The Yomiuri Shimbun (Jan. 30, 2013) Abe must formulate strategy to boost nation's growth 所信表明演説 危機突破へ成長戦略を語れ（1月29日付・読売社説）
Strong determination and concrete policy measures are imperative in achieving the breakthroughs needed to overcome the crises facing Japan. 日本が直面する「危機」を突破していくには、強い意志と具体的な政策が重要である。
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe made his first policy speech since regaining power at the plenary sessions of the House of Representatives and the House of Councillors. 安倍首相が衆参両院本会議で、政権復帰後初めての所信表明演説を行った。
Abe said the source of his determination to serve as prime minister for the second time lies in his "deep sense of patriotism." He clearly demonstrated his resolve to have his entire Cabinet make utmost efforts to address crises in four areas: the economy, reconstruction from the 2011 earthquake disaster, foreign and security issues, and education. 首相に再登板した決意の源は「深き憂国の念」だとし、経済と震災復興、外交・安全保障、教育の四つの「危機」に内閣を挙げて取り組む姿勢を明確にした。
What he underscored as the biggest and most pressing issue was economic revitalization. A strong economy will help increase individuals' income and strengthen the foundations for social security systems. The prime minister's recognition of the importance of this issue is appropriate. 最大かつ喫緊の課題と強調したのは経済再生だ。「強い経済」が国民の所得を増やし、社会保障制度の基盤強化にもつながるとする首相の認識は妥当である。
The government has issued a joint statement with the Bank of Japan that stipulates a 2 percent inflation target. A supplementary budget that includes stimulus measures worth 10 trillion yen will be submitted to the Diet shortly. We praise Abe for setting in motion two of his "three arrows" for economic revitalization--monetary easing and fiscal measures. 政府は、２％の物価目標を明記した日本銀行との共同声明をまとめた。１０兆円規模の経済対策を盛り込んだ補正予算案を近く国会に提出する。首相の掲げる「３本の矢」のうち金融緩和と財政政策が動き出したことは評価できる。
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Handle divided Diet carefully
The remaining "arrow" is growth strategy. At the Headquarters for Japan's Economic Revitalization, comprising the entire Cabinet, and the Industrial Competitiveness Council, in which relevant Cabinet ministers and outside experts are participating, the Abe administration must hammer out effective policy measures to stimulate private investment to increase synergistic effects with monetary and fiscal policy measures. 残るのは成長戦略だ。全閣僚参加の日本経済再生本部や、有識者を交えた産業競争力会議で、民間投資を喚起する効果的な政策を打ち出し、金融・財政政策との相乗効果を高めねばならない。
To overcome the nation's crises, the prime minister called on the opposition bloc to cooperate. "Let us mobilize the wisdom of the ruling and opposition parties and demonstrate Japan's strength to the greatest possible extent," Abe said in his speech. It also is essential for the administration to carefully handle the Diet, as the upper house is controlled by the opposition. 首相は演説で危機突破のために「与野党の叡智(えいち)を結集させ、国力を最大限発揮させよう」と野党に協力を求めた。衆参ねじれ国会であることからも、丁寧な国会運営が欠かせない。
A focal point in the Diet is that the government must obtain approval for its appointment of the successor to Bank of Japan Gov. Masaaki Shirakawa, whose term expires in April. Early passage of budgets and related bills also is of major importance. 国会の焦点は、４月に任期が切れる白川方明日銀総裁の後任人事の国会同意取り付けと、予算案と予算関連法案の早期成立だ。
Besides holding talks with the Democratic Party of Japan, the largest party in the upper house, the ruling parties should hold discussions with Nippon Ishin no Kai (Japan Restoration Party) and Your Party, which share similar views on monetary and economic policy measures. We believe the Abe administration should consider the possibility of joining hands with these parties on a policy-by-policy basis. 参院第１党の民主党に加え、金融・経済政策で共通点が多い日本維新の会やみんなの党とも協議することが重要だ。政策ごとの連携も視野に入れる必要があろう。
