(Mainichi Japan) March 30, 2012 Editorial: Japan must be more humble toward foreign care workers 社説：外国人介護士 春、さらに門戸を開け
Thirty six applicants passed the first care worker exam held for foreign care workers under Japan's Economic Partnership Agreements (EPAs) with Indonesia and the Philippines. While the passing rate, at 37.9 percent, was higher than the 11.3 percent passing rate of Indonesian and Filipino nurses applying for Japanese nursing qualifications under the same agreements earlier this year, the number is still far from ideal. ＥＰＡ（経済連携協定）に基づく初の介護福祉士試験で計３６人のインドネシア人とフィリピン人が合格した。合格率は３７．９％（全体は６３．９％）。今年初めて１１．３％になった看護師試験に比べれば格段に高いが、手放しでは評価できない。
Accommodations to the applicants appear to have been made recently in the exams, including the use of furigana superscripts and the additional notation of English translations of disease names. The questions themselves seem to have become more of a practical nature. But still, technical words in Japanese appear frequently, and sentences can be difficult to decipher. 難しい漢字にふりがなを付け、病名には「認知症（ｄｅｍｅｎｔｉａ）」と英語が併記されるなど試験問題には配慮が見られるようになった。設問自体も実際の業務に役立つようなものが目立った。それでも腫脹（しゅちょう）、疾病罹患（りかん）、仰臥位（ぎょうがい）などの専門用語は多く、文章もまだわかりにくい。
The half-hearted nature of the exam modifications is evident in the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare's review of vocabulary. Expressions have been altered, but they are kept at a halfway point between "technical" and "simple," when "simple" would do just fine. Care workers deal with elderly people whose judgment and communication skills have become impaired. It is important that care workers get information across to their clients in easy-to-understand ways, and to intuit thoughts that clients may have trouble expressing clearly. How can a national exam that is meant to assess whether an applicant is qualified for this job, not employ clear enough language itself? 中途半端は厚生労働省が示した用語の見直し例に表れている。「光源を設ける→照明を設ける」「加齢変化→加齢による変化」。どうして「明るくする」「年をとることで変わる」ではダメなのか。介護福祉士は判断能力やコミュニケーション能力が劣ってくるお年寄りを相手にする仕事である。わかりやすく情報を伝え、明確に言い表せない意思をくみ取ることがとても大事だ。その資質を問う国家試験がこれでどうする。
The health ministry defends its language choices in the exam, citing "the need of care takers to use the language in carrying out duties in cooperation with doctors and nurses," and "the undermining of academic foundations or confusion in the field" as its reasons. To the ministry, does making changes to the medical field itself not occur as a viable option? 「医師や看護師などと連携して業務を行う上で必要」「易しい日本語に置き換えると学問の体系が崩れたり、現場に混乱が生じる」と厚労省は説明する。医療現場の方を変えるという発想はないのだろうか。
Easily-understood language is necessary for patients and third parties to check on the quality of their treatment and ensure transparency. Such methods of communication can also be of use in securing informed consent. In addition, ministry officials must understand the boredom felt by students taking classes at colleges specializing in social welfare, where memorization of abstract knowledge is stressed, even while the knowledge and skills necessary in the field remain in constant flux. What sort of "academic foundations" are so important that they must be protected even if it means sucking the motivation out of students who could be future care givers? 患者や第三者が医療の内容をチェックし透明性を確保するにはわかりやすい言葉が必要だ。患者に対するインフォームド・コンセント（十分な説明に基づく同意）にも役立つはずだ。また、抽象的で形式的な知識の記憶を重視する福祉系大学の授業に学生たちがどれだけ退屈しているかも知るべきだ。現場で必要な知識やスキルは変わる。学生たちの意欲をそいでも守らなければならない学問的体系とはどのようなものだろう。
Foreign candidates go through three years of practical training at care facilities in Japan before they are allowed to take the national qualification exam. Because their stay in Japan is limited to four years, in effect, foreign candidates only have one shot at the exam. Meanwhile, even without national certification, Japanese nationals are able to work at care facilities as official employees. Foreign candidates in training, however, are not considered "employees," which means that care facilities cannot receive government subsidies to cover their salaries. 外国人実習生は日本の介護施設で３年間実務経験をした後に国家試験を受ける。滞在は４年間に限られておりチャンスは原則１回だ。施設にとっては日本人なら無資格でも職員とみなされるが、外国人実習生は職員配置基準に算定できず介護報酬から人件費は出ない。
Because of this, the number of foreign candidates has been dropping every year. The care sector is suffering a major labor shortage, many Japanese are being forced to leave their jobs to take care of aging family members, and there seems to be no end to the tragedy of elderly people facing death alone. Our already aging society is coming upon an even bleaker reality. このため来日する実習生は年々減っている。介護現場は人手不足に苦しみ、介護のため離職する家族、お年寄りの孤独死も後を絶たない。超高齢化はこれからが本番なのである。
The health ministry says the care worker certification program is a "special case with regards to the economic partnership agreement, and not a solution to the labor shortage," and is not quite in step with other government ministries and agencies. This contrasts greatly with full-fledged efforts by South Korea and Taiwan to acquire foreign care workers. The care worker candidates who come to Japan are professionals. They have all attained university or other advanced degrees, as well as certification as care workers, in their home countries. We must be more humble and adopt the attitude there is much we can learn from them -- not the other way around. 厚労省は「ＥＰＡ上の特例で人手不足解消策ではない」と言い、他省庁との足並みもそろっていない。韓国や台湾が外国人の介護労働力確保に熱心なのとは対照的だ。実習生たちは母国では大学など高等教育を履修し介護福祉の資格を得ているプロである。もっと謙虚になって彼らから学ぶくらいの気持ちが必要だ。
(Mainichi Japan) March 28, 2012 Editorial: Japan must take more active role in nuclear security 社説：核安保サミット 日本の存在感がない
Japan barely left an impression at the Nuclear Security Summit held in Seoul on March 26 and 27. This is despite a major debate on the ongoing crisis at the Fukushima No. 1 Nuclear Power Plant, as well as a lively exchange about North Korea's plans to launch a "satellite." なんとも日本の影が薄い国際会議になってしまった。ソウルで２６、２７の両日開かれた核安全保障サミットでは福島第１原発の事故が重要な討議課題になり、北朝鮮が予告した「衛星打ち上げ」（弾道ミサイル発射）をめぐって関係国の活発な意見交換も行われた。
Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda arrived in Seoul on the night of the 26th and left less than 24 hours later. Perhaps distracted by the consumption tax issue back in Japan, he merely engaged in short "meetings" with other heads of state, including U.S. President Barack Obama and Chinese President Hu Jintao. In contrast, Obama arrived in Seoul on the 25th, met with his South Korean, Chinese and Russian counterparts, visited the Korean Demilitarized Zone, and called on the North Korean administration to practice restraint. しかし、野田佳彦首相のソウル滞在は２６日夜から１日足らず。消費税増税の問題で頭がいっぱいだったのか、米中などの首脳と短い「懇談」をしただけで早々と韓国を後にした。２５日にソウルに着いたオバマ米大統領が韓中露などの首脳と会談し、北朝鮮との軍事境界線がある非武装地帯も視察して金正恩（キム・ジョンウン）政権に自制を呼びかけたのとは対照的だ。
This is not to say that a long visit is always better than a short one. However, one cannot help but have serious doubts about whether Noda was able to communicate Japan's concern over the threat North Korea poses with its nuclear program and missiles, and its renewed determination to implement anti-nuclear terrorism measures based on lessons from the Fukushima nuclear crisis. 滞在が長ければいいというものではない。だが、野田首相は北朝鮮の核・ミサイルに対する日本の危機感や、原発事故を教訓として核テロ防止を図る日本の決意を、十分な存在感をもって世界に発信できたか、はなはだ疑問と言わざるを得ない。
The summit in Seoul was the second nuclear security meeting; the first took place in Washington D.C. in 2010. With over 50 countries and regions represented, its goal is to prevent nuclear substances from falling into the hands of terrorist organizations, and to protect nuclear power facilities from terrorist attacks. The disaster at the Fukushima plant, in which power was completely lost due to a massive quake and tsunami, was deemed a situation that could be caused by a terrorist attack, and added to the conference's list of major discussion topics. 今回の核サミットは２０１０年のワシントン・サミットに続いて２回目で、５０を超える国・地域が参加した。核物質などがテロ組織の手に渡るのを防ぐとともに、原子力施設をテロから守るのが主な目的だ。地震と津波の後で全電源を喪失した福島第１原発の事故も、テロ行為で同じような状況を引き起こせるとして討議のテーマに加えられた。
In a speech addressed to the conference participants, Noda stated the importance of anticipating the unanticipated, and vowed that Japan would reinforce power supply systems at nuclear plants and protection against radiation; conduct joint drills among police, the Ground Self-Defense Force, the Japan Coast Guard and the Maritime Self-Defense Force; and strengthen measures against cyberattacks. And yet, the impression remained that his speech lacked depth. 今後の対策として日本は「想定外を想定する」重要性を訴え、電源や放射線防護に関する装備増強、警察と陸上自衛隊、海上保安庁と海上自衛隊による共同訓練の実施、サイバー攻撃への対策などを表明したが、踏み込み不足の印象は否めない。
There's a theory that the kidnappings of Japanese nationals by North Korean agents were conducted in preparation for attacks on Japanese nuclear power plants. The chance of Japanese nuclear plants being attacked by North Korean missiles, or of Japanese nuclear plants near the Sea of Japan -- and therefore close to North Korea -- being commandeered by North Korea must be anticipated and prepared for. North Korea is a threat not only for its nuclear program and missiles, but as a possible instigator of nuclear terrorism. 北朝鮮による日本人拉致は日本の原発攻撃への準備だったとの見方さえある。日本の原発が北朝鮮のミサイルに被弾する、あるいは日本海側の原発が乗っ取られるといった事態も、決して「想定外」ではない。核・ミサイルだけでなく核テロでも北朝鮮が脅威になっているのだ。
The Seoul Communique delivered at the closing ceremony of the nuclear summit stated that nuclear terrorism was "one of the most challenging threats to international security" and that in light of the Fukushima disaster, "sustained efforts are required" to ensure nuclear safety. The promotion of "nuclear forensics," used to determine the origin of nuclear materials, is another significant move mentioned in the statement. サミット閉幕時に発表されたソウル・コミュニケは、核テロを国際社会の「最大の脅威の一つ」と位置付け、福島第１原発事故を受けて原子力の安全保障に取り組む「持続的な努力」の必要性を訴えた。核物質などの出所を特定する「核鑑識」の推進も意義深い取り組みである。
For many Japanese, nuclear terrorism may feel like something that does not concern them. However, regardless of the cause, we have experienced the horrific outcome of a nuclear power facility that has become uncontrollable. It is our responsibility to share our experience with the international community, and to draw on it in preventing nuclear terrorism. The world is seeking Japan's active participation in preventing nuclear terrorism and establishing East Asian security. 日本人にとって核テロはまだまだ現実感を伴わないかもしれないが、原因はどうあれ、私たちは原子力施設が制御不能に陥る恐ろしさを体験してきた。この体験を国際社会と共有し、恐るべき核テロの防止に役立てるべきだ。核テロでも、東アジアの安全保障でも、日本の積極的な関与が問われている。
(Mainichi Japan) March 27, 2012 Editorial: Japan has duty to help other nations through ODA 社説：ＯＤＡ白書 国民理解深める努力を
One point of note in the recently completed Ministry of Foreign Affairs whitepaper on Japan's overseas Official Development Assistance (ODA) programs is how many of the nations that came to this country's assistance after the March 2011 disasters did so expressing thanks for those ODA efforts. The report highlights once more how important ODA is, that it is in fact one of the pillars of Japanese foreign policy. However, we must make sure that the Japanese people know this as well. 外務省が１１年版のＯＤＡ（政府開発援助）白書をまとめた。東日本大震災の支援国が日本のＯＤＡへの感謝を口にしていたことで、改めてＯＤＡの重要性が知られるようになった。ＯＤＡは今後も日本外交の大きな柱だが、それには国民の理解を深めることが欠かせない。
Analysis of the links between last year's natural disasters and Japan's ODA programs comes at the very beginning of the whitepaper -- entitled "ODA and Japan's bonds with the world" -- which states that other nations are "strongly calling on Japan to overcome the Great East Japan Earthquake and make active international contributions starting with continuing ODA programs." 今年の白書は「世界との絆とＯＤＡ」として東日本大震災とＯＤＡに１章をさき、「震災を乗り越えて、これからも引き続きＯＤＡをはじめとする国際貢献に積極的に取り組んでいくことが日本には強く求められている」と強調した。
Japan's ODA heyday came in the 1990s, when it was spending more than 1 trillion yen per year on foreign development programs -- the highest of any country in the world at the time. Since then, however, budget crunches have seen that amount decline, and Japan is now fifth in the world in ODA spending behind the United States, Britain, Germany and France. The proposed ODA budget for fiscal 2012 stands at 561.2 billion yen, and while Japan's spending drops, other nations are upping their program budgets. In 2010, Britain increased its ODA outlays by 20 percent, while Germany and France are also spending more. 日本のＯＤＡは９０年代のピーク時で年１兆円を超え世界一だったが、財政難で減少傾向にあり、現在は米英独仏に次ぐ５位に転落した（１２年度予算は５６１２億円）。英国が１０年に２割増とし、独仏も増額傾向にあるのと対照的である。
Japan's total spending on ODA programs is just 0.2 percent of gross national income (GNI), ranking it 20th among the 23 nations with major foreign assistance programs, which spend an average of 0.32 percent of GNI on ODA efforts. Meanwhile the current cellar-dweller, South Korea, plans to boost its ODA budget to 0.25 percent of GNI by 2015, meaning it could soon overtake Japan. With China also boosting foreign aid, especially to African nations, Japan's presence on the international ODA stage is getting slowly weaker. 国民総所得に対するＯＤＡの比率も０・２０％にとどまり、主要援助国２３カ国（平均０・３２％）中の２０位にすぎない。最下位の韓国は１５年までに０・２５％に引き上げる目標を掲げており、日本は国民総所得比で韓国に追い越される可能性がある。アフリカへの支援を近年増やす中国などと比べて、国際社会での日本の存在感は薄くなる一方だ。
Amid all this, Japanese public support for ODA spending is sliding. According to a 2011 Cabinet Office survey, public support for ODA stood at just 27 percent -- a 5 point drop from the year before. Also, the percentage of respondents who said ODA spending should stay at about current levels went from 43 in 2010 to 47 in 2011. Meanwhile, public worries over the opacity and efficiency of long-term ODA programs seem to persist. Furthermore, it's likely that now, after last year's terrible disasters, the Japanese people would prefer the nation's coin be spent on helping survivors rebuild their lives. ODA programs do indeed use up a lot of taxpayers' money, and it's perfectly natural that debate on ODA be fierce. こうした中で、ＯＤＡへの国民の支持は低下している。昨年１０月の内閣府の調査では、経済協力を積極的に進めるべきだとする人は前年の３２％から２７％に減り、現状程度で良いとする人が４３％から４７％に増えた。長年指摘されてきたＯＤＡの不透明さや非効率性に加え、震災で困っている国内の被災者を助けるのが先、という国民感情もあるだろう。巨額の税金を使う以上、世論が厳しい視線を向けるのは当然だ。
However, the basic foreign policy principle behind the programs -- that ODA helps build global stability, and global stability is connected to domestic stability -- is absolutely correct. 世界の安定にＯＤＡを活用することが日本の安定に直結する、という日本外交の理念は正しい。
"It is the duty of Japan as one of the world's leading nations to take on the resolution of global issues," the foreign ministry whitepaper states, and so it is. It is not enough, however, to simply repeat this principle. Exactly how ODA works in Japan's interest must be explained properly to a skeptical public. 「地球規模の諸課題の解決に取り組むことが主要国としての責務」（白書）との認識もその通りだ。だが理念を繰り返すだけでは足りない。日本の開かれた国益のため、ＯＤＡがどう役立っているかを国民にていねいに知らせる必要がある。
To take a couple of examples from the whitepaper, the public should know that products from the disaster areas in northeast Japan are being used in projects to help developing countries, and that ODA leads to business opportunities for Japanese firms providing, for instance, energy-saving and environmental technologies. There is also a need to think about ways to better the quality of ODA initiatives. たとえば、被災地の物産を調達して途上国支援に活用したり、省エネルギーや環境技術の普及をビジネスチャンスにつなげる取り組みなどが白書で紹介されている。質の向上をどう図るかにも知恵を絞るべきである。
Japan began its ODA efforts in 1954 as a way to make war reparations, secure resources and promote peace. The aims of the programs, however, have changed in line with the times. To make sure that Japanese ODA meets the needs of this era, we call on our politicians to take the lead in deepening public debate on what forms our foreign assistance should take. ５４年に始まった日本のＯＤＡは戦後賠償に準じたもの、資源確保、平和への貢献と、時代に応じて意味や目指すべき方向を変えてきた。新しい時代にふさわしいＯＤＡのあり方を確立するため、政治が先頭に立って議論を深めてほしい。
There are two types of atomic weapons. One is a uranium-kind or "Hiroshima-type" bomb and the other is a plutonium-kind or "Nagasaki-type" bomb. Iran says it is stockpiling enriched uranium for peaceful purposes but is suspected of having nuclear ambitions. Japan is also maintaining plutonium but is not suspected of going nuclear. 原爆の製造法は二つある。ウランを濃縮する広島型と、プルトニウムを使う長崎型だ。イランは平和利用という名目で濃縮ウランを蓄え、核武装を疑われている。日本は原発から出たプルトニウムを蓄えているが、疑われていない。
However, it cannot be said that Japan does not have military intentions. A policy of nuclear energy for peaceful purposes has implications for a diversion of nuclear energy for military use anytime. Nuclear energy is not unrelated to the military. だが、日本に軍事的意図がまったくないとは言えない。平和利用目的の原子力エネルギーにはいつでも軍事転用できるという含みがある。原発は軍事と無関係ではない。
According to Akira Kurosaki, associate professor at Fukushima University who received the Suntory Prize for Social Sciences and Humanities for his 2006 book, "Nuclear Weapons and Japan-U.S. Relations," there were many materials to support the intentions of Japanese politicians and diplomats who tried to make Japan a potential nuclear power by promoting nuclear energy in the 1960s when the nation's post-World War II nuclear policy firmed up. 「核兵器と日米関係」（０６年、有志舎刊）でサントリー学芸賞を受賞した黒崎輝（あきら）・福島大准教授（３９）によれば、戦後日本の核政策が固まった１９６０年代、原発推進によって「潜在的核保有国」になろうとした政治家や外交官の意図を裏づける資料はたくさんある。
The prime minister at the time was Eisaku Sato (1901-1975). Sato presented four nuclear policies -- maintaining three non-nuclear principles of not possessing, not producing and not permitting the introduction of nuclear weapons into Japan, relying on an American nuclear deterrent, promoting the peaceful use of nuclear power and promoting nuclear disarmament. 当時の首相は佐藤栄作（１９０１～７５）だった。佐藤は四つの核政策を示した。「非核三原則（核兵器をつくらず、持たず、持ち込ませず）堅持」「アメリカの核抑止力に依存」「原子力の平和利用推進」「核軍縮推進」である。
The promotion of the peaceful use of nuclear power has a hidden intention of potentially possessing nuclear weapons. このうち「原子力の平和利用推進」には潜在的核保有への意志が秘められていた。
Prime Minister Sato reacted bitterly to China's nuclear weapons test in 1964 and told then U.S. Ambassador to Japan Edwin Reischauer that Japan was fully capable of producing nuclear weapons with its scientific and industrial technologies. It was in 1965 that Japan's first commercial nuclear power plant in Tokai, Ibaraki Prefecture, achieved criticality. ６４年、中国の核実験に強く反発した佐藤は、ライシャワー駐日米大使に「核（兵器）は日本の科学、産業技術で十分、生産できる」と語った。茨城県東海村で日本初の原発が臨界に達したのが６５年だ。
In 1969, a study team of senior Foreign Ministry officials secretly produced an internal document on always holding Japan's potential to maintain economic and technological prowess to produce nuclear weapons. It was prepared shortly before the conclusion of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), which allows only the United States, the Soviet Union, Britain, France and China to possess nuclear weapons. The No. 1 reactor of the Fukushima No. 1 Nuclear Power Plant was completed in 1970. The Mainichi Shimbun had a scoop on the Foreign Ministry in-house document in 1994. ６９年、外務省高官の研究チームが「核兵器製造の経済的・技術的ポテンシャル（能力）は常に保持する」という内部文書をひそかにまとめた。米ソ英仏中にだけ核保有を認めるＮＰＴ（核拡散防止条約）締結直前。福島第１原発１号機完成が７０年。この文書は９４年、毎日新聞のスクープで露見した。
Kurosaki says the four nuclear policies were not necessarily drawn up by Sato. He put together and rubber-stamped the policies formulated after heated debate through Japan-U.S. negotiations, bureaucrats in the Kasumigaseki district, industry and ruling and opposition party lawmakers. 黒崎によれば、核４政策は佐藤の独創とは言えない。それ以前の日米交渉、霞が関、産業界、与野党のせめぎ合いを踏まえて形成された政策をまとめ、追認したにすぎない。
Even after that, the undercurrent surrounding Japan's nuclear policy did not change. When North Korea's nuclear problems surfaced in the 1990s, calls for Japan to go nuclear emerged, but they are still minority opinions even to this day. その後も底流は変わらなかった。北朝鮮の核問題が浮上した９０年代、日本でも核武装論が噴出したが、今なお少数意見にとどまっている。
In 2007, former U.S. Secretary of State Henry Kissinger and three other nuclear arms experts pointed out that the traditional concept of nuclear deterrence has become obsolete in the post-Cold War era. In 2009, U.S. President Barack Obama drew global attention by calling for a world free of nuclear weapons, but the world has subsequently witnessed Chinese and Russian military expansion and North Korean and Iranian nuclear weapons development. ０７年、アメリカの核戦略の中心にいたキッシンジャーら４識者が伝統的な核抑止理論の破綻を指摘。０９年、オバマ米大統領が核廃絶を説いて耳目を集めたが、以後の世界は、むしろ中露の軍拡、北朝鮮・イランの核開発へ逆行した。
I interviewed Kurosaki in his office at Fukushima University last week. High-pressure cleaning vehicles were flushing radioactive materials from the campus. A native of the city of Niigata, Kurosaki studied law at Tohoku University and served as an assistant at Rikkyo University and held other posts before assuming his current post in 2009. If atomic weapons and nuclear power are two sides of the same coin, the March 11, 2011 twin natural disasters and resultant nuclear crisis appear to have forced Japan to radically change the course of its nuclear policy. 黒崎の話は先週、福島大の研究室で聞いた。高圧洗浄車がキャンパスの放射性物質を洗い流していた。新潟市出身の黒崎は東北大で学び、立教大助手を経て０９年着任した。原爆と原発は表裏一体だとすれば、３・１１は日本の核政策に根本的な修正を迫るものではなかったか。
Japan possesses 45 tons of reprocessed plutonium which could be converted to military use. That amounts to about 4,000 "Nagasaki-type" atomic bombs. Japan can reduce its reprocessed plutonium by burning it at a fast-breeder reactor or pluthermal plant (using mixed oxide of uranium-plutonium fuel), but the prospects are bleak. 日本は軍事転用可能な再処理済みプルトニウムを４５トン持っている。長崎型原爆４０００発分という。高速増殖炉やプルサーマル（プルトニウムとウランの混合燃料を使う原発）で燃やせば減るが、見通しは暗い。
One wonders whether Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda would say Japan can carry out a nuclear fuel cycle using its own technology even though he has been unable to bring the collapsed nuclear power plant under control. Is there an option left for Japan to go nuclear today? 崩壊した原発の制御さえできないのに、野田佳彦首相は、核燃料サイクル（再利用）は「日本の技術で可能」と言うだろうか。今日、日本核武装という選択肢があるだろうか。
A two-day nuclear security summit opened in Seoul on March 26 by bringing together leaders of 53 countries. There is no argument about the need for debate on ways to prevent nuclear materials from finding their way into the hands of terrorists, but I also want these leaders to discuss a policy not to produce a dangerous and excessive volume of plutonium. ２６日、ソウルに世界５３カ国首脳を集めて「核安全保障サミット」が開かれる。核物質をテロリストに渡さぬ相談に異存はないが、危険な余剰プルトニウムを生まない政策をこそ話し合ってもらいたい。（敬称略）（毎週月曜日掲載）
(Mainichi Japan) March 25, 2012 Kaleidoscope of the Heart: One place to turn to when in need of help 香山リカのココロの万華鏡：よりそいホットライン ／東京
Psychiatrists' work at their consultation rooms is not limited only to providing psychological care. Recently in particular, when searching for the background of depression and insomnia there are traces of other specific problems, including violence, work and financial issues among many others. It is no secret that psychologists borrow other professionals' help. 精神科の診察室で行われることは、「心のケア」だけではない。とくに最近は、うつ症状や不眠の背景に「仕事」「お金」「暴力被害」など具体的な問題が隠れていることが多く、そういう場合はほかの専門家の手も借りなければならない。
