対話を重ねながら、方法を探るべきだ。
The funds thus raised should be used primarily to pay compensation to victims. This problem should be settled as quickly as possible to move the process of handling the TEPCO mess to the next step. 得られた資金は被害者への賠償に優先的にあてる。次のステップに進むため、できるだけ早く解決しなければならない。
Clearly, the management team should be replaced. Not only the top management posts, but also key leadership positions at major sections should be filled with people committed to reform, to be recruited from both inside and outside the company. This way, employees would be encouraged to point out problems with the company and contribute ideas for fixing them. もちろん、経営陣は交代させる。トップだけでなく主要な部署のリーダーには社内外から改革の意思のある人物をつけ、社員の問題意識や新しいアイデアを引き出す。
The company’s assets, including power plants, should be sold or spun off boldly. Shady business transactions with affiliated firms should be terminated. The salaries of employees need to be reviewed fundamentally. 発電所などの資産を大胆に売却したり、切り離したりする。関連会社との不透明な取引は排除する。社員の処遇は根本的に見直す。
In addition, TEPCO’s pension program should be treated as that of a failed company. Getting the consent of former employees for cuts in their pension benefits should be done as soon as possible. 企業年金も破綻企業と同じ扱いとし、ＯＢから早期に減額への合意をとりつける。
The shortfall of funds left after all these efforts would have to be covered through rate increases. But the hikes would be much smaller if these radical restructuring steps are taken. それでも足りない分は、やはり料金値上げに頼らざるをえない。ただし、リストラを徹底するぶん、上げ幅は小さくできるはずだ。
If neither of the two options results in a financial burden on the public through electricity rate increases, then it would clearly be better if the government takes control of the company’s management. どちらを選んでも、料金値上げという国民負担が避けられないのなら、国が経営権を握るほうがいいのは明らかだ。
It is almost impossible at this moment to estimate the total amount of damages caused by the nuclear accident. 原発事故による損失の総額を現時点で見通すことはむずかしい。
Power market liberalization would prompt more businesses and households in the region to switch from TEPCO to other power suppliers. 電力改革が進むと、他の事業者に乗り換える企業や家庭も増えるだろう。
Since TEPCO itself is dismantled in the process, there will be a limit to how much money the company can receive from electricity charges. 東電自体、解体が進むため電気料金による回収にも限界がある。
In the end, the government, which is responsible for the expansion of nuclear power generation in this country, will have to consider using taxpayer money to cover the shortfall while reorganizing its nuclear power budget. 最後は、原発を推進してきた国の責任として、原子力予算を組み替えつつ、税金での穴埋めを検討する必要がある。
Given the fiscal crunch, it is also necessary to take new measures to increase tax revenue, such as taxing the use of TEPCO’s power transmission network. That would spread the burden to all the consumers of electricity within the region served by the utility. 国の財源に余裕がないことを考えれば、例えば東電の送電網を利用することに課税してはどうか。そうすれば東電管内の電気を使うすべての人が負担することになる。
If all these steps fail to raise the necessary amount of money, the government will have to expand the national tax base. In that case, it will be necessary to adopt special measures to win public support for the tax increase, such as imposing higher tax rates within the region served by TEPCO. なお不十分な場合は、全国的に課税ベースを広げる。東電管内だけ税率を高くするなどして、納得を得る努力も必要になるだろう。
It is vital to minimize the negative effects on people’s daily lives and the nation’s economy as a whole. できるだけ日常生活や経済への影響を少なくするよう工夫したい。
None of the ideas discussed here would be easy to implement. どれも簡単ではない。
But the entire nation needs to rise to the challenges created by the nuclear disaster. だが、原発事故が提起した問題には、国民全員で向き合うしかない。
By doing so, we would be able to consider the situation of people in Fukushima as our own problem and start thinking seriously about the future of our nation’s energy policy. それが、福島の人たちを自分のことと考え、一人ひとりが今後のエネルギー政策を真剣に考えることにつながる。
(Mainichi Japan) February 16, 2012 Bismarck's pension system 水説：ビスマルクの年金＝潮田道夫 ＜ｓｕｉ－ｓｅｔｓｕ＞
The world's first modern pension system was introduced by Chancellor of the German Empire Otto von Bismarck in the 19th century. The move was designed to propitiate the German people at a time when the newly forged empire was trying to stamp out the rising appeal of socialism. 年金制度は１９世紀プロイセンのビスマルク首相にさかのぼる。台頭しつつあった社会主義勢力を弾圧する一方、年金で国民を懐柔した。有名な「アメとムチ」政策のアメ。
Bismarck's pension system was based on the assumption that workers would pass away just a few years after retirement in their mid-50s on, according to Michael W. Hodin, a member of the U.S. Council on Foreign Relations. 米外交問題評議会のマイケル・Ｗ・ホーディン氏（人口問題担当）によれば、「ビスマルクモデルは人々が５０代半ば、あるいはその後半まで働いた後に引退し、その後数年間でこの世を去るというシナリオを前提にしていた」（フォーリン・アフェアーズリポート１１年２月号）。
Since people at the time had a shorter lifespan, the government did not have to spend much money on pension benefits. One theory has it that Bismarck even set up the system with the aim of diverting part of the pension premiums to help finance Germany's hefty military expenditures. 当時の人々の寿命は短かったから、国は年金をたいして払わなくても済んだ。一説には、ビスマルクは積み立てた年金を戦費に回すのが狙いだった、ともいう。
In the United States, President Franklin D. Roosevelt introduced a pension system in 1935 under the Social Security Act. Under the system, pension eligibility started at 65. However, since the average lifespan in the country was 61 at the time, only those who lived very long lives were around to collect. 米国ではルーズベルト大統領が１９３５年社会保障法で年金制度を導入した。この年金も支給開始年齢は６５歳。当時の平均寿命は６１歳であり、例外的に長生きした人でないと年金をもらえなかった。
University of Tokyo professor Fumiaki Kubo says pension systems were originally set up to support those who lived longer than average. In other words, pension systems were part of policy measures to care for those who grew too old to work. 久保文明東大教授の説くところでは、年金制度の目的はそもそも平均寿命を超えて生きてしまった人々の面倒を見るためであった。つまりは働けないほどの老人向け施策だったわけだ。
Currently, the average lifespan of a Japanese woman is 86.39 years, while that of a Japanese man is 79.64. If the spirit of Bismarck's pension system were applied, Japanese women would become eligible for benefits at the age of about 88, and men at around 82. 日本人の平均寿命はいま、女性が８６・３９歳、男性が７９・６４歳だ。ビスマルク流にやると、年金の支給開始は女性で８８歳ぐらい、男性で８２歳ぐらいということになろう。
Bismarck's and Roosevelt's systems would not be worthy of the term "pension" as it is understood today. ひどいね。ビスマルクにしろルーズベルトにしろ、彼らの年金は今日的感覚では年金の名に値しない。
The social security programs we now have are far better than those introduced by these two bygone leaders, but may also be a bit too generous. 私たちの社会保障制度はビスマルクやルーズベルトよりはるかに充実している。しかし、少々、気前が良すぎるのかもしれない。
Japan can sustain its pension programs right now because the ratio of premium-paying workers to pensioners is three to one. However, the ratio will be one to one in the not-too-distant future. If social programs remain as they are now, this will put an unsustainable burden on workers paying premiums. 日本はいま現役３人に対し高齢者１人の人口比率だからなんとかなっているが、早晩この比率は１対１になる。制度が現状のままなら現役の負担が大き過ぎて、社会保障制度は維持できない。
Considering these problems, we can no longer laugh at Bismarck's stinginess. Any great social security program is meaningless unless it is sustainable. こうなってみると、ビスマルクのけちを笑っている場合でない。維持できなければどんなに立派な社会保障制度をつくっても無意味である。
The government's plan to reform the tax and social security systems together, which has created great confusion and disturbance in the Diet, is aimed at reducing costs and increasing income. Nevertheless, discussions are focused excessively on a consumption tax hike to increase revenue while failing to come up with concrete cost reduction ideas. いま国会でもみくちゃになっている「税と社会保障の一体改革」。「出を制して入るを図る」が万古不易の再建策のはずだが、「入る」の消費増税だけが突出して、削るほうが甘い。
For example, Japan has delayed a decision on raising the pension eligibility age, though Germany has hiked its eligibility age from 65 to 67. In other words, Japanese political leaders are avoiding a decision that would be highly unpopular among the elderly. 例えば年金支給開始年齢。あのドイツでさえ６５歳を６７歳にすることにしたのに、日本は先送り。一事が万事。年配層に嫌われるようなことから逃げまくっている。
Bismarck says, "People never lie so much as after a hunt, during a war or before an election." ビスマルクが言っている。「人がウソをつくのは狩りの後、戦争の最中、そして選挙の前」
--The Asahi Shimbun, Feb. 15 EDITORIAL: Hashimoto's rise underlines public mistrust in politics 大阪維新の会―なぜいま「国盗り」か
February 15, 2012
Osaka Ishin no Kai (Osaka restoration association), a political party led by Osaka Mayor Toru Hashimto, has drafted its campaign pledges for the next Lower House election. 大阪市の橋下徹市長が代表を務める大阪維新の会が、次の衆院選に向けた公約集「船中八策」の骨格をつくった。
The draft manifesto covers broad subjects that include foreign policy, the economy and the social security system, in addition to rehashing the party's resolve to overhaul the nation's local administrative structures, bureaucracy and education. これまで主張してきた都市制度や公務員、教育改革に限らず、外交、経済、社会保障など幅広い分野に言及している。
The party intends to field 300 candidates for the Lower House, where it hopes to capture 200 seats. 衆院選で３００人を擁立し、２００議席をめざすという。
We have no issues with a regional political organization advancing into national politics in order to change the country. 地域の政治団体が国政に乗り出して国を変えようとすることを否定はしない。
But Osaka Ishin no Kai's main objective at its inception was to turn Osaka into a metropolis-cum-prefecture. We can hardly say that the party has provided any satisfactory explanation for its abrupt change of course to seek considerable representation in the Diet. しかし、大阪都の実現を目標としていた維新の会が、国政での大量議席獲得にかじを切った理由が十分説明されたとはいいがたい。
Right after winning the Osaka mayoral election in November last year, Hashimoto asserted: "My goal is to consolidate the administrative functions of the municipal and prefectural governments of Osaka. 昨年１１月の市長選直後、橋下市長は「大阪都実現がゴール。
It is for members of the Diet to change the country. I would be overstepping my bounds as a mayor to think I, too, could do it." 国を変えるのは国会議員で、市長の僕が考えるのはやりすぎ」と言っていた。
Hashimoto also said that the party's advance into national politics would be conditional on failing to win support from other parties on his Osaka-metropolis-prefecture concept. 国政進出は、他党から「都構想への協力が得られなければ」という限定付きだった。
In actuality, however, the Liberal Democratic Party and Your Party have indicated their support and proposed their respective plans for reforming the local autonomy law. 実際、自民やみんなの党は協力姿勢を示し、地方自治法の改正案を提案している。
The fact that Hashimoto has set a more ambitious goal for his party would seem to suggest that his real, personal target has always been to become the nation's top leader. そんななかで、さらに大きな目標を立てて突っ走る。「国盗（と）り」こそが真の目的だったということだろうか。
In a little over two months since he became mayor, Hashimoto has come up with quite an array of reform plans, but work has only just begun. 市長就任から約２カ月。橋下氏は矢継ぎ早に改革の方針を打ち出しているが、いずれも緒についたばかりだ。
And the party has not rewritten its prospectus, where it is defined as a "regional political party" that "aims for Osaka's revival." 地域政党として「国の政党と一線を画す」「大阪再生をめざす」という同会の設立趣旨もそのままだ。
The party has expanded its influence on the strength of Hashimoto's tremendous mass appeal. 維新の会は橋下氏個人の人気で勢力を広げてきた。
But Hashimoto himself has denied any possibility of running for the Lower House. ところが橋下氏は自身の衆院選出馬を否定する。
We believe questions will be raised in the days ahead over whether it is appropriate for Hashimoto to remain the mayor of Osaka while his party seeks to seize the reins of national government. 国政を握ろうとする党のトップが自治体の長にとどまる是非も今後問われるだろう。
Campaign pledges include the abolition of the Upper House and popular election of the prime minister, both of which are predicated on constitutional revision. The manifesto also envisions a pension program under which people will pay their premiums without collecting benefits later, which would require a radical overhaul of the conventional pension system. 公約集には、参議院の廃止や首相公選制といった改憲が前提となる案、年金の掛け捨て制など既存の枠組みを抜本的に変える発想が含まれる。問題意識を並べたアイデア段階ともいえる。
These are still only "ideas" rather than official policy plans, and the party needs to deliberate them before they ask the public to judge. 世に問うには、党内でもっと議論を煮詰める必要がある。
In the meantime, a political academy the party is scheduled to open next month has already received applications from more than 3,000 people. They will undoubtedly form a huge reserve of would-be candidates in the next Lower House election. 一方で来月開講する維新政治塾には３千人以上の応募があり、候補者予備軍となろう。
Hashimoto comes across as a strong, reliable leader because the speed with which he challenges vested interests contrasts sharply with the administration's inability to fulfill its promises, year after year, with prime ministers effectively coming and going every year. スピード感を持って既得権益に挑む橋下氏の姿は、公約を実現できず毎年のように首相が代わる国の政治と好対照をなし、力強く映る。
Seeing Hashimoto's style of politics, the public has understandably come to hope, if only vaguely, that a non-establishment regional party such as his may be able to get the job done. しがらみのない地域政党なら何かをやってくれそうだという漠とした期待も生んでいる。
Opinion polls indicate that Osaka Ishin no Kai is picking up considerable popular support as a force capable of injecting fresh air into stale national politics. 世論調査の結果からも、政治に新風を吹き込む勢力として、維新の会が相当の支持を集めているのは事実だ。
Established political parties should think hard about what it is attracting the public to this Osaka party. 既成政党は、維新の何が世間を引きつけるのか考えるべきだ。
The underlying reason is the public's mistrust with the current state of politics. 根っこにあるのは、今の政治全体に対する不信感である。
Letter from Burma: Vaclav Havel ビルマよりの手紙： ヴァーツラフ・ハヴェルの思い出
Aung San Suu Kyi is seen at the National League for Democracy headquarters in Yangon, Burma, in this Oct. 27, 2011 file photo. In the background, is a portrait of her father, General Aung San. (Mainichi)When I decided that the first Letter from Burma of 2012 should be about the late Vaclav Havel, I wondered how I should entitle the article. My thoughts immediately went to the little red heart he usually drew as part of his signature. Perhaps I should write about him as "The Heart President" or "The Heart Leader" or "The Dissident with A Heart" or "The Intellectual with A Heart?" In the end I decided that the name Vaclav Havel alone was more potent and meaningful than any fancy title I could think up.