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How will PM rebuild China ties
In his speech, Abe delivered simple and easy-to-understand messages as he narrowed the points to highlight certain issues. 今回の演説は、首相がメリハリをつけようと項目を絞り込んだため、シンプルで分かりやすいメッセージになった。
On the other hand, we consider unsatisfactory Abe's failure to refer to many important issues. We want him to clarify his stances on these issues through Diet debates. 反面、多くの重要課題に言及がなかったことは物足りない。国会論戦を通じて見解を明らかにしてもらいたい。
They include the government's policy toward China, one of the nation's biggest pending issues. Abe earlier said the nation would "resolutely protect" the Senkaku Islands. But we wonder how Japan-China relations will be rebuilt. 例えば、最大の懸案の一つである中国政策だ。尖閣諸島を「断固として守り抜く」とする一方で、日中関係をどう立て直すのか。
Abe also did not touch on energy policy. We think he should have provided a full explanation on the necessity of reactivating idled nuclear reactors so that public anxiety over electricity shortages will not hinder economic revitalization. エネルギー政策にも触れていない。電力不足への不安感が経済再生の足を引っ張らないよう、首相が原発再稼働の必要性を丁寧に説明すべきだったのではないか。
He clearly stated in his speech that Japan would play a leading role in economic and security issues in the Asia-Pacific region. 首相は演説で、日本がアジア太平洋地域で経済や安保の「先導役」となることを明言した。
Therefore, he should have Japan enter negotiations on the U.S.-led Trans-Pacific Partnership free trade framework so the nation will be able to take full advantage of growth in other parts of Asia. それならば、アジアの成長を取り込むため、米国が主導する環太平洋経済連携協定（ＴＰＰ）交渉への参加を決断すべきである。
(From The Yomiuri Shimbun, Jan. 29, 2013) （2013年1月29日01時27分 読売新聞）
The Yomiuri Shimbun (Jan. 29, 2013) Can U.S. achieve revival during Obama's 2nd term? オバマ氏２期目 米国再生へ真価が問われる（1月28日付・読売社説）
The coming four years will be a crucial test of Barack Obama's ability to revive the United States. 米国再生へ成果が問われる重要な４年間だ。
After his reelection, Obama has launched his second term as U.S. president. 再選を果たしたオバマ米大統領が、２期目のスタートを切った。
In a speech marking the inauguration of his second term, Obama touted his first-term achievements, saying: "A decade of war is now ending. An economic recovery has begun." オバマ氏は新たな任期に臨む就任式で「１０年に及ぶ戦争は今、終わりつつある。経済の回復も始まった」と述べ、１期目の成果を誇示した。
U.S. troops in Afghanistan will complete their combat mission shortly and pull out at the end of next year. Stock prices that nosedived after the "Lehman shock" have been rising sharply, exceeding precrisis levels. And the U.S. energy boom is surging due to the so-called shale gas revolution. アフガニスタン駐留米軍は戦闘任務をまもなく終え、来年末には撤収する。リーマン・ショックで急落した株価も危機前の水準を超えて大幅に上昇し、シェールガス革命でエネルギーブームだ。
Obama probably takes pride in his achievement of overcoming negative legacies of the previous Bush administration. オバマ氏には、ブッシュ前政権の「負の遺産」を克服したという自負心があるのだろう。
However, a bumpy road lies ahead before the United States can attain a full-scale revival. ただし、本格的な再生へ、前途はいばらの道である。
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Fiscal mess must be fixed
The top-priority challenge will be fiscal reconstruction. 最重要課題は財政再建だ。
Fiscal deficits topped 1 trillion dollars (about 90 trillion yen) for four consecutive years, and government debts ballooned to exceed 16 trillion dollars. 財政赤字は４年連続で１兆ドル（約９０兆円）を超え、政府債務残高も１６兆ドル超に膨れ上がった。
The United States has so far avoided the double threats of falling off the fiscal cliff: mandatory spending cuts and the expiration of large-scale tax breaks. A government default will likely be avoided for about three months by raising the ceiling on the issuance of U.S. Treasury bills, which limits federal borrowing. 大型減税の失効と歳出の強制削減が重なる「財政の崖」からの転落は、ひとまず回避した。連邦政府の借り入れ枠である米国債発行枠（債務上限）を暫定的に引き上げ、デフォルト（債務不履行）も約３か月避けられる方向だ。