In my consultation room, I always keep a list of help organizations, and if the case requires me to do so, I sometimes introduce my patients to such professionals. At times it feels as if my consultation room is not a place for medical treatment but more of a mediation facility. 私もいつも「相談窓口リスト」を持っていて、「ここの福祉課に電話して」「女性センターで相談しましょう、曜日は……」と必要に応じて紹介する。診療というより、「窓口あっせん所」という感じだ。
A new great supporter has emerged for medical professionals like myself. A service called "Yorisoi Hotline," which had previously been centered in Iwate, Miyagi and Fukushima prefectures -- the three regions most severely affected by the March 11, 2011 disasters -- is now expanding nationwide. For the time being, until the end of March this year, it will accept calls from people on a 24-hour a day basis. そんな私に、また心強い味方ができた。これまで大震災の被災３県で暮らしの悩み相談を一括して電話で受けてきた「よりそいホットライン」が、全国規模に拡大されることになったのだ。とりあえず３月末までは２４時間、電話相談を受け付けるという。
The hotline's most appealing point is that it accepts people's calls regardless of the nature of their anxieties. Lifestyle problems, domestic violence, homosexuality issues, consultations of a suicidal nature -- people are free to consult with the counselors on any issues they may need help with. このホットラインの最大の特徴は、「悩みのテーマは問いません」とうたっていることだ。生活や仕事のこと、家庭内の暴力や同性愛に関すること、「生きていたくない」といった心の相談、なんでもオーケーということになっている。
Furthermore, the hotline also provides consultations in foreign languages. Of course, people of all ages are free to call. しかも、外国語による相談も受け付けるという。もちろん、若い人、高齢者など年齢の制限もない。
For people who need consultations, the availability of such a hotline is very welcome. I think that the greatest anxiety of people who need help is where to turn for assistance. Furthermore, due to the nature of their problems they often have to visit a number of different professionals, sometimes even being told things such as "this is not in the range of our expertise," suggesting that they turn to other places for assistance. For people who already have anxieties, this may only discourage them from seeking help. これは相談するほうにとっては、何よりありがたい。悩んでいる人の最大の悩みは、まず「どこに相談に行ってよいかわからない」ということだと思う。また、悩みの項目ごとに別の専門家や窓口を尋ねなければならず、そこで「それはウチの担当ではないです」と断られたりたらい回しにされることもある。そうなると、ただでさえ気持ちが落ち込んでいる人たちは、「もういいです」と相談そのものをあきらめてしまいかねない。
Naturally, consultants at the Yorisoi Hotline are not experts on all problems, so I am not sure whether they will provide adequate advice through a one-time consultation. もちろん「よりそいホットライン」の電話の受け手もすべての問題に精通しているわけではないだろうから、一度で適切なアドバイスができるかどうかはわからない。
However, I believe that the single fact that there is a place where people can turn to for help when they are at a loss over who to consult with about their problems gives them much strength. ただ「どこに相談してよいのやら」と途方に暮れる人にとっては、「まずはここに」という電話先ができただけでもどれだけ心強いことか。
At the same time, however, I worry about the people who work at the hotline. I worry that they may get sick after working on a 24-hour basis and listening to a great variety of problems. I wish that all of society will support this ground-breaking initiative. ただ、心配なのは受け手たちが２４時間態勢でさまざまな相談を受け続け、すり減って倒れてしまわないか、ということだ。社会全体でこの画期的な取り組みをバックアップしたい。
I must be cautious not to mention the Yorisoi Hotline too much in my consultation room. But to tell the truth, I've already taught its phone number to several of my patients. 私は、診察室に来る人に、あまりにすぐに「あ、それは“よりそいホットライン”に相談してみては？」と言いすぎないようにしなければ。実はもう、何人もの患者さんに番号を教えてしまった。
To the consultants at Yorisoi Hotline -- please excuse me for increasing your work. However, I have a lot of confidence in you! コールセンターのみなさん、仕事を増やしてごめんなさい。でも、期待してます！
(Mainichi Japan) March 24, 2012 Remembering and remaking that which was destroyed 火論：よみがえる「廣島」＝玉木研二 ＜ｋａ－ｒｏｎ＞
In this column, I have on previous occasions introduced the tireless efforts by filmmaker Masaaki Tanabe, 74, and others to record what happened to Hiroshima many decades ago. Now, their production panel is making serious progress on a computer graphics film reproducing scenes of pre-bombing Hiroshima within a kilometer of what was to become, on Aug. 6, 1945, ground zero of an atomic blast. Part of the film was unveiled to the public last week. 原爆投下で消えた広島の街と生活をコンピューターグラフィックス（ＣＧ）でよみがえらせる。映像作家、田辺雅章さん（７４）らの絶やさぬ営みをかつて小欄でも紹介した。今、その製作委員会は爆心地から半径１キロに広げた再現映画づくりを進めており、先週その一部が公開された。
The crew of the "Enola Gay" B-29 bomber that carried the "Little Boy" atom bomb used central Hiroshima's Aioi Bridge as their bombing target. The film segment released last week shows groups of houses and buildings as well as lush stands of trees near the T-shaped bridge that could be seen before being reduced to ash by the nuclear blast. Ｂ２９「エノラ・ゲイ」号が投下目標とした相生橋。これを中心に展開する公開画像は、消滅前の建物群や街の豊かな樹木を見ることができる。
Hiroshima was built on a river delta on the coast of the Seto Inland Sea, and the Aioi Bridge area would have smelled pleasantly of water and leaves. During the scorching summer people must have relished the shady embrace of the trees and the river breezes in the evening. Nearby, the ornate facade of the Hiroshima Prefectural Industrial Promotion Hall kept silent watch. After the blast, the building would go by another name: the Atomic Bomb Dome. 広島は瀬戸内の河口、幾筋にも分かれた三角州の上にある。水と潮と木の葉が香るようだったろう。風がなぐ夏の夕は、暑熱をその緑陰でまぎらわしたか。そうした風光に包まれるようにあるしゃれた建物が、広島県産業奨励館。これが原爆ドームとなる。
When Japan was about to enter the era of economic growth that was the post-war reconstruction period, people in Hiroshima were divided over whether to demolish the dome. There were people who insisted on preserving it in order not to forget the importance of peace and pass it on to future generations. Others wanted the building torn down because they did not want to be reminded of the horrors of the atomic bomb. 戦後も復興から成長時代に入るころ、ドームの存廃論議が起きた。忘れないために、平和の尊さを語り継ぐために、と存続・保存を訴える声の一方で、「惨状を思い起こさせないでほしい」と撤去を望む声もあった。
My late mother belonged to the latter group. In order to get to the heart of the city by tram, people had to cross the Aioi Bridge. It is still so even today. The Atomic Bomb Dome is just east of the span, and my mother told me she always averted her eyes from the skeletal structure when she was crossing the bridge. 亡母は後者だった。今も昔も路面電車で市の中心部に行くには相生橋を渡らなければならない。その東詰めにドームはある。そういう時は目をそらすのだと言った。
She was only 1.5 kilometers from the hypocenter when the bomb went off, and was exposed to radiation from the blast. She remained reluctant to talk about the experience her entire life. Then again, hers is only one example of attitudes held by A-bomb survivors. ここから約１・５キロで被爆、けがもしたが、体験は終生言いたがらなかった。そうした態度は、もちろん人それぞれの中の一例にすぎない。
Nevertheless, my mother used to talk nostalgically about the splendor and beauty of the Hiroshima Prefectural Industrial Promotion Hall before it became the anti-nuclear icon it is today. Perhaps it symbolized the cheerfulness of the city in the pre-war era. It was designed by famous Czech architect Jan Letzel, and the copper dome was the highlight of the Hiroshima skyline. I believe my mother spoke of the hall out of a strong fascination with the structure. その母が、往時の産業奨励館の見事さは心から懐かしげに語ったものだ。戦前の広島の華やぎを象徴したのだろう。著名なチェコの建築家ヤン・レツルの設計である。銅を張ったドームは空に映えた。母はやや陶然とした気配で回顧したと思う。
The dome was designated a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1996, and there was no more debate on the fate of the building. My mother had already passed away by that time, so I can't ask her how she feels about it. ドームは「世界遺産」になり、存廃論議は消えた。母は決定時既に世になかったから、感懐は聞きようもない。
However, I now rather wish I could show her vibrant pre-war Hiroshima and the Hiroshima Prefectural Industrial Promotion Hall reproduced in CG -- the hall that she was always so keen to describe. ただ、ＣＧに再現された生気ある戦前の「廣島」の街と産業奨励館とは、見せてやりたかったと今思う。
Filmmaker Tanabe and others built the recreation from rare photographs, archives and first-person descriptions, and the film is expected to be completed in three years. Though they have already collected so much, the crew continue to search out more materials and witnesses to the pre-war city. 田辺さんらの再現作業は残された貴重な写真、記録、多数の証言収集などをこつこつと積み重ねて行われている。今製作中の映画は３年後に完成を目指す。もっと資料や証言を、と広く呼びかける。
I wonder if their efforts to reproduce the Hiroshima scenes that vanished in a mere instant of fire could provide some hints to reproducing the region devastated by last year's Great East Japan Earthquake. こうした、瞬時に消えた街をよみがえらせる「復元」の営みが、東日本大震災の被災地再生に何らかの、ヒントの一つにならないか。
In Hiroshima, there were movements to bring local residents and A-bomb victims together by reproducing maps of pre-war residential areas in the 1960s and preserving "pictures of the atomic bombing" in the 1970s. 広島では、６０年代に消えた街の住居地図復元、７０年代に「原爆の絵」を残す運動などと、被爆者・市民を結びつける動きが起き、高まった。
Above all, I believe that it is time for young people to apply fresh ideas to reproduce pre-disaster Tohoku. 今、とりわけ若い人たちのみずみずしい発想が出番だと思う。
(Mainichi Japan) March 23, 2012 Editorial: Regain financial market confidence through strict investigations, amended laws 社説：内部者情報取引 徹底解明で信頼回復を
Japan's Securities and Exchange Surveillance Commission (SESC) recommended that the Financial Services Agency fine Chuo Mitsui Asset Trust and Banking Co. for violating the Financial Instruments and Exchange Law. 証券取引等監視委員会が、金融商品取引法違反（インサイダー取引）の疑いで中央三井アセット信託銀行に課徴金を科すよう金融庁に勧告した。
Chuo Mitsui was found to have obtained internal insider information regarding the public stock offering of a company on the Tokyo Stock Exchange from Nomura Securities Co., the lead underwriter of the deal. 東証１部上場企業の公募増資に絡み、増資の主幹事である野村証券から内部者情報を得ていたという。
This incident was the first to expose the collusive ties between a major corporate investor and a leading securities firm. 大手機関投資家と大手証券の「共犯」関係が、今回初めて明るみに出た。
To restore the confidence that has been lost from the Japanese market, a full-scale investigation into what occurred and the implementation of further preventative measures are crucial. 大きく傷ついた日本市場の信頼を回復するには、疑惑の全容解明と再発防止策の強化が不可欠だ。
A Chuo Mitsui fund manager obtained information on the new share issue of Inpex stock in 2010 from a Nomura sales employee before it had been announced. 中央三井のファンドマネジャーは、１０年に実施された国際石油開発帝石の公募増資に関する情報を公表前に野村の営業社員から入手した。
Based on the information, Chuo Mitsui used Japanese stock funds that it manages for overseas investors to buy and sell Inpex shares, making about 14 million yen in returns. その情報を基に、中央三井が運用する海外投資家向けの日本株ファンドを使って帝石株を取引し、約１４００万円の運用益を上げたという。
This is the first time that a trust company -- a major player in the stock market -- will be fined for insider trading. 証券市場の主力プレーヤーである信託銀行がインサイダー取引で課徴金処分を受けるのは初めて。
Compared to cases of illegal trading that take place between individuals, an institutional violation has a far deeper impact on the market. 会社関係者らが個人的に行う違法取引に比べ、市場への影響は格段に大きい。
Chuo Mitsui officials say that in addition to setting up a special investigative committee to look into the case, it will implement measures to prevent such incidents happening again in the future, including prohibiting contact between its staff who manage stocks and sales staff from securities firms. 中央三井は、特別調査委員会を発足させたほか、運用担当者と証券会社の営業担当者との接触禁止を含む再発防止策を講じるという。
Chuo Mitsui must take its responsibility seriously, and institute measures to enforce compliance with the law. 責任の重さを認識し、法令順守の徹底を急ぐべきだ。
Nomura Securities, too, is hugely responsible in this case, which marked the first time that a sales member from a securities firm was found to leak yet-unannounced information to an investor as part of their business transactions. 野村証券の責任も重い。証券会社が営業の一環として、未公表情報を投資家に伝達していたのが確認されたのも初めてだ。
Securities firms have an investment banking division, which handles companies' share sales, as well as mergers and acquisitions; and a sales division. 証券会社には、企業の増資や合併・買収などを手がける投資銀行部門と営業部門とがある。
Because insider information tends to concentrate in investment banking divisions, securities firms are required to adopt strict measures to prevent any insider information from traveling to their sales divisions. 投資銀行部門にはインサイダー情報が集中するため、証券会社は、その情報が営業部門に伝わらないよう情報管理の徹底を義務づけられている。
While it is still unknown how the Nomura sales division employee who leaked insider information to Chuo Mitsui obtained the information in the first place, it's obvious that Nomura's method for information management had been insufficient. 問題の増資情報を営業部門の社員が入手した経緯はまだ不明だが、野村社内の情報管理が不徹底だったことは否定できない。
Due to a variety of factors, including a sluggish stock market caused by the Lehman Shock of 2008, securities firms have performed poorly. ０８年のリーマン・ショックによる株式市場の低迷などで、証券会社の業績は悪化している。
If impatience and anxiety with lagging performance is what motivated the recent scandal, then the problem is deeply rooted and serious. 業績回復への焦りが今回の不祥事につながったとすれば、根が深く深刻だ。
Nomura must conduct an exhaustive inquiry, and re-examine how they handle sensitive information. 野村は原因を徹底的に究明し、その上で、情報管理体制を見直すべきだろう。
In 2010, allegations of violations over public offerings of Tokyo Electric Power Co. (TEPCO) and Nippon Sheet Glass Co. shares emerged, bringing with them accusations that overseas funds had been involved. 公募増資を巡っては、１０年実施の東京電力や日本板硝子などに関しても疑惑が取りざたされ、海外ファンドの関与も疑われている。
We urge the Securities and Exchange Surveillance Commission to cooperate closely with overseas authorities to uncover the truth. 監視委は海外当局とも連携を密にし、疑惑の全容を解明してほしい。
With regards to the latest incident, Chuo Mitsui will only be fined 55,000 yen -- because that was what the management fee amounted to. 今回、中央三井の課徴金は５万５０００円にとどまる。 運用報酬が、その額だったからだ。
But isn't this amount too small for a company responsible for destroying market credibility? しかし、市場の信頼を失墜させた責任の重さにくらべ、軽すぎないか。
Current laws that prevent whoever leaked the information from being penalized are also at fault. 情報提供者を処分できない現行法にも問題がある。
We seek a re-evaluation of related laws to allow for more effective prevention. 再発防止の実効性を高めるため、制度の再検討を求めたい。
The Yomiuri Shimbun (Mar. 23, 2012) Greek default avoided, but many problems remain ギリシャ危機 破綻回避しても課題は山積（3月22日付・読売社説）
The Greek government, which has fallen into a fiscal crisis, has managed to get through a major bond redemption, avoiding a chaotic debt default. 財政危機に陥ったギリシャが大量の国債償還を乗り切り、無秩序な債務不履行（デフォルト）を回避した。
We welcome the progress made in efforts to contain the eurozone crisis, which has plunged the world into turmoil. 世界を混乱させてきた欧州危機の封じ込めに向け、前進したことを歓迎したい。
But we must not fall prey to optimism that the crisis is over. The Greek government should not ease its watchfulness but do its utmost to revive its economy. しかし、これで危機を脱したという楽観は禁物である。ギリシャは緊張感を緩めず、経済再生に全力を挙げてもらいたい。
Disarray in the massive bond redemption was avoided as the Greek government was guaranteed the funds it needed for the redemption, thanks to a second rescue package worth up to 130 billion euros (about 14 trillion yen) from the European Union and the International Monetary Fund, together with a debt reduction by private creditor banks. 国債償還で混乱が起きなかったのは、欧州連合（ＥＵ）などが１３００億ユーロ（約１４兆円）の第２次支援策を決め、金融機関も債務カットに応じて、ギリシャの資金繰りにメドがついたためだ。
These makeshift measures to rescue the Greek government, at least for the time being, appear to have worked. ギリシャを救済する当面の応急措置が功を奏したと言える。
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Global markets rebound
In the United States, the Dow Jones industrial average has been hovering above the 13,000 mark, and Tokyo stocks have recovered to above 10,000. The euro, which had plummeted, has turned upward against other major currencies. ニューヨーク株式市場の株価は１万３０００ドル超で推移し、東京市場の株価も１万円台を回復している。一時は急落していた通貨ユーロも上昇に転じた。
Apparently responding positively to a recent upturn in the U.S. economy, a sense of reassurance seems to be spreading in the markets. 最近の米国の景気回復も好感されて、市場にはひとまず、安堵(あんど)感が広がっているのだろう。
Yet there remains a mountain of problems. ただ、まだ課題は山積する。
The Greek government has faced the possibility of default many times, rocking Europe and the world. It must not cause such turmoil again. ギリシャは、これまで何度も破綻の危機に直面し、欧州や世界を揺るがしてきた。同じような混乱を繰り返してはならない。
First and foremost, the government must steadily implement the strict fiscal measures it promised, including cutting the number of civil servants and their wages, and tackling fiscal reconstruction and economic revival. まず、約束した公務員削減や賃下げなどの緊縮財政策を着実に実行し、財政再建や経済再生に取り組むことが重要だ。
The new administration, to be chosen in a general election slated for late next month, will assume a heavy responsibility. It must contain public opinion opposing strict fiscal management and will also be tested as to how well it can foster internationally competitive industries. ４月末にも行われる総選挙で発足する新政権の責任は重い。緊縮財政に反発する世論を抑えなければならない。競争力ある産業の育成も問われよう。
The Greek government's debt ratio is a massive 160 percent of its gross domestic product. The government aims to reduce this to about 120 percent by 2020 through fiscal reconstruction. ギリシャは、国内総生産（ＧＤＰ）に対する政府債務比率が１６０％と高い。財政再建によって、これを２０２０年までに約１２０％に下げる目標を掲げる。
===
5th year of negative growth seen
As the domestic economy has been deteriorating, however, Greece is expected to post negative year-on-year growth for the fifth straight year in 2012. It is difficult to achieve both fiscal reconstruction and economic expansion. だが、国内景気が悪化し、１２年まで５年連続のマイナス成長が見込まれている。財政再建と景気拡大の両立は容易ではない。
Should the government blunder in its handling of fiscal reconstruction, Greece may need additional assistance from outside. In Europe, there are other causes of crisis, as seen in the continued high yield of government bonds of Portugal, which continues to face fiscal problems. 再建がもたつくと、ギリシャはさらなる支援を仰ぐ事態に陥るかもしれない。欧州では、財政不安が続くポルトガルの国債利回りが高止まりするなど、他にも危機の火だねがくすぶる。
The problem is that chiefly due to opposition from Germany, progress has been slower than expected in expanding the scale of lending of the European Stability Mechanism, which the EU will establish in July. Expanding the funding base of the IMF has also been put off. 問題は、ＥＵが７月に設ける欧州安定メカニズム（ＥＳＭ）の融資規模の拡大が、ドイツの抵抗で遅れていることだ。国際通貨基金（ＩＭＦ）の資金基盤拡充も、先送りされている。
To dispel future concern, it is vital to reinforce the safety net to prevent the market from falling into turmoil. The eurozone must recognize the reality of the crisis, reconfirm its solidarity and prove itself through concrete action. 先行き懸念を払拭するには、市場の混乱を防ぐ安全網の強化が欠かせない。欧州は危機感を持って結束を再確認し、具体的な行動で示すことが求められよう。
(From The Yomiuri Shimbun, March 22, 2012) （2012年3月22日01時26分 読売新聞）
>>"It would be embarrassing not to be able to contribute at all because I'm hung up on the little things," Sugano says. " >>「ちっちゃなことにとらわれて何もできないのは恥ずかしい。
(Mainichi Japan) March 21, 2012 Learning what it means to be a journalist through disaster victims 記者の目：震災１年 切れかけた「絆」を目にして＝竹内良和（東京社会部）
◇“ありのまま”を原点に、今後も
Having reported from areas deeply affected by the Great East Japan Earthquake, tsunami and ensuing nuclear crisis since immediately after their outbreak, the question of whether I've been able to convey the disaster survivors' reality weighs increasingly more heavily on my mind. 東日本大震災の発生直後から被災地で取材している。「被災者の姿を伝え切れているのか」。自身への問いかけは日増しに重みを増している。
Over the past year, survivors repeatedly told me that their "reality cannot be glossed over with pleasantries" -- words that hit me hard. 「ここはきれい事ばかりじゃない」。
Sure, in most of the disaster areas I've seen, there have been countless episodes characterized by warmth and tight bonds. 確かに、取材した被災地の大半は温かな絆にあふれていた。
この１年、被災者から何度も聞いた言葉が胸に刺さっている。
Without any reservations, I've reported stories of victims supporting each other through their many challenges. 困難にもめげず支え合う被災者たちの姿を私は迷わず記事にしてきた。
At the same time, however, I witnessed bonds being broken by the triple disasters. その一方で、震災で失われた絆もあった。
I heard about people who have been kicked out of relatives' homes that they'd taken refuge in, and accusations of some people taking relief supplies all to themselves. 「避難した親戚宅を追い出された」「救援物資を独り占めする人がいる」－－。
I agonized over whether to report on the negative incidents and sentiments among the survivors I wanted so much to support, and for the most part ended up barely doing so. 応援したい被災者の負の側面を伝える難しさに悩み、結局、ほとんど記事にできなかった。
The question of how, if at all, exposing the survivors' faults would help the situation, had driven me into a corner. 「被災者のあらを取材して、一体、何の役に立つのか」。
It was at such a time that I was reunited with a certain survivor, and learned the importance of facing head-on the ties that one has lost. 思考停止になりかけていたとき、ある被災者と再会し、失った絆に向き合うことの大切さを痛感した。
I met Hiroko Sugano, 69, of Rikuzentakata, Iwate Prefecture, at an evacuation center four weeks after the March 11 quake last year. 岩手県陸前高田市の菅野浩子さん（６９）。震災４週間後に避難所で知り合った。
She had a friendly smile, and was busily carrying boxes of relief supplies. いつも人なつこい笑顔で、救援物資の段ボール箱をせわしなく運んでいた。
In early May, however, when I again visited the same evacuation center, she was no longer there. だが、５月上旬、避難所を再訪すると姿がない。
She had apparently returned home just a few days earlier. 数日前に帰宅したという。
When I asked another evacuee why Sugano had returned home, the only response I got was, "It's a long story." 避難者に理由を尋ねれば「いろいろあって」。
It didn't seem like something an outsider like I should pursue any further. 部外者が立ち入ってはならないように感じた。
Not long afterwards, Sugano appeared at the evacuation center, asking if it would be all right for her to recharge her cell phone there. 程なく、「携帯電話の充電をさせてね」と菅野さんは避難所に姿をみせた。
Seeing the same smile she had when I first met her, I felt relieved that she had been able to return home and that things had seemed to work out for her. 変わらぬ笑顔に「家に戻れたし、良かったな」とほっとした。
In the texts she subsequently sent me with her cell phone, she showed no indication that anything was wrong. その後、何度か届いた携帯電話のメールも変わった様子はなかった。
But I'd been naive. だが私は鈍感だった。
When I visited her in February this year, Sugano told me, "I was literally living by the light of a lantern after I left the evacuation center." 今年２月、自宅を訪ねると、「避難所を出てからはランタンで暮らしていたのよ」と話し始めてくれた。
◇避難所を出てランタン生活
Four years ago, Sugano reached mandatory retirement at her company job, and returned alone to her parents' home, which had been empty. 菅野さんは４年前、会社を定年退職し、空き家だった実家に単身で帰った。
She struggled to readapt to her hometown, which she had been away from since she left for Tokyo over 40 years earlier. Her ties with relatives and acquaintances there were no longer strong. 上京後、４０年以上離れていた古里の雰囲気になじめず、親類や知人とのつながりも薄れていた。
It was under such circumstances that the massive earthquake hit. そんな時、震災に遭った。
None of the other evacuees at the evacuation center were willing to take on the task of keeping track of relief supplies and maintaining name lists of the evacuees at the center. 避難所では、救援物資や名簿を管理する「世話役」に誰も名乗り出ない。