It was during the first year of my house arrest, 1989, that the name of Vaclav Havel became familiar to me. The Velvet Revolution, the Civic Forum, the electoral victory that turned the premier dissident of Czechoslovakia into the first President of the newly democratic republic: I learnt about it all from my small portable radio and shared in the euphoria of political transformation in that far off land. However, I did not realize at that time that Vaclav Havel would become a personal friend.
It is a little strange to speak of a man I had never met and with whom I had barely corresponded as a personal friend. It was his vigorous and warm personality and his total commitment to the support of movements for democracy and human rights the world over that made his friendship so real and vibrant and made me feel we were linked to one another by close ties of understanding. He nominated me for the Nobel Peace Prize in 1991 because he believed it would help to focus international attention on our struggle. Had he allowed his name to be put forward as a candidate that year I am convinced he would have been the chosen laureate. He surely valued the Nobel Peace Prize, for he would not have wanted to give to the cause of democracy and human rights something on which he did not value himself. But it was a matter of chivalry: "Their need is greater than mine."
When my family were permitted to visit me in 1992, my husband brought me a copy of The Power of the Powerless. I have just flicked quickly through the pages of this now shabby, well-thumbed volume and reread some of the phrases I underlined in the book. "... an examination of the potential of the 'powerless' -- can only begin with an examination of the nature of power in the circumstances in which these powerless people operate ..." "... freedom is indivisible ..." "... not standing up for the freedom of others, regardless of how remote their means of creativity or their attitude to life, meant surrendering one's own freedom ..." "A better system will not automatically create a better life. In fact the opposite is true: only by creating a better life can a better system be developed ..." Ideas that seem simple yet which enmesh with basic human aspirations only when formulated with clarity by an exceptional mind.
A high intellect is no substitute for a generous heart, and it is the latter that I appreciate most in Vaclav Havel. He was a rare dissident, one who did not forget fellow dissidents in remote parts of the world even after he became the Head of State of his own country. His heart was not only generous but appealingly light, expressing its solidarity with ordinary people everywhere in the simplest way. His To the Castle and Back begins with the words: "I've run away. I've run away to America. I've run away for two months with the whole family; that is, with Dasa and our two boxers, Sugar and her daughter Madlenka." The gleeful declaration of flight and the place (right at the heart of the family) that he accorded to his dogs drew me across miles and years into the warm circle of his home. How did a man so far from ordinary manage to retain the common touch?
Vaclav Havel spoke to me once on the telephone, about a year ago. He was already in poor health and his voice was weak but he managed to convey his joy at my release from house arrest and his concern for all of us who were still far from our democratic goal. Even in his final illness he did not forget us. The last letter he wrote to me was placed in my hands a few days after his death by one of his old friends, Mr. Sasakawa Yohei.
"Dear Friend," the letter began, "Over the years I sent you a number of letters inviting you to attend various international conferences and other events that I organized. I did it being perfectly aware that the chances of you attending are non-existent but I still did it out of principle and to remind the authorities that confiscated my letters to you that we constantly think of you and support you." The spirit with which he championed the cause of the oppressed had remained intact. His interest in our struggle, too, had continued strong: "Dear friend, I am following the recent developments in your country with a very, very cautious optimism." He ended his letter on a practical, modest note. "... if there is anything we can do to help -- for example -- and only if you wish -- to share some of our transformational experience with you we shall gladly do it."
I will feel the absence of my friend as we continue along the road he walked before us.
(By Aung San Suu Kyi) (Mainichi Japan) January 30, 2012
The Yomiuri Shimbun (Feb. 14, 2012) Greece must show ability to implement austerity steps ギリシャ緊縮策 危機封じ込めに必要な実行力（2月12日付・読売社説）
Will Greece, the epicenter of the European debt crisis, be able to implement austerity measures to prevent the regional crisis from worsening and spreading? 欧州危機の封じ込めに向け、痛みを伴う緊縮財政策に取り組めるか。
The country's ability to enforce the measures--which will certainly involve pain--is being tested. 震源地であるギリシャの実行力が問われよう。
The Greek government and coalition parties have agreed to carry out the austerity program required by the European Union and the International Monetary Fund. ギリシャ政府と与党は欧州連合（ＥＵ）と国際通貨基金（ＩＭＦ）から求められていた緊縮策で合意した。
The main pillars of the austerity program are to significantly cut public investment, lower the nation's minimum wage and ax 15,000 public sector jobs. 公共投資の大幅削減、最低賃金の引き下げ、公務員１万５０００人削減などが柱となっている。
In 2010, the EU and IMF decided to provide the first rescue package to Greece to help the country's finances, which had been seriously damaged by irresponsible financial policies in the past. However, the effect of the first rescue package has been limited. 放漫財政で深刻な危機に陥ったギリシャに対し、ＥＵなどが２０１０年に第１次支援策を決め、資金繰りを支えてきたが、効果は限定的だった。
To receive a 130 billion euros (13 trillion yen) second rescue package, Greece is required to carry out the austerity measures as a step to rebuild its finances. １３００億ユーロ（約１３兆円）に上る第２次支援策が実施されるには、ギリシャが財政再建を目指し、緊縮策を実施する必要がある。
The country plans to redeem a huge amount of government bonds on March 20. ギリシャは３月２０日に巨額の国債償還を予定している。
If it cannot receive the second rescue package, it will be difficult for the country to redeem the bonds--meaning Greece may plunge into a chaotic default. ２次支援策が得られないと、国債償還ができず、無秩序な債務不履行（デフォルト）に陥りかねない。
It is now in the hands of the Greek government to take the necessary steps to receive the second rescue package. We welcome the heightened possibility that the country will avoid default. ギリシャの対応次第で、追加支援が実施され、デフォルトを回避できる公算が大きくなってきたことはひとまず歓迎したい。
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Waiting on parliament
Now the question is whether the Greek parliament will pass bills related to the austerity measures. ただ、問題は、ギリシャが緊縮策の関連法案の成立を果たせるかどうかだ。
Finance ministers of eurozone countries have postponed deciding whether to provide the second rescue package to Greece, saying they will make a final decision on Wednesday after observing parliament's decision. ユーロ圏財務相会合は支援決定をいったん先送りし、その結果を見て、１５日に支援を決める。
The finance ministers' persisting skepticism regarding Greece is believed to be the reason they have attached such a condition to providing the rescue package. 財務相会合が「条件付き」の方針を表明したのは、なお不信感を拭えないからだろう。
The Greek government has promised to implement austerity measures on several occasions, but failed to sufficiently fulfill the promises. ギリシャは何度も緊縮策を打ち出しながら、十分に実施してこなかった。
The government's halfhearted approach has caused anxiety in financial markets in Europe and other areas, helping credit uncertainty spread from Greece to Italy and other countries. それが欧州などの金融市場を動揺させ、イタリアなどにも信用不安が飛び火した。
Greek lawmakers must swiftly pass the bills related to the austerity measures to meet the demands of the eurozone countries in providing the rescue package. ギリシャは早期に関連法案を可決し、突き付けられた条件をクリアすることが求められる。
The Greek government has reached a substantive agreement with financial institutions to reduce debts owned by the institutions. This will be another favorable wind for Greece to implement the austerity measures. ギリシャの債務削減に関し、政府と金融機関との交渉が実質合意したことも追い風になる。
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Public backlash
One cause of concern is deep-rooted public antipathy toward the austerity measures, illustrated by such actions as the general strikes conducted by Greek labor unions. しかし、懸念されるのは、ギリシャ国内にくすぶる緊縮策への根強い反発だ。 労組は抗議のゼネストを実施した。
If the public backlash against austerity measures grows further ahead of a general election scheduled in April, the future of the austerity measures will become more uncertain. ４月にも実施される総選挙を前に、反発が激しさを増せば、不透明感が強まる。
The EU and the IMF should step up their supervision of Greece to avoid further confusion and help the country steadily rebuild its finances. これ以上の混乱を回避し、ギリシャが着実に財政再建を実施できるよう、ＥＵとＩＭＦは監視を強化すべきだろう。
Greece's economic downturn is expected to linger after the implementation of the austerity measures. 緊縮策に伴って、ギリシャの景気悪化が長期化する見通しだ。
It will be an important task for Greece to recover its growth power in the medium- and long-term rebuilding of its finances. 中長期的な財政再建に向け、成長力の回復も重要な課題である。
Resolving the Greek debt crisis is indispensable to containing the European financial crisis and stabilizing financial markets. ギリシャ危機を収束させることは、欧州危機封じ込めと市場の安定に欠かせない。
European countries, notably Germany and France, should enhance their cooperation in dealing with the Greek crisis. 独仏両国などは連携を強化して対処すべきだ。
(From The Yomiuri Shimbun, Feb. 12, 2012) （2012年2月12日01時10分 読売新聞）
(Mainichi Japan) February 12, 2012 Kaleidoscope of the Heart: There's no such thing as a 'worthless life' 香山リカのココロの万華鏡：「人類戦士」たち ／東京
There are two phrases that I often come across at my consultation room: "I'm sorry for being alive," and, "My life is worthless." 診察室でしばしば聞くふたつの言葉に、「生きていて申し訳ない」と「私は生きる価値がない存在です」がある。
In explaining such thoughts, patients say things like: "I suffer from depression so I had to quit my job," "I couldn't fit in at school so I started staying at home," or, "In the end, I started living on welfare assistance." 「うつ病で退職してしまったから」「学校になじめず引きこもりになったから」「ついに生活保護を受給することになったから」など
Although the reasons vary from patient to patient, the most common reason seems to be related to people's inability to work efficiently and provide for themselves after falling physically or mentally ill. 理由はさまざまだが、要は病になってバリバリ働いたり自分の力で生活できなくなったりした自分は、生きる意味も価値もない、と考えての言葉なのだろう。
I usually reject such statements, telling my patients: "That's not true," but at the same time I feel that it's extremely difficult to give them a firm reason to trust my words. 「いや、そんなことはないですよ」と言いながら、私はいつも「でも、その理由をうまく説明するのはむずかしいな」と感じていた。
It also seems weak to tell them that what is happening is not their fault and that the difficulties they are going through are only a result of their diseases. 「病気なんだから、働けなくても仕方ないですよ」ではなんとなく弱い。
As I was thinking about this, I came across a book that opened my eyes. The book, titled "Omoi shogai o ikiru to iu koto" (Living with serious disabilities) was written by Kiyoshi Takaya, a pediatrician who has worked at a facility for children with heavy disabilities for a long time. そんな中、またまた読書を通して目をひらかれる経験をした。その本とは、重症心身障害児施設びわ湖学園で長く働く小児科医、高谷清氏が昨年、出した「重い障害を生きるということ」だ。