However, implementation of drastic fiscal reconstruction measures are being put on the back burner. だが、抜本的な財政再建策は先送りされている。
Obama must display strong leadership in passing necessary bills through Congress. オバマ氏は、議会で必要な法案が成立するよう、強い指導力を発揮しなければならない。
Partisan confrontation has been intensifying rather than subsiding under a divided Congress in which the House of Representatives is controlled by the opposition Republican Party and the Senate by the Democratic Party. Obama will face a tough job in dealing with Republican representatives on key bills. 下院を野党・共和党、上院を民主党が制する“ねじれ議会”で、党派対立はむしろ深まっている。議会対策は容易ではあるまい。
To help overcome the challenge, Obama is replacing key Cabinet members--including secretaries of Treasury, state and defense--and has nominated seasoned politicians with broad influence in Congress to fill the posts. オバマ氏が、財務、国務、国防各長官ら主要閣僚を交代し、議会に顔が利くベテランを指名したのも、そのための布陣と言える。
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A host of challenges
Obama faces a host of difficult policy challenges at home. Among them are legislation for gun control in the aftermath of the shooting rampage that claimed the lives of 20 elementary school students, and reform of the immigration system to give the children of illegal immigrants conditional citizenship. 小学生２０人が犠牲となった銃乱射事件を受けた銃規制の法整備、不法移民の子供に条件付きで市民権を付与する移民制度改革など、内政の難題は山積している。
On diplomatic and security fronts, Obama will have to cope with the ongoing nuclear development programs of North Korea and Iran. Washington's active engagement will be indispensable to promote the deadlocked Middle East peace process and deal with the turmoil stemming from the Arab Spring pro-democracy movement. 外交・安全保障面では、進む一方の北朝鮮やイランの核開発に取り組まねばならない。停滞したままの中東和平や「アラブの春」後の混乱に対処する上でも、米国の積極的な関与は欠かせない。
Above all, the Obama administration's strategy of focusing on Asia is being put to the test. とりわけ、アジア重視戦略の真価が問われている。
How will the White House develop a relationship with the Chinese administration led by Xi Jinping while curbing the moves of China, which has been expanding its military and economic power? It will be essential for the United States to buttress relations with Japan and other allies to build a free, open and peaceful Asia-Pacific region. 軍事的にも経済的にも膨張著しい中国を牽制(けんせい)しつつ、習近平政権とどういう関係を築くのか。自由で開かれた平和なアジア太平洋地域の構築へ、日本など同盟国との関係強化は不可欠である。
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe will visit the United States next month and hold a summit meeting with Obama. We hope the two leaders will discuss how to reinforce the Japan-U.S. alliance from a strategic viewpoint focusing on China. 安倍首相は来月、訪米し、オバマ氏と首脳会談に臨む。中国をにらんだ戦略的な日米同盟の強化策を論じ合ってもらいたい。
(From The Yomiuri Shimbun, Jan. 28, 2013) （2013年1月28日01時07分 読売新聞）
The Yomiuri Shimbun (Jan. 28, 2013) Restart nuclear power plants, boost exports to recoup trading ground 巨額貿易赤字 輸出力の強化と原発再稼動を（1月27日付・読売社説）
The foundation of Japan as a trading country is eroding. Both government and private sectors must work together to recoup lost ground. 「貿易立国」としての日本の土台が揺らいでいる。官民で巻き返しを図らねばならない。
The 2012 trading balance--exports minus imports--ran up a record deficit of 6.9 trillion yen, far exceeding 2.6 trillion yen in 1980 that immediately followed the second oil crisis. 輸出額から輸入額を差し引いた２０１２年の貿易収支は、過去最大の６・９兆円の赤字だった。第２次石油危機直後の１９８０年に記録した２・６兆円を大きく上回った。