In her years working in the corporate world, Sugano had accumulated a wealth of experience in administrative work. 会社員時代は総務畑を歩んできた。
Figuring that she may be the person for the job, she took on the center's general affairs. 「私の仕事かもしれないな」と引き受けた。
At first, relief supplies were barely delivered to the center. 当初は物資が全く届かない。
At one point, Sugano racked her brain over what to do with the seven toothbrushes that had been delivered from the government's disaster countermeasures headquarters, when there were 130 fellow evacuees staying at the center. １３０人の仲間を前に、災害対策本部からやっともらってきた７本の歯ブラシをどう配ろうか悩んだ。
Sitting until night in the entryway, where a cold draft blew through, Sugano maintained a name list to keep track of the many people coming and going. Soon, she fell sick. 寒風が吹き込む出入り口に夜まで座り、入れ替わりの激しい避難者の名簿もつけた。やがて体調を崩した。
Sugano returned home, she says, because some fellow evacuees had requested that people whose homes had not collapsed in the temblor or been swept away by tsunami to go home. With the elimination and merging of evacuation centers, space was at a premium. 菅野さんが帰宅したのは、統廃合で避難所が狭くなるため、一部の避難者から「自宅がある人は帰ってほしい」と言われたからだという。
Sugano felt dejected, as if her ties to her fellow survivors were being severed. 絆を断ち切られたようで、やるせなかった。
Back home, with none of the basic lifelines restored, she once again lived by the light of a lantern. 帰った自宅はライフラインが断たれ、暗がりの部屋にランタンをともした。
She felt hopeless, and pondered the possibility of taking refuge at a relative's home in the Kanto region. 心が折れそうだった。だが、関東の親戚宅に行こうと考えた時、ふと思った。
But she couldn't give up now. 「逃げてはいけない」。
Her fellow survivors, including young brothers who had lost both of their parents and a former classmate who had lost her husband remained at the evacuation center. 両親を亡くした幼い兄弟。夫を失った同級生。みな避難所に残る。
She had finally made emotional connections with these local residents. やっとできた古里の仲間だった。
Life by lantern lasted for two weeks. Until gas and water supplies were restored, Sugano lived on boxed meals from the convenience store. ランタン生活は２週間続き、ガスや水道の復旧までコンビニ弁当でしのいだ。
She also went to visit her fellow survivors at the evacuation center. そして、また避難所の仲間の顔を見に行った。
Recharging her cell phone was just an excuse for her to go. 「携帯を充電させて」。それは避難所に通う口実でもあった。
Today, even if it's one of the people who asked Sugano to leave the evacuation center, she stops to chat with them when she runs into them on the street. 今は、かつて自分に帰宅を求めた人とも、道で会えば声をかけ、近況を尋ね合う。
At her home, which was spared extensive damage, Sugano puts up friends who were not as lucky, and volunteers who come to the area to help with relief efforts. 菅野さんは自宅に、実家を流された友人やボランティアを泊めてもいる。
Some volunteers are arrogant. 横柄なボランティアもいる。
But she still lets them stay. でも泊める。
"It would be embarrassing not to be able to contribute at all because I'm hung up on the little things," Sugano says. " 「ちっちゃなことにとらわれて何もできないのは恥ずかしい。
The volunteers are all valuable people who have come here for the sake of Rikuzentakata. 誰もが高田のために来てくれた大切な人。
It's not a time to complain." 文句を言ってる時じゃない」
Sugano appears to be slowly rebuilding the bonds that were almost destroyed by the quake. 震災で切れかけた絆を、菅野さんはゆっくり結び直しているかのように見えてならない。
It was through the disaster, she says, that she's been able to become a true "Rikuzentakata citizen" again. 震災を経て「やっと陸前高田市民に戻れた」という。
◇被災者の言葉に込められた願い
There's another story I heard, from a store owner in the Sanriku area of the devastated Tohoku region. Immediately after the quake and tsunami hit, there was one business owner who did not participate in the searches for missing bodies that the local volunteer fire company undertook, and instead focused on rebuilding their own business. 被災者は苦楽を併せのんで生きている。三陸地方の商店主からもこんな話を聞いた。震災直後、消防団の遺体捜索に加わらない仲間がいた。 家業の再起に動いていた。
A chasm emerged between those who did and those who did not participate in the searches, with the former denouncing the latter for not wanting to "at least cover the bodies of fellow town residents with blankets." 「同じ町の人間なら遺体に毛布の一枚でもかけたくなるはずだ」とわだかまりが生まれた。
Sometime later, the business owner began to participate in nighttime patrols, and at a one-year anniversary memorial, prayed for the souls of the dead with all the others. だが、仲間はしばらくして夜警活動に頻繁に顔を出すようになった。３月１１日の慰霊式では、ともに黙とうをささげた。
"Right after the quake, different people had different priorities," says the abovementioned store owner. "Time will take care of everything in the end." 「震災直後、何が一番大切なのかは人によって違った。後は時間が解決してくれる」。商店主は今はそう思う。
In the past year, I've taken 30 notebooks worth of notes in the disaster areas. この１年間、私が被災地で書き留めたノートやメモ帳は３０冊になる。
But I still worry whether I've been able to achieve any sort of understanding of the suffering that survivors are going through. だが被災者のつらさを、どれだけ理解できたのか不安でならない。
With the words, "reality cannot be glossed over with pleasantries," what survivors are likely asking of me is to understand what's going on in the hard-hit areas and to share what's most important with the rest of the country and the world. 「きれい事ばかりじゃない」。そんな言葉には、きっと「ありのままの被災地を知り、本当に大切なことを伝えてほしい」との願いが込められているのだろう。
The disasters' survivors are reminding me, in other words, of what it means to be a journalist. 被災者から、改めて記者の原点を教わっている。
(By Yoshikazu Takeuchi, City News Department) 毎日新聞 2012年3月21日 東京朝刊
The Yomiuri Shimbun (Mar. 21, 2012) Hasty troop withdrawal from Afghanistan risky アフガン混迷 性急な国際部隊撤収は危険だ（3月20日付・読売社説）
The relationship of trust built up steadily by the United States and Europe with Afghanistan could break down at a moment's notice through thoughtless actions or unexpected incidents. 地道に積み重ねてきた米欧とアフガニスタンとの信頼関係も、心ない行為や突発的な事件によって一瞬に崩れ去る。
Many lives have been lost in retaliatory actions in Afghanistan, making the country's security situation more uncertain. This is the reality of Afghanistan as a battlefield. 報復行為との悪循環で多くの命が奪われ、治安の先行きは一層不透明になっていく。これが戦地アフガンの現状だ。
The Afghan situation has deteriorated since the turn of the year. 今年に入り、アフガン情勢は悪化するばかりである。
In January, a video clip of four U.S. marines urinating on the bodies of dead Taliban fighters was hosted on a website. １月、米海兵隊員が旧支配勢力タリバンの兵士の遺体に放尿する動画が投稿サイトで流れた。
An angry Afghan soldier killed four French soldiers belonging to the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF). Immediately after this, French President Nicolas Sarkozy said French troops would complete their withdrawal from Afghanistan at the end of 2013, one year earlier than scheduled. 怒ったアフガン軍兵士が、国際治安支援部隊（ＩＳＡＦ）傘下の仏軍兵士４人を殺害するや、サルコジ仏大統領は、仏軍戦闘部隊の撤収を予定より１年早め、「２０１３年末に完了」と発表した。
In February, it was revealed that Korans were among trash burned by ISAF members at a U.S. base. A furious Afghan killed two U.S. officers, who served as advisers to the Afghan Interior Ministry. All advisers to Afghan ministries were withdrawn from the ministries immediately. ２月には、ＩＳＡＦ要員がゴミと一緒にイスラム教の聖典コーランを燃やしたことが発覚した。反発したアフガン人が内務省顧問の米軍士官２人を殺害したため、各省顧問団は一斉に引き揚げた。
===
Distrust increasing
The series of incidents has increased distrust between Afghanistan and the United States and Europe. The schism yawned even wider on March 11 when civilians were massacred in the southern province of Kandahar. アフガン政府と米欧の間で不信の溝が広がったと言える。それをさらに決定的にしたのが、今月１１日、南部カンダハル州で起きた民間人虐殺事件だ。
There is no excuse for a U.S. staff sergeant to indiscriminately kill 16 civilians, including nine children. The U.S. government must investigate the case thoroughly in the hope of regaining Afghanistan's trust. 子供９人を含む１６人を無差別殺害した米軍２等軍曹の行為は釈明の余地がない。米政府は、事件を徹底的に究明し、容疑者を訴追して、信頼回復に努めるべきだ。
Following the massacre, the Taliban called off behind-the-scenes peace talks with Washington. This development is a cause for concern. 懸念されるのは、タリバンが、米政府と水面下で進めていた和平交渉を、民間人虐殺事件後、一方的に打ち切ったことだ。
U.S. President Barack Obama has pledged to withdraw U.S. combat forces from Afghanistan by the end of 2014. オバマ米大統領は、米軍戦闘部隊をアフガンから１４年末までに撤収させる、と公約している。
To realize a "responsible withdrawal," the Obama administration wants to promote peace and political reconciliation talks with the Taliban, which has its roots in the south of the country, while fostering and strengthening Afghanistan's security forces so the country can deal with its own public security. 「責任ある撤収」を実現するため、アフガン治安部隊を育成・強化して自立を促す一方で、南部に根を張るタリバンとの政治的な和解・和平を進める計画だ。
===
Bring Taliban back to talks
New ideas are needed to bring the Taliban back to the negotiating table. タリバンを再び対話の場に戻す上で新たな工夫が必要だろう。
A U.S. public opinion survey shows a majority of Americans want the troop withdrawal advanced because of the intensification of anti-U.S. sentiment and the increase in the number of U.S. soldiers killed and injured in Afghanistan. 米世論調査では、アフガンでの反米感情の高まりと米兵の死傷者増加に嫌気がさして、撤収の前倒しを求める声が多数を占める。
But if the United States impulsively pulls out its troops, it only will lead to the Taliban stepping up its military offensive to regain power. The international community must unite to prevent Afghanistan from becoming a hotbed for terrorism once again. だが、性急に戦闘部隊撤収に動けば、タリバンは政権奪還へ軍事攻勢を強めるだけである。アフガンを再びテロの温床に戻さぬよう国際社会の連携が求められる。
Due to the series of incidents by U.S. troops, the Afghan situation is on the brink of a serious crisis. To stop the Afghan security situation from deteriorating, Washington must redouble its military and diplomatic efforts. 相次ぐ米軍の失態で、アフガン情勢は大きな危機に瀕(ひん)している。治安の悪化を食い止めるため、軍事、外交両面での努力を倍加させる責任が米国にはある。
In July, Japan will host an international conference on assistance to Afghanistan, at which Afghan President Hamid Karzai will be invited to attend as a guest. Tokyo must step up its indirect and nonmilitary support to help stabilize the Afghan situation. 日本は７月にアフガン支援の国際会議を主催し、カルザイ大統領を招待している。アフガン安定化への側面支援も強めたい。
(From The Yomiuri Shimbun, March 20, 2012) （2012年3月20日01時25分 読売新聞）
The Yomiuri Shimbun (Mar. 19, 2012) Vicious cycle of low pay, business slump must end 春闘回答 景気と賃金の悪循環を断とう（3月18日付・読売社説）
The outcome of this year's spring labor offensive, known as "shunto," has been bleak, with major companies in such key industrial sectors as automobiles and electronics not offering any pay increases. Offers regarding biannual bonuses have also been harsh, falling below last year's levels at most companies. 今年の春闘は、自動車や電機など主要企業が賃上げを見送り、一時金も軒並み前年割れという厳しい結果となった。
Because of the historic appreciation of the yen and the deterioration of economic conditions overseas, the business performance of the nation's companies has been stagnant. 歴史的な円高と海外経済の悪化で、企業業績は低迷している。
Under the circumstances, many major trade unions had to abandon the idea of demanding a uniform pay scale increase, a base pay raise referred to as "base-up" in Japanese, to prioritize job security instead. このため、主要労組の多くが賃金改善を図るベースアップを要求せず、雇用確保を優先せざるを得なかった。
Curbs on wage hikes meant to keep companies in business and workers employed tend to dampen domestic demand, thus further worsening the national economy. This vicious cycle must be brought to an end at all costs. だが、会社と雇用を守るために賃金を切りつめた影響で内需が冷え、景気がさらに悪化する。そんな悪循環を断ち切らなければならない。
All businesses have a pile of knotty problems that have been left unresolved in this respect. 企業各社に難しい宿題が残されたと言えよう。
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Pay cuts looming large
In this year's shunto, labor came to the negotiating table intending to achieve regular pay raises based on employees' age and length of employment, known as "teiki shokyu" or "teisho." 今春闘で労働側は、年齢や勤続年数に応じて賃金を増やす定期昇給の維持だけは譲れないとして、交渉に臨んだ。
The Japan Business Federation (Keidanren), the country's largest employers' organization, expressed caution, saying it was no longer possible to consider implementation of teisho raises as a matter of course. Most major companies, however, have managed to accept labor demands for the teisho portion of pay raises. 経団連は「定期昇給の実施を当然視できなくなっている」と、強い危機感を示していたが、大半の大手企業が定昇確保に応じた。
Salaried people in the prime of their lives have seen their living expenses increase year after year, especially for the rearing and education of their children. It is reasonable and proper for management to have paid due attention to such realities. 働き盛りのサラリーマンは、育児や教育などの出費が毎年増えていく。労働者の実情に、経営側が配慮したことは妥当だろう。
The pay hikes offered by some companies in this year's shunto likely reflect corporate managers' desire to reward, even slightly, their employees' dedicated efforts to rebuild factories struck by the Great East Japan Earthquake and their perseverance in working late at night and early in the morning to save electricity. 東日本大震災で被災した工場の復旧作業や、節電のための深夜・早朝勤務で無理を重ねた社員に、少しでも報いようとした気持ちもうかがえる。
However, corporate managers are naturally limited in what they can do. とはいえ、企業努力には限界がある。
Electronics giant NEC Corp. presented in a meeting with its trade union on Thursday a set of proposals to cut ordinary employees' wages, including a 4 percent cut in monthly salaries for nine months. 電機大手のＮＥＣは１５日の労使協議で、９か月間の４％賃下げなど、一般社員の給与削減策を提案した。
Another major electronics firm, Sharp Corp., is also said to be considering a freeze on teisho raises for a certain period of time. シャープも定昇の一時凍結を検討中という。
Although the uptrend in the yen's exchange rate has paused in recent days, the Japanese currency is still too high from the perspective of export industries. 円相場の急騰は一服したが、輸出企業にとっては依然として厳しい円高水準だ。
The economies of Europe are expected to log negative growth this year, while the swift growth of such emerging economies as China seems to be weakening. The future of overseas demand is increasingly shrouded with uncertainty. 今年は欧州でマイナス成長が見込まれ、中国など新興国の高成長にも陰りが見える。外需の先行きには不透明感が強い。
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China, ROK formidable rivals
In addition, manufacturers in China and South Korea have become increasingly formidable rivals for their Japanese counterparts, in terms of price competitiveness and product quality. International competition is bound to keep intensifying. 中国や韓国のメーカーは、価格の安さだけでなく品質面でも強力なライバルになった。国際競争はさらに激しさを増すだろう。
However, positive signs have begun to emerge. The Nikkei Stock Average at the Tokyo Stock Exchange's First Section has climbed back above 10,000, spurred by such factors as improvement in the U.S. economy. 一方、明るい材料も出てきた。米国景気の好転などを背景に、東京市場の平均株価は、１万円の大台を回復した。
Major Japanese companies are recovering from the serious blow dealt by the March 11 disaster and are expected to post higher profits in fiscal 2012, compared to huge drops in revenues for this fiscal year that ends on March 31. 大震災の打撃を克服し、主要企業の業績は、今年度の大幅減益から、来年度は増益に転じる見込みだ。
We strongly hope they will have the momentum for a come-from-behind surge in business activity. 反転攻勢に弾みをつけることが期待される。
It is critically important for businesses to carve out private-sector fields with high growth potential to ensure greater corporate profitability. Now is a good time to create new demand on the strength of recovery projects from the March 11 earthquake and tsunami disaster, such as new energy-saving businesses and transportation systems. 何よりも、民間の創意工夫で成長分野を開拓し、企業の収益力を高めることが大切だ。震災復興は省エネや新交通など、新規需要を発掘する好機でもある。
The government, for its part, must flexibly support corporate endeavors, through such means as low-interest loans as part of industrial policy and tax breaks on capital investments. 政府は、低利の政策融資や投資減税などで、企業の努力に機動的な支援をしてもらいたい。
(From The Yomiuri Shimbun, March 18, 2012) （2012年3月18日01時40分 読売新聞）
The Yomiuri Shimbun (Mar. 18, 2012) North Korea's 'satellite' launch a threat to Japan 北朝鮮発射予告 「衛星」でも看過はできない（3月17日付・読売社説）
North Korea has announced it will launch a rocket carrying a "Kwangmyongsong-3" earth observation satellite between April 12 and 16. 北朝鮮が、４月１２日から１６日の間に地球観測衛星「光明星３号」を打ち上げると発表した。
Friday's surprise announcement came only about two weeks after the United States and North Korea reached a deal under which Pyongyang agreed to a moratorium on nuclear tests and long-range missile launches as well as uranium enrichment activities in Yongbyon. 約２週間前、「核実験と長距離ミサイルの発射、寧辺でのウラン濃縮活動の一時停止」で、米国と合意したと明らかにしたばかりだ。
The satellite launch notice is tantamount to North Korea saying yes and no in the same breath. We think North Korea has exploited loopholes left open by the Washington-Pyongyang deal. その舌の根も乾かぬうちの衛星発射予告である。米朝合意の詰めの甘さを突いた、と言える。
North Korea says it will launch a "rocket." Although Pyongyang may want to avoid saying it will launch a "missile," the technological principles underpinning both are the same. The planned liftoff is presumably aimed at enhancing the performance of North Korea's missiles. 北朝鮮は、発射するのはロケットと称している。ミサイルではない、と言いたいのだろうが、原理は同じだ。発射にはミサイルの性能向上を図る狙いがあろう。
April 15, a date that falls during the planned five-day period for the launch, marks the centenary of the birth of North Korea's founder Kim Il Sung. If North Korea successfully launches a domestically manufactured satellite before South Korea does, it would be a major achievement credited to Kim Jong Un, North Korea's young, third-generation hereditary leader. The satellite launch is unmistakably designed with this political objective in mind. 打ち上げ予告期間中の４月１５日は、故金日成主席の生誕１００年にあたる。韓国に先んじて、自力で人工衛星打ち上げに成功すれば、３代世襲の若い指導者、正恩氏の大きな功績となる。そんな政治的な目的もあるに違いない。
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Breach of U.N. resolution
Iran, which North Korea closely worked with on missile development, has successfully launched three satellites since 2009. With technological assistance from Iran, North Korea's upcoming launch has a chance of success. ミサイル開発で深い関係にあるイランが２００９年以来、３回も衛星打ち上げを成功させている。その技術協力を得て、今回初めて成功する可能性もなくはない。
Even a satellite launch would violate the U.N. resolution banning North Korea's use of ballistic missile technology. We strongly urge North Korea to exercise self-restraint and cancel the planned launch. 衛星打ち上げであっても、弾道ミサイル技術を使っての発射を禁じた国連決議に違反する。発射の自制を北朝鮮に強く求めたい。
Pyongyang may believe the rocket launch would not equate to reneging on the latest U.S.-North Korean deal. 北朝鮮は、米朝合意は反古(ほご)にならないと思っているのだろう。
It appears North Korea may have arrogantly calculated that the United States would not raise a fuss about the rocket launch and it will get the U.S. food aid as agreed, as long as Pyongyang quickly allows International Atomic Energy Agency officials to monitor the suspension of uranium enrichment activities at the Yongbyon nuclear facility. 寧辺でウラン濃縮活動の停止を監視する国際原子力機関（ＩＡＥＡ）要員を早期に受け入れれば、米国は打ち上げを問題にはせず、食糧支援も得られる、との身勝手な計算があるのではないか。
Three years ago, after North Korea gave notice that it was preparing to launch a "satellite," it went ahead with the plan while ignoring warnings from countries including Japan, the United States and South Korea. 北朝鮮は３年前に「衛星」打ち上げを予告した時も、日本や米国、韓国などの警告を無視して発射を強行した。
Pyongyang will most likely carry out the launch unless bad weather intervenes. It will be a huge step forward for North Korea's missile development program. 今回も天候不順でない限り、中止はするまい。ミサイル開発は大きく進むことになる。
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Accurate missiles a menace
The United States has been nervous about the risk of North Korea possessing a long-range missile capable of reaching U.S. soil and expanding the range of its arsenal. For Japan, which already falls within range of North Korea's medium-range Rodong missiles, increased precision of their weapons is a huge menace. 米国が神経をとがらせるのは、本土に届く長距離ミサイルの開発であり、射程延伸だ。一方、すでに中距離ミサイル・ノドンの射程内にある日本にとっては、精度向上が大きな脅威だ。
It is critical that Japan and the United States strongly demand North Korea put into force a moratorium on launches not only of long-range missiles but also of its medium-range ones. 北朝鮮に対し、長距離ミサイルに限らず中距離ミサイルの発射も一時停止するよう強く求めることが、日米両国には重要である。
Three years ago, North Korea fired a missile toward the Japanese archipelago from a missile base on the Sea of Japan coast. To deal with the situation, Japan set up a crisis management task force to prepare for a contingency in which the missile fell on Japanese territory, and went on high alert by deploying Aegis-equipped destroyers of the Maritime Self-Defense Force and SDF ground-to-air missile defense units. ３年前、北朝鮮は日本海側の基地から日本列島に向けてミサイルを発射した。日本は国内に落下する万一の事態に備えて、自衛隊のイージス艦や地対空誘導弾部隊を展開させる警戒体制を敷いた。
North Korea has said the upcoming launch will be aimed southward from a base on the Yellow Sea. The rocket will probably not pass over the Japanese archipelago, but the government must stay alert and vigilant against North Korea's moves. 今回、北朝鮮は、黄海側の基地から南に向けて発射するという。日本列島の上空は飛行しないはずだが、政府は北朝鮮の動きを注視し、警戒を怠ってはならない。
(From The Yomiuri Shimbun, March 17, 2012) （2012年3月17日01時21分 読売新聞）
(Mainichi Japan) March 18, 2012 Kaleidoscope of the Heart: Don't be afraid to seek help when you feel desperate 香山リカのココロの万華鏡：ＳＯＳの声をあげて ／東京
The number of suicides in 2011 stood at over 30,000, according to National Police Agency statistics. Although this figure marked a slight decline on the previous year, it remains alarming. Of particular note is the increase of suicides among students. 警察庁の統計によると、昨年の自殺者は減少傾向にあるものの、依然として３万人を超えていたことがわかった。とくに目立つのは、「学生・生徒」に分類される若い人の自殺の増加だ。
In comparison to the preceding year, in 2011 some 101 more young people took their own lives. For the first time since authorities began keeping records in 1978, the number of suicides committed by young people surpassed 1,000. 前年より１０１人も増え、統計を取り始めた１９７８年以降、初めて１０００人を超えた。
This is extremely regrettable. I am aware that in each of these cases those young people must have had various concerns. However, I believe that regardless of the circumstances, if they had sought help from those around them and if they had spent more time on their problems, they would have been able to resolve the grave issues that had been eating them up inside. 本当に残念だ。それぞれに事情はあったのだろう。でも、どんな問題でもまわりの人の力も借りながら、時間をかけて取り組めば、必ず解決できたはずなのに、と思う。
What exactly is missing with these young people? Is it an ability to face problems? I don't think so. では、何が欠けていたのだろう。本人の「問題に向き合う力」なのか。それは違うはずだ。
I believe that all youth have the power to overcome difficulties and to somehow find their way. However, if there's no support from other people, it is somewhat difficult to access this power. どんな若者にも、困難な状況に立ち向かい、自分なりの道を見つける力が必ず備わっている。ただそれは周囲からのサポートがなければ、なかなか発揮されないものなのだ。
Children and young people have the general tendency to think that whenever something bad happens to them, it is mostly their fault. 子どもや若者は、一般的に自分に問題が起きたとき、「自分が悪いからこうなった」と思い込む傾向がある。
For example, it is very common for small children to think something along the lines of "I haven't been a good child and that is why mom and dad decided to separate" when their parents decide on a divorce -- based on their personal issues. There are some children who go as far as to think that it is better for them to be gone, believing that it is all their fault. たとえば親どうしが自分たちの事情で離婚しても、幼い子どもは「ボクがいい子じゃないからパパとママは別れた」と信じていることがよくある。中には、「悪い子のボクなんか、いなくなったほうがいいんだ」と考えるようになる子どももいる。