In his book, Takaya introduces children who have become bedridden as a result of their disabilities as "mankind's warriors," a reference to a well-known anime series. その中で高谷氏は、自分ではまったく身体を動かすことができない、いわゆる“寝たきり”の障害児たちを、あるアニメになぞらえて「人類戦士」と表現している。
Takaya says that in order for some species to continue to exist, they have to keep on transforming themselves. ある生物種が死滅せずに存在し続けるためには、絶えず変貌を遂げて行く必要がある。
During that process, it is inevitable that some will develop disabilities. その変貌の過程では、どうしても「障害」を持つ個体が生まれることもある。
Therefore, children who carry such disabilities have undertaken the task of passing through these inevitable circumstances -- they are, in other words, warriors protecting the rest of mankind. だから、障害児は人類の障害を引き受けてくれている「人類戦士」だ、と高谷氏は言うのだ。
As I read Takaya's words, I came to think that this does not only apply to children with disabilities. これは、心身障害児に限ったことではないはずだ。
For example, among my patients there was a company employee who was diagnosed with depression due to his heavy workload. たとえば、企業の中で激務を強いられ、うつ病になった人がいた。
As a result of his leave of absence, however, his company decided to reconsider all company employees' workloads, which led to an improvement of the firm's mental health policies. その企業では、彼の長期休職がきっかけとなり、全社的に働き方を見なおすことになり、メンタルヘルス対策の仕組みが整えられることになった。
Cases of "hikikomori" (social withdrawal) involving children, for example, often stem from family-related problems -- those involving their parents, siblings or other relatives. 子どもの引きこもりの背景には、両親やきょうだいを含むその家庭全体の問題があることも多い。
In this way, these children can also be called "mankind's warriors" for they have -- via their conditions -- taken on other social problems. そう考えれば、彼らもいまの社会の問題を一身に背負っている「人類戦士」なのだ。
If there were no such people, the rest of us would proudly -- and quite incorrectly -- think that the way things have been done to address certain social issues up till now has been correct. もし、こういう人たちがいなければ、私たちは「このやり方で間違っていないのだ」と傲慢になって暴走し、
This could lead to major problems that could actually end up affecting many people. 結果的にはより多くの人たちが苦しむことにもなりかねない。
To those suffering from mental diseases: You should know that your current condition is sending a red signal to society, trying to make people notice the existing problems that need to be tackled. Your life is important for society. 心の病になった人。あなたは、いまの社会に警告を発し、いろいろな問題を訴えようとしている大切な存在なんですよ。
You didn't become ill because of your personal weakness -- it is a result of your ability to sense existing problems before others can. あなたは弱いから病になったわけではなくて、世の中の問題を誰よりも早く察知できる、敏感な人たちなんです。
Therefore I ask you -- please, don't ever say that your life is worthless. だから、「私には意味がない」なんて言わないで……。
If a patient tells me "I'm sorry for being alive" again, I would like to express these thoughts to them, though I don't know how effective I can be. 今度、診察室で「生きていて申し訳ない」と言う人がいたら、こんなことを伝えたいが、うまくいくだろうか。
Tourism and the fear of locusts 木語：バッタ来襲の恐怖＝金子秀敏 ＜ｍｏｋｕ－ｇｏ＞
Pearl Buck's novel "The Good Earth," set in a farming village in China's Anhui Province, contains a famous scene in which a swarm of locusts blackening the sky attacks the village's crops. パール・バックの小説「大地」の舞台は中国安徽省の農村だ。空が暗くなるほど無数のイナゴが飛んできて畑を襲うという有名な場面がある。
In China there is a word for a migratory type of locust written with the characters for "flying" and "locust." 中国語では「飛蝗（ひこう）」という。実はイナゴよりも大きなトノサマバッタの一種だそうだ。
Recently controversy erupted in Hong Kong over an advertisement depicting a locust overlooking the city. 最近、この恐ろしいバッタが香港の地図の上にとまっているイラストを入れた意見広告が香港紙に掲載され、騒ぎになった。
It was a stab at the trend of pregnant women arriving from mainland China to give birth in Hong Kong, comparing them to a swarm of the insects. 内地からやってくる中国人妊婦をバッタの来襲に見立てているのだ。
If a husband and wife are Chinese nationals, then their child naturally obtains Chinese citizenship, but if the child is born in Hong Kong, then that child obtains Hong Kong residence rights. 夫と妻の双方が中国人ならその子は当然、中国籍だ。しかし香港で出産すると香港の居住権がとれる。
Because of this, Chinese women of means have occupied Hong Kong's maternity wards, and their children have filled kindergartens and schools. 金持ちや、ちょっと金持ちの中国人妊婦たちによって香港の産科病棟が占領された。病院は満員、こうして生まれた子どもたちで幼稚園や学校もいっぱいだ。
The controversial ad, which directed hostility at what it depicted as locusts laying waste to public facilities for Hong Kong residents, was funded by local Internet users. 香港人のための公共施設を荒らすバッタに敵意をむき出した意見広告は香港のネットユーザーが出した。
Not surprisingly, Hong Kong authorities warned the organizers over the discriminatory nature of the advertisement, but all the same, it uncovered a deep psychological tendency among the people of Hong Kong. さすがに香港当局から差別的と警告を受けたが、香港人の深層心理はよく表れている。
As I have mentioned in previous columns, the clash of culture due to the rise of China emerged first in Hong Kong. 小欄が前回、前々回と取り上げたように、「中国の台頭」による文明の衝突が香港から始まった。
It began after Chinese became wealthy, the restrictions for overseas travel were eased, and Chinese headed to Hong Kong and other destinations to buy luxury items and brand-name products. 中国人が豊かになった。海外旅行の制限が緩和され、ぜいたく品やブランド品を買いに、香港へ、外国へどっと出てきた。
China now has the world's greatest purchasing power. いまや世界一の購買力だ。
When Chinese-made powdered milk is found to be contaminated, people from China travel to Hong Kong and fill their suitcases with foreign-made powdered milk. 中国製粉ミルクが有害だとなると、香港に出てきて外国製粉ミルクをトランクいっぱい詰め込んで帰る。
And while such everyday items are being purchased, rich Chinese are also buying high-rise luxury homes on Hong Kong's coasts. 日用品もさりながら、海を見下ろす超高層の高級マンションを買うのも中国人の富豪たち。
Thanks to this, the Hong Kong economy is performing well. おかげで香港経済は活気づいている。
One would expect Hong Kong residents to be happy about this, but difficult emotions are involved. だから香港人は喜んでいいはずだが、そこは複雑な感情がある。
Until recently, Hong Kong was an international city with million-dollar night views, dubbed by some as the pearl of Asia, while China was a poor country filled with bicycles, closed off behind the "Bamboo Curtain." ちょっと前まで香港は、１００万ドルの夜景、アジアの真珠とたたえられた国際都市だった。一方の中国は「竹のカーテン」に閉ざされた、自転車ばかりが走る貧しい国だった。
Symbolic of the change is the Dolce & Gabbana incident in January. １月の「Ｄ＆Ｇ事件」が象徴的だった。
The famous Italian fashion house opened a major store in a shopping district of Hong Kong. イタリアの有名ブランドが香港の繁華街に大型店を出した。
But when Hong Kong residents tried to take snapshots in front of the store, they were sent on their way. 香港市民が店の前で記念写真を撮ろうとすると追い払われた。
The store was not targeting locals as customers, but rather those from mainland China. この店は、地元は相手にしておらず、狙いは中国人客なのだ。
Hong Kong residents, their pride bruised, began protests. 自尊心を傷つけられた香港人が抗議デモを起こした。
Countries across the world are now trying to attract Chinese tourists. 世界各国が中国人観光客の呼び込みをはかっている。
The number of foreign tourists to Japan dropped markedly after the March 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake and tsunami, but Chinese tourist numbers are said to have recovered rapidly. 日本に来る外国人観光客は東日本大震災で激減したが、中国人観光客の数は急速に回復したという。
This is happy news for Japan, which is trying to build itself up through tourism. 観光立国を目指す日本にとって喜ばしいことだ。
Unless people in Japan are conscious of this, the same type of friction seen in Hong Kong will happen here, too. しかし、そういう意識を自覚していないと香港のような摩擦が起きる。
The Yomiuri Shimbun (Feb. 11, 2012) Promote active discussions on revising Constitution ９条と自衛隊 憲法改正へ論議の活性化を（2月10日付・読売社説）
It is necessary to advance discussions on revising the Constitution to bring it in line with reality, based on the historical background of discussions over the Self-Defense Forces. 歴史的な経緯を踏まえて、現実に合致した憲法に改正するための議論を進めることが必要だ。
At the House of Representatives Budget Committee, former Defense Minister Shigeru Ishiba of the Liberal Democratic Party recently asked Defense Minister Naoki Tanaka why the SDF is constitutional. 衆院予算委員会で自民党の石破茂・元防衛相が田中防衛相に自衛隊合憲の根拠をただした。
Ishiba suggested that the so-called Ashida revision provides legal justification for the SDF. 「芦田修正」がその根拠ではないかとも指摘した。
Tanaka was hard-pressed for an answer and only said: "I don't understand that point. I'd like to understand it by respectfully listening to your knowledge." 田中氏は、答弁に窮し、「その点、私は理解していない。先生のご知見を拝聴しながらよく理解したい」と述べるにとどまった。
The Ashida revision is named after Hitoshi Ashida, who in 1946 advocated a revision to the section concerning renunciation of war at a subcommittee of the House of Representatives committee that discussed a bill to revise the then existing Constitution of the Empire of Japan. Ashida was chairman of the committee. 芦田修正とは、憲法改正を論議した１９４６年の衆院帝国憲法改正案委員会小委員会で芦田均委員長が主唱し、実現したものだ。
The draft revision bill said in Paragraph 1 of Article 9 that Japan renounces wars of aggression, and in Paragraph 2 it stipulated war potential will never be maintained. 原案は９条１項で侵略戦争を放棄し、２項で戦力不保持を明記していた。
Under the Ashida revision, the words "In order to accomplish the aim of the preceding paragraph" were inserted in the beginning of Paragraph 2. ２項の冒頭に「前項の目的を達するため」を挿入した。
Because of this revision, there arose in later years an interpretation of the Constitution that holds Japan can possess war potential such as land, sea and air forces for self-defense. これにより、自衛の目的であるならば、陸海空軍の戦力を持ち得るとする解釈論が後年、生まれることになる。
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'Minimum' overemphasized
However, successive governments' interpretation of the Constitution has not used the Ashida revision as a legal basis for viewing the SDF as constitutional. だが、政府解釈は、芦田修正を自衛隊合憲の根拠としてこなかった。
The government has been consistent in its view that maintaining the SDF does not violate the Constitution as long as it is "an armed organization kept to the minimum necessary" for self-defense. 自衛のための「必要最小限度の実力組織」であれば、憲法に反しないとの見解で一貫している。
In other words, the government's interpretation is that the SDF is not the war potential that is banned under the Constitution. 自衛隊は、憲法の禁じる「戦力」ではないというわけである。
Tanaka is under fire for lacking basic knowledge concerning defense issues. As the defense minister, he should have been able to explain the historical background. 「防衛問題の基本的な知識に欠ける」との批判を浴びる田中氏だが、防衛相なら本来、そうした経緯も含めて説明すべきだった。
However, the government should not cling to its conventional approach of trying to make its position sound plausible. ただし、従来の、つじつまあわせのような政府見解を墨守すればよいわけではない。
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Times have changed
The security environment around Japan has significantly changed from the time when the Constitution was established. 日本を取り巻く安全保障環境は憲法制定時から様変わりした。
The conventional interpretation of the Constitution regarding the SDF now hurts national interests. 自衛隊を巡る憲法解釈は、今や国益を害する事態を招いている。
A typical example is the government's interpretation of the nation's right to collective self-defense. 典型的なのが、集団的自衛権である。
It states that Japan has such a right but cannot exercise it because doing so exceeds the scope of the "minimum necessary." 権利を有しているが、行使は「必要最小限度の範囲」を超えるため許されない――
This interpretation constrains the SDF's cooperative activities with U.S. forces and other countries' militaries, and hampers deepening the Japan-U.S. alliance. この解釈は米軍などとの協調行動を制約し、日米同盟の深化を妨げている。
The government's view, which developed in the Cabinet Legislation Bureau after World War II, should immediately be reviewed at the initiative of elected officials. 内閣法制局が戦後積み重ねてきた政府見解こそ、政治主導で早急に見直すべきである。
There is a great discrepancy between Article 9 and reality. 憲法９条と現実との乖離(かいり)は大きい。