Last year's trade deficit is 2.7 times more than the 2011 figure, the first trade deficit in 31 years, which was attributable to the negative effects of the Great East Japan Earthquake. This is a very serious situation. 東日本大震災の影響で３１年ぶりに貿易赤字に転落した一昨年と比べても２・７倍に増えた。極めて深刻な事態である。
The trade deficit was caused by a decline in exports due to the European financial crisis and deceleration of the Chinese economy, combined with a sharp increase in imports. 要因は、欧州危機や中国経済減速に伴い、輸出が減少する一方、輸入が急増したことによる。
After the disaster occurred at Tokyo Electric Power Co.'s Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant, the operations of nuclear reactors were suspended around the country. Since then, only two have been reactivated. 東京電力福島第一原子力発電所事故後、原発が全国で停止し、再稼働したのは２基にとどまる。
As an alternative electricity source, power companies have been operating thermal power stations at full blast. Consequently, imports of liquefied natural gas, the fuel needed for these power stations, have increased abnormally to a massive 6 trillion yen a year. 電力各社が代替電源として火力発電をフル稼働した結果、燃料となる液化天然ガス（ＬＮＧ）の輸入額が年間で約６兆円にも達する異常事態になっている。
Meanwhile, Japan's current account balance, which includes dividends and interest from overseas investment, remains in surplus. However, there are concerns that this balance will eventually fall into the red if the trade deficit continues. 海外への投資による配当や利子の受け取りを含めた経常黒字は続いている。だが、巨額の貿易赤字が慢性化すると、いずれ経常収支も赤字転落が懸念されよう。
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Hollowing out of industry
To rebuild its status as a trading nation, Japan first has to strengthen the competitiveness of its manufacturing industry to increase exports. 「貿易立国」の立て直しにまず必要なのは、輸出拡大につながる製造業の競争力強化である。
Japanese electrical appliance manufacturers have fallen behind their South Korean rivals in the markets of flat-screen televisions, mobile phones and others. Japan also has a 3 trillion yen a year excess in imports for medicine and medical equipment, markets that are growing quickly. 電機業界は、薄型テレビや携帯電話市場などで韓国メーカーなどに出遅れた。成長市場である医薬・医療機器分野でも、年約３兆円の輸入超過になっている。
Japanese manufacturers must develop attractive products of high value and find ways to capitalize on growing markets in the emerging economies of Asia and other regions. 製造業各社が、付加価値の高い魅力的な商品を開発し、アジアなど新興国の成長市場を積極的に取り込む工夫が要る。
Behind the huge trade deficit is the rapid hollowing-out of the domestic manufacturing industry, as Japanese firms are moving their production overseas to avoid the high costs of operating in this country. 貿易赤字の背景には、コスト高を回避するため、製造業が拠点を海外に移転し、国内空洞化が加速している事情がある。
The government should help Japanese companies by such means as lowering corporate tax and giving tax credits for investment so they will be able to take full advantage of manufacturing in Japan. The Industrial Competitiveness Council created recently by the government should devise measures to promote "made-in-Japan" products. 国内立地の利点を享受できるよう、政府は法人税減税や投資減税などを拡充し、企業を支援すべきだ。新設された産業競争力会議は「メード・イン・ジャパン」のテコ入れ策を示してもらいたい。
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Make decision on TPP
The government also should not wait any longer to decide on participating in negotiations on the Trans-Pacific Partnership free trade pact to help Japanese firms compete better in overseas markets. 海外市場の攻略には、環太平洋経済連携協定（ＴＰＰ）への参加決断も待ったなしだ。
What would be most important to reduce imports would be to reactivate idle nuclear reactors quickly after their safety has been confirmed. The longer Japan depends on thermal power generation, LNG imports will continue to increase and the nation's wealth will flow to countries rich in natural resources. 一方、輸入を減らすために最も重要なのは、安全性を確認できた原発の再稼働を急ぐことだ。火力発電に依存する状況が長期化するほど、ＬＮＧの輸入額が増えて国富が資源国に流出する。