In such cases, adults should continuously tell the children that it is not their fault and that they are needed. おとなは、「あなたのせいじゃない」「君はみんなから必要とされているんだよ」と言い続けてフォローしなければならない。
However, recently there have been cases in which adults have failed to offer such words, based on the belief that children should not be spoiled. There are some who not only refrain from comforting children or young people, but would even try to do the opposite -- make them feel personally responsible for the problems that are happening. ところが、最近は「子どもを甘やかすな」という考えのもと、そのフォローがない場合がある。それどころか、「これはあなたの責任だ」と子どもや若者にも自己責任を突きつけるおとなもいる。
Needless to say, if a child or a young person is clearly responsible for a situation, adults need to maintain a firm stance toward them. However, in other cases, telling children and youth to deal with the situation by themselves and emotionally pushing them away will do nothing but push them to the edge. もちろん、問題の原因がはっきりしている場合は毅然（きぜん）とした態度で接することも必要だが、そうでない場合にまで「自分で何とかしなさい」と若い人たちを突き放すのは、彼らを追い込むことにしかならない。
Every child and every young person is important, not only for their families but also for society as a whole. Adults should be ready to support them in a variety of ways. どの子どももどの若者も、家族にとっても社会にとっても、宝物のように大切な存在だ。おとなは彼らのために、あらゆるサポートをする準備がある。
When youth feel they need help, they should not be afraid to ask for help. This message, however, never reached the over 1,000 young people who took their own lives last year. 困ったときには遠慮なく、ＳＯＳの声をあげてほしい。そういうメッセージが、自分で命を絶った１０００人を超える「学生・生徒」たちには届かなかったのだ。
If there is a child or a young person among you who feels helpless, please do not hesitate to seek help from an adult near you. そして、いま「自分じゃどうにもならない」と思っている子どもや若者がいたら、となりのおとなに「助けて」と声をかけてみてください。
If that person refuses to help you, don't give up and try a second and third person. 最初のおとながこたえてくれなくても、あきらめないでふたり目、３人目にも助けを求めてほしい。
At some point, I am sure, there will be someone who will hear you and help you figure out a solution to your problems. 必ずあなたの声に耳を傾け、いっしょに考えてくれるおとながいるはずだから。
The Yomiuri Shimbun (Mar. 17, 2012) Downfall of Chongqing head a sign of China's power struggle 重慶トップ解任 次期体制作りへの権力闘争だ（3月16日付・読売社説）
On Thursday, the day after the close of the annual session of China's legislature, the National People's Congress, it was announced via the official Xinhua News Agency that Communist Party Politburo member Bo Xilai had been removed from his office as party secretary for Chongqing, the top post in the nation's most populous municipality. 中国の全国人民代表大会（全人代＝国会）閉幕翌日の１５日、新華社通信が中国最大の都市・重慶市のトップ、薄煕来・共産党政治局員の市党委員会書記解任を報じた。
Bo, whose father was formerly a vice premier, is known as an influential leader among his fellow "princelings," children of past or current high-ranking party officials. 元副首相を父に持つ薄氏は、党の高級幹部の子女グループ「太子党」の有力指導者だ。
In the past Bo had assumed such key posts as head of the northeastern province of Liaoning and commerce minister. He was therefore seen as a favorite for promotion to a seat on the Politburo's Standing Committee, China's highest decision-making body, at the National Congress of the Communist Party late this autumn. 東北部の遼寧省長や商務相などの要職を歴任し、今秋の共産党大会で政治局常務委員へ昇格して、最高指導部入りすると取り沙汰されていた。
Close attention should be paid to the impact of Bo's removal on the formulation of new leadership under Vice President Xi Jinping, another prominent princeling, who is expected to be elected to the posts of party general secretary and president. 今回の人事が、同じ太子党の中心人物で、次の党総書記・国家主席に選出される予定の習近平国家副主席の体制作りに、どう影響するのかを注視したい。
The direct reason for Bo's axing is believed to be his supervisory responsibility for an incident in which his close associate, a former police chief of Chongqing, fled to the U.S. consulate in Chengdu, Sichuan Province, in early February and was then detained by state security officers. 薄氏の解任は、直接的には、腹心の前公安局長が四川省成都市の米国総領事館に駆け込み、その後中国当局に拘束された事件で、監督責任を問われたといえる。
Bo had used the police chief to carry out a large-scale crackdown on organized crime in Chongqing. He attracted strong attention nationwide because of his anticorruption stance, relentlessly punishing high-ranking officials of Chongqing's Public Security Bureau and others for their cozy relations with the city's gangs. この腹心を使って、薄氏は重慶で、組織暴力団の大々的な摘発を行った。暴力団と癒着していた公安局幹部ら当局者も容赦せず、腐敗一掃に取り組む姿勢が全国的に注目を集めていた。
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Echoes of historic conflict?
It was rumored, however, that his drives against organized crime and corruption were motivated chiefly by his desire to oust his political rivals under the guise of eradicating corruption. Bo's high-handed political style also reportedly provoked adverse reactions from within the leadership of President Hu Jintao. だが、汚職根絶を口実にした政敵の追い落としではないかとのうわさや、薄氏の強引ともいわれる政治手法が、胡錦濤政権内で反発を招いていたとされる。
Premier Wen Jiabao, in a press conference at the end of the latest National People's Congress, made reference to the Chongquing incident, noting, "Lessons must be drawn seriously," hinting that Bo would be responsible. 温家宝首相は、全人代の閉幕にあたっての記者会見で重慶事件に触れ、「真剣に事件の教訓をくみ取るべきだ」と、薄氏の責任を追及する姿勢を見せていた。
Wen went on to say, "Without reform of the political system, there will be no prospect for thorough reform of the economic system, possibly creating the danger of a recurrence of a historic tragedy like the Cultural Revolution." 温首相は「政治体制改革の成功がなければ、経済体制改革も徹底できず、文化大革命のような歴史的悲劇が再び起きる恐れもある」とも語った。
Although what Wen meant to convey by such remarks is not yet clear, it was extraordinary for the premier to refer to the days of the Cultural Revolution. 真意は不明だが、文革への言及は極めて異例だ。
This could indicate signs are emerging of a power struggle within the party leadership, somewhat similar to the days of the Cultural Revolution. Ahead of the transition in which the makeup of China's top leadership will be reconfigured at the coming party convention, backstage maneuvering between princelings and such factions as the Communist Youth League, led by President Hu, may be under way. There may also be a schism among the princelings themselves. 当時のような権力闘争の兆しが党指導部にあることをうかがわせる。指導部が入れ替わる党大会を前に、胡総書記率いる「共産主義青年団」派と太子党などの駆け引きがあるのだろう。太子党内の対立といった側面もある。
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Mountain of hard tasks
At the threshold of an important generational changeover in China's leadership, the latest session of the National People's Congress approved lowering the country's growth target to 7.5 percent from a longstanding annual growth goal of 8 percent, signifying that China is now in favor of shifting its key economic policy away from continuation of high growth to balanced, sustainable growth. 世代交代の重要な転換期にあたり、今回の全人代では、経済成長率目標を従来の８％から７・５％へと引き下げ、高度成長から安定成長路線へとかじを切った。
From the standpoint of Japan, it is definitely desirable to see the Chinese economy maintain growth and achieve stability without losing steam. 日本にとっても、中国経済が失速せず成長を維持し、安定することが望ましい。
Difficulties in China's domestic politics, however, have kept deepening, including widening disparities between rich and poor. だが、貧富の格差の拡大をはじめ内政の困難さは増す一方である。
The Chinese administration has been narrowly managing to suppress the violent upheaval that has frequently broken out in various regions of the country. 各地で多発する暴動を政権は力で抑え込んでいるのが現状だ。
How should Beijing build a framework conducive to pushing ahead with its political and economic reform tasks? 政治や経済の改革を推進するための体制をどう構築するのか。
This is the challenge of utmost significance that must be addressed by China's new leadership to be headed by Xi. それが習氏の直面する重い課題だ。
(From The Yomiuri Shimbun, March 16, 2012) （2012年3月16日01時22分 読売新聞）
(Mainichi Japan) March 15, 2012 The future of nuclear industry-dependent towns is now 記者の目：震災１年 脱原発後の地域の具体像を＝柳楽未来
◇全国最多の「原発地域」若狭湾
There are 14 nuclear reactors on the shores of Wakasa Bay in Fukui Prefecture, the largest concentration in the country. Until Feb. 21, when the last of the 14 reactors still running was shut down for regular maintenance, this clutch of reactors supplied half the electricity used by the entire Kansai region. 福島第１原発事故直後の昨年３月下旬、全国最多の原発１４基が立地する福井県の若狭湾岸に赴任した。先月２１日で１４基全てが停止するまで、関西の消費電力の半分を供給した地域だ。
Across Japan, the anti-nuclear winds are blowing strong. In the areas around the plants themselves, however, there are equally vehement voices calling for the continuation of nuclear power. Meanwhile, anti-nuclear citizens' groups near the power stations have begun to hunt for a "realistic route" to a post-nuclear power economy in their communities. 全国的に原発への逆風が強まるなか、地元では原発維持を望む声が圧倒的に強い。脱原発を求める地元の市民団体も、将来の町づくりを視野に「現実路線」を模索し始めた。
However, if we see the pro-nuclear faction as simple "nuclear money" addicts, hungry for the jobs and subsidies that come with hosting a plant, then all useful discussion on the issue comes to a grinding halt. だが、原発維持を望む声を単純に「雇用や交付金などの“原発マネー”目当て」と見ると、原発を巡る議論は止まってしまう。
I was dispatched to the Wakasa Bay area in late March 2011, soon after the Great East Japan Earthquake and tsunami and the ensuing meltdowns at the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear plant. What I want people to understand about this debate is that, behind local calls for nuclear power's continuation are deep misgivings over the future of the community. In fact, it is hard for many of these people to see any future at all. 「原発維持」を望む背景には、脱原発後の地域の姿が描けない現状があることを知ってほしい。
◇財政規模巨大化、繁栄の光景なく
Some 10 kilometers from the center of Mihama, Fukui Prefecture, and 1 kilometer from Kansai Electric Power Co.'s Mihama nuclear plant, is the district of Takenami, home to a cluster of guest houses frequented mostly by plant workers. When I first visited the area, I was taken aback by how close the Miyama plant's three reactors were, their looming bulk weighing down the landscape between the homes and the sea. 同県美浜町中心部から約１０キロ、関西電力美浜原発からは約１キロ。同町竹波地区には、主に原発作業員を泊める民宿が点在する。初めて訪れた時、円柱形の原子炉３基が海を挟んですぐ目の前に見え、その、あまりの存在感の大きさに驚いた。
"Nuclear workers come and stay at the guest houses, and young people were employed by the power company," says one 75-year-old local farmer. "This place used to be a backwater, but thanks to the nuclear plant it really developed." 農業を営む元町議の山本善昭さん（７５）は「民宿には作業員が泊まり、若者は電力会社に就職した。ここはへき地だったが、原発のおかげで地域が発展した」と話す。
Until I took up my position in Fukui Prefecture, I had always seen communities around power stations as just getting fat off nuclear money. Certainly, the nuclear subsidies for Mihama have made an enormous difference to the town's finances, perhaps best represented by its new, 2.7 billion yen town hall. 赴任まで、原発がある「立地自治体」には「原発マネーで潤う地域」というイメージがあった。確かに、巨額の交付金で町の財政は巨大化し、美浜町中心部には総工費約２７億円の美浜町役場もできた。
Mihama's Takenami district, however, does not look like it has seen much of that supposed river of nuclear cash. The two-lane prefectural road linking the district to the center of town is often cut by landslides. The community center designated a temporary shelter in case of a nuclear accident is the district's only reinforced concrete building, but it is beginning to show its age, and has also never been earthquake-proofed. Many of the locals are elderly, and the district looks no different than any other sparsely populated rural area. The population of Mihama as a whole has dropped by about 20 percent over the last 40 years. だが、竹波地区が栄えているようには見えない。地区と町中心部を結ぶ片側１車線の県道は、土砂崩れで頻繁に通行止めになる。原発事故時に一時避難場所となる公民館は地区で唯一の鉄筋造りだが、老朽化し耐震工事もされていない。高齢者が多く、集落の風景は他の過疎地と変わらない。町全体の人口もこの４０年で約２割減少した。
So, has the nuclear plant actually helped Mihama develop? 原発で本当に地域は発展したのか。
"It's true the population has fallen," says the 75-year-old farmer. "So I have to admit I've wondered whether the plant really gave us explosive advantages." 山本さんは「確かに人口は減った。果たして原発が地域振興の起爆剤になったのかという思いはある」と複雑な胸中を語った。
In January this year, the central government laid down a 40-year maximum service life for nuclear reactors. If this limit is strictly applied, the Mihama plant's three reactors will all be shuttered within five years. For a town benefiting so much from nuclear industry-related subsidies and employment, this would mean a complete shift in the very nature of Mihama's existence. However, the town has yet to stir itself in search of an alternative future, and local calls for the continuation of nuclear power roll on unchanged. 政府は１月、「原発の寿命」を４０年とする原則を打ち出した。厳格に適用されれば、美浜町の原発３基は５年以内に廃炉になる。原発関連の交付金や雇用が多い同町にとっては、町のあり方を変えざるを得ない状況だ。だが、新たな地域の姿を模索する動きはほとんどなく、「原発維持」を求める姿勢は変わらない。
At a January meeting between local residents and Kansai Electric representatives, Mihama residents expressed mixed feelings about nuclear power in the wake of the Fukushima meltdowns. 「原発がある不安、なくなる不安の両面がある」。１月、関電と地元の懇談会で、住民側は福島の事故後の複雑な心境を吐露した。
"We're worried about nuclear energy, but at the same time we're worried about losing it," some said. The Fukushima nuclear disaster spread radioactive materials far and wide, contaminating fields and doing severe damage to the agricultural sector. The farming representative in the local delegation expressed deep misgivings over the dangers of nuclear power, but at the same time, "Mihama's farms earn very little income, and about 30 percent of farming family members work at the plants. So we hope very much that the reactors will go back on-line," he said. 福島では、田畑にも放射性物質が飛来し、農業が甚大な被害を受けた。懇談会に参加した地元農協の代表は原発の危険性に不安を示しながらも、「農業所得の少ない町だから、農家の３０％は原発に働きに出ている。できるだけ原発を再稼働してほしい」と訴えた。
◇温度差広がる都市部と地元
Currently, petitions against nuclear energy are proliferating across Japan's urban centers, and millions of signatures have been collected so far. Anti-nuclear activism in local areas, however, has been much weaker. When I asked people in around Mihama about the issue, many told me that "nuclear power is scary, but I have family and neighbors working in nuclear-related jobs, so it's difficult for me to say I'm for abandoning nuclear energy." 今、都市部を中心に脱原発を求める署名活動が広がり、そこでは、数百万人分の署名が集まる。一方、立地地域での動きは低調だ。地元で取材をしていると「原発は怖いが、親族や近所に原発関連の仕事をしている人が多く、脱原発とは言いにくい」という声もよく聞く。
The No. 1 reactor at the Mihama plant is just over 40 years old, and in that time nuclear power has become deeply entwined with the lives and livelihoods of the townspeople. Even if Japan gives up on nuclear power generation, neither the plant buildings themselves nor the locals' connections to the industry will disappear overnight. Then there is all that spent nuclear fuel still stored at the facilities. The gap in sentiment about nuclear power between cities and the countryside is growing ever wider. 美浜原発１号機の運転開始から４０年あまり。原発は人々の暮らしに密接に結びついてきた。脱原発が実現しても、原発の施設そのものや、原発と暮らしとの結びつきがすぐ消せるわけではない。原発から出た使用済み核燃料も敷地内に残る。「脱原発」という理念だけでは、都市部と地元との温度差は広がる一方だ。
Teruyuki Matsushita, 63, head of the local anti-nuclear group "Mori to kurasu donguri club," has begun a serious look at what route the town might take if nuclear power came to an end. He is in consultation with experts on initiatives to connect local employment with keeping spent nuclear fuel in the town for the next 20 to 30 years, without expanding nuclear facilities. He plans to have proposals ready for submission to the mayor by May this year. 脱原発を目指して活動を続ける美浜町の市民団体「森と暮らすどんぐり?楽部」代表の松下照幸さん（６３）は今年に入り、現実路線を模索し始めた。原発を増設せず、使用済み核燃料を町内で２０～３０年保管し、地域の雇用につなげる案を識者らと協議中だ。５月までに政策としてまとめ、町長に提案する計画だ。
For Matsushita, who has been pointing out the dangers of nuclear power for many years, this was a bitter choice to make, and he has taken plenty of flak from other anti-nuclear activists for moving in this direction. However, "what will happen to the town if nuclear power just disappears," he says. "If we propose a concrete and realistic policy for alternatives to the nuclear industry, we should be able to ease the region into something different." 長年、原発の危険性を指摘してきた松下さんにとっては苦渋の決断だ。他の原発反対派からの批判もあるという。だが、「突然、原発が無くなったらこの町がどうなるのか。原発に代わる具体的で現実的な政策を提案すれば、ゆるやかに地域は変われるはずだ」と話す。
We can all see the dangers of nuclear power clearly now, after the Fukushima meltdowns. This year, Japan will engage in a national debate over the next step to be taken in the country's decades-long dance with nuclear energy. A concrete vision of the future of local areas now dependent on nuclear power must be a part of that debate. If we can hammer out that vision, then we can deal with the needs of both sides of the issue -- the local areas hosting nuclear plants and the electricity-consuming urban areas that were the raison d'etre for the plants themselves -- in the same arena. If we can do that, then surely the debate on Japan's energy future will get that much easier. 福島原発事故で、私たちは原発の危険性をまざまざと見せつけられた。今年は、原発とどう向き合っていくのか、国民的議論が求められる年になる。議論にあたって国は、脱原発後の立地地域の具体像を示すべきだ。それがあれば、原発の立地地域と原発が生む電気の消費地（都市部）が同じ土俵に上がれる。その場合、将来の日本のエネルギーのあり方について議論するのも、それほど難しくなくなるだろう。
(Mainichi Japan) March 14, 2012 Editorial: Creation of new nuclear regulatory agency no stage for political grandstanding 社説：原子力規制庁 実質的な議論を早く
It is now looking much more likely that the establishment of a new nuclear regulatory agency will be delayed. The Democratic Party of Japan-led administration had planned to get the new body off the ground on April 1, but opposition parties have indicated they will fight the passage of bills underpinning the agency when they come up for debate in the Diet. 「原子力規制庁」の設置が遅れる見通しが強くなってきた。政府は４月１日の発足をめざしてきたが、野党が関連法案の審議入りに難色を示しているためだ。
The new agency's predecessor is the Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency (NISA), a part of the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry -- a ministry directly involved in the promotion of nuclear power. After the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear plant meltdowns in March last year, the government decided that NISA's position under the industry ministry was a serious flaw in Japan's nuclear safety regime and moved to abolish it in favor of the new regulatory agency. 規制庁は東京電力福島第１原発の重大事故を教訓に政府が設置を決めた。原発事故の背景には原子力の安全規制を担う原子力安全・保安院が原発推進の立場にある経済産業省に属していた弊害がある。
Surely anyone would admit that splitting NISA from the industry ministry and combining its brief with other regulatory duties is an important step. Not only is the conflict of interest inherent in the current state of affairs obvious, it also goes without saying that a new regulatory body must be put in place as soon as possible. 保安院を経産省から分離し、他の規制業務とともに一元化することの重要性は誰もが認めるところだ。問題が明らかになっている以上、新しい規制組織をできるだけ速やかに発足させる必要があることは論をまたない。
The real issue is how that body will be set up. The Cabinet has decided on a bill to establish it as an external bureau of the Ministry of the Environment. Some members of the opposition, however, have argued strongly for the agency to be a separate committee, which would have a great deal of independence under Article 3 of the National Government Organization Law. 問題はその組織の位置づけだ。政府は環境省の外局として設置する法案を閣議決定している。これに対し野党の中には、国家行政組織法第３条に基づく独立性の高い３条委員会にすべきだ、との声がある。
The government has made much of the merits of putting the new agency under the environment ministry, saying that crisis management would be much easier than if the body was set up as an independent committee. On the other hand, there are valid worries over whether an agency under the ministry could, when needed, make truly independent, objective judgments contrary to government expectations. The government needs to address this concern in a concrete manner. 政府は環境省に置くことのメリットとして、委員会形式に比べ緊急時の危機管理がしやすいという点を挙げている。ただ、環境省に置かれた規制庁が、いかに政府の思惑から独立した客観的判断を下せるか、懸念があるのは確かだ。政府はより具体的に説明する必要がある。
There is also a pressing need to focus on how a revamped Nuclear Safety Commission of Japan (NSC) will help guarantee the incipient regulatory agency's independence. It must furthermore be noted that the environment ministry has no crisis management experience, which is a source of some worry. 新たに設ける「原子力安全調査委員会」についても、独立性の確保にどのように寄与できるのか、さらに詰める必要がある。危機管理についても、環境省には経験がなく、不安は残る。
On the other hand, we must not jump to the conclusion that setting up the new agency, as the opposition suggests, as an Article 3 committee like the Fair Trade Commission would necessarily guarantee absolute independence. Whether an external bureau of the environment ministry or a separate commission, the points truly at issue are how it is built, how it is managed, and how it will retain important staff. 一方で、野党側が主張するように公正取引委員会のような３条委員会にすれば無条件で独立性が確保されると考えるのも短絡だろう。どちらにしても大事なのは、人材の確保と組織の運営だ。
We also call on the opposition not just to try and slow debate on the bills underpinning the new agency, but to initiate substantive discussion on this important issue. Opposition parties must explain how the Article 3 committee they favor would be put together, and how that would safeguard the new body's independence of action. They must also tell us in definite terms what structure they see for the committee that would allow it to overrule government policy in a crisis. 野党側も、単に審議入りを遅らせるのではなく、実質的な議論を進めてほしい。３条委員会にした場合にどのような組織によって真の独立性を担保するのか。緊急時の危機管理についても政府案より優れた組織をどう構築するのか、具体的に示してもらいたい。
It is also possible that the delay in creating the new regulatory agency will also affect decisions on restarting nuclear reactors idled for regular maintenance. On March 13, the NSC completed approval of the results of stress tests on the No. 3 and 4 reactors at the Oi nuclear plant -- conducted by NISA, which we have already seen has a direct conflict of interest. 規制庁の設置の遅れは原発の再稼働の判断にも影響を与える可能性がある。原子力安全委員会の検討会は１３日、大飯原発３、４号機のストレステスト（安全評価）を妥当とした保安院の審査結果の確認作業を終えた。
Of course, under the stress test process, the decision on restarting reactors can be made at the political level. However, it's just impossible at this point to ask us to trust NISA and the incumbent version of the NSC. 手続き上は、規制庁の発足前でも再稼働を政治判断することができる。しかし、旧来の保安院や原子力安全委の判断を信頼せよというのは無理な注文だ。
At this moment, faced with the frankly nerve-wracking technology of nuclear power, deliberations and decisions on its future must not be delayed by political gamesmanship. We call on the governing and opposition parties together to move deliberations on this issue forward. 今も不安を抱える原発を前に政治的な取引で審議が遅れることがあってはならない。与野党共に審議を進めるために最善を尽くすべきだ。
Mainichi scoop on Mongolia's nuclear plans highlights problems in dealing with waste 特集：ボーン・上田記念国際記者賞、毎日新聞・会川晴之記者に 盲点「核のゴミ」問う
Coverage on a secret document detailing an international nuclear waste disposal site that Japan and the United States had planned to build in Mongolia, for which I won the Vaughan-Ueda Memorial Prize for 2011, has highlighted the difficulties in dealing with radioactive waste.