All in all, it is right and proper to squarely work on a constitutional revision to give the SDF a clear status. やはり、自衛隊を明確に位置づけるため、正面から憲法改正に取り組むのが筋だろう。
In its proposal to revise the Constitution in 2004, The Yomiuri Shimbun said that the Constitution should stipulate Japan may possess armed forces for self-defense even while preserving the pacifism aspect of Article 9. 読売新聞は２００４年の憲法改正試案で、９条の平和主義は継承し、「自衛のための軍隊の保持」を明記することを提起している。
Based on the government's interpretation of Article 9 and criticism against it, we hope each political party will deepen discussions of what Article 9 should be at the Deliberative Council on the Constitution of each chamber of the Diet. 政府解釈とそれに対する批判を踏まえて、各党は衆参両院の憲法審査会で９条の在り方について大いに議論を深めてもらいたい。
Article 9 is not the only issue on which revision to the Constitution is called for. 改正の論点は９条にとどまらない。
Although there is a gap between political parties' views of the Constitution, discussions on the top law, which is the foundation of the nation, must not stagnate. 各党間で考え方の開きはあるが、国の根幹である憲法の論議を停滞させてはならない。
(From The Yomiuri Shimbun, Feb. 10, 2012) （2012年2月10日01時16分 読売新聞）
The Yomiuri Shimbun (Feb. 9, 2012) In-depth studies needed on extended Shinkansen routes 整備新幹線 着工ありきでなく十分検証を（2月8日付・読売社説）
We have nagging doubts about whether three new Shinkansen sections will produce effects that justify the huge investment required to build them. 巨額の投資に見合った効果を上げられるかどうか、疑問が残る。
The government should avoid making a hasty decision based on the idea that starting construction is the basic premise. 「はじめに着工ありき」で拙速な判断をすることは避けねばならない。
A verification panel of scholars and experts of the Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism Ministry has started discussions on the planned sections. 整備新幹線の未着工区間について、国土交通省の有識者会議の議論が始まった。
They are reexamining whether simultaneously starting construction of the three sections, a policy confirmed by the government and the ruling parties late last year, is appropriate. 政府・与党が昨年末、同時着工方針を確認したことを受け、その可否を検証する。
The panel is checking sections planned to run between Shin-Hakodate and Sapporo on the Hokkaido Shinkansen line; Kanazawa and Tsuruga on the Hokuriku Shinkansen; and Isahaya and Nagasaki on the Kyushu Shinkansen. 対象は、北海道の新函館―札幌、北陸の金沢―敦賀、九州の諫早―長崎の各区間である。
Total project costs will top 3 trillion yen. 総事業費は３兆円を超える。
The panelists are required to properly check the profitability and economic effects of the extended lines. 採算性や経済効果を十分吟味することが求められよう。
Calls to start constructing the three sections were very strong when the Liberal Democratic Party-led administration was in power. ３区間は自民党政権時代には着工を求める声が強かったが、
However, the Democratic Party of Japan-led administration froze the projects in 2009 as part of its review of public works projects. 民主党政権が２００９年、公共事業見直しの一環として凍結した。
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New revenue source found
The DPJ-led administration's latest policy turnaround to start construction was possible, it said, because it had found the money to go ahead with the plan. 方針を転換したのは、財源確保にメドがついたためと説明している。
As a new revenue source, the government zeroed in on charges JR companies pay to the Japan Railway Construction, Transport and Technology Agency to use Shinkansen-related facilities. 新たな財源として着目したのが、ＪＲが鉄道建設・運輸施設整備支援機構に支払っている新幹線の施設使用料だ。
Law revisions that came into effect last year enabled these charges to be used for construction costs. 昨年の法改正で建設費に回せるようになった。
For the time being, about 40 billion yen will be available annually. 当面は年間４００億円程度ある。
According to the government and the ruling parties, costs not met by these charges will be shouldered by the central and local governments. 政府・与党案では、施設使用料からの転用分以外は、国と自治体が負担するとしている。
Furthermore, the construction period--which is usually 10 years--will be extended up to 24 years to reduce the financial burden required for a single fiscal year. さらに、単年度の負担を抑えるため、通常１０年の工事期間を最長２４年に延長する。
The government aims to open the Hokkaido section in fiscal 2035, the Hokuriku section in fiscal 2025 and the Kyushu section in fiscal 2022. 北海道３５年度、北陸２５年度、九州２２年度の開業を目指す計画だ。
However, we think this idea is strange. しかし、これはおかしい。
If the construction period is extended, the total project cost will grow by more than 200 billion yen from the initial estimate. 工期を長期化した結果、総事業費は当初見込みより２０００億円以上も膨らむ。
Even if the cost for a single fiscal year is reduced, it is crystal clear that state and local government coffers will feel the pinch even more if huge budgets have to be poured into Shinkansen line construction for nearly 25 years. 単年度当たりの事業費は減るとしても、四半世紀にわたり多額の予算を投入し続ければ、国と地方の財政が一段と逼迫(ひっぱく)するのは自明の理だ。
The local governments concerned probably hope to make the Shinkansen lines a pillar for regional economic development. 関係自治体は新幹線を地域振興の柱にしたいのだろうが、
However, in addition to forking out for construction costs, these local governments will inevitably face the difficult problem of regular railway lines that run alongside the Shinkansen lines falling into debt. 地元負担に加え、並行在来線の赤字という不可避の難題も待ち受ける。
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Will passenger numbers increase?
The transport ministry has estimated the three sections will produce average annual profits of between 2 billion yen and 10 billion yen after they open. 国交省は、３区間とも開業後に年平均２０億～１００億円の利益が出ると試算している。
However, opening the Nagasaki-Isahaya section will trim the time between Hakata and Nagasaki stations on the Kyushu Shinkansen route by only 28 minutes, compared with the existing regular railway line. だが、博多―長崎間の所要時間の短縮は２８分にとどまる。
Extension of the Hokkaido route will mean Sapporo is an about five-hour ride from Tokyo. 札幌延伸で東京―札幌間は約５時間で結ばれるが、
Both lines will face fierce competition with airline companies, so it is anyone's guess whether they can attract more passengers. いずれも航空会社との競争は厳しく、利用客が増えるかどうかは予断できない。
A ministry estimate on the lines' cost efficiency, which indicates the benefits to localities and passengers compared with the funds invested, came in at a smidgen over the break-even point of 1. 投入する資金に対し、地元や利用者がどれだけ恩恵を受けるかを表す費用対効果の試算も、収支とんとんを示す「１」をわずかに上回る程度に過ぎない。
It is important to establish integrated networks of expressways, airline routes and railway lines. 高速道路、航空、鉄道の整備を一体的に考えることが重要だ。
It is not too late to reexamine what to do with the Shinkansen sections whose construction has not started after parts now being built, including one between Shin-Aomori and Shin-Hakodate stations, have been completed. 未着工区間の扱いは、新青森―新函館間など建設中の区間の完成後に再検討しても遅くはない。
(From The Yomiuri Shimbun, Feb. 8, 2012) （2012年2月8日01時05分 読売新聞）
POINT OF VIEW / Yuki Akimoto: True democracy in Burma? ビルマの夜明けはまだまだ先だ
February 08, 2012
These days, the media is full of upbeat reports about all the changes taking place in Myanmar (Burma). It is true that the government in Burma has undertaken certain reforms. 最近巷ではビルマ関連の記事で溢れてしまっている。ビルマが変わりつつあるのは間違いないようだ。
Aung San Suu Kyi, the leader of the pro-democracy movement, has been allowed to participate in the bi-elections scheduled for April, a marked change from elections in 2010 when several unfair legal provisions effectively banned her party from taking part. Many prominent former student activists have been released, and the once-strict censorship rules have been relaxed.
At the same time, there has been a rapid thaw in Burma’s relations with the United States and the United Kingdom, countries that used to regularly denounce Burma for its systematic human rights abuses and lack of democratic reforms, and that impose various sanctions because of this. Diplomats and politicians from around the world are visiting Burma.
Amid talk of the lifting of sanctions, aid organizations are preparing to re-engage in Burma, and heightened interest in the country among commercial investors has driven property prices soaring in key locations.
Despite all the optimistic commentary, however, Burma remains far from democracy. In the nominally civilian government, the president is a former army general, and 26 of the 30 ministers are also former military men (no woman is in the Cabinet). In the parliament, 25 percent of the seats are reserved for those in the military. Widespread irregularities were reported about the 2010 elections, whose outcome allowed the pro-military party to take most of the remaining seats.
The president may hand over all powers to Burma’s top military commander in a state of emergency--a legal coup d’etat. The Constitution that provides for all of this cannot be amended without the support of the military. Further, rule of law is not established, and the judiciary is not independent. Hundreds of political prisoners remain in prisons all over Burma. And despite reports of “peace agreements” reached, repression and abuses against civilians continue in ethnic conflict areas.
Just as it did under the former military regime, the army retains substantive control over the governance of the country. The top priority for the army, which is to hold onto its privileges and protect its interests, has not changed, either. The only difference are the tactics adopted by the military: instead of oppressing the people and any opposition by threat and use of bare force, the new government has opted to impress upon the people and the international community that it is “bent on democratic reforms,” thereby apparently trying to prevent frustration and opposition from reaching a boiling point. These tactics also provide cover for foreign governments and international financial institutions to lift sanctions and to resume or increase development aid.
Burma’s current government is not motivated by the goal of true democracy. President Thein Sein did not even bother to hide this fact in his recent interview with The Washington Post. Asked for a message to its American readers, Thein Sein declared: “If you would like to see democracy thrive in our country, you should take the necessary actions to encourage this by easing the sanctions. ...” This statement turns logic on its head. Sanctions were imposed because Burma would not embark on democratic reforms and refused to improve the human rights situation. Sanctions did not make Burma any less democratic. In any case, if one genuinely wanted democratization and were serious about obtaining it, one would not refer to the removal of sanctions as a condition.
Aung San Suu Kyi could have refused to cooperate with Thein Sein and his allies. She is presumably aware of all the pitfalls. Her decision to participate in the bi-elections, and her colleagues’ support for this move, do not mean that they recognize the current government as a legitimate democratic government or a trustworthy partner. They have decided to struggle within the system despite this understanding because they recognize that taking advantage of the current opportunity may eventually--perhaps in several decades--lead to an emergence of a truly democratic society where people can freely participate. Those of us outside Burma should understand that they are on a gamble, so to speak, and continue to support them in realizing their hope.
***
Yuki Akimoto is a director of BurmaInfo Japan (http://www.burmainfo.org/), where she researches and writes about Burma with a focus on human rights and environment.