The rising cost of LNG also will eventually result in an increase in electricity charges. ＬＮＧ調達コスト上昇で電気料金値上げに拍車をかけよう。
The excessively strong yen has been corrected and the weaker yen is becoming the norm on foreign exchange markets. This helps exporters, but excessive depreciation of the yen will further increase the prices of imports of LNG and other foreign products. Close attention should be paid to this. 為替市場で超円高が是正され、円安が定着してきた。輸出企業にはプラスだが、円安が行き過ぎるとＬＮＧなどの輸入額を一段と急増させる。これにも要警戒だ。
(From The Yomiuri Shimbun, Jan. 27, 2013) （2013年1月27日01時34分 読売新聞）
The Yomiuri Shimbun (Jan. 27, 2013) Hostage crisis shows challenges facing Japanese firms abroad 途上国リスク 日本企業が抱える課題は重い（1月26日付・読売社説）
The taking of hostages by Islamist militants at a natural gas plant in Algeria has forced Japanese companies operating abroad to review their security management systems. アルジェリアで起きたイスラム武装勢力による人質事件は、海外展開する日本企業に危機管理体制の見直しを迫った。
They have to strike a difficult balance between developing business opportunities abroad and preparing countermeasures against terrorism and other risks. ビジネスチャンスを拡大しながら、テロなどのリスクにどう備えるか。難しい課題の両立策を模索しなければならない。
In the recent crisis, 10 employees of major plant construction company JGC Corp. and companies related to it were killed. On Friday, the bodies of nine of them returned to Japan on a Japanese government plane, along with seven survivors. 犠牲になった大手プラントメーカー日揮と関連会社の社員１０人のうち９人の遺体と、無事だった７人が、政府専用機で帰国した。
JGC has developed natural resources in Algeria since the 1960s. It does business not only in Africa but also in many countries in the Middle East, Asia and other regions. 日揮は１９６０年代からアルジェリアの資源開発に取り組み、アフリカだけでなく、中東、アジアなど世界に展開してきた。
JGC is a pioneering Japanese corporation in doing business abroad. Over 70 percent of its sales are earned in other countries. We have to take very seriously the fact that even JGC, with its thorough knowledge of operating in developing countries, could fall victim to terrorism. 売上高に占める海外比率は７割超に達し、海外で稼ぐパイオニア企業である。途上国ビジネスに精通していた日揮ですら、テロに巻き込まれたのは深刻だ。
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Risks in developing countries
"[The hostage-taking incident] shows the challenge of doing business and securing safety simultaneously," said JGC President Koichi Kawana at a press conference. His words reflect a common challenge for other Japanese firms operating abroad. 川名浩一社長は記者会見で「安全を確保しながらビジネスを進めていく課題を突き付けられた」と述べた。海外展開する日本企業に共通の課題と言えよう。
About 15 Japanese companies have offices in Algeria. In other African countries that are also rich in natural resources and expected to grow economically, Japanese firms compete with each other in the trade, construction, automobile and many other industries. アルジェリアには日本企業約１５社の拠点がある。資源が豊富で成長が期待されるアフリカ各地で、商社、ゼネコン、自動車など様々な業界が競っている。
According to a survey by the Japan External Trade Organization, 70 percent of Japanese firms operating in Africa said the continent will become increasingly important. But 90 percent said Africa had problems regarding political and social stability, which undermines security. The figures show the dilemma such firms face. 日本貿易振興機構（ジェトロ）の調査では、アフリカに進出した日本企業の７割が「アフリカの重要性が増す」と答える一方、９割が「治安など政治的・社会的な安定性」を問題点に挙げた。各社のジレンマがうかがえる。
After the latest incident, Japanese firms operating abroad have taken defensive measures such as prohibiting employees from traveling to countries where security concerns are high and enhancing the security of their offices and plants. We think those are appropriate actions. 今回の事件後、各社は治安悪化が懸念される国への出張を禁止したり、事務所やプラントなどの警備を強化するなどの自衛策を打ち出した。当然の対応だろう。