The secret plan surfaced as the crisis at the tsunami-hit Fukushima No. 1 Nuclear Power Plant has stirred controversy over the pros and cons of nuclear power.
I learned that the Japanese Economy, Trade and Industry Ministry and the U.S. Department of Energy had been secretly negotiating the plan with Mongolia since the autumn of 2010 when I interviewed a U.S. nuclear expert on the phone on April 9, 2011.
"Would you please help the Mongolian people who know nothing about the plan. Mongolia is friendly to Japan, Japanese media certainly has influence on the country," the expert said.
I flew to Ulan Bator, the capital of Mongolia, on April 22, and met with then Ambassador Undraa Agvaanluvsan with the Mongolian Foreign Ministry in charge of negotiations on the plan, at the VIP room of a cafe.
Before I asked the ambassador some questions getting to the heart of the plan, we asked my interpreter to leave the room just as we had agreed in advance. The way the ambassador talked suddenly became more flexible after I stopped the recorder and began asking her questions in English. She explained the process and the aim of the negotiations and even mentioned candidate sites for the disposal facility.
After the interview that lasted for more than two hours, the ambassador said she heard of a similar plan in Australia and asked me to provide Mongolia with any information on it, highlighting the Mongolian government's enthusiasm about overcoming competition with Australia in hosting the disposal facility.
I subsequently visited three areas where the Mongolian government was planning to build nuclear power stations. Japan and the United States were to provide nuclear power technology to Mongolia in return for hosting the disposal facility. I relied on a global positioning system for driving in the vast, grassy land to head to the sites. All the three candidate sites, including a former air force base about 200 kilometers southeast of Ulan Bator, are all dry land. No source of water indispensable for cooling down nuclear reactors, was found at any of these sites and a lake at one of the sites had dried up.
Experts share the view that nuclear plants cannot be built in areas without water. I repeatedly asked Mongolian officials responsible for nuclear power policy how they can build nuclear plants at the sites without water. However, they only emphasized that all the three sites meet the safety standards for nuclear plants set by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).
An Economy, Trade and Industry Ministry official, who is familiar with Mongolian affairs, said, "Mongolians are smart but their knowledge of atomic energy isn't that good ..."
In other words, Japan and the United States proposed to build a spent nuclear waste disposal facility in Mongolia, a country that has little knowledge of nuclear energy.
In 2010, the administration of then Prime Minister Naoto Kan released a new growth strategy with special emphasis on exports of nuclear power plants. However, there is no facility in Japan that can accept spent nuclear fuel, putting itself at a disadvantage in its competition with Russia, France and other countries that have offered to sell nuclear plants and accept radioactive waste as a package.
A Japanese negotiator said, "The plan to build a disposal facility in Mongolia was aimed at making up for our disadvantage in selling nuclear power stations."
The United States wanted to find another country that will accept spent nuclear fuel that can be converted to materials to develop nuclear weapons in a bid to promote its nuclear non-proliferation policy.
Both the Japanese and U.S. ideas are understandable. However, as Mongolia has just begun developing uranium mines and has not benefited from atomic energy, I felt that it would be unreasonable to shift radioactive waste to Mongolia without explaining the plan to the Mongolian people.
During my stay in Mongolia, I learned that many people there donated money equal to their daily wages to victims of the March 11, 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake. I was also present when the Mongolian people invited disaster evacuees from Miyagi Prefecture to their country. I could not help but shed tears when seeing the Mongolian people's goodwill. My interpreter even joked, "You cry too much."
I did not feel a sense of exaltation from learning the details of the secret negotiations on the disposal site. I rather felt ashamed of being a citizen of Japan, which was promoting the plan.
The Fukushima nuclear crisis that broke out following the March 11, 2011 quake and tsunami has sparked debate on overall energy policy. Some call for an immediate halt to nuclear plants while others insist that such power stations are indispensable for Japan's overall energy, industrial and security policies.
"The matter isn't limited to nuclear energy. Our generations have consumed massive amounts of oil and coal," a Finish government official said.
The Mainichi scoop on the secret plan sparked campaigns in Mongolia to demand that the plan on a spent nuclear fuel disposal facility be scrapped and that relevant information be fully disclosed.
Bowing to the opposition, Mongolian President Tsakhiagiin Elbegdorj declared in the U.N. General Assembly session in September last year that the country can never host a radioactive waste disposal facility.
Yukiya Amano, director general of the IAEA, which is dubbed a "nuclear watchdog," says, "Those who generate radioactive waste must take responsibility for disposing of it. It's unfair to expect someone else to take care of it."
However, human beings have yet to find a solution to problems involving nuclear waste.
(By Haruyuki Aikawa, Europe General Bureau) (Mainichi Japan) March 13, 2012
>>The government received donations totaling 17.5 billion yen from 126 countries, territories and organizations. Relief money sent to the Japanese Red Cross Society totaled a massive 57.5 billion yen. >> 政府には１２６の国・地域・機関から１７５億円の寄付金が寄せられた。日本赤十字社への海外救援金も５７５億円にのぼる。
The Yomiuri Shimbun (Mar. 13, 2012) Debris disposal tests national character ３・１１の誓い 日本人の国民性が試される（3月12日付・読売社説）
On Sunday, the nation mourned the victims of the Great East Japan Earthquake and huge tsunami a year ago. 日本中が哀悼の祈りに包まれた１日だった。
A government-sponsored memorial service held in Tokyo was attended by the Emperor, even though he is recuperating from last month's heart surgery. 東京での政府主催の追悼式には、先月、心臓手術を受けたばかりの天皇陛下が出席された。
At the ceremony, the Emperor expressed deep appreciation for the relief efforts in disaster-stricken areas and to those dealing with the crisis caused by the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant. He also expressed profound gratitude to other countries that dispatched rescue teams and engaged in other activities following the disaster. 陛下は、被災地の支援活動や原発事故対応に尽力してきた人々の労をねぎらい、救助隊の派遣など世界各地から寄せられた厚情に感謝の意を表された。
"It is important for us to never forget this disaster and hand down the lessons we learned to future generations, and foster the proper attitude towards disaster prevention, with the aim of making our country a safer place," the Emperor said. We probably all share his thoughts. 「大震災の記憶を忘れることなく、子孫に伝え、防災に対する心がけを育み、安全な国土を目指して進んでいくことが大切」というおことばに、だれもが共通の思いを抱いたことだろう。
In his speech, Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda made "three promises," including reconstructing the affected areas as soon as possible. Referring to assistance from other countries, he said, "Japan must return the favor by contributing actively to the international community." 野田首相も、一日も早い復興など「三つの誓い」を立てる中で、海外からの支援に言及し、「恩返しするためにも、国際社会への積極的な貢献に努めていかなければならない」と述べた。
Foreign rescue and relief teams arrived in Japan immediately after the March 11 disaster to work in the affected areas. Operation Tomodachi, conducted jointly by U.S. troops and the Self-Defense Forces, was immensely helpful in searching for missing people and removing debris. 震災直後、世界各国から続々と救援隊が到着、被災地に入った。米軍と自衛隊による「トモダチ作戦」は、行方不明者の捜索やがれき除去などに成果を上げた。
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Historic mission
The government received donations totaling 17.5 billion yen from 126 countries, territories and organizations. Relief money sent to the Japanese Red Cross Society totaled a massive 57.5 billion yen. 政府には１２６の国・地域・機関から１７５億円の寄付金が寄せられた。日本赤十字社への海外救援金も５７５億円にのぼる。
Japan has the historic mission of disseminating the lessons and knowledge learned from the disaster around the world, so they can be used in working out measures to deal with large-scale disasters and prevent crises at nuclear power plants. 震災から得た教訓や知見を世界に発信し、大規模災害への対応策や原発事故防止に役立てることは日本の歴史的使命である。
The government plans to hold a high-level international conference on large-scale natural disasters in a city in the Tohoku region in summer. 政府は今夏、東北で「大規模自然災害に関するハイレベル国際会議」を開催する計画だ。
While sharing their experiences of the Great East Japan Earthquake and other natural disasters, the participants will discuss how to prevent or reduce disaster damage, respond in times of emergency, and recover and reconstruct after a disaster. 東日本大震災や、世界各地で起きた大規模災害の経験を共有し、防災・減災のほか、緊急時の対応策、復旧・復興などのテーマで議論を交わす。
The government hopes to reflect the results of the Tohoku conference in the 2015 U.N. World Conference on Disaster Reduction that Japan has expressed its intention of hosting. As these conferences would be significant in strengthening Japan's ties with other countries, they must be held without fail. その成果を日本が招致する意向を表明している２０１５年の国連防災世界会議につなげる構想だ。世界との連携を強化する意義は大きい。ぜひ実現させたい。
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Obstacle to rebuilding
As the disposal of debris in disaster-hit areas hampers full-scale rebuilding efforts, Noda said at a news conference "the government must move one or two steps forward" to deal with this problem. His desire to take a more active stance on the disposal of the debris is natural. 野田首相が記者会見で、本格的な復興の妨げとなっている被災地のがれき処理について、「国は一歩も二歩も前に出ていかないといけない」と積極的に取り組む姿勢を打ち出したのは当然だ。
Noda then unveiled a plan to seek the cooperation of local governments and private corporations to dispose of the debris, saying, "The character of Japan as a nation is being put to the test again." その上で、首相は「日本人の国民性が再び試されている」として、自治体や民間企業に、がれきの広域処理への協力を強く要請する方針を表明した。
It is extremely disappointing that only Tokyo and some municipalities in two prefectures have accepted debris for disposal. 引き受け自治体が、東京都のほか２県の一部自治体にとどまっているのは極めて問題である。
The coolheaded actions and patience of people in the affected areas has impressed people the world over. We suggest the Japanese people join together to address the issue of debris removal. 震災後の混乱の中、被災者たちの冷静な行動と忍耐強さが世界中を驚かせた。がれき処理の問題でも、日本人の結束力を、改めて海外に示すときではないか。
(From The Yomiuri Shimbun, March 12, 2012) （2012年3月12日01時20分 読売新聞）
The Yomiuri Shimbun (Mar. 12, 2012) Utilize lessons of March 11 to better prepare for disasters 鎮魂の日 重い教訓を明日への備えに（3月11日付・読売社説）
We have reached a day of remembrance, one year after the major disaster on March 11. A memorial service is to be held by the central government in Tokyo, and similar ceremonies are scheduled to take place in the affected regions as well. 大震災から１年、鎮魂の日を迎えた。政府主催の追悼式が東京で行われるほか、被災地でも式典が予定されている。
To pray for the repose of victims' souls, we will offer at 2:46 p.m. a silent prayer from the bottom of our hearts for those who died in the disaster. 午後２時４６分、亡くなられた方々のご冥福を祈り、心からの黙とうを捧(ささ)げたい。
The death toll is now 15,854, while more than 3,100 people are listed as missing. The people who are still looking for their beloved relatives must be filled with sorrow. Our hearts ache for them. 犠牲者は１万５８５４人にのぼる。行方不明のままの人も３１００人を超す。いまだに肉親を捜し求める人たちの悲しみはいかばかりか。胸が痛む。
◆被災地の復興に「落差」◆
===
Gaps in degree of recovery
In a coastal district of Ishinomaki, Miyagi Prefecture, a seawall destroyed by the tsunami stands in horrible condition. Huge piles of debris and a vast number of abandoned automobiles can be seen. 宮城県石巻市の沿岸部。津波で破壊された防潮堤が無残な姿をさらし、巨大ながれきの山と、無数の廃車の集積地が目に入る。
A factory area facing the sea and residential areas that stretched inland were almost completely washed away by tsunami. Only a fraction of these areas have finally managed to start post-disaster reconstruction. 海に面した工場地帯と、内陸側に続く住宅街は、ほとんどが津波にさらわれた。再建にこぎつけたところはほんのわずかである。
Part of the quay at a nearby fishing port sank into the sea. Local fishermen have resumed fishing but say pieces of debris occasionally get caught in their nets. 近くの漁港は岸壁の一部が海に沈んでいた。漁は再開できたが、網にはしばしば、がれきがかかるという。
"If processors resumed their business operations at our port, it would regain its vitality," the skipper of a fishing boat said hopefully. 漁船の船長は「港で加工業者が営業を再開すれば、活気も戻る」と、望みをつなぐ。
A senior official of a local economic organization said: "There are large gaps in the degree of recovery among industries, business firms and families. It's a far cry from post-disaster recovery for the whole region. 地元経済団体の幹部は「復興状況は産業、企業ごと、家族ごとに大きな落差がある。地域全体の復興にはほど遠い」と語る。
"But everyone strongly wants to keep hanging in there." 「ただ、誰もが『がんばろう』という強い思いを持っている」
We support such feelings. Local governments must respond more carefully than ever. その気持ちを支えたい。自治体には、これまで以上にきめ細かな対応が求められる。
Offering mental care to people affected by the disaster is also an important task. Many people have complained about sleeplessness, anxiety and frustration since immediately after the disaster. 心のケアも重要な課題だ。震災の直後から不眠や不安、イライラを訴える人は多かった。
Even after they moved into makeshift houses or housing units leased by local governments, the number of people suffering emotionally has shown no sign of declining. Rather, there has reportedly been a sharp increase in the number of people who have become addicted to heavy drinking or gambling, or quit their jobs for emotional reasons. それが、仮設住宅や自治体の借り上げ住宅などに移った後も一向に減らない。むしろ、過度の飲酒やギャンブルにのめり込む人、精神的理由で勤め先を辞める人が急増しているという。
A local psychiatrist believes many are suffering because their unemployment benefits will end soon, they cannot find jobs despite their growing concern, or they have no prospect of ever returning home. 地元の精神科医は「雇用保険の支給が終わる。不安は募るが仕事は見つからない。帰宅のメドもたたない」ことが原因と見る。
The psychiatrist said many people's mental anguish could likely be eased if authorities provided a clear picture of the future. 行政が将来の見通しを明確に示すことで、精神的な痛みが緩和される人は多いはず、と指摘した。
It is important for both the central and local governments to present and implement visibly a post-disaster reconstruction plan through which affected people can find hope for their future lives. We hope the Reconstruction Agency helps them with all its power. 政府と自治体が、今後の生活に希望を見いだせる復興計画を示し、目に見える形で実現していくことが重要だ。復興庁は全力で支援してもらいたい。
◆「想定外」を想定し直す◆
The lessons learned from the catastrophe must be utilized to enhance the nation's readiness for a future major disaster. 教訓を、次の大災害への備えに生かさねばならない。
The March 11 tsunami, which was said to be on a scale "beyond expectation," triggered the crisis at Tokyo Electric Power Co.'s Fukushima No.1 nuclear power station. 「想定外」の津波が甚大な被害をもたらしたのが、東京電力福島第一原子力発電所事故だった。
The spread of large amounts of radioactive substances wreaked havoc on agricultural, fisheries and other industries in the disaster-struck areas. Along with the resulting public anxiety over food safety and human health, harmful rumors about the threat of radiation have lingered, casting a shadow all over the country. 放射性物質の拡散が農業、漁業など産業に大打撃を与え、食品や健康への不安、風評被害も広がって、日本中に暗い影を落としている。
More than 62,000 people from Fukushima Prefecture are still living outside the prefecture. 今も６万２０００人以上が福島県外に避難している。
===
Review standard assumptions
An expert panel of the government's Central Disaster Prevention Council chaired by Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda came out with a set of proposals in autumn. The panel called for a thorough review of the conventional assumptions about earthquakes and tsunami as well as antidisaster countermeasures "on the premise of the maximum possible earthquake and tsunami and taking each and every conceivable possibility into account." 政府の中央防災会議の専門調査会は昨秋、「あらゆる可能性を考慮した最大級の巨大地震・津波」を前提に従来の地震・津波想定と防災対応の見直しを提言した。
Regarding major earthquakes anticipated in the Tokai, Tonankai and Nankai regions on the Pacific coast, a study team of the Cabinet Office is scheduled to soon make public its estimations about the maximum intensities of temblors and largest possible heights of tsunami. 東海・東南海・南海地震については、内閣府の検討会が近く、最大級震度分布、津波高などの推計結果を明らかにする。
A study group of the Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology Ministry recently announced research findings regarding a Tokyo metropolitan epicentral earthquake, in which the focus would be just beneath the metropolitan area. The findings showed that extensive areas of the metropolitan area could be subject to an earthquake more powerful than previously forecast, a quake with the strongest intensity of 7 on the Japanese seismic scale. 首都直下地震では文部科学省研究班が、従来想定より大きい震度７の揺れが広範囲で予想される、との研究結果を公表した。
The 11,000 fatalities and economic damage of 112 trillion yen previously forecast for a metropolitan epicentral earthquake must be reviewed, the study group has said. 死者１万１０００人、経済被害１１２兆円の被害想定は見直される。
The central government and local governments must study and implement specific measures on the basis of these disaster risk evaluations by public bodies. こうした公的リスク評価を踏まえ、具体的な対策を検討し実施するのが政府と自治体の役目だ。
Plans for enhancing earthquake resistance should be promoted further for such public facilities as schools and hospitals, as well as buildings on arterial roads. 学校、病院といった公共施設や、幹線道路に面したビルの耐震化をさらに進めたい。
In coastal regions, it is vitally important to work out tsunami countermeasures combining such "hardware" efforts as strengthening seawalls with "software" aspects centering on effective evacuation, such as the improvement of hazard maps. 沿岸部では、防潮堤などを強化するハード面と、ハザードマップ整備といった避難を中心とするソフト面を組み合わせて、津波対策を立てる必要がある。
Also of utmost significance is that residents of every community be more prepared for disasters. At the very least, residents must confirm hazard maps and participate in antidisaster drills. 肝心なのは、住民が防災意識を高めることである。ハザードマップを確認し、防災訓練に参加するのは最低限の務めだ。
Residents should draw up evacuation plans for their communities on their own initiative. They should consult expert opinion to secure evacuation routes and evacuation sites such as earthquake-resistant buildings of about five stories, and higher ground. 地域の避難計画を、住民が主体となって作成しておくことも求められる。専門家の意見を聞き、避難ルートや安全な中層ビル、高台などの避難場所を確保したい。
Recently, large-scale exercises have been conducted in such big cities as Tokyo and Osaka for commuters who will have difficulty returning home in the event of a major disaster. It is important to scrutinize what is effective in such drills and also consider what should be improved to make subsequent drills more effective. 最近は東京、大阪などで大規模な帰宅困難者対策訓練が実施されている。成果と反省点を検証し、それを次の訓練の充実につなげることが大事だ。
===
'Disaster reduction' a key goal ◆「減災」の追求を誓う◆
The government--in light of the terrible experience of dealing with the earthquake and tsunami calamities while simultaneously coping with the nuclear crisis and radiation problems--is studying how to prepare for and address a "complex of disasters." 政府は今回、地震・津波被害への対応と同時に、原発事故の鎮圧作業や放射能対策にも追われた経験から、「複合災害」への備えと対応策の検討を始めた。
The government will have to make special responses, for example, when a major earthquake in a large city results in such multiple problems as fires over an extensive area, leakage of toxic gases from factories and serious accidents involving means of transportation. 例えば、大地震に続いて都市部の広域火災や工場地帯の有毒ガス漏れが発生したり、交通機関で大事故が起きたりした場合、政府は特別な対応を迫られる。
The order of priorities in government responses to a complex of disasters and clarification of the chain of command must be thoroughly studied without delay. 複合災害が起きた際の対応の優先順位付けや、指揮命令系統の整備などの検討を急ぐべきだ。
The concept of "disaster mitigation" or "disaster reduction" to minimize damage in the aftermath of a calamity--however catastrophic--is of pivotal significance in this regard, as we must be "prepared even for the unforeseeable." いかなる大災害にも「想定外」を想定し、被害を最小限にとどめる「減災」を追求する――。
We must pledge anew on this occasion that the precious lives lost in the Great East Japan Earthquake will not have been lost in vain. 尊い犠牲を無駄にしないために、誓いを新たにしたい。
(From The Yomiuri Shimbun, March 11, 2012) （2012年3月11日01時12分 読売新聞）
(Mainichi Japan) March 11, 2012 Editorial: Japan must lead in NPO revolution 社説：震災１年・未来のために 「ＮＰＯ革命」を進めよう
We have reached the one-year anniversary of the Great East Japan Earthquake and tsunami -- let us pray once again for the souls of those who lost their lives to the disaster, and for the recovery of the devastated Tohoku region and Japan as a nation. 東日本大震災の発生から、きょうで１年を迎えた。改めて多くの犠牲者の冥福を祈るとともに東北、そして日本の復興を誓う日としたい。
The fact that victims deeply affected by the disasters and the ensuing nuclear crisis have made it this far despite the sluggish response of the central government is a testament to their perseverance and the backbreaking efforts of local governments. There is, in addition, another contributing factor: an unprecedented influx of donations from across the country, and continued assistance provided by various organizations. Of that, we should be proud. 国の政治がもたつきながらも、どうにかしのいできたのは被災者のみなさんの忍耐強さと地元自治体の努力があったからだ。さらにもう一つ見逃せない点がある。全国からかつてない巨額の寄付が寄せられる一方、今もさまざまな支援活動が続いていることだ。私たちはそれをもっと誇っていい。
Seventeen years have passed since the Great Hanshin Earthquake struck Kobe and Japan witnessed a full-scale emergence of volunteerism. The range of activities that are now being undertaken by volunteers and organizations -- not limited only to the removal of debris or distribution of food and clothing -- is striking. 「ボランティア元年」と言われた阪神大震災から今年で１７年。被災地でがれき処理を手伝ったり、食料や衣料を配るだけでなく、活動範囲の広がりは目を見張るほどだ。
◇官・民の壁を超えて
A major pillar of continued support to disaster-struck northeastern Japan has been nonprofit organizations (NPOs). その重要な担い手がＮＰＯだ。