(Mainichi Japan) February 7, 2012 Relocation of Futenma base must not be neglected in review of US force realignment 社説：普天間置き去りは困る
The issue of relocating U.S. Marine Corps Air Station Futenma in Okinawa Prefecture must not be left behind in a review of the planned realignment of U.S. forces in Japan. (今回の米軍再編成により普天間の移設問題がうやむやにされてはならない。trans. by srachai )
Tokyo and Washington have agreed in principle to transfer some of the U.S. Marines in Okinawa to Guam in advance of the Futenma relocation, even though the two countries had decided to carry out both relocations as a package. 日米両政府は、在沖縄米海兵隊のグアム移転と米軍普天間飛行場（沖縄県宜野湾市）の移設を「パッケージ」としてきた米軍再編の日米合意を見直し、海兵隊移転を切り離して先行させることで大筋合意した。
Specifically, the number of Okinawa-based Marines to be moved to Guam would be reduced to about 4,700 from the some 8,000 planned initially, while the remainder would be shifted to U.S. bases in Australia, the Philippines and other countries in a rotation. 具体的には、海兵隊のグアムへの移転規模を当初の約８０００人から約４７００人に縮小し、残りの約３３００人はオーストラリアやフィリピンなどの米軍基地にローテーションで分散移転するという。
It is widely believed that the review has been put in motion on the U.S. government's initiative, with an eye to winning the support of a Congress calling for deep defense spending cuts, including to funds for the Okinawa-based Marines' relocation. グアム移転費を含めた国防費の大幅削減を求める米議会の理解を得るため、米政府が移転計画の見直しを主導したものとみられる。
The relocation of Futenma, which is aimed at eliminating the danger the base -- located right in the middle of the city of Ginowan -- poses to local residents, and the transfer of Marines to Guam under the U.S. forces realignment, do not in fact have anything to do with each other. もともと、普天間周辺の住民の危険除去を目的とする飛行場の返還・移設と、米軍再編の一環である海兵隊のグアム移転は、歴史的経緯もその性格も異なる。
However, these two separate issues were combined in a 2006 bilateral agreement on the realignment of U.S. forces. それが、０６年の米軍再編に関する日米合意でセットにされたというのがいきさつだ。
If the transfer of Okinawa-based Marines goes ahead, it will undoubtedly reduce the U.S. base-hosting burden Japan's southernmost prefecture has shouldered for so many decades. 沖縄に集中する海兵隊の海外移転が進めば、沖縄の基地負担の軽減に結びつくのは間違いない。
If the delinking of the two issues leads to an early transfer of Marines out of Okinawa, it should be regarded as a major step forward. 「切り離し」が早期の海兵隊移転につながるとすれば、それ自体は前進だろう。
However, concerns have been raised that the delinking of the two issues could lead to a slowdown in efforts to relocate Futenma out of Ginowan. しかし、この「切り離し」が普天間問題の「置き去り」を招くことになっては決してならない。
The Japanese and U.S. governments are required to respond to local governments' concerns, including that "the U.S. government may lose enthusiasm for settling the Futenma issue once it completes transferring Marines out of Okinawa" and that "the Futenma base may stay in Ginowan permanently." 「米政府は海兵隊移転で普天間問題解決の意欲を失うのではないか」「普天間が固定化されるのでは」－－こうした沖縄の不安に、日米両政府はきちんと答える必要がある。
Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda said recently, "As we're aware that local residents are concerned that Futenma may remain there permanently, we'll put our utmost efforts into our negotiations on the issue with the United States." 野田佳彦首相は「固定化への懸念は承知しているので、全力で（日米で）協議していく」と語った。
As he has pledged, the government should place priority on ensuring that Futenma will be relocated out of Ginowan. 言葉通り、普天間の固定化回避を最優先して取り組んでもらいたい。
The prime minister should have the courage to review the Japan-U.S. agreement to move the Futenma base to the Henoko district of Nago, also in Okinawa Prefecture, which Nago residents are opposing. 毎日新聞は普天間移設について、沖縄が反対する「名護市辺野古への県内移設」の見直しを視野に入れて再検討するよう求めてきた。 そうでなければ最悪の事態である「普天間の固定化」が現実味を帯びてくるからだ。米側に再検討を提起する勇気を、野田首相に求める。
We would like to request that the two countries ensure that the following two points are carried out. また、海兵隊の海外移転見直しについて２点、注文したい。
First, Tokyo and Washington should speed up their consultations on early relocation of Marines to Guam, and work out the details of the plan to rotate the remaining troops to other areas in a way that will truly reduce the burden on Okinawa. まず、グアム移転早期実現の協議を急ぎ、残りの部隊の「ローテーションによる分散移転」が現実に沖縄の負担軽減となるよう詳細を詰めることだ。
It would be unacceptable if the Marines on rotation continued to place a burden on Okinawa. ローテーションの内容しだいで、海外移転が事実上、グアム移転だけになり、負担軽減策が後退してしまうとすれば、論外である。
Moreover, with the decrease in the number of troops to be moved to Guam, the two countries need to review a bilateral agreement under which Japan is required to foot $6.09 billion of the $10.27 billion cost of the transfer. さらに、グアムへの移転規模の縮小に伴って、総額１０２．７億ドルのうち日本側が６０．９億ドルを負担するとした日米合意も見直さざるを得ない。
It is a matter of course that Tokyo demand its financial burden be reduced. 日本側の負担減額を要求するのは当然であり、
Japan should not agree to pay any unnecessary costs in an effort to ensure U.S. troops are rotated out of Okinawa. 「ローテーション」対策として安易な支出に踏み切るようなことは避けるべきだ。
(Mainichi Japan) February 6, 2012 Edano key person in Japan's nuclear future, but keeps true intentions hidden 風知草：枝野と鈴木貫太郎＝山田孝男
Economy, Trade and Industry Minister Yukio Edano recently revealed in a magazine interview that the prime minister for whom he holds the highest regard is Kantaro Suzuki. 枝野幸男経済産業相（４７）が最も高く評価している首相は鈴木貫太郎だそうだ。最近出た雑誌「ｇ２」（講談社）のインタビューで自ら語っている。
I found the mention of a taciturn, sage-like military chancellor by an eloquent lawyer-turned-minister striking. 口達者な弁護士閣僚と、寡黙で仙人めいた軍人老宰相。この取り合わせは面白い。
Suzuki was the prime minister of Japan when it surrendered to end World War II. 鈴木は日本が第二次大戦に負けた時の首相である。
He was the one who brought the war to a close. 鈴木は戦争を終わらせた。
So what will Edano end? 枝野は何を終わらせるのか。
"Modernity," he promptly responded when I posed the question to him last weekend. 先週末、枝野に直接確かめると、「近代でしょう」と即答した。
And what did he mean by "modernity"? 近代って？
"A society of standardized mass production." 「規格大量生産の社会」。
Was that the same as bringing nuclear power to an end? 原発を終わらせることとは違う？
"Nuclear power is not (our biggest challenge). Rather, energy conservation is." 「原発がメーン（の課題）ではない。むしろ省エネがポイントです」。枝野はそう言った。
The aforementioned interview spanned 20 pages in the most recent issue of the magazine G2, and addressed a wide range of topics -- including disillusionment with regime change, energy policy, the Constitution, and Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ) bigwig Ichiro Ozawa. 「ｇ２」のインタビューは２０ページに及ぶ。政権交代への幻滅、エネルギー政策、憲法、小沢一郎と話題は多岐にわたるが、
The common thread throughout the entire interview, however, was "the abandonment of modernity." 全編を貫くキーワードは「脱近代」である。 観念的と言えば観念的。
As the interviewer, Katsuyuki Yakushiji, a professor of sociology at Toyo University and a former chief editor of the Asahi Shimbun's political news section, challenged Edano on his highly conceptual remarks. インタビュアーの薬師寺克行東洋大教授（元朝日新聞政治部長）が、さまざまな突っ込みを入れている。
"So what do you mean by modernization?" Yakushiji asked. －－近代化とは？
Edano answered: "The economic development process in which we achieve affluence by selling products to other countries." 枝野「経済成長のもとで、物を他国に売って豊かになっていくプロセスです」
"Are the things that the DPJ views as problematic, including the widening gap between the rich and the poor and rising unemployment, signs of the contradictions arising (from continued modernization)?" Yakushiji pushed further. －－民主党が批判している格差拡大や非正規雇用の増加はそうした（＝近代化継続の）矛盾の表れですか？
"Countries that have achieved modernity are chased by countries who are newly reaching modernity. 枝野「近代化を成し遂げた国は、新たに近代化する国に追いかけられ、
When these modern countries try to compete on the same footing as up-and-coming countries, their societies deteriorate. （新興国と）同じ土俵で競争すれば社会が悪くなっていく。
What (former Prime Minister Junichiro) Koizumi did was just that. 小泉（純一郎）さんがやったことがそれ。
I think such issues need to be overcome through the creation of a 'postmodern' social system." こうした問題は『ポスト近代』の社会システムをつくることで克服すべきだと思う」……。
Though Suzuki and Edano may seem to have nothing in common at first glance, their similarities become clearer when one focuses on a certain characteristic: they're both key figures in deciding national policy whose real intentions are difficult to read. 似ても似つかぬ２人だが、見方によっては共通点がある。国の重要政策を左右するキーパーソンだが、ハラの内は読めないというところだ。
Suzuki became prime minister in April 1945, nearing the end of World War II.
Cabinet members comprised military and "pro-peace" factions, and the legend goes that Suzuki, a former naval officer, did not reveal his true intentions. 鈴木は第二次大戦末期の１９４５（昭和２０）年４月、首相になった。
Instead, he committed himself to saving the face of those pushing for more fighting, while artfully leading the way to peace. 当時、内閣は和平派閣僚と抗戦派閣僚の呉越同舟だった。海軍出身の鈴木は本心を明かさず、抗戦派の顔を立てながら、巧みに和平へ導いたというのが通説である。
How about Edano? 枝野はどうか。
When it comes down to it, is he for nuclear power, or against it? この人はつまるところ脱原発なのか、原発維持なのか。
People on both sides are desperately trying to figure out what lies in the minister's heart of hearts. 脱原発派も、原発維持派も、枝野の本心を読み解こうと一生懸命だ。
Of Japan's 54 nuclear reactors, only three are now running. If they, too, undergo scheduled inspections, all 54 will be out of operation by late April, with no prospects of restarting. 全国５４基の原発は順次定期検査に入っており、このままなら４月末に全部止まる。
Edano had been expected to pour his efforts into talking local municipalities into giving the go-ahead for the restarts, but in a newspaper interview published on Jan. 27, he suggested that Japan would get by fine without nuclear power. 枝野は自治体に再稼働容認を働きかけるかと思いきや、「原発ゼロでも大丈夫」と言わんばかりの新聞インタビュー（朝日新聞１月２７日朝刊）が出た。
At a press conference on Jan. 18, Edano also made the comment: "Emotionally, I lean toward the notion that we should be as cautious as possible regarding the resumption of operations (of nuclear reactors)." 「心情としては、再稼働に限りなく慎重であるべきだという主張に近い」という発言（１月１８日記者会見）もあった。
This is the same person, however, who has given his permission to the export of Japan's nuclear technology, and stands by the government's new growth strategy under which the exports will be carried out. その枝野は、同時に、原発輸出を容認し、新成長戦略の旗を降ろさぬ枝野でもある。
Edano and the DPJ are at the center of contradiction and chaos. 枝野も、民主党政権も、矛盾と混乱のまっただ中にいる。
Pressed about this, he responded: "The Meiji Restoration was also a time of confusion. Turbulent times themselves are not a problem. What's important is whether our actions lead to the construction of a new era." そこを突かれると、枝野は切り返した。「明治維新も混乱期だった。混乱そのものが問題なのではなく、次の時代の建設に向かう動きかどうかということが本質だと思います」
It was in explaining to his interviewer that he is currently not aiming to become prime minister that Edano mentioned Suzuki. 枝野が鈴木の名を持ち出したのは、「自分は今は首相を目指していない」と強調するくだりだった。
Suzuki only agreed to take the helm of the Cabinet at the recommendation of the Emperor's advisers and coaxing from the Emperor himself. 鈴木は敗戦間近、重臣の推挙と天皇の説得で渋々、内閣を率いた。
"People sought out by the specific era should become prime minister," Edano said. "They are the ones who accomplish great things." 「時代から求められた人が首相になるべきで、そういう人が大きな仕事をするんですよ」と枝野。
Will this era be calling on Edano? 時代は枝野を呼び出すだろうか。
The Yomiuri Shimbun (Feb. 6, 2012) Rework arrangements needed to get relocation issue moving 沖縄局長「講話」 「普天間」前進へ態勢立て直せ（2月5日付・読売社説）
The Defense Ministry is considering possible punishment of Ro Manabe, chief of the Okinawa Defense Bureau, who reportedly encouraged his subordinates to vote in the mayoral election in Ginowan, Okinawa Prefecture, slated for Feb. 12. 防衛省が、１２日投票の沖縄県宜野湾市長選への投票を職員に呼びかけた真部朗沖縄防衛局長について、処分を検討している。
There is no denying that Manabe's actions could have led to misunderstandings, even though they may not have been illegal. 違法ではないが、誤解を招きかねない行為だったのは否定できない。
Late last month, Manabe allegedly gave "lectures" on the mayoral election to 66 of his subordinates who either live in the city or have relatives there. 真部局長は１月下旬、宜野湾市内に本人か親族が住む職員６６人に講話を行った。
While explaining the standpoint of the central government and prospective candidates on the issue of relocating the U.S. Marine Corps' Futenma Air Station, located in Ginowan, Manabe called their attention to the principle that public servants must be politically neutral. 米軍普天間飛行場の移設問題に関する政府の立場や立候補予定者の考え方を説明する一方、「公務員は政治的中立性が要求される」と注意を促した。
At a meeting of the House of Representatives Budget Committee to which he was summoned as an unsworn witness, Manabe emphasized that his lectures were rooted in the ministry's code of conduct for civil servants, which forbids recommending any particular candidate. 真部局長は参考人として招致された衆院予算委員会でも、特定の候補を推薦してはいけないなどとする防衛省の服務規律の通達を踏まえた講話だったと強調した。