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Coordinate with governments
However, there is a limit to the defensive measures a private company can afford to take. We expect companies to reexamine their security measures by strengthening their coordination with the Japanese government and the governments of the other countries where they operate. だが、一企業による自衛策には限界もある。政府や地元政府などとの連携を強化し、安全対策を総点検してもらいたい。
Meanwhile, the government plans to review its own response to the incident while organizing a panel of experts to study ways to protect Japanese nationals abroad. It is important to discuss the risks in developing countries from a broader perspective. 政府は、事件対応を検証するとともに、有識者懇談会を設置し、邦人保護のあり方を検討する。幅広い観点からの議論が重要だ。
We would like to suggest that both ruling and opposition parties begin talks as soon as possible on establishing a Japanese version of the U.S. National Security Council to enhance the government's ability to systematically gather and analyze intelligence on terrorism. テロ関連の情報収集・分析体制を強化するため、国家安全保障会議（日本版ＮＳＣ）の早期設置へ与野党協議を始めてはどうか。
The ruling Liberal Democratic Party and its junior coalition partner New Komeito plan to discuss revision of the Self-Defense Forces Law. Though it is already possible under the current law to transport Japanese nationals on SDF ships and planes, the parties are considering revising the law so that the SDF can also rescue and transport Japanese people on land in other countries. 自民、公明両党は自衛隊法改正を検討する。現行法で可能な自衛艦・航空機による邦人輸送に加え外国での邦人救出や陸上輸送を可能にすることを想定している。
However, the advance agreement of the countries concerned will be necessary for the SDF to carry out such missions. The missions will also require a relaxation of the rules on the use of weapons, which is narrowly restricted to immediate self-defense at present. It will also be necessary to specially train Ground Self-Defense Force members in how to protect people in their care. しかし、新たな任務の実施は当事国の同意が前提となる。正当防衛などに限定されている武器使用基準の緩和のほか、陸上自衛隊には警護任務の特殊な訓練が求められる。
The ruling parties should have serious and responsible discussions of these issues. これらの課題について、しっかり論議することが大切だ。
(From The Yomiuri Shimbun, Jan. 26, 2013) （2013年1月26日01時36分 読売新聞）
The Yomiuri Shimbun (Jan. 26, 2013) Postponing tax question will not lead to solution 税制改正大綱 難題先送りでは責任果たせぬ（1月25日付・読売社説）
A stopgap approach to resolving a challenge can never lead to reinvigoration of the national economy. Drastic revision of the tax system is urgently needed now. その場しのぎの対応では、日本経済は活性化しない。税制の抜本的な改革が急務である。
The Liberal Democratic Party and its coalition partner New Komeito have decided on an outline of the ruling bloc's tax system revisions for fiscal 2013. 自民、公明両党が２０１３年度の与党税制改正大綱を決定した。
With the consumption tax rate scheduled to be raised to 8 percent from April 2014, the posture of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's administration has drawn much attention. １４年４月に予定される消費税率の８％への引き上げを控え、安倍政権の姿勢が問われていた。
Regarding the wisdom of applying a reduced rate to such goods as foodstuffs, the two parties have agreed to strive to introduce a lower tax rate when the consumption tax is raised from 8 percent to 10 percent in October 2015. 焦点となった食料品などの消費税率を抑える軽減税率は、消費税が８％から１０％に上がる１５年１０月導入を目指すことで合意した。
The LDP and Komeito seem to have postponed the introduction of a low tax rate on daily necessities mainly because they took into account objections from small and midsize businesses and others that their business operations would be complicated by the introduction of a reduced tax rate. 軽減税率導入に伴う煩雑な手続きに不満を抱く中小企業などに配慮したと言える。