Fukushima Kids, for example, offers sleepaway camps for children from Fukushima Prefecture, where the nuclear crisis has yet to be brought under control. The children are invited to stay in Hokkaido and other areas of Japan -- where they are free to play outside without fear of radiation exposure -- during their school holidays. Last summer and this past winter, 518 and 190 children, respectively, participated in the program, away from home and their parents. Preparations are underway for another round during the upcoming spring break. Various NPOs, private companies and local governments have cooperated to make this program possible, and the amount of donations has reached approximately 80 million yen. 例えば、原発事故の影響を今も受ける福島県の子供を夏休みと冬休みの長期間、北海道など各地で受け入れて林間学校を開いた「ふくしまキッズ」。夏は５１８人、冬も１９０人の小中学生が親元を離れて参加し、今は近く始まる春休みの準備が進む。多くのＮＰＯと企業、自治体が協力し、これまで集まった寄付金は約８０００万円にもなる。
In the program, volunteer college students look after the children on a day-to-day basis. As soon as organizers started seeking volunteers in the spring, some 200 students applied. In addition to college students, some high school students also offer their services, coming in to help when they don't have classes at school. 子供の世話をするのは主に学生ボランティアだ。春の活動にも瞬く間に約２００人が応募。大学生だけでなく補習授業の合間に手伝いに来る高校生もいる。
One of the program's founders and its director, Hirohiko Yoshida, 59, recalls the painful memories of trying to set up a similar program when Mount Oyama on Miyakejima Island erupted in 2000, leading to the evacuation of the island's residents. The program did not last long then, and because of this, Yoshida is even more determined to make the current program a success. 発起人の一人、ＮＰＯ「教育支援協会」の吉田博彦代表理事（５９）は、００年の三宅島噴火の時も同じ試みをしながら長続きしなかった苦い経験を持つ。
"We're going to keep this going for at least five years. We can't just complain (and hope that someone else will do something)," Yoshida says. "We want to nurture children who become the future of Fukushima." それだけに「５年は続ける。誰かに文句を言うだけではいけない。福島の未来を担う子供を育てたい」と話す。
Last summer, Katariba, a nonprofit organization run by people in their 20s and 30s, set up a free "collaborative school" in the Miyagi Prefecture town of Onagawa, which suffered catastrophic damage from the March 2011 tsunami. It hires cram-school teachers who lost their jobs due to the disasters, and is also supported by volunteer college students and former Onagawa residents living in the Tokyo metropolitan area who have taken a leave of absence from their jobs to offer their support. The instructors use empty rooms in an elementary school to teach about 200, or roughly one-third, of the town's elementary and junior high school students. ２０代、３０代の若者が運営するＮＰＯ「カタリバ」は、津波で壊滅的被害を受けた宮城県女川町で昨夏、無料の学習塾「女川向学館」を始めた。小学校の空き教室を利用し、震災で職を失った塾講師を雇用する一方、休職して首都圏から駆けつけた同町出身の会社員やボランティア大学生らが町の小中学生全体の３分の１に当たる約２００人を教える。
The key to this set-up is full-on collaboration between the NPO and the Onagawa Municipal Government, as well as the local board of education and schools -- which have traditionally been in competition with so-called cram schools. Parents have also been approaching the group recently to ask how they can help. 女川町役場、そして従来、塾とは競合してきた地元教育委員会と学校が全面的にＮＰＯとコラボ（協同）しているのがミソだ。最近は親たちも「何かできることはないか」と協力を申し出るようになった。
"When the children who have experienced the disasters overcome their hardships, they're going to be stronger and more compassionate than most people," says Katariba director and Tokyo resident Kumi Imamura, 32, who has been spending most of each month in the disaster areas. "Our job is to provide them with learning opportunities that will help them become those people." 東京を離れ、月の大半を現地で暮らすカタリバの今村久美代表理事（３２）は「震災の試練を経験した子供たちは、もしそれを乗り越えたなら誰よりも強く優しくなれるはず。私たちの役目はそのための学習機会を作ってあげること」という。
Last December, Katariba opened their second "collaborative school" in the Iwate Prefecture town of Otsuchi. The organization promotes learning without depending entirely on local governments or schools -- a set-up that is slowly beginning to take root. 昨年１２月には岩手県大槌町に２校目も開校した。役所や学校任せにしない新しい学びの形が生まれつつある。
Upon learning that autistic children affected by the disasters were having difficulties at evacuation centers, Hiromoto Toeda, 43, director of Musou, a social welfare corporation based in Aichi Prefecture, and Yusuke Ohara, 32, director of nonprofit organization Yuyu based in Hokkaido, moved into action. With volunteer students in tow, they descended upon Tanohata village in Iwate Prefecture, and tried to launch a daycare service for children with disabilities. Iwate prefectural officials, however, were unenthusiastic about the endeavor, saying that there were only five children requesting such care in the entire prefecture. 愛知県半田市の社会福祉法人「むそう」の戸枝陽基理事長（４３）と北海道当別町のＮＰＯ「ゆうゆう」の大原裕介理事長（３２）は震災直後、「自閉症児らが避難所で苦労している」と聞き、学生らを連れて岩手県田野畑村に駆けつけた。障害児や家族を支援する児童デイサービスを始めようとしたが、当初、県の担当者は「県全体でも５人しか希望者がいない」と渋ったという。
However, when Toeda and Ohara began daycare services anyway without the support of local government bodies, over 20 children in a village of around 4,000 people began using them. Users were happy with the program for closely catering to the needs of individual children, leading to the launch of a similar program in the Iwate Prefecture city of Miyako, which also has over 20 participants. Many local residents have said that they were not aware of such programs, and now the local government has changed its position and is set to officially place the programs under its jurisdiction. ところが戸枝さんらが自主的に活動を始めると人口約４０００人の同村だけでも２０人以上が利用。障害特性に合った活動が評判を呼び、同県宮古市で始めた事業も２０人以上が利用する。地元では「こんなサービスがあるとは知らなかった」と多くの人がいう。今では行政も協力し、近く正式に役所の事業となる予定だ。
◇政治が頼りないのなら
Local governments had heretofore viewed NPOs as contractors, but the growing trend of the private sector taking action ahead of public bodies is hard to ignore. 今まで行政側には「ＮＰＯは下請け」の意識があったのは事実だ。だが、こうして「民」が「官」をリードする動きも広がっている。
Due to a law revision last year, taxpayers can get back up to 50 percent of a donation to an NPO from the national or municipal governments. This, too, is a huge step forward. 昨年の法改正でＮＰＯ法人に寄付をすれば最大で国や自治体から寄付額の５割近い税金が戻ってくるようになった。これも大きな前進だ。
Collecting taxes and making decisions on how they are used was originally the job of the national and local governments. However, public bodies are not the only ones responsible for the public sector. The involvement of nonprofit organizations into education and social welfare is gradually becoming the norm. Members of the public are increasingly donating money to NPOs that they would prefer to support over public bodies, receiving tax deductions in return. Though still in the beginning stages, this signals an era in which we get to choose how our tax money is spent. 税金を徴収し、使い道を決めるのは従来、政府や自治体の仕事だった。だが、公共を担うのは官だけではない。教育や福祉などＮＰＯの活動は拡大し定着してきている。そんな中、国民それぞれが「役所より、このＮＰＯを応援したい」と寄付をし、減税される。それは一部とはいえ税金の使い道を国民自らが選択できる時代になったことを意味する。
The Japanese government's general account budget is approximately 90 trillion yen. Suppose 10 trillion yen in donations are made in a year, with NPOs taking charge of increasingly more in the public sector without being bogged down by the sectionalism of the bureaucracy, while overcoming community and generational boundaries. Imagine that. The government will slim down considerably, inevitably bringing changes to the Diet. 国の一般会計予算は約９０兆円。仮に寄付金が年に１０兆円に上り、役所の縦割りや地域、世代の壁を超えてＮＰＯが活躍する社会を想像してみよう。行政は一気にスリム化され、国会もおのずと変容するはずだ。
Let us call this the "NPO revolution." Of course, continued recovery from the triple disasters requires further support from the public. With politics at a standstill, each and every one of us must take action and do what we can. Over the past few years, the idea that others' happiness leads to one's own happiness has been gathering momentum among our youth. This is certainly a foundation on which a revolution can be built. 私たちはこれを「ＮＰＯ革命」と呼んでみたい。もちろん震災支援を継続させるには、今後ますます国民の後押しが必要だ。しかし政治が立ち止まっているのなら、一人一人が自分のできることから動き始めるしかない。この数年、特に若い世代の間に「他人の幸せになることが自分の幸せになる」という機運が広がっている。「革命」の土壌はある。
We will never forget the day that filled the entire country with untold sadness and shattered our values -- including our belief in the "safety" of nuclear power. From here on out, let us imagine a future in which Japan leads the world in realizing a new "public" society. 日本中が悲しみに包まれ、「原発安全神話」をはじめ、これまでの価値観が崩れ去ったあの日を私たちは忘れない。そして、これからはまったく新しい「公共社会」を日本が実現させて世界をリードする。そんな未来を思い描こう。
(Mainichi Japan) March 9, 2012 Japan should decrease dependence on nuclear power instead of trying to reactivate reactors 記者の目：再稼働急ぐ前に「脱原発」探れ＝西川拓
The government's pledge to decrease Japan's reliance on nuclear power plants following the outbreak of the disaster at the tsunami-hit Fukushima No. 1 Nuclear Power Plant is hardly mentioned in today's political world. 東京電力福島第１原発事故を受けて菅直人・前首相が表明し、野田佳彦・現首相も「引き継ぐ」と言ったはずの「脱・原発依存」だが、その後ほとんど政治の話題に上らなくなった。
In his policy speech at the outset of the ongoing Diet session, Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda, who appears to be preoccupied with raising the 5 percent consumption tax, did not show strong enthusiasm for decreasing Japan's dependence on nuclear plants. This is despite the fact that following the outbreak of the nuclear disaster, then Prime Minister Naoto Kan declared that he would seek to decrease Japan's reliance on nuclear power and Noda has promised to take over that policy. 野田首相の頭の中は消費税増税で占められているのか、今国会の施政方針演説でも強い決意が感じられなかった。
An opinion poll that the Mainichi Shimbun has conducted shows that over 70 percent of the public are in favor of relying less on nuclear power. Therefore, the government has a responsibility to show specific ways to achieve this goal, such as the development of alternative energy sources. 毎日新聞が実施した世論調査などでは７割が脱原発路線を支持している。ならば、代替エネルギーの積極的開発を表明するなど、原発後への具体的な道筋を早く国民に示すのが政治の責任だ。
◇技術は不完全
Another survey that the Mainichi conducted on the mayors of municipalities situated within 30 kilometers from the crippled nuclear plant in February has produced interesting results. Over half -- or 57 percent -- of the mayors surveyed support the resumption of operations at nuclear power stations stopped for regular inspections with some conditions attached. 毎日新聞が２月に実施した、原発から半径３０キロ圏内に位置する自治体の首長へのアンケートでは興味深い結果が出た。定期検査で停止した原発の再稼働を「条件付きで認める」首長は５７％。
Still, 76 percent of them said they are in favor of less reliance on nuclear energy. Even the mayors of some municipalities that host nuclear plants and have received subsidies from the national government in return called for a decrease in the country's dependence on nuclear plants. One of them, Hideo Kishimoto, mayor of the Saga Prefecture town of Genkai, which hosts Kyushu Electric Power Co.'s Genkai Nuclear Power Plant, said in the survey, "Japan should decrease its reliance on nuclear power while going ahead with the technological development of renewable energy." だが、そのうち７６％は脱・原発に賛意を示したのだ。原発を受け入れ、交付金などの恩恵を受けてきた自治体であっても「再生可能エネルギーの技術開発を進めながら原発の依存度を減らしていくべきだ」（岸本英雄・佐賀県玄海町長）などの声が上がったのだ。
A total of 60 percent of the people surveyed by the Mainichi in September 2011 said that the number of nuclear power stations should be decreased on a step-by-step basis over a long period of time. The figure rises to 72 percent if those who call for an early suspension of operations at nuclear plants are included. A majority of the Japanese public share the hope that nuclear plants should be decreased in the long run. 一般の市民を対象にした昨年９月の毎日新聞の世論調査でもこの傾向は顕著だった。「時間をかけて原発を減らすべきだ」との回答が６０％を占め、「できるだけ早くすべて停止すべきだ」を合わせると７２％に達した。将来的には原発を減らしていきたいという思いは、今、多くの国民が共有している。
Until the outbreak of the Fukushima nuclear crisis in March last year, I had believed, as a journalist who had covered issues relating to nuclear energy for many years, that nuclear power stations were indispensable for Japan, which is poor in natural resources. 実は原発問題を長く担当してきた私自身、福島第１原発事故が起こるまで、使用済み核燃料の処分が決まらない問題を抱えてはいるものの、資源小国の日本にとって原発は必要だと考えていた。
I coolly responded when Germany shifted its policy toward getting rid of nuclear power plants in the late 1990s, believing that "it is possible because European countries can buy power from neighboring countries when they are short of power." Above all, I did not think that a catastrophic accident would ever happen at any nuclear power station in Japan. ９０年代末にドイツが脱原発に転じた時も「欧州では、足りない時は他の国から電気を買えるから可能なんだろう」と、冷ややかに見ていた。何より日本の原発がここまで壊滅的な事故を起こすとは思っていなかった。
However, my thoughts changed drastically as I observed irreparable damage to the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear plant and local communities through my coverage of the ongoing crisis. だが福島第１原発事故の取材を通じて、取り返しのつかない被害の大きさに触れ考えが変わった。
Nuclear power should be deemed as faulty technology as two extremely serious accidents occurred -- one at Chernobyl in 1986 and the other at Fukushima in 2011 -- and devastated local communities less than about a half century since nuclear plants were first put into commercial use. 実用化されて半世紀の間に、チェルノブイリ（８６年、旧ソ連）、福島と、２度にわたり地域社会を崩壊させる大事故を起こした原発は、やはり不完全な技術と言わざるを得ない。
Aging and dangerous reactors should be shut down first, and then all Japan's nuclear plants should be abolished in the long run. 老朽化したものや危険なものから止めていき、最終的にはなくすべきだ。
However, as many mayors pointed out in the Mainichi survey last month, it is indispensable to secure substitute energy sources to make up for a decrease in Japan's reliance on nuclear power. A shortage of electric power is a serious blow particularly to the socially vulnerable. ただし、アンケートで多くの首長が指摘したように、脱原発を進めるには代替電力の確保が不可欠だ。電力不足はまず社会的弱者を直撃する。
Following the outbreak of the crisis, escalators at railway stations and traffic lights stopped in the Tokyo metropolitan area because of efforts to save electric power consumption and rolling power blackouts occurred, causing trouble to the elderly and physically handicapped. If companies are forced to downsize their operations due to power shortages, non-regular workers will be the first to lose their jobs. 震災直後、計画停電や節電を強いられた首都圏で駅のエスカレーターや信号機などが止まり、高齢者や身体障害者が困っている姿を何度も見た。電力不足で企業活動が停滞すれば、非正規雇用の人たちが真っ先に解雇されるだろう。
The government, which has pledged to reduce Japan's reliance on nuclear power, should shift its energy policy toward developing renewable energy and energy-saving technologies. Moreover, it should clearly show how many years it will take before all nuclear plants are decommissioned as well as how electric power can be secured and what kind of lifestyles members of the public should adopt until that goal is achieved. 「脱・原発依存」を掲げた政治がすべきことは、再生可能エネルギーや省エネ技術の研究開発に思い切ってかじを切ることではないか。そして、何年後なら原発をゼロにできるか、それまでは電力をどのように確保し、国民がどういう生活を送ることになるかを具体的に提示することだ。
◇「責任感見えぬ」
However, the government appears to be hastily trying to reactivate nuclear reactors that have been suspended for regular inspections. だが、ここのところ政府には、原発の再稼働を急ごうとする姿勢ばかりが目立つ。
Currently, only two nuclear reactors are in operation in Japan, and all the nation's 54 reactors will have been stopped by as early as mid-May if none of those suspended for regular inspections are reactivated. As a precondition for resuming operations at nuclear reactors, the government demands that safety evaluations clearly show how far they can withstand larger than anticipated earthquakes and tsunami. 国内の原発は次々と定期検査で止まり、現在稼働中なのは２基。このままいけば５月初めにも５４基すべてが停止する。政府は再稼働への関門として、想定を超えた地震や津波で炉心溶融が起きるまでにどの程度の余裕があるかを見る安全評価（ストレステスト）を義務づけた。
The government appears desperate. "Unless nuclear reactors are reactivated, it'll be inevitable that electric power charges will rise drastically," warns Economy, Trade and Industry Minister Yukio Edano. 手続きを急ぐため、簡便な「１次評価」で可としたが、目算通りにはいかず、メドは立っていない。「再稼働がなければ、電気料金が大幅に上がるのは必然」（枝野幸男経済産業相）など、閣内から焦りにも似た発言も出始めた。
Professor Hitoshi Yoshioka, vice president of Kyushu University who is an expert in nuclear power policy, says, "It's only natural that a majority of the members of the public are in favor of decreasing the country's reliance on nuclear energy for electricity supply, considering the massive damage caused by the nuclear crisis to Fukushima. Regardless of what kind of policy the government adopts, no progress can be made on any policy based on the promotion of nuclear power." 原子力政策に詳しい吉岡斉・九州大副学長は「福島の被害を真剣に受け止めれば、国民の多くが脱原発を是とするのは当然。政府がどう決めようと、原発推進を前提とした政策は前に進まない」と指摘する。
Tatsuya Murakami, mayor of the Ibaraki Prefecture village of Tokai that hosts many nuclear facilities including a nuclear power plant, criticized the government and the power industry for lacking a sense of responsibility for the nuclear disaster. "The Fukushima nuclear crisis is deep-rooted in Japan's distorted energy policy. The government and the nuclear industry do not appear to feel a sense of responsibility toward those who have lost their hometowns to the crisis," Murakami said in response to the Mainichi survey. また、原発や原子力関連施設を抱える茨城県東海村の村上達也村長は、毎日新聞のアンケートにこう答える。 「福島原発事故は（原発偏重など）、ゆがんだエネルギー政策が生んだものだ。故郷を喪失した者たちに、政府や業界は責任を感じているのか。全く見えない」
The government will adopt its new energy policy at the Energy and Environment Council comprised of Cabinet ministers concerned by this coming summer. 政府は、関係閣僚らで作る「エネルギー・環境会議」で夏までに新たなエネルギー政策を決める。
One cannot help but wonder how the prime minister will respond to these opinions voiced by communities that host nuclear power stations, as well as members of the general public. 首相はこれらの意見に、どう答えるつもりなのだろうか。
The government's attempt to hastily reactivate nuclear reactors without clearly showing a path toward decreasing Japan's reliance on nuclear power stations runs counter to the will of the public. 脱原発への道筋を示さないまま目先の再稼働を急ぐのは、国民の意思に逆行していると思う。
（東京科学環境部） ("As I see it" by Taku Nishikawa, Tokyo Science and Environment News Department) 毎日新聞 2012年3月9日 1時45分（最終更新 3月9日 1時51分）
The Yomiuri Shimbun (Mar. 9, 2012) Close Republican race helps Obama's reelection chances 米大統領選 オバマ氏助ける共和党の混戦（3月8日付・読売社説）
The campaign to select the Republican Party's nominee to run in the U.S. presidential race in autumn has become a prolonged contest. This development appears to work in favor of President Barack Obama of the Democratic Party, who is aiming at reelection. 秋の米大統領選に向けて、共和党の候補者指名争いが長期戦の様相を見せている。再選を目指す民主党のオバマ大統領には有利に働こう。
This week's Super Tuesday was the busiest day of the intraparty contest, with primaries and caucuses held in 10 states, including Ohio. Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, a moderate Republican, and former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum, a conservative, had a very tight race, so the struggle to choose the presidential nominee did not reach a conclusion. オハイオなど１０州の予備選・党員集会が集中した６日のスーパーチューズデーで、共和党穏健派のロムニー前マサチューセッツ州知事と、保守派サントラム元上院議員が接戦を演じ、本命争いの決着は持ち越された。
The contest has become such a close fight this year mainly because the Republicans changed the formula for allocating convention delegates among contestants in accordance with the results of each state's primaries and caucuses. 候補者選びが混戦となった要因は、共和党が今年、予備選・党員集会の結果に基づく州代議員の配分方式を変更したことにある。
Under the conventional formula, the candidate who won a primary or caucus in a state was entitled to all of that state's delegates, so that clear differences would emerge among the contenders' numerical results. 従来は、予備選・党員集会で勝利した候補がその州の代議員すべてを獲得する「総取り」方式で、差がつきやすかった。
This year, until the end of March in principle, the party is using a formula that awards delegates to candidates in proportion to the number of votes they receive. 今年は、３月までは原則として得票率に応じた「比例配分」方式を採用する。
Under this formula, the differences among candidates' delegate counts tend to be smaller than under the former method, making it less easy for any one candidate to win a majority of the delegates needed to win the nomination at the party's national convention. Thus, the contest drags on. 差が開きにくく、指名に必要な過半数にはなかなか達しないため、競り合いが続く。
===
History not repeating itself
In the presidential election four years ago, Democratic candidates Obama and Hillary Clinton, both senators at the time, fought a fiercely contested race to become their party's presidential nominee, the momentum from which apparently helped Obama win the presidential race. ４年前の大統領選では、民主党のオバマ、クリントン両氏が白熱の指名争いを展開して勢いづき、そのまま本選で勝利した。
The Republicans probably intended to attract media attention to an intense nomination race that would give their party a similar surge in popularity. 共和党も、手に汗握る指名争いでニュースを独占し、上げ潮に乗せたい思惑があろう。
Yet so far the results have been the opposite of what the party hoped for. だが、共和党の狙いは今のところ裏目に出ている。
The race has prolonged as just what the party calculated it would. But the contest seems to have descended into mudslinging, with candidates pointing out the shortcomings and weak points of their rivals, rather than waging a battle of words to compete over their respective policies. There have also been television ads in which rivals blast one another so often as to disgust voters. 長期戦になったのは計算通りだが、政策の優劣を競う論戦ではなく、相手候補の欠点、弱点をあげつらう中傷合戦が目立つ。互いを誹謗(ひぼう)するテレビＣＭも有権者がうんざりするほど流されている。
===
Many cooks stirring the pot
Financially supporting these negative campaigns are political action committees called super PACs, which can raise unlimited amounts of money for political advertising, and whose financing actions were approved by a Supreme Court ruling in 2010. そうした個人攻撃キャンペーンを資金面で支えるのは、集める政治資金額に制限がないスーパーＰＡＣ（特別政治活動委員会）と呼ばれる政治団体だ。２年前の連邦最高裁判決で認められた。
Conservative grassroots political activists such as those in the tea party movement, who harshly criticize moderates within the Republican Party, are quite energetic. This deepens the intraparty conflict further. 党内穏健派を激しく批判するティーパーティー（茶会）運動など保守派の草の根活動も盛んで、党内対立は深まるばかりだ。
As things stand now, the Republicans can hardly expect to orchestrate the type of outcome the Democrats achieved when Obama and Clinton joined hands and displayed their solidarity following the end of the presidential nomination race. このままでは共和党は、指名争い終了後にオバマ、クリントン両氏が手を組んで一致団結ぶりを誇示した民主党のような演出は、とてもできそうにない。
This is quite a favorable development for the Obama camp. Improvement in the jobless rate will also be a favorable wind for Obama. オバマ陣営には、具合がいい展開だ。失業率が改善しているのも再選への追い風となろう。
Yet the U.S. economy still remains dismal. Any president, whoever it may be, will have to tackle the thorny issues of buoying up the economy and slashing the fiscal deficit. だが、米国経済は依然、厳しい。だれが大統領になっても、景気浮揚と財政赤字削減の難題に取り組まなくてはならない。