The upcoming mayoral election is likely to be a one-on-one fight between conservative and reformist candidates, with the outcome expected to affect the relocation issue. 宜野湾市長選は保革一騎打ちが予想され、その結果は普天間問題にも影響すると見られていた。
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Good intentions
Manabe, for his part, allegedly gave the lectures in the hope they would promote progress on the relocation issue, and meant to act within a scope that would not violate the Public Offices Election Law, which prohibits using the status of a public servant in an election campaign. 真部局長とすれば、公務員の地位を利用した選挙運動を禁じる公職選挙法に抵触しない範囲で、普天間問題の前進の一助となれば、と考えて講話をしたのだろう。
The Defense Ministry has found that Manabe did not express support for any specific person during the lectures and there were no illegal acts. 防衛省は、特定候補を支持する発言はなく、違法行為はなかったとしている。
The ministry's judgment can be called appropriate, in principle. その判断は、基本的に妥当と言えよう。
Manabe allegedly gave similar lectures during recent elections, including one for the city assembly of Nago, also in the prefecture, held in 2010. 真部局長は一昨年の名護市議選などでも同様の講話を行った。
This time the issue is more controversial, as local people have become highly critical of the bureau due to the inappropriate comments by Manabe's predecessor, which cost him his post in late November. There has also been turmoil over the delivery of an environmental impact report compiled by the central government regarding relocation of the base, and gaffes made by former and current defense ministers Yasuo Ichikawa and Naoki Tanaka. 今回は、一川、田中の２代の防衛相の失言・迷言に加え、前任局長の不適切発言や環境影響評価書提出時の混乱で、沖縄防衛局への地元の視線が険しくなっていたことが、問題を大きくした。
Tanaka initially intended to penalize Manabe by replacing him on Friday. 田中防衛相は当初、３日に真部局長を処分・更迭する考えだったが、
However, support for Manabe was expressed during the committee meeting and Tanaka's talks with senior ministry officials, leading him to postpone his decision on punishment. 予算委などで局長の擁護論が出たため、決定を先送りした。
Tanaka said that to aid the ministry's investigation of Manabe, he would have the bureau chief fulfill his responsibility to explain. This is a disgraceful stance, as Tanaka is trying to avoid his own responsibility for the confusion caused by the postponement of his decision. 田中氏が「局長に説明責任を果たさせる」と語ったのは、判断先送りで混乱を招いた自らの責任を回避するもので、不見識だ。
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Consider bureaucrats' morale
If the defense minister commits the similarly irresponsible act of forcing a bureaucrat to take the blame for the turmoil concerning a key policy issue, as the previous chief of the Okinawa Defense Bureau was forced to do, it will erode the morale of bureaucrats who are sincerely working on key policy issues. This would weaken the defense administration as a whole. 前局長に続き、官僚に責任を押しつける安易な対応を重ねれば、政策課題に真剣に取り組んでいる官僚の士気をくじき、防衛行政自体を弱体化させかねない。
Also questionable is the response to this issue by the Liberal Democratic Party and New Komeito, which have criticized the administration of Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda over the relocation issue. 野田政権を追及する自民、公明両党の対応にも、疑問がある。
It was the then ruling coalition parties of the LDP and Komeito that decided to transfer the functions of the Futenma Air Station from Ginowan to the Henoko district of Nago. そもそも普天間飛行場の辺野古移設を決めたのは自公政権だ。
It is only reasonable for opposition parties to criticize any problematic elements of the government. 野党として、政府の問題点を批判するのは当然だが、
But if they end up making it difficult to realize the relocation to the Henoko district, it will destabilize bilateral relations between Japan and the United States, thus damaging national interests. 結果として辺野古移設の実現を困難にすれば日米関係を不安定化させ、国益を損ねる。
Both parties need to make judgments from a broader perspective, instead of merely pursuing their party interests. 党利党略でなく、より大局的な対応が求められる。
The relocation issue is now at a crucial stage. 普天間問題は今、正念場にある。
If the transfer to the Henoko district comes to a standstill, the Futenma Air Station will inevitably remain in the same location. 辺野古移設が頓挫すれば、普天間飛行場は固定化が避けられない。
The Noda administration needs to rework its arrangements and do its utmost to realize the relocation. 野田政権は態勢を立て直し、移設実現に全力を挙げるべきだ。
(From The Yomiuri Shimbun, Feb. 5, 2012) （2012年2月5日01時34分 読売新聞）
The Yomiuri Shimbun (Feb. 4, 2012) Resist Chinese pressure over Senkaku Islands 尖閣無人島命名 領土で中国の圧力に屈するな（2月3日付・読売社説）
What does the Japan-China agreement to make the East China Sea "a sea of cooperation and friendship" actually mean? 東シナ海を「協力と友好の海」にするとの日中合意は何だったのか。
The government should call on China to exercise self-restraint and show a resolute attitude over territories and maritime interests. 政府は、中国に今後も自制を促すとともに、領土や海洋権益で毅然(きぜん)とした態度を示すべきだ。
The Chinese government recently protested the Japanese government's plan to name four uninhabited islands in the Senkaku Islands in the East China Sea. 尖閣諸島にある四つの無人島に名称をつけるという、日本政府の方針に、中国政府が抗議した。
The Jan. 17 issue of the People's Daily, the official newspaper of the Chinese Communist Party, carried an editorial comment denouncing the plan as "a blatant move to damage China's core interests." １月１７日の中国共産党の機関紙「人民日報」は、「公然と中国の核心的利益を損なう振る舞いだ」と、日本を非難する評論を掲載した。
It is the first time China has used the expression "core interests" in connection with the Senkaku Islands. 尖閣諸島に「核心的利益」との表現を用いたのは初めてだ。
China defines "core interests" to mean national sovereignty, maintenance of territorial integrity and other areas over which it will not compromise at any price. 中国の定義によると、「核心的利益」は、中国が絶対に譲歩できない国家主権や領土保全などを意味する。
China has used the expression for Taiwan and Tibet, but in recent years, Beijing reportedly used it for the South China Sea where armed conflicts with neighboring countries have occurred. これまでは、台湾やチベットなどに用いていたが、近年は周辺国と武力衝突も起きた南シナ海にも使っているとされる。
By using such a strong expression, China is pressuring Japan with the apparent aim of forestalling the move to name the islands. 中国側には、強い表現によって、日本に圧力をかけ、命名の動きにブレーキをかける狙いがあるとみられる。
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Naming islands is correct
The Japanese government manages remote islands based on the Basic Law on Ocean Policy, which was enacted in 2007. Since 2009, Japan has named uninhabited islands one after another. Until this process, the islands had no names although they are within the country's exclusive economic zone. 日本政府は２００７年制定の海洋基本法に基づき、離島の管理に取り組んでいる。０９年以降、日本の排他的経済水域（ＥＥＺ）の基点でありながら、名前がない全国の無人島に対し、名付け作業を順次進めてきた。
The Senkaku Islands are an inherent part of Japan's territory and the Japanese government's move to name the islands is correct. 尖閣諸島は日本固有の領土であり、政府の対応は当然だ。
There is no reason for Japan to be condemned by China. 中国側に非難されるいわれはない。
The Japanese government must quickly name the four islands with the help of the Okinawa prefectural and Ishigaki municipal governments and put those names on nautical charts. 政府は、地元の沖縄県や石垣市と調整し、名前を早急に確定して、海図に記載しなければならない。
Since September 2010, when a Chinese trawler collided with Japan Coast Guard vessels, Chinese fisheries patrol boats have increased their activities around the Senkaku Islands, and have even intruded into Japan's territorial waters. １０年９月の中国漁船衝突事件以来、尖閣諸島周辺で、中国は、漁業監視船によるパトロール活動を活発化させている。監視船による日本の領海侵犯も起きた。
As seen in its hard-line stance in the South China Sea, China has a strategy of expanding the sea areas it controls through faits accomplis. 南シナ海で強硬姿勢を取ってきたように、中国には、既成事実を積み重ね、支配海域を広げていく戦略があるのだろう。
The JCG and the Self-Defense Forces must strengthen their vigilance and monitoring activities. 海上保安庁や自衛隊は警戒・監視活動を強化しなければならない。
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Improve management
Depending on China's actions, it also will be necessary to improve management of the Senkaku Islands. 中国の出方次第では、尖閣諸島に対する管理を強化することも必要だ。
Conducting maritime, meteorological and other scientific research on the Senkaku Islands is one idea. 政府が、尖閣諸島で海洋や気象などの科学的調査を実施するのも一案だろう。
Among gas fields near the median line between Japan and China in the East China Sea, Japan and China agreed to jointly develop a gas field known as Shirakaba in Japan and Chunxiao in China. However, China has refused to resume negotiations on a treaty on joint development. This is a problem. 東シナ海では、日中中間線近くのガス田のうち、両国が共同開発で合意した白樺（中国名・春暁）の条約交渉再開に中国が応じていないのも問題だ。
A flare was recently confirmed at the Kashi gas field, known as Tianwaitian in China. 折しも、中国の樫（中国名・天外天）の採掘施設で炎が確認された。
Beijing's development of gas fields without Japan's consent closes the path to resolving problems through negotiations. 日本の同意なしで、一方的に開発を進めるのは、話し合いによる問題解決の道を閉ざす。
It is natural for Japan to protest to China and it must continue to press Beijing to stop developing the gas fields unilaterally. 政府が中国に抗議したのは当然で、開発中止を求め続ける必要がある。
(From The Yomiuri Shimbun, Feb. 3, 2012) （2012年2月3日01時19分 読売新聞）
The Yomiuri Shimbun (Feb. 4, 2012) Egypt must rebuild economy by building democracy エジプト議会 民主化遂行で経済立て直しを（2月3日付・読売社説）
An important milestone has been achieved in Egypt's progress toward democracy. 民主化への重要な一里塚である。
An election for the People's Assembly, or lower house of parliament, has been carried out, with a political party founded by the Muslim Brotherhood, an Islamic fundamentalist organization, emerging as the biggest winner. エジプトで、人民議会（下院）選が行われ、イスラム原理主義組織「ムスリム同胞団」が設立した政党が第１党となった。
After the overthrow in February last year of the regime of President Hosni Mubarak, the transfer to civilian government has been progressing under the provisional rule of the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces. １年前のムバラク政権崩壊後、軍最高評議会の暫定統治下で、民政移行プロセスが進行中だ。
Another major advance for democratization is the fact that the National Emergency Law, which granted overwhelming powers to the police, was lifted in principle for the first time in about 30 years in the wake of the lower house election. 下院選後、警察に絶大な権限を与えた「非常事態法」が約３０年ぶりに原則的に解除されたのも前進だ。
The Muslim Brotherhood had been banned from engaging in political activities under the Mubarak regime, although it garnered considerable public support through its benevolent activities, such as providing medical services to the poor. ムスリム同胞団は、貧困層への慈善や医療活動などで社会に浸透していたが、旧政権下で弾圧され政治活動を禁じられていた。
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Thorny road to power shift
This time, however, it was free to take part in the parliamentary election, fielding candidates of its own party, the Freedom and Justice Party. しかし、今回は自前の政党「自由公正党」を押したてて議会選に臨むことができた。
The party won nearly a half of the lower house seats, and its secretary general has been elected speaker of the lower chamber. 下院では定数の半数近い議席を獲得し、党幹事長が下院議長に選ばれた。
Nevertheless, there are a mountain of challenges that must be resolved before the shift from the provisional rule to a civilian government can be realized. とはいえ、民政移行まで踏むべきステップは多い。
If the ongoing election of the upper house, or Shura (Consultative) Council of the legislature, is concluded in February as scheduled, the two chambers are to set up a 100-member panel to draft a constitution. The draft of the new constitution will then be put to a national referendum, and a new president is to be elected by the end of June. いま行われている上院選が２月中に終われば、議会は憲法起草委員会を設置する。新憲法案が国民投票にかけられ、６月末までに大統領選が行われる予定だ。
There are fears that the process of writing the new constitution may be hard going, as it will face such issues as the powers and duties of the president and parliament, what role the military should play and to what extent the constitution should reflect Islamic teachings. 憲法の中身をめぐっては、大統領と国会の役割や、軍の位置づけのほか、イスラム色がどこまで反映されるか、などが議論のポイントで、難航する恐れもある。
This is because while many young Egyptians have been seeking an immediate end to military rule, many others still pin their hopes on the military as a source of stability during the transition. 国内には、若者層を中心に軍政の即時終結を求める声もあるが、安定を保障する存在として軍に信望を寄せる国民も多いからだ。
How relations develop between the military and the Muslim Brotherhood is said to be of key significance to Egypt's political future. 軍とムスリム同胞団の関係が、今後の政治動向のカギを握ると言えよう。