In the presidential race, tax system reform is an important point of contention. Regarding the corporate tax rate, Obama and leading Republican candidates agree on the need to reduce it. In the United States, too, the issue of how to reinforce the international competitiveness of its business corporations is an issue of the highest priority. 大統領選で税制改革は重要な争点だ。法人税率を巡っては、オバマ氏も共和党の有力候補も「引き下げ」で共通する。米国でも国際競争力の強化が最優先課題だ。
(From The Yomiuri Shimbun, March 8, 2012) （2012年3月8日01時16分 読売新聞）
The Yomiuri Shimbun (Mar. 8, 2012) Despite historical differences, Japan, China must boost ties 河村氏南京発言 日中の歴史認識共有は難しい（3月7日付・読売社説）
Nagoya Mayor Takashi Kawamura's remarks on the Nanjing Incident have cast a shadow over Japan-China relations. 名古屋市の河村たかし市長の南京事件を巡る発言が、日中関係に影を落とし始めている。
During a courtesy call last month by a Chinese Communist Party leader from Nanjing, a sister city of Nagoya, Kawamura said, "I doubt whether what you call the Nanjing Massacre took place [in the way it has been described]." 友好都市である南京市の共産党幹部が２月に表敬に訪れた際、河村氏は「いわゆる南京事件はなかったのではないか」と述べた。
Nanjing immediately suspended exchange programs with Nagoya in protest. The Chinese Foreign Ministry criticized the mayor's comment by saying, "Irresponsible remarks that distort historical facts deeply hurt the feelings of the Chinese people." 反発した南京市は、名古屋市との交流を中止した。中国外務省も、「歴史を歪曲(わいきょく)した無責任な言論が中国国民の感情を深刻に傷つけた」と発言を批判した。
Cultural exchange events scheduled to begin in Nanjing on Friday under the sponsorship of the Japanese government have been postponed. The decision is believed to have been made out of consideration for the safety of performers. However, it was regrettable. 今月９日から日本政府が南京で予定していた文化交流行事は延期が決まった。出演者の安全などを考慮しての判断とされるが、残念な事態である。
Various kinds of events are scheduled this year to mark the 40th anniversary of the normalization of bilateral relations. The two countries should deal with the current situation in a coolheaded manner to prevent the bilateral relationship from being strained further and impacting adversely on diplomatic and economic ties. 今年は日中国交正常化４０周年にあたり、数多くの交流行事が計画されている。日中関係がこれ以上こじれ、外交や経済に悪影響が出ることがないよう、互いに冷静に対処していくことが必要だ。
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Claims vary over death toll
The Nanjing Incident occurred in December 1937 when the Imperial Japanese Army occupied Nanjing, which was China's capital at the time. Prisoners of war were executed and civilians were raped by Japanese soldiers. But there are differing views on how many Chinese died. 南京事件は１９３７年１２月、日本軍が当時の中国の首都南京を占領した際に起きた。日本軍による捕虜などの処刑や民間人への暴行が多発したが、その死亡者数を巡っては様々な説がある。
In 2006, Japan and China launched a joint study of historical issues from the academic standpoint, rather than the political. But discussions failed to accomplish much because of Chinese political constraints. 歴史問題を政治と切り離して学術的に議論するために、日中両国政府が２００６年にスタートさせたのが日中歴史共同研究だった。しかし、中国側の政治的制約の中で議論は深まらなかった。
A report released by the joint research committee two years ago presented the views of academicians from both countries. 共同研究委員会が２年前に発表した報告書は、日中双方の学者の主張を併記した。
The Japanese side said, "Various figures, for example 20,000 and 40,000, have been presented, with a maximum number of victims put at 200,000." However, the Chinese side repeated Beijing's official view that 300,000 people were killed in Nanjing. 南京事件の犠牲者数について日本側は「２０万人を上限として、４万人、２万人など様々な推計がなされている」とした。中国側は、政府公式見解の３０万人虐殺説を繰り返すのみだった。
In clarifying his remarks, Kawamura said he had meant that no organized massacre occurred that claimed the lives of 300,000 people. We can sympathize with his remarks if he really meant that. But there is no denying he was indiscreet. 河村氏は自らの発言について、３０万人とされるような組織的な大虐殺はなかったという趣旨だったと釈明した。そういう趣旨なら理解できるが、不用意な発言であったことは否めない。
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Views unlikely to change
Kawamura said he wanted to visit Nanjing to discuss the Nanjing Incident. He insisted that resolving a thorny historical issue through frank discussions between the two countries would contribute to improving bilateral friendship. 河村氏は、自身が南京を訪れて南京事件を巡る討論会を開催したいとも述べた。日中間で率直に議論し、歴史問題という「ノドのトゲ」を抜くことが日中友好につながると主張している。
But is such a discussion possible in China today? Even if talks are held in China, where freedom of speech is not guaranteed, it is hard to imagine the Chinese supporting his view and rejecting the government's official claim that 300,000 people died. しかし、そのような議論が現在の中国で可能だろうか。言論の自由が保障されない中国で討論会を開いても、政府公式見解の３０万人虐殺説を否定する議論に、中国側参加者が与(くみ)するとは思えない。
It will be extremely difficult for the two countries to agree on historical matters. After taking this into consideration, it is necessary to work toward building a constructive bilateral relationship. 日中間の歴史認識の共有は極めて難しい。そのことを十分踏まえた上で、建設的な両国関係を築いていく必要がある。
(From The Yomiuri Shimbun, March 7, 2012) （2012年3月7日01時27分 読売新聞）
--The Asahi Shimbun, March 6 EDITORIAL: China’s lower economic growth target a wise move 中国経済成長―「７．５％」を歓迎する
China’s economy has been growing rapidly over the years, but it has created a raft of unwanted by-products as well, such as economic disparity, corruption and environmental destruction. 格差や腐敗、環境破壊という負の副産物をまき散らしながら高度成長してきた中国。
Now, China has finally decided to shift its policy priorities toward economic growth more focused on social stability. We welcome the move. それがようやく、社会の安定を重視する成長へと転換をめざすことになった。歓迎したい。
The annual meeting of China’s National People’s Congress began in Beijing on March 5. In his work report to parliament, Premier Wen Jiabao announced that the government has set a policy target of 7.5-percent economic growth for 2012, down from the 8-percent goal the country pursued for seven consecutive years since 2005. 中国の全国人民代表大会（全人代）が５日、北京で始まった。温家宝（ウェン・チアパオ）首相は、１２年の経済成長率目標を７．５％とすると表明し、０５年から７年続けて掲げてきた「８％前後の成長」の旗を取り換えた。
Wen said the government has lowered the growth target to “achieve higher-level, higher-quality development over a longer period of time.” 温首相は成長目標を下げた理由として「長期にわたって一層高水準で、より良質な発展につなげるためである」と述べた。
China’s Hu-Wen administration, led by President Hu Jintao and Wen, is slated to pass the baton to a new leadership through a power transition to be approved at the National Congress of the Communist Party of China scheduled for autumn this year and at next year’s gathering of the National People’s Congress. 胡錦濤（フー・チンタオ）国家主席と温首相が率いる「胡温体制」は、今年秋の共産党大会と来春の全人代を経て、次の体制と交代する。
This year’s meeting of the legislature serves as the platform for the current leadership to start the final phase of its efforts to achieve policy goals. 今年の全人代は、総仕上げの政策を決める場となった。
The size of the Chinese economy has quadrupled over the 10-year period in which the country has been under the current leadership. 中国の経済規模は現体制の約１０年間で、４倍に急拡大した。
But the rapid economic expansion has created various problems, including a widening gap between rich and poor, real estate market bubbles and the deterioration of the environment. しかし、その一方で、貧富の格差の拡大や不動産バブル、環境の悪化などを招いた。
The fiscal stimulus measures the government introduced to protect the economy from the effects of the global financial crisis that started in the United States in 2008 led to a wave of public works projects of dubious worth. The public spending spree has left local governments with massive bad assets. 米国金融危機の影響を避けるために始めた景気刺激策は、必ずしも必要ではない公共工事ラッシュを招き、今は地方政府の不良債権となっている。
Wen stated that Beijing will lower its target for growth in the value of total exports and imports to “around 10 percent” from more than 20 percent last year as a step to correct such distortions in the economy. そういったゆがみを正すために、温首相は輸出入の伸び率の目標を昨年の２割超から「１０％程度」に下げると明言した。
The premier also said the government will aim at economic growth driven mainly by domestic demand through policy efforts to increase people’s income and thereby stoke consumer spending. To do so, he said, the government will try to increase the nation’s per-capita income at the same pace as its economic growth rate. そして、人々の収入増で消費を拡大し内需主導の成長をめざすため、経済成長率と同じペースで１人あたりの収入を増やす方針を確認した。
All these decisions represent welcome steps to guide the economy away from the high-speed but unbalanced growth in recent years. いずれも、いびつな高成長路線から抜け出す策として評価できる。
But the growth-oriented economic policy is not the only cause of the problems plaguing the nation. ただし、中国のひずみは成長政策だけが原因ではない。
Another contributing factor is the government’s tight control on the yuan’s exchange rates. たとえば、当局が管理する人民元相場である。
Although major Western countries have been urging Beijing to allow the Chinese currency to appreciate, Wen only said the government will increase “flexibility of the managed floating exchange rate system.” 欧米からは切り上げを求める声が相次ぐが、温首相は「管理変動相場制の柔軟性を強める」と述べるにとどまった。
A cheap yuan could make the Chinese economy even more dependent on exports for growth and increase the risk of asset bubbles by creating excessive liquidity. 人民元安は輸出依存を強めかねないし、資金があふれ資産バブルの恐れも増す。
Chinese leaders should not forget that their country would suffer most from the bursting of such bubbles. はじけて最大の被害を受けるのは中国であることを忘れてはならない。
Meanwhile, there is no end to stories about party seniors’ intervention in economic affairs, such as bidding for construction projects. 一方で、幹部が工事の入札などの経済活動に介入する例があとを絶たない。
Wen pledged to step up efforts to crack down on such acts. But that will not be enough. 温首相は取り締まりを強めると表明したが、それだけでは足りない。
Behind this problem is the policy system that gives the Communist Party the power to make all policy decisions. It is imperative for China to reform the system. 背景には党がすべてを決めるという政治体制があり、その改革が急がれる。
There may be concerns that Beijing’s move to lower its growth target could have a negative impact on the economies of countries with close ties with China, including Japan. 成長目標を下げたことで、日本など関係の深い国の経済に悪影響を与えるのでは、という心配もあるだろう。
In the long run, however, the world economy would be better served by more stable and balanced development of Chinese society. しかし、中国社会が安定した成長を続けることが、長期的には国際経済に好影響を与えるはずである。
(Mainichi Japan) March 5, 2012 Osaka Mayor Hashimoto's boldness and rudeness 風知草：果断さについて＝山田孝男
The essence of events and their backgrounds have become increasingly indistinct, though a growing number of media outlets are showing ever-sharper images and offer more detailed commentaries on them. 以前より報道媒体が増え、以前より鮮明な映像が撮れ、以前より長々と手の込んだ解説がなされているにもかかわらず、物ごとの本質や背景が以前より見えにくくなった。
This is particularly the case with the coverage of 42-year-old Osaka Mayor Toru Hashimoto. TV stations are enthusiastic about provoking belligerent Hashimoto and air images of him in a sensational way, though they have failed to explain the background behind his remarks or judge whether his assertions are appropriate. 橋下徹大阪市長（４２）をめぐる報道がそうだ。テレビはケンカ上手の風雲児を挑発し、ファイトを映し出すことには熱心だが、背景説明や是非、善悪の判定は中途半端に終わる。
TV broadcasters tend to focus excessively on the roles that this "monster" mayor will play in political realignment and reform of the country, apparently out of mere curiosity, but have forgotten the most basic part of the issue: that his position derives from the autonomous choice of the people of Osaka. 怪物市長が政界再編なり国家改造なりでどういう役割を担うかということが、津々浦々、興味本位に論じられ、主な問題は住民自治に属するという基本が見失われていく。
Last month, Hashimoto began a survey of all municipal government workers about their union and political activities. The survey asked 22 questions, including, "Did you participate in any activity to support any particular politician?" In a high-handed manner, Hashimoto ordered all Osaka city workers to fill out the questionnaires, including their names, and submit the responses to him as part of their official duties. 橋下は先月、市の全職員を対象に労働組合と政治活動に関するアンケートを実施した。「特定の政治家を応援する活動に参加しましたか」など２２問。業務命令につき、記名して回答せよと高飛車に出た。
Naturally, his action stirred controversy. Critics have asserted the mayor's action is a violation of Article 19 of the Constitution guaranteeing freedom of thought and conscience; Article 28, providing for the right of workers to organize; and Clause 3, Article 7 of the Labor Union Act, which bans employers from controlling and interfering with unions. 当然、批判が噴き出した。憲法１９条（思想・良心の自由）および２８条（勤労者の団結権）に違反、労働組合法７条３（労組に対する支配・介入の禁止）に違反していると。
The Osaka Municipal Government has suspended its analysis of the questionnaire results after the Osaka Prefectural Labor Relations Commission recommended that the survey be called off. 大阪府労働委員会（労使紛争の調停機関）が調査の中断を勧告、既に職員が記入・提出した回答の開封・集計は凍結された。
Discussions are now going on nationwide about whether Hashimoto is a dangerous figure. However, an opinion poll by the Asahi Shimbun national daily and the Osaka-based Asahi Broadcasting Corp. while Hashimoto was implementing his questionnaire showed that his approval rating was 70 percent among prefectural residents, and 71 percent of Osaka city residents. かくして全国レベルでは、橋下は危険人物かどうかというせんさくが続いているが、アンケート騒動のさなかに実施された大阪府民世論調査（朝日新聞・朝日放送）によれば、橋下の支持率は７０％（大阪市民に限れば７１％）に達した。
"If employees (the unions) have a say in the appointment of the president (mayor), administrative reform can't be carried out," Hashimoto told reporters on Jan. 6. This is why he has confronted the city worker unions. Hashimoto was elected mayor in November last year by beating an incumbent backed by Osaka city worker unions. 橋下が職員組合と対決するのは「従業員（組合）が社長（市長）の人事を握っていては行革などできない」（１月６日の記者団とのやりとりなど）からである。昨年１１月、橋下は職員組合が支援した現職市長を選挙で破って当選した。
Workers have the right to be protected from unfair suppression by their employers. I feel odd about Hashimoto's character, which combines boldness with rudeness. I also feel disgusted by prominent figures in various circles cozying up to the mayor. 労働者は雇い主の不当な圧迫から守られて当然だ。あえて言えば、私は、果断と無礼が結びついた橋下の特質に違和感を覚える。草木もなびく各界の橋下詣でにイヤな感じをぬぐえずにいる一人である。
Therefore, it is important to confirm the principle that a mayor should be evaluated by the people he or she represents. In other words, residents should be responsible for electing their mayor. There is no need for people across the country to pay close attention to Hashimoto's words and deeds and make such a fuss. だが、だからこそ、市長の評価は地域の住民が決めるという原則を確認したい。選んだ責任は住民が負うという原理を大事にしたい。橋下の一挙手一投足を全国民が見つめ、毎回大騒ぎする必要はない。
The coverage of Defense Minister Naoki Tanaka's words and deeds are another example of news organizations losing sight of the essence of a politician's actions despite repeatedly splashing their images all over TVs and front pages. 鮮明な映像が示され、批判が集中したにもかかわらず、いつの間にか本質が見失われた例をもう一つ挙げる。田中直紀防衛相の進退である。
Statements Tanaka has made since he assumed the post in January have revealed his ignorance on basic defense issues, such as the Self-Defense Forces' consistency with the war-renouncing Constitution and the principles of Japan's participation in U.N. peacekeeping operations. 田中は１月の就任以来、自衛隊の憲法理論、国連平和維持活動（ＰＫＯ）の現状など基本的知識の欠如を露呈。
Moreover, he came under fire for leaving the House of Councillors Budget Committee while it was in session to have a cup of coffee, and declared in the Diet later that he was "determined not to drink coffee," astonishing the public. 揚げ句、参院予算委を勝手に中座してコーヒーを飲みに行き、「コーヒーは飲まない決意」を答弁して議員も世間も仰天した。
There is no question that Tanaka is less than qualified to serve as defense minister at a time when North Korea's nuclear capabilities and China's military buildup pose an increasing threat to Japan. Nevertheless, he still stays in his position. 北朝鮮の核攻撃の脅威増大と中国軍拡の折、田中防衛相が適任か、答えは明らかだが、進退は不問のままだ。
In February 1980, the defense agency chief in the Cabinet of then Prime Minister Masayoshi Ohira resigned after telling a House of Representatives Budget Committee session, "Since this is an important issue, I'll have the bureau director general (who is a bureaucrat) answer your question." 大平内閣の８０年２月、衆院予算委で「重要な問題なので局長（役人）から答弁させます」と口を滑らせ辞任した防衛庁長官（現防衛相）がいた。
The official reason for his resignation was a scandal involving agency bureaucrats. No articles directly criticizing his absurd remark can be found in newspapers from the time. In that age, TV stations did not compete by constantly replaying politicians' gaffes and making public sport of them. Still, the prime minister had the defense agency chief step down to take responsibility for his miscue. 辞任の表向きの理由は、以前からくすぶっていた役人不祥事の引責。当時の新聞にズッコケ答弁を正面から批判した記事は見えない。ましてテレビが失言映像を垂れ流し、コケにして競う時代ではなかったが、首相はけじめをつけた。
Ironically, a national political arena that lacks boldness -- particularly the stagnant ruling Democratic Party of Japan the largest opposition Liberal Democratic Party -- is what has given rise to the Hashimoto phenomenon. 「橋下現象」は、果断さのカケラもない現在の中央政界、とりわけ民主、自民両党の停滞から生まれた皮肉だ。
The Yomiuri Shimbun (Mar. 5, 2012) Talks on revising Constitution should focus on emergencies 自民新憲法原案 「緊急事態」を軸に改正論議を（3月4日付・読売社説）
The ruling and opposition parties should take this opportunity to resume discussion on what shape the nation should take. 与野党が、「国のかたち」の論議を再開する契機とすべきである。
The Liberal Democratic Party's Headquarters for the Promotion of Revision to the Constitution has finalized a draft of its second set of proposals for rewriting the Constitution. The draft is a revised version of proposals the LDP announced in 2005. It will work out a definite plan in April through discussions within the party. 自民党の憲法改正推進本部が、第２次憲法改正草案の原案を決定した。２００５年に発表した新憲法草案の改訂版だ。党内論議を経て、４月に成案をまとめる。
We strongly praise the party's proactive stance toward revision of the Constitution. 自民党の憲法改正に積極的な姿勢を、まずは高く評価したい。
Noteworthy in the draft is a new provision concerning times of emergency that gives the prime minister the authority to declare a state of emergency in such cases as an armed attack on the country, terrorism or a massive natural disaster. 原案で目を引くのは、緊急事態条項を新設したことだ。武力攻撃やテロ、大規模災害などの際、首相は「緊急事態」を宣言できる。
The new provision would also enable the cabinet to create ordinances that have the same force and effect as laws, and enable the prime minister to issue orders to the heads of local governments accordingly during emergencies. 法律と同じ効力を持つ政令の制定や、地方自治体の首長に対する首相の指示なども可能になる。
This provision also is meant to prevent such extrajudicial measures from violating people's fundamental human rights without justification. この条項には、超法規的措置によって基本的人権が無原則に侵害されることを防ぐ意味もある。
It had been pointed out as problematic that the Constitution does not contain provisions about dealing with emergencies. Most countries have such clauses in their constitutions. ほとんどの国の憲法に規定されている緊急事態への対処に関する条文が、現行憲法にないことは以前から問題視されていた。
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Learn from March disaster
Taking into account the lesson of the Great East Japan Earthquake, the government's crisis-control capabilities must be enhanced. It is an appropriate judgment to include stipulations about states of emergency. 東日本大震災の教訓を踏まえ、政府の危機対処能力を高めねばならない。緊急事態条項を盛り込むのは、当然の判断である。
With regard to national security, the draft preserves the war-renouncing Article 9, while adding one sentence that states the first paragraph of Article 9 "shall not prevent Japan from invoking the right to self-defense." Concerning the Self-Defense Forces, the draft says a military will be maintained for self-defense. 安全保障に関しては、９条の「戦争放棄」は堅持し、「自衛権の発動を妨げるものではない」との一文を加えた。自衛隊は「自衛軍」として保持するとした。
On the subject of collective self-defense, the draft appears to clarify the position that the Constitution can be interpreted to allow the nation to exercise its collective self-defense. 集団的自衛権について「解釈上は、行使できる」との立場を明確にしたものと言えよう。
The government's odd interpretation of the current Constitution as saying the nation "possesses the right to collective-self-defense but cannot wield it" has long been a major hindrance to boosting the effectiveness of the Japan-U.S. alliance. 「集団的自衛権は保持しているが、行使できない」という政府のおかしな現行憲法の解釈が、日米同盟の実効性を強化する上で大きな足かせになってきた。
It is a matter of urgency to enable the nation to wield its right to collective self-defense, without waiting for the Constitution to be revised. 憲法改正を待たずとも、集団的自衛権の行使を可能にすることは急務だ。
It is disappointing that the draft lacks a provision calling for a review of the two-chamber system of the House of Representatives and the House of Councillors. 衆参の二院制を見直す条文がない点は物足りない。
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Diet system causes turmoil
The presence of the "too powerful upper house," which has almost the same functions as the lower house, has prevented the passage of bills and caused disarray in the divided Diet, as seen in the frequent submissions of censure resolutions. 衆院とほぼ同様の権能を持つ「強すぎる参院」の存在が、ねじれ国会では、法案成立を妨げ、問責決議の連発などの混乱も招いている。
Under the current Constitution, bills that have passed the lower house but failed to pass the upper house need to pass the lower house a second time with at least a two-thirds majority. Paralysis of the Diet's functions must be prevented by easing the requirement, for instance, from two-thirds to a simple majority. 衆院の再議決要件を「３分の２以上の多数」から「過半数」に緩和することなどで、国会が機能不全に陥らないようにすべきだ。
The draft also said the number of seats in electoral districts for both houses of the Diet shall be fixed by "considering comprehensively" not only the population but also such factors as geography and transportation infrastructure. Depending on its interpretation, it might allow further widening of gaps in the value of a vote among constituencies. 原案は、選挙に関して各選挙区の定数を人口だけでなく地勢、交通などを「総合的に勘案」して定めるとしている。その解釈によっては、「１票の格差」の拡大を許すことにならないか。
In the Diet, both houses' deliberative councils on the Constitution began discussions last autumn. The Democratic Party of Japan's research panel on the Constitution also said it would discuss the state-of-emergency stipulations and the ideal form of the two-chamber system. 国会では、憲法改正を審議する衆参の憲法審査会が昨秋、活動を始めた。民主党の憲法調査会も緊急事態条項や二院制のあり方などを検討するという。
There should be more than a few points of discussion on which the ruling and opposition parties can compromise. We hope they will discuss the issues vigorously. 与野党が歩み寄れる論点は、決して少なくないはずだ。精力的に議論を重ねてもらいたい。
(From The Yomiuri Shimbun, March 4, 2012) （2012年3月4日01時14分 読売新聞）
あの日はちょうど出漁中で、沖へ出て津波から逃れた。 Ryoichi Abe, 51, a fisherman from Ishinomaki, Miyagi Prefecture, was operating off the Ojika Peninsula when a massive tsunami generated by the Great East Japan Earthquake hit his neighborhood on March 11, 2011.
だが、２日後に浜に戻り惨禍に衝撃を受けた。５０世帯、１２０人の集落で１６人が亡くなり、漁船も漁具もごっそりやられていた。 Two days after the tsunami, he returned to his home port and was shocked by the devastation wrought by the disaster. Sixteen of the 120 residents in his neighborhood died. Many of his fellow fishermen lost their fishing boats and equipment.
やる気を失っていた阿部さんたちに刺激を与えたのが、都会から来たボランティアだった。網やロープでがんじがらめになっていた漁具のかたまりを忍耐強く一つ一つほぐして使えるものを取り出してくれた。半信半疑だった阿部さんたちもいつの間にか浜に出て共同作業をしていた。夏にはカキの稚苗をホタテのカラに植え付け海につるすところまでいった。 It was volunteers from urban areas who encouraged Abe and other fishermen who had lost enthusiasm about fishing to resume their business. The volunteers carefully unraveled ropes and nets that had become tangled in fishing devices, and recovered usable equipment. Abe and other fishermen joined the volunteers in their work. In the summer, the fishermen were able to resume oyster farming.
「ここまできたのもボランティアのおかげ。すごい力だっちゃ。これは忘れねえ」 "We got to this point thanks to the volunteers. They have incredible power. I'll never forget what they did for us," Abe says.
早ければ今年秋にも最初の収穫を迎えることができる、という。 He says he and his fellow fishermen will be able to ship the oysters in autumn this year if things go smoothly.
被災した地域を歩いてみると、あちこちでこういったエピソードと出合うことができる。何とか復興に向けて前に進もうとする被災者と、少しでも役に立ちたい、と支援の手を差し伸べる側と、地域と世代を超えた絆の世界が今なお広がっている。災害の爪痕は残るものの、再出発の動きもまた始まりつつあるのだ。 Close bonds between disaster survivors who are trying hard to move toward recovery and those who are lending a helping hand can be observed throughout disaster-ravaged areas.
３・１１から１年。私たちは何を失い、何を学んだのか。これを機に考えてみたい。 We would like to take this opportunity as we approach the first anniversary of the Great East Japan Earthquake and tsunami to think about what we have lost -- and learned -- from the disasters.
失ったものは、あまりにも大きかった。約２万人の尊い人命と、数十万人のかけがえのない財産と生活、生産現場や雇用も奪われた。福島の原発被災地域では、ふるさとに住み続ける自由さえ失われている。 The losses are enormous: the lives of some 20,000 people, the assets and the peace of hundreds of thousands of people and numerous jobs. Residents of areas heavily affected by the ongoing crisis at the tsunami-hit Fukushima No. 1 Nuclear Power Plant have also been deprived of the freedom to live in their hometowns.
得たものはあったのか。逆境に負けずたくましく生活を再建させていく日本人の強さを世界に再認識させた。人の痛みを自ら引き受けようとする「絆」や連帯意識の強さが改めてクローズアップされた。南相馬や牡鹿半島で私たちが見てきたものもその一コマであった。 Yet amid such hardships, Japanese people have shown to the world that they have a strong will to restore their livelihoods. Close bonds and solidarity between victims and those who have shown willingness to share their pain have shone through the disaster.
◇政治の解決力強化を では、何を学んだのか。ここでは二つのことを取り上げてみよう。 We would like to cite two things we have learned from the March 2011 quake, tsunami and ensuing nuclear crisis.
一つは、政治の重要性である。これはこの１年間政治がうまく機能していなかったことの逆説的総括である。今振り返っても３・１１後の日本政治は混迷を極めた。 One of them is the importance of politics. The government's response to the disasters has demonstrated that politics has not functioned properly and has been in chaos since March 11, 2011.
いくつもの対策本部は設置されたが、政治家が責任を持って決断し官僚がその専門的能力をフルに出し切る、という本来の意味での政治主導を実現するには至らなかった。 Even though the government set up several task forces to handle disaster countermeasures, its system of political leadership -- having politicians being responsible for decisions on policy while bureaucrats put their expertise to work to implement these measures -- has failed to function as far as the government's response to the disasters is concerned.
与野党が一致協力して短期集中的に問題解決を図る、という政治のダイナミズムが発揮されることもなかった。与党内の足並みの乱れが政局の混乱を加速させた。 このため、政治にしか解決できない問題の処理が軒並み遅れた。The ruling and opposition parties have also failed to cooperate closely to solve problems with speed and focus. On the contrary, a conflict within the ruling bloc has contributed to confusion in the political situation, and delayed solutions to problems that require political-level decisions.
４兆円の第１次補正予算が成立したのが５月２日。復興期間、規模、財源、特区など復興の基本的方向性を定めた「復興基本方針」策定は地震から４カ月半後の７月２９日までずれこんだ。 The 4 trillion yen initial supplementary budget for fiscal 2011 -- designed to finance disaster recovery efforts -- did not become law until May 2, 2011. Furthermore, the government's compilation of the principles for disaster recovery, which provide direction during the recovery period and cover the scale and length of recovery measures, the financial resources required and the designation of special restoration zones, did not come until July 29 -- 4 1/2 months after the disasters.
帝都復興院が関東大震災後４週間で設置されたのに比べ、復興庁の発足は発生１１カ月後の２月１０日を待たなければならなかった。 The government finally set up the Reconstruction Agency on Feb. 10 -- 11 months after the Great East Japan Earthquake. This is in stark contrast to the establishment of a similar body only four weeks after the 1923 Great Kanto Earthquake that devastated Tokyo and its environs.
政治の問題解決能力を強化すること。これは、これから起こりうる災害に対し私たちが自分を守るためにも重要だし、３・１１以外の日本が抱えるさまざまな懸案事項を前進させるためにも必要不可欠である。 Enhancing political ability to solve problems is important as a means to protect ourselves from future disasters and indispensable when the government tackles other outstanding issues.
二つ目に、原発・エネルギー政策の根源的見直しの必然性である。私たちは、原発の安全神話にあまりにも安直にのっかってきた。原発依存をどう解消していくか。その穴を代替エネルギーでどう埋めていくのか。いわゆる核のゴミ問題をどう解決するのか。いずれも難しい課題だが、日本がこれらの解決先進国になれれば、世界に対して貢献できる。 Our second lesson is the inevitability of a fundamental review of Japan's energy policy -- including nuclear power. We were overconfident of the safety of nuclear power plants. The ongoing crisis at the Fukushima No. 1 Nuclear Power Plant has raised such questions as how to decrease Japan's reliance on nuclear power plants, how to secure substitute energy sources and how to solve problems involving radioactive waste. Even though these are extremely difficult questions, Japan can make an important contribution to global society by solving them and setting an example through reduced reliance on nuclear energy.
学んだことを将来にいかしたい。そのために私たちはこの「震災１年」シリーズで３・１１をいくつかのテーマに切り分け、提言する。 We would like to make good use of the lessons learned from the disasters in the future. To that end, we would like to make specific proposals in this series, "One year after March 11, 2011."
The Yomiuri Shimbun (Mar. 3, 2012) Suspension of uranium enrichment by N. Korea must be confirmed 米朝核合意 ウラン濃縮停止を見極めたい（3月2日付・読売社説）
Will the latest agreement really bring about a suspension of North Korea's nuclear weapons development program? The important thing is to see that country steadily carry out actions that were agreed upon. 北朝鮮の核開発に歯止めをかけることにつながるのか。重要なのは、合意した措置を確実に実行することである。
The United States and North Korea have announced they agreed during last week's bilateral talks that North Korea will temporarily halt its nuclear program, including uranium enrichment, while the United States will extend 240,000 tons of food assistance to North Korea. 米国と北朝鮮が、先週、北京で行った協議について、北朝鮮がウラン濃縮活動などを一時停止する一方、米国は２４万トンの食糧支援を実施することで合意した、と発表した。
It took about a week until Wednesday's announcement because it is believed to have been necessary to check the contents of the agreement and coordinate among countries concerned. 発表まで約１週間たったのは、合意内容の点検や関係国との調整が必要だったためと見られる。
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Limited, but important, progress
According to the U.S. government, North Korea will stop nuclear and related activities in Yongbyon, including nuclear tests, uranium enrichment and the launching of long-range missiles. North Korea also agreed to accept verification and confirmation by the International Atomic Energy Agency of the halt of its nuclear activities. 米政府によると、北朝鮮が停止するのは、長距離ミサイル発射、核実験、ウラン濃縮活動を含む寧辺での核活動だ。北朝鮮は、国際原子力機関（ＩＡＥＡ）による核活動停止の検証、確認を受け入れることも同意した。
Three years ago North Korea ejected IAEA inspectors from Yongbyon and carried out a second nuclear test. Declaring it would use all the plutonium it possesses for weapons and start uranium enrichment, it has been continuing its nuclear program. 北朝鮮は３年前、ＩＡＥＡ要員を寧辺から強制退去させ、２度目の核実験を強行した。保有するプルトニウム全量を「兵器化」し、ウラン濃縮活動を開始する、と宣言して核開発を続けている。
If the situation is left untouched, it will only be a matter of time until North Korea deploys nuclear missiles. Considering the danger, the agreement this time is "important, if limited, progress," as the U.S. government put it. このままでは、北朝鮮の核ミサイル配備も時間の問題だ。その危険を考えれば、今回の合意は、米政府が言う通り「限定的ながらも重要な進展」には違いない。
The problem is whether North Korea will surely halt its uranium enrichment program. Past events have shown the country has scrapped international agreements a number of times. The United States must seriously discuss with North Korea the procedures for implementing the agreement so as not to allow loopholes for the reclusive country. 問題は、北朝鮮がウラン濃縮を確実に停止するのかどうかだ。北朝鮮は、幾度も合意を反古(ほご)にしてきた経緯がある。合意履行の手順について、米国は、抜け道を許さぬよう厳しく詰めるべきだ。
Food assistance from the United States will be mainly nutritional assistance to infants and small children as well as pregnant women, including dietary supplements. The U.S. government has left open the prospect of additional assistance depending on necessity. 米国からの食糧支援は乳幼児や妊婦向けの栄養補助食品で、必要に応じて追加支援する可能性もあるという。
We think North Korea will perform concrete steps such as suspending uranium enrichment and accepting the IAEA's verification team, while closely watching the progress of the food assistance. 北朝鮮はこの食糧支援の状況を見定めながら、ウラン濃縮停止や検証受け入れなどの具体的措置を講じるのではないか。
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When will actual halt take place?
According to the original plan, the United States will provide 20,000 tons of food per month over a 12-month period. Will North Korea actually take steps toward stopping uranium enrichment when the first shipment of food aid arrives or after a considerable amount arrives? It is important to clarify this point before actual shipments begin. 米国の当初の計画では、２万トンずつ１年かけて提供する予定だ。北朝鮮がウラン濃縮停止に動くのは、最初の食糧の到着時か、それとも相当量が到着した時なのか。明確にしておく必要がある。
Even if the agreement is implemented as stated, it is still dangerous to heave a premature sigh of relief. 合意が履行されたとしても、安心するのは危険だ。
Concerning suspension of uranium enrichment, the agreement targets only the Yongbyon facility that was previously opened to U.S. nuclear experts. Basically, the agreement is merely a partial "suspension" of North Korea's entire nuclear development activities. Therefore, the possibility remains that North Korea will continue uranium enrichment at secret nuclear facilities elsewhere. ウラン濃縮の停止について、合意は、北朝鮮が米国の核専門家に公開した寧辺の施設だけを対象にした。合意は、あくまで核活動の部分的な「停止」に過ぎず、秘密の核施設で北朝鮮がウラン濃縮を続ける可能性は十分に残る。
Since the death of longtime leader Kim Jong Il, North Korea has been hurriedly trying to consolidate the regime that succeeded him, with his young son Kim Jong Un at the center of the country's administration. 金正日総書記の死去後、北朝鮮は若い正恩氏を中心とする後継体制固めを急いでいる。
The more vulnerable the regime feels, the more it will stick to its nuclear program and missiles, dubbed the "heritage of revolution," and will never give up them. その体制が脆弱(ぜいじゃく)であればあるほど、「革命の遺産」である核とミサイルにしがみつき、手放すはずはない。
The fundamental threat of North Korea has not been lessened. We must stay alert. 北朝鮮の根本的な脅威は減じておらず、警戒は怠れない。
(From The Yomiuri Shimbun, March 2, 2012) （2012年3月2日01時16分 読売新聞）
--The Asahi Shimbun, Feb. 29 EDITORIAL: Elpida’s bankruptcy is a warning against easy government bailouts エルピーダ倒産―安易な救済への警鐘だ
Elpida Memory Inc., the world’s No. 3 maker of dynamic random-access memory (DRAM) chips used to store data in personal computers and other devices, has filed for bankruptcy protection under the Corporate Rehabilitation Law. パソコンなどでデータを記憶する半導体ＤＲＡＭで世界３位のエルピーダメモリが、会社更生法の適用を申請して倒産した。
Elpida’s collapse under the weight of 448 billion yen ($5.6 billion) in liabilities represents the largest-ever corporate bankruptcy in Japan’s manufacturing sector. 負債総額は４４８０億円。製造業では過去最大だ。
Elpida is Japan’s sole remaining maker of DRAMs, created by integrating the DRAM manufacturing operations of NEC Corp., Hitachi Ltd. and Mitsubishi Electric Corp. ＮＥＣと日立製作所、三菱電機の事業を集約した日本で唯一のＤＲＡＭメーカーである。
Elpida received an injection of 30 billion yen in capital from the government-owned Development Bank of Japan in 2009 following the global economic downturn triggered by the fall 2008 collapse of U.S. investment bank Lehman Brothers. The unusual bailout committed the government to absorb losses incurred by the company. リーマン・ショック後の０９年には日本政策投資銀行から３００億円の出資を仰ぎ、損失は政府が補填（ほてん）する異例の公的支援を受けていた。
Elpida’s downfall was caused by a confluence of factors, including the heavy blow delivered to its bottom line by the yen’s sharp appreciation and a slump in global personal computer sales due partly to the sovereign debt crisis in Europe. 急激な円高による採算悪化、欧州危機を一因とするパソコンの世界的な販売不振など、様々な要因が重なった。
The fundamental cause of Elpida’s predicament, however, concerned structural challenges posed by competition from South Korean and Taiwanese rivals, led by Samsung Electronics Co., which have expanded their shares in the global DRAM market in recent years. しかし、根本には、サムスン電子をはじめとする韓国、台湾勢に市場を奪われる構造的な苦境がある。
In the 1980s, Japanese makers controlled 70 percent of the world DRAM market. ＤＲＡＭでは、８０年代に日本メーカーが世界市場の７割を占めた。
But the competitive landscape changed dramatically while Japanese chip makers were hamstrung by the export restrictions imposed on them as a result of a semiconductor trade dispute between Japan and the United States. しかし、日米半導体摩擦に伴う輸出規制で日本勢が動きを封じられているうちに、様相は一変した。
Attaining leadership in the DRAM market requires continuing massive investments in technology and equipment. ＤＲＡＭ事業で主導権を握るには、巨額の投資を続けることが不可欠だ。
South Korea’s Samsung has various other businesses that support its great financial strength. Elpida, which is dedicated to the DRAM business, apparently fought against hopeless odds when it challenged Samsung’s market leadership. サムスンはほかにも様々な事業を持ち、財務基盤が厚い。エルピーダがＤＲＡＭ専業で対抗しようとしたことに無理があった。
Of the 30 billion yen of taxpayer money injected into Elpida, up to 28 billion yen may prove to be unrecoverable, according to the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry. 経済産業省によると、公的資金のうち最大で２８０億円が戻ってこない恐れがある。
For all its importance, the DRAM industry, unlike the financial and energy sectors, is not part of the social infrastructure that supports people’s everyday lives. ＤＲＡＭ事業が重要だとはいえ、金融やエネルギーなど、日々の生活を支える社会インフラではない。
A direct injection of public funds into an ordinary private-sector company is regarded as unacceptable, except in very special cases. 一般の事業会社に公的資金を直接投入することは、よほどのことがない限り禁じ手だ。
The industry ministry should engage in serious soul-searching about its misguided and failed efforts to save Elpida, which also set the stage for an insider trading scandal that led to the indictment of a senior official at the ministry. エルピーダ再建にかかわるインサイダー取引事件で幹部職員が起訴されたことを含め、経産省は猛省すべきだ。
What is troubling is the fact that there are other cases of potentially excessive government involvement in private-sector business affairs. 心配なのは、「官」が出過ぎているのでは、と思える事例がほかにもあることだ。
In the liquid-crystal display industry, which, like the semiconductor industry, is facing a harsh business environment, Toshiba Corp., Sony Corp. and Hitachi have agreed to set up a new company to integrate their operations to manufacture small- and medium-sized LCDs. 半導体と同じく厳しい環境が続く液晶業界では、東芝とソニー、日立製作所が中小型液晶事業を統合して新会社を立ち上げる。
The deal was struck under the leadership of the Innovation Network Corp. of Japan (INCJ), a government-backed investment fund set up to promote innovations. Most of the entity’s capital has been provided by the government, with the rest coming from private-sector companies. 音頭をとったのは、政府を中心に民間が一部出資する産業革新機構だ。
The INCJ will acquire a 70-percent stake in the new LCD company by purchasing 200 billion yen worth of its shares. 機構は、新会社に２千億円を出資し、株式の７割を握るという。
While the market for small- and medium-sized LCDs is expected to grow, fierce price competition in the market means quick and flexible decision-making is essential for success. Will the government-led consolidation work? 中小型液晶は市場の拡大は期待できるが、価格競争が激しく、機敏な経営判断が欠かせない。官主導の再編でうまくいくだろうか。
During the era when Japan was pursuing a clear goal of catching up with Western industrial nations, the government was able to provide effective leadership for the growth of Japanese industries. But that era is long gone. 欧米に追いつき、追い越すという明確な目標があり、政府が旗を振れた時代はとうに過ぎた。
Now, the private sector should be left to tackle the challenge of creating and nurturing new growth industries by using its own intellectual and other resources. 新産業をどう切り開いていくのかは、民間の知恵に任せるべきだろう。
The government’s role should be limited to supporting private-sector initiatives by improving the environment for corporate activities. 政府の役割は企業が活動しやすい環境を整え、後方支援に徹することだ。
(Mainichi Japan) February 29, 2012 Fully utilize private-sector wisdom to bail out failed Elpida Memory Inc. 社説：エルピーダ破綻 民間の知恵で再建を
Private-sector wisdom should be fully utilized to bail out the failed semiconductor manufacturer Elpida Memory Inc., which has gone under and applied for bankruptcy protection under the Corporate Rehabilitation Law. エルピーダメモリが会社更生法の適用を申請した。
Elpida, which is the world's third largest manufacturer of semiconductors for memory, fell into a financial crisis following a sharp plunge in the market prices of such products and the yen's steep appreciation. It attempted to rehabilitate itself through a capital alliance with another company, but gave up after failing to raise sufficient operating funds. Its liabilities total 448 billion yen, the largest amount ever incurred by a failed manufacturer. 世界３位の記憶用半導体メーカーだが、価格の急落に円高などが重なり、資本提携で活路を探ったものの、資金繰りに窮し、自力再建を断念した。４４８０億円の負債総額は製造業の破綻では過去最大だ。
Japan had once been dominant in the international semiconductor market, and it became a focus of attention in Japan-U.S. trade friction. In the 1990s, however, manufacturers in South Korea and other emerging economies went on the offensive, causing Japanese manufacturers' market share to decline constantly. Many Japanese manufacturers were forced to merge their semiconductor divisions, and the business of semiconductors for memory was integrated into Elpida. 半導体は一時、日本が世界を席巻し、日米貿易摩擦の焦点ともなった分野だった。しかし、９０年代に入ると韓国などのメーカーの攻勢を受けて国内メーカーはシェアを落とし続けた。事業の統合を進めざるを得なくなり、記憶用半導体はエルピーダに集約された。
Fierce competition for investment in such semiconductor businesses continued. Whenever there was an excess of supply, the market prices of such products plummeted, threatening Elpida's business activity. 激しい投資競争はその後も続き、供給過剰に陥るたびに市況は急落し、エルピーダの経営を揺さぶった。
Following the collapse of the Lehman Brothers in 2008, Elpida became the first company to receive an infusion of public funds to rehabilitate itself under the Law on Special Measures for Industrial Revitalization. リーマン・ショック後には、国が公的資金を投入して企業再生を目指す改正産業活力再生特別措置法（産活法）の適用第１号となり、経営の立て直しを進めてきた。
However, its business performance worsened rapidly due to a sharp plunge in market prices and the steep appreciation of the yen, and the period of its rehabilitation under the special measures law is due to end at the end of March. しかし、市況の急落と円高により業績が急速に悪化する中で、３月末には産活法の適用期限を迎える。
Elpida sought to delay the deadline for repaying the public funds and obtain loans from private financial institutions to repay the taxpayers' money it had borrowed under the law. However, its negotiations on fundamentally rehabilitating itself, which is a prerequisite for such measures, did not proceed smoothly. 公的資金の返済延期や、金融機関からの融資の借り換えを模索したものの、その前提となる、抜本的な再建策をめぐる交渉は難航した。
Efforts to rehabilitate Elpida under the special measures law, which were led by the Economy, Trade and Industry Ministry, have come to a deadlock. The government must take it seriously that the failure of Elpida could cost taxpayers a total of 28 billion yen. 一方、産活法を適用して経済産業省主導で進められてきた再建策は、行き詰まったことになる。破綻によって最大２８０億円の国民負担が生じる可能性があるという。この点を重く受け止めねばならない。
The government led the rehabilitation of Elpida on the grounds that the semiconductors for memory sector is an industry indispensable for Japan. However, decisions on what industries are necessary for Japan should be left to the discretion of the private sector that invests funds in various businesses. 記憶用半導体は日本になくてはならない産業だというのが官主導の再建策につながった。しかし、何が必要なのかは、自らの資金を投じる民間の判断に委ねるというのが本来の姿だ。
New products, such as smartphones and tablet computers, will continue to hit the market. Those in the private sector are urged to discuss how to ensure that Japanese businesses retain their ability to develop semiconductors for memory that are suitable for such new products and that Japanese companies can utilize them. パソコンなど汎用（はんよう）化したものは別として、多機能電話のスマートフォンやタブレット型端末のような新製品はこれからも登場する。そうした新製品に適した記憶用半導体の開発能力を保持し、日本企業が活用できるようにするにはどのようにしたらいいのか。民間同士の話し合いの中で知恵を出してもらいたい。
Elpida will aim to rehabilitate itself after its debt workout is completed. However, the failure of the company is expected to contribute to a realignment of the semiconductors for memory industry on a global scale. 破綻処理による債務整理でエルピーダは身軽になり、再建を目指すことになるが、同時に記憶用半導体の世界的な再編にさらに拍車をかけることになるだろう。
It is possible that an overseas manufacturer will place Elpida under its umbrella. However, South Korean manufacturers that have continued making massive amounts of investments are enjoying an overwhelming share on the global market. We should keep in mind that South Korean manufacturers may become the only suppliers of such semiconductors. 海外のメーカーがスポンサーになることも考えられる。ただ、巨額の投資を続ける韓国勢のシェアが今でも群を抜いており、場合によっては韓国勢以外に調達先がなくなる事態も想定しなければならないという状況にあることも忘れてはならない。
It is necessary to prevent fair competition from being restrained in realigning the industry. 健全な競争が阻害されぬようにということも、記憶用半導体の再編にあたって押さえておくべき点だ。