If the two remain hostile to each other, as they did in the Mubarak era, the country's politics can hardly move forward. 旧政権下のように、互いに敵対していては、政治は前に進むまい。
Reconciliation and compromise between the two forces are indispensable for averting confusion. 混乱の回避へ、歩み寄りが求められる。
The military and the Muslim Brotherhood also have a responsibility to buckle down to the task of rehabilitating the Egyptian economy. 軍とムスリム同胞団には、経済再建に取り組む責任もある。
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Islamic strength on rise
The economic downturn in Egypt ever since last year's political upheaval has been serious, resulting from such causes as sharp declines in the number of tourists. 昨年の政変以降、観光客が激減するなど、経済の落ち込みは深刻だ。
The military rulers have acknowledged the need for support from the International Monetary Fund and have entered negotiations with the IMF on specific aid plans. 軍政は、国際通貨基金（ＩＭＦ）による支援の必要性を認め、協議に入った。
The Muslim Brotherhood is committed to efforts to make Islamic values compatible with a market economy. ムスリム同胞団は、イスラムの価値観と市場経済の両立を目指し、
For example, it has indicated it is in favor of adopting a policy of exempting foreign tourists from the Islamic ban on drinking. 外国人観光客にまで禁酒を強いるような戒律の強制はしない方針を示唆している。
This can be taken as a sign of pragmatism on the part of the Muslim Brotherhood in light of the importance of tourism to the Egyptian economy. エジプト経済における観光の重みを踏まえた、現実路線の表れに違いない。
In parliament, the Freedom and Justice Party is reportedly groping for ways to formulate an alliance with secular political parties. 議会では、自由公正党は世俗派政党との連携を模索中だ。
Attention is being paid to whether the FJP and secular parties can reach an agreement on basic policy matters. 基本政策で合意はできるのかどうか。
In the Middle East and North Africa, where the storm of transformations called the "Arab Spring" has been blowing, the power of Islamist forces has been on the rise along with moves for democratization. 「アラブの春」と呼ばれる変革の波に洗われる中東・北アフリカ地域では、民主化に伴い、イスラム主義勢力が台頭している。
The Muslim Brotherhood's moves from now on will likely serve as a litmus test about whether democracy can take root in these regions. エジプトのムスリム同胞団の動向は、この地域で民主化が定着するか否かを占う試金石になろう。
(From The Yomiuri Shimbun, Feb. 3, 2012) （2012年2月3日01時19分 読売新聞）
(Mainichi Japan) February 2, 2012 Editorial: Gov't intervention in Okinawa election unacceptable 社説：沖縄防衛局長 選挙介入が常態なのか
The chief of the Defense Ministry's Okinawa Defense Bureau was recently found to have held a "lecture" for bureau employees about the upcoming Feb. 12 Ginowan mayoral election. It emerged that the bureau had earlier made a list of voters pertaining to employees and their relatives living in the city, which houses the United States Marine Corps Air Station Futenma. 防衛省沖縄防衛局が沖縄県宜野湾市長選（１２日投開票）の「有権者リスト」を作成し、真部朗（まなべろう）局長が職員に「講話」を行っていた。
The actions of the bureau and its chief, Ro Manabe, constitute electoral intervention by the government, which is unacceptable. 政府機関による選挙への介入とも言うべきもので、言語道断である。
The revelations came after a Japanese Communist Party legislator raised the issue in the Diet. 共産党が国会で取り上げて明らかになった。
The ensuing survey by the Defense Ministry has disclosed that the Okinawa Defense Bureau compiled a list of its employees living in Ginowan as well as employees who have relatives in the city -- whose numbers totaled 80 -- at the instruction of Manabe. Employees on the list were gathered for his lecture, in which he called on them to vote in the upcoming mayoral election. 防衛省の調査によると、真部局長の指示で同市在住の職員や同市に親族がいる職員８０人のリストを作り、職員への講話で市長選への投票を呼び掛けていた。
During the lecture, Manabe reportedly introduced the profiles of those who were expected to throw their hats in the mayoral race and pointed out that the will of Ginowan residents is important as the city hosts the Futenma air base. 講話では、市長選立候補予定者を紹介し、米軍普天間飛行場を抱える宜野湾市民の民意が重要であることなどを指摘したという。
Although the Defense Ministry survey concluded that the local bureau chief did not "support any specific potential candidate," no record of the content of the lecture exists to back up the finding. 「特定の立候補予定者を支持する内容は確認されなかった」との調査結果だが、講話内容の記録はない。
The Public Offices Election Law prohibits any election campaign that utilizes the position of a national public servant, while the Self-Defense Forces (SDF) Law strictly regulates political activities by SDF personnel, including civilian members. 公選法は、国家公務員による地位を利用した選挙運動を禁じ、自衛隊法は、文官を含む自衛隊員の政治的行為を厳しく制限している。
The outcome of the Ginowan mayoral election will have a major impact on the planned relocation of the Futenma base to the Henoko district of Nago in Okinawa Prefecture. 宜野湾市長選の行方は、普天間移設問題にも大きな影響を与える。
If a lecture is given about potential candidates shortly before the election, it is only natural for attendants to think that the lecture hints at endorsing a prospective candidate favoring the government's policy on the base issue -- even if no direct mention is made about supporting a specific person. その選挙直前に候補予定者などについて講話を行えば、特定候補予定者への支持に直接、言及がなかったとしても、基地問題の政府方針に都合がよい候補予定者の後押しに含意がある、と受け取るのが普通だろう。
Okinawans have erupted in anger time and again over government blunders relating to the Futenma relocation issue. These include inappropriate remarks by a former head of the Okinawa Defense Bureau and gaffes by former Defense Minister Yasuo Ichikawa in the Diet. 普天間をめぐっては、前沖縄防衛局長の不適切発言、前防衛相の国会答弁などが沖縄の怒りを買った。
Manabe's words and actions only add fuel to the fire and are set to deepen Okinawans' distrust in the government and make it even harder to settle the base issue. The local bureau chief, as a matter of course, should be sacked. 真部局長の言動が沖縄の不信を増幅させ、問題解決を一層難しくすることは明らかだ。更迭が当然である。
It should be noted that Manabe had also given lectures ahead of two elections in Nago -- the Nago mayoral election in January 2010 and the Nago Municipal Assembly election in September that year -- both of which focused on whether the city would agree to hosting the functions of the Futenma base. 見逃せないのは、真部局長がかつて、政府が普天間の移設先とする同県名護市の選挙でも講話を行っていたことである。名護市では１０年１月に市長選、同９月に市議選があり、普天間移設受け入れが争点になっていた。
Manabe gave the lectures in his capacity as head of the Okinawa Defense Bureau. 当時の沖縄防衛局長は真部氏だった。
The government should also investigate the timing and other details of these lectures. 政府はこの講話の時期や実態についても調査すべきだ。
When a referendum on whether to accept a plan to construct an offshore heliport in Nago in connection with the Futenma relocation was held in December 1997, employees of the Naha Defense Facilities Administration Bureau staged a de facto vote-gathering campaign by visiting voters door-to-door and distributing brochures -- drawing criticism from local residents. 同市では９７年１２月、普天間移設に絡んで海上ヘリポート建設計画の是非を問う市民投票が実施されたが、那覇防衛施設局の職員が戸別訪問やパンフレット配布などで事実上の集票活動を展開、地元で批判を浴びたことがある。
If such interventions in elections and other events are found to have repeatedly taken place, they should be regarded as a structural problem. 選挙などへの介入が繰り返し行われていたとすれば、構造的問題である。
Defense Minister Naoki Tanaka, who has supervision over such issues, has been blasted over his poor remarks. Regarding the frequency of U.S. military helicopter flights around the Futenma base, for example, he said, "There aren't so many (helicopters), are there?" He has also been targeted over repeated apologies and corrections during Diet sessions. これらの問題を監督する田中直紀防衛相は、普天間周辺での米軍ヘリ飛行について「そんなに多くないのでは」と発言、国会答弁でも訂正、陳謝を繰り返すなど、拙劣な発言と対応が目立つ。
The opposition parties have questioned Tanaka's qualifications as defense minister. 野党からは資質を問う声も出ている。
The government faces a crucial test in discontinuing use of the Futenma base at its present location and removing the danger posed to residents in the vicinity. 普天間飛行場の固定化（継続使用）を回避し、周辺住民の危険性を除去するために、政府は今後、正念場を迎える。
Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda should rise to the forefront and do his utmost to resolve the Futenma issue. ここは、野田佳彦首相が前面に立って、普天間問題の解決に全力を尽くすしかない。
(Mainichi Japan) February 1, 2012 Editorial: Nuclear regulatory reform must weed out entrenched interests 社説：原子力新規制 既得権益の見直しも
Bills relating to a shift in the nation's nuclear power policy were approved by the Cabinet on Jan. 31. In addition to the establishment of a new nuclear regulatory agency under the Environment Ministry, the government is aiming to legislate the lifespan of nuclear reactors, and require plant operators to outline specific measures against severe nuclear accidents. 政府は東京電力福島第１原発の重大事故を踏まえ原子力規制を転換するための法案を閣議決定した。環境省の外局として「原子力規制庁」を設置するほか、原発の寿命やシビアアクシデント（過酷事故）対策なども法律で義務づける内容だ。
Significant harm has been done by allowing the Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency (NISA), an administrative body tasked to regulate nuclear power safety, to exist under the umbrella of the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI), a major promoter of nuclear power. これまで、原子力の安全規制を担う原子力安全・保安院が原発の推進を担う経済産業省に属していたことの弊害は大きい。
Divorcing nuclear regulation from nuclear promotion and centralizing regulatory duties into one agency stands to reason. 規制を利用から分離し、原子力規制庁に一元化するのは当然のことだ。
Changing the agency's name from the originally proposed "nuclear power safety agency" to "nuclear power regulatory agency" is likewise pertinent, considering the new agency's nature. 当初の仮称だった原子力安全庁を改め原子力規制庁とするのも、組織の性格を考えれば妥当だ。
However, the mere alteration of a name and rearrangement of an organization will not result overnight in a highly independent agency specializing in regulation. ただし、表向きの名前を変え、組織を組み替えただけで、規制に特化した独立性の高い組織が一夜にしてできるはずはない。
Because many of the new agency staff members are likely to come from NISA, specific measures are necessary to secure the independence of the new body. 規制庁の人員の多くは保安院から横滑りすることになり、独立性を確保するための具体的な工夫が求められる。
It remains unclear how a nuclear safety investigation committee, envisaged in one of the bills approved by the Cabinet, will contribute toward ensuring the safety of nuclear power. 新たに設ける「原子力安全調査委員会」も、原子力の安全確保にどのように貢献できるのか、まだ判然としない。
Since the Cabinet Office's Nuclear Safety Commission (NSC) lost the confidence of the Japanese public over its response to the ongoing nuclear disaster, the new committee cannot expect to gain it back without demonstrating its independence and competence. 内閣府の原子力安全委員会が今回の事故対応で信頼を損なっただけに、独立性と能力を国民に示せなければ不信はぬぐえないだろう。
The handling of the continuing nuclear crisis has been problematic particularly due to the government's lack of readiness, which has generated suspicions that the disaster could have been mitigated had the government been more capable of crisis management. 今回の事故対応では緊急時の危機管理に大きな問題があり、これが事故を拡大させた疑いがある。
Crisis management will be an important duty of the new regulatory agency, and must be attended to adequately. 危機管理は規制庁の重要任務であり、これにも十分に力を注ぐべきだ。
Meanwhile, some things have slipped through the centralization of regulatory responsibilities. 安全規制の一元化から取り残されている部分もある。
Safety research conducted by the Japan Atomic Energy Agency (JAEA) and the inspections and other safeguards implemented by the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology to prevent the diversion of nuclear material toward the production of nuclear weapons will not fall under the jurisdiction of the new regulatory agency. 日本原子力研究開発機構が行う安全研究や、核物質が核兵器などに転用されることを防ぐために文部科学省が行う監視や査察（保障措置）は規制庁に移管されていない。
It remains to be seen how these tasks will be integrated into the new scheme. 今後の課題だ。
Included in the latest bills are the designation of a 40-year lifespan for nuclear reactors and the implementation of "back-fit" measures that would hold existing reactors to the latest technological standards. 今回の改正法案には、原発の寿命を原則４０年とすることや、最新の技術基準への適合を既存原発にも義務づける「バックフィット」が盛り込まれている。
The government claims that the combination of these two mandates would make it extremely difficult for reactors to continue running more than 40 years. 政府は、この両者をあわせることで４０年以上の運転は極めて難しいとの見方を示しているが、
The bills, however, include special exemptions allowing reactors to operate for up to 60 years. 最大で６０年まで延長できる例外規定も含まれている。
Stringent criteria must be set to prevent "exceptions" from undermining the rule. なし崩しに運転が延長されることのないよう厳格な条件を設ける必要がある。
We hope also that the proposed legal reforms lead to a stronger nuclear disaster prevention scheme. 法改正による原子力防災体制の強化にも注目したい。
In the case of the Fukushima disaster, the off-site emergency response center failed to function. 今回の事故では緊急対策の拠点となるオフサイトセンターが機能しなかった。
A fundamental review of Japan's nuclear crisis preparedness is imperative. 抜本的な見直しは欠かせない。
Along with an expansion of disaster protection zones emphasizing nuclear disaster countermeasures, there is a pressing need to reassess national and regional disaster prevention plans. 原発事故に重点的に備える防災対策区域の拡大に伴い国や地域の防災計画の見直しも急務だ。
Numerous corporations and organizations make up the national framework that had heretofore promoted nuclear power, and their role in "amakudari" -- literally "descent from heaven," referring to the practice of former bureaucrats taking advisory posts in industries they previously regulated -- has been pointed out. 原子力を推進してきた国全体の構造の中には多数の法人や団体があり、天下りの弊害も指摘されている。
For effective regulations to gain ground, it is important to extend reform to such organizations with entrenched interests. 実効性のある規制を進めるためには、こうした既得権益を持つ組織や団体の改革もこの機会に併せて行うことが重要だ。
--The Asahi Shimbun, Jan. 31 EDITORIAL: Demographic forecasts point to grim future for Japan ５０年後の人口―未来を変えるために
New forecasts about Japan’s population for the period until 2060, released on Jan. 30 by the National Institute of Population and Social Security Research, paint a gloomy picture of the nation’s demographic future. ２０６０年までの新しい推計人口が、国立社会保障・人口問題研究所から発表された。
The speed at which the Japanese population will shrink in the coming decades is simply stunning. The number of Japanese will decrease by 41.32 million in the next half century to about two-thirds of the current figure, according to the forecasts. 日本の人口が減少する速さには驚くほかない。５０年間で４１３２万人減って、今の約３分の２になってしまう。
What should we do in response to these dire predictions? この予測を前に、私たちはどう行動すればよいだろうか。
We should first take actions for the sake of our children. まず、すでに生まれている世代に関する対応だ。
The number of people aged 65 or older will peak at 38.78 million in 2042, when the children of baby boomers join the ranks of the elderly. ６５歳以上は、団塊ジュニアが高齢期に入る４２年に３８７８万人となり、ピークを迎える。
That would be an increase of 9.3 million from now. 今より約９３０万人の増加だ。
It is necessary to improve and expand health- and nursing-care programs as well as livelihood support for elderly citizens. 医療や介護、生活支援の受け皿を整える必要がある。
An increase in the tax burden is unavoidable to finance these steps. そのためには国民の負担が重くなるのは、やむを得ないだろう。
Meanwhile, the number of children aged 14 or younger will keep falling, down to 7.91 million in 2060, less than half of the current figure. ０～１４歳の子どもは一貫して減り続け、６０年には今の半分以下の７９１万人になる。
This age group will account for less than 10 percent of the overall population. 総人口の１割を切る。
The pace of the contraction of the young population will be slower than previously expected due to a slight rise in the fertility rate--the average number of children born to a woman over her lifetime--in the past few years. 最近の出生率の回復傾向を反映し、減少のスピードは緩んだが、
But the trend toward fewer children will remain unchanged. 長期的な少子化の傾向は変わっていない。
The institute has estimated the fertility rate at 1.35, way below the 2.07 needed to keep the population from shrinking. 推計では１人の女性が産む子どもの数を１．３５と仮定している。人口減少に歯止めがかかる２．０７には遠く及ばない。
If the demographic trends remain unchanged, the ratio of people aged 65 or older to the overall population would rise to nearly 40 percent five decades down the road from around 23 percent now, according to the forecasts. ６５歳以上が人口に占める割合である高齢化率は、今は２３％ぐらいだが、このままだと５０年後には４０％近くまで上昇するというのが今回の推計だ。
Can we change the predicted demographic future of our country? この未来を変えることができるだろうか。
If the fertility rate gradually rises until it stabilizes at 2.07 in 2030 onward, the percentage of senior citizens will peak in the 2040s in the 30 to 35 percent range, and then fall before stabilizing around 25 percent range over the long term, according to an estimate by Shigesato Takahashi, deputy director-general of the institute. 同研究所の高橋重郷副所長の試算によると、出生率が上昇していき、３０年以降２．０７で安定した場合、高齢化率は４０年代に３０％台前半でピークを打ち、長期的には２０％台半ばに落ち着くという。
That is a tough target to achieve. 高い目標ではあるが、
But growth of the child population would certainly stabilize the nation’s demographic structure. 子どもの数が増えれば、人口ピラミッドは安定する。
There is a huge difference in vitality between a society where one in every 2.5 members is an elderly citizen and a society where the ratio is one in every four. 高齢者が２．５人に１人か、４人に１人かで社会の活力は大きく違う。
What is especially notable is the fact that the number of women giving birth to a child at the age of 30 or older is larger than the number having a baby at younger than 30. 注目すべきは、母親の出産年齢で３０歳以上が２９歳以下を上回っていることだ。
The number of babies born to a mother aged 35 or older has increased by about 130 percent from 15 years ago. ３５歳以上での出生数は１５年前の約２．３倍に増えている。
This trend raises the question of whether more Japanese working women will decide to have a baby after building a career to some extent. ある程度キャリアを積んだ後に子どもを産むという決断ができるか。
It is necessary to further improve the environment for women trying to raise children while working. 仕事をしながら子育てができる環境をもっと充実させなければいけない。
Although surveys show that nearly 90 percent of unmarried Japanese, both men and women, want to get married, the new demographic forecasts are based on the assumption that one in every five Japanese will not. また、９割近くの未婚男女は結婚したいと考えているのに、今回の推計では５人に１人は結婚しないという前提を置いている。
Meanwhile, already married couples are not expecting to have the number of children they actually want. すでに結婚しているカップルも、持ちたい子どもの数を実現できないでいる。
Behind these facts is widespread anxiety about economic future. いずれも経済的な不安が背景にある。
From this point of view, policy efforts to improve the employment situation of young Japanese are very important. 若年層の雇用改善はこの点でも重要だ。
Each one of us Japanese living today is responsible to do what he or she can to change our society’s demographic future for the better. 将来を変える責任は今を生きる一人ひとりが負っている。
(Mainichi Japan) January 30, 2012 Anxiety and inattention over Tokyo's next Big One 風知草：首都地震、不安と油断＝山田孝男
Last week, the possibility of a new political party being formed under the leadership of Tokyo Gov. Shintaro Ishihara emerged, but Tokyoites were more shocked by news indicating there was a 70 percent chance of a magnitude 7-level earthquake hitting the capital within four years. 先週、首都圏住民をギョッとさせたニュースは増税より石原新党より、「Ｍ（マグニチュード）７級の首都地震、４年以内に７０％」だった。
The news caused a stir because it was based on projections by the authoritative Earthquake Research Institute (ERI) at the University of Tokyo. それも天下の東大地震研究所の試算だというので騒ぎになった。
I visited professor Naoshi Hirata, 57, director of the institute's Earthquake Prediction Research Center, thinking the institute's announcement daring. But I soon learned that this figure was not an "announcement." 思い切った発表をしたものですね、と平田直（なおし）教授（５７）＝地震予知研究センター長＝に聞きに行って初めて知ったが、発表ではなかった。
The episode is very interesting. このてんまつは興味深い－－。
An initial report on the likelihood of a major quake appeared in The Yomiuri Shimbun's Jan. 23 morning editions. 初報は読売新聞２３日朝刊だった。
In a front-page exclusive, the daily reported the news with the banner headline: "70% chance of magnitude-7 level Tokyo earthquake within 4 yrs.'' １面で「首都直下型／４年内７０％／Ｍ７級／東大地震研試算」と特報した（東京本社最終版）。
The Nikkei, The Tokyo Shimbun and the Mainichi Shimbun followed suit in their evening editions and The Asahi Shimbun and The Sankei Shimbun caught up with them in their Jan. 24 editions. 日経、東京、毎日が夕刊で追い、朝日と産経は２４日朝刊で伝えた。
All trailing dailies had almost identical headlines. 各紙とも見出しは読売と同じである。
TV stations quickly reported the news through their news departments as well as in other programs. テレビは報道部門だけでなく、各局ごとにいくつもある情報番組が一斉に反応した。
Overwhelmed by a barrage of reports by news organizations, the ERI published a special explanation online to account for the reasons behind the Yomiuri report. オールマスコミの怒とうの攻勢に音を上げた地震研が、ホームページ上に読売報道の背景解説のための特設サイトを立ち上げたというのが実情だった。
Adding a twist to the saga was the fact that the ERI's study team had reported its predictions at an open forum last fall, and they were covered by the mass media. しかも、地震研の研究チームのこの見解は昨秋、公開の研究発表会で報告され、報道もされている。
Looking back, the Mainichi Shimbun reported in its Sept. 17, 2011 editions that there was a 98 percent chance of a magnitude 7-level earthquake striking the metropolitan region within 30 years. そう聞いて毎日新聞の縮刷版にあたると、はたして９月１７日朝刊３面に「首都圏直下／Ｍ７級／３０年で９８％」という記事があった。
According to Hirata, a 98 percent chance within 30 years and a 70 percent chance within four years mean the same thing. 平田によれば、「３０年以内に９８％」と「４年以内に７０％」は同じである。
But human beings, as they are, take the 30-year span lightly and are surprised by the four-year timeline. だが、人間、３０年ならまだ先と侮り、４年と聞けば驚く。
The Yomiuri keenly restructured the publicized data and emphasized the period "within four years," causing a big public reaction and forcing other news outlets to follow suit. 読売は公表ずみのデータを鋭角的に再構成し、「４年以内」を強調したことで反響を呼び、他のマスコミも追随せざるを得なかった。
As I was looking into the circumstances surrounding the quake prediction story, the nonfiction book "The Great Kanto Earthquake," by Akira Yoshimura (1927-2006), occurred to me. この経緯を調べて思い出したのが吉村昭（１９２７～２００６）のノンフィクション「関東大震災」である。
From the end of the Meiji era to the early Taisho period, Akitsune Imamura, an assistant professor of seismology at Tokyo Imperial University (now the University of Tokyo), predicted a Tokyo earthquake in newspaper and magazine articles. 明治の末から大正の初めにかけ、東京帝大地震学教室の今村明恒助教授は新聞・雑誌で首都地震を予言した。
But Fusakichi Omori, Japan's foremost authority on seismology and chairman of seismology at the national university, was worried about a commotion in society and tried to defuse public anxiety, resulting in a standoff with Imamura. 一方、日本の地震学の最高権威と仰がれた同教室の大森房吉主任教授は社会の動揺を懸念、火消しに努めて今村と対立した。
On Sept. 1, 1923, the magnitude-7.9 Great Kanto Earthquake devastated Tokyo and its vicinity. Omori lost face and died in frustration, while Imamura was catapulted into fame. １９２３（大正１２）年、関東大震災（Ｍ７・９）が発生、面目丸つぶれの大森は失意の中で死に、今村の時代がくる。
But Imamura had sparked confusion when freely talking about earthquakes before eventually toning his warnings down. 今村は求められるまま奔放に発言して混乱が拡大、しだいに寡黙になっていく……。
The balance between earthquake predictions and reporting is delicate. 地震予知と報道の呼吸は微妙だ。
When I asked Hirata if the latest episode reminded him of the row between Omori and Imamura, he said with a wry smile, "It's not such a big deal." 大森・今村論争を意識したかと聞くと、平田は「そんな大それた話じゃない」と苦笑しつつ、こう言った。
"A magnitude-7 quake's energy is one thousandth of the (magnitude-9) Great East Japan Earthquake. 「マグニチュード７のエネルギーは東日本大震災（Ｍ９）の１０００分の１ですよ。
We did not predict an inland earthquake in the capital," Hirata says. " 首都直下と予測したわけでもない。
The reports tended to cause misunderstanding but were meaningful in that they sounded an alarm against inattention in the Kanto region. 誤解を招きやすい報道でしたけれども、関東地方の油断に警鐘を鳴らす意義はあった。
The chances of a big earthquake are greater than before and it is necessary to prepare." 大地震の発生確率は前より高まっており、備えは大事です」
At the outset of a news conference on Jan. 27, Tokyo Gov. Ishihara mentioned disaster-prevention steps, believing there would be questions about the University of Tokyo's predictions. However, none of the questions related to the earthquake predictions. 石原慎太郎・東京都知事は２７日の記者会見の冒頭、「どうせ質問が出るだろう」と先回りして防災を語ったが、質問はゼロ。
His 30-minute news conference solely covered questions about the new political party under consideration. ３０分の会見はすべて石原新党に費やされた。
The shocking reports about a 70 percent chance of an earthquake hitting the metropolitan area within four years didn't appear to make a dent at all at the news conference. 衝撃の「４年以内に７０％」報道とはいえ、その程度のものだった。
News reports are cues for people to become aware of inattention. 報道は油断に気づくきっかけに過ぎない。
The bottom line is how to react in an emergency situation. いざという時、どう動くか。
Yoshimura's parents went through the Great Kanto Earthquake. 吉村昭は関東大震災を体験していないが、両親は被災した。
During U.S. air raids on Tokyo in the closing days of World War II, Yoshimura got yelled at by his father when he tried to flee with a pack on his back. 東京大空襲（４５年）でリュックを背負って逃げようとした時、その父に「手ぶらで逃げろ」と怒鳴られた。
Tales by survivors of the March 11 disasters and Yoshimura's books are filled with survival tips that cannot be found by looking to disaster-prevention goods. ３・１１を生き延びた人々の体験談や吉村の著作には、防災グッズでは得られないものが詰まっている。