To secure public understanding about the consumption tax increase, however, it is definitely desirable to implement a lower rate system when the rate is raised to 8 percent. We believe the decision to put off its introduction is problematic. だが、消費増税への国民の理解を得るには、税率を８％にする時から導入する方が望ましい。実施時期の先送りは問題である。
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Reduced rate must be 5%
The LDP and Komeito have agreed to have the specific rate of reduction, and the range of lower-rate goods, discussed by a panel of experts and to reach a conclusion toward the end of the year when deciding on tax system revisions for fiscal 2014. 自公両党は、専門委員会で税率や対象品目などを協議し、今年末に決める１４年度税制改正で結論を出すという。
Discussions on the issue must be launched promptly to ensure that lower rate arrangements are implemented when the tax is raised to 10 percent. 速やかに検討を始め、１０％段階での導入を確実にしなければならない。
When the low tax rate system is introduced, the rate should be set at 5 percent on not only foodstuffs but also newspapers and magazines, which are public goods that serve as pillars of democracy. その際、軽減する消費税率は５％とし、対象には食料品のほか、民主主義を支える公共財である新聞・雑誌も含めるべきだ。
Discussions on the motor vehicle acquisition tax and weight tax were difficult to the last, and the question of how to deal with these taxes was narrowly settled as a result of concessions by various sides. 最後まで調整が難航した自動車取得税と自動車重量税の扱いも、妥協の末に決着した。
Under the LDP-Komeito accord, the motor vehicle acquisition tax will be reduced when the consumption tax is raised to 8 percent and abolished when the rate is increased to 10 percent. As for the weight tax, the current tax breaks on eco-friendly vehicles will become permanent, with a view to using the motor vehicle-related tax revenue for improving and maintaining roads. 取得税を消費税８％時に引き下げ、１０％時に廃止する一方、重量税はエコカー減税を恒久化し、道路整備に充てる方針だ。
The planned abolition of the motor vehicle acquisition tax will reduce local governments' tax revenues by about 200 billion yen a year. 取得税の廃止により、地方税収が年間約２０００億円減る。
The tax system revision outline stipulates that abolition of the acquisition tax will "not adversely affect the finances of local governments." There have been no prospects, however, of how to secure revenue sources to make up for the lost income. 大綱は「地方財政に影響を及ぼさない」と明記したが、代替財源の見通しは立っていない。
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Simplify motor vehicle taxes
The automobile industry has called for abolition of both the motor vehicle acquisition tax and weight tax. It argues that they will cause a slump in motor vehicle sales if they remain in place after the consumption tax goes up. But local governments, concerned about loss of revenue, have opposed the abolition of the two taxes. 自動車業界は「消費増税で販売不振を招く」として取得税と重量税の廃止を求め、税収減を懸念する自治体が反対した。
Apparently taking this summer's House of Councillors election into account, the LDP-Komeito agreement is an equivocal one intended to show deference to both the automobile industry and local governments. 今夏の参院選をにらみ、業界と地方双方の顔を立てる玉虫色の決着である。
The purposes for which the automobile weight tax is to be used are also problematic. 重量税の使途も疑問だ。
The two parties' agreement on the matter could eventually lead to a revival of the tax revenues set aside for road construction that the administration of the Democratic Party of Japan did away with in 2009 in the name of reducing fiscal waste. 無駄な公共事業の温床になるとして、自民党政権が０９年に廃止した道路特定財源の復活にならないか。
It is important to thoroughly review and simplify the highly complicated tax structure on motor vehicles, including the gasoline tax. 複雑な仕組みの自動車課税を、ガソリン税を含めて総合的に見直し、簡素化することが重要だ。
Also envisioned in connection with tax system revisions for next fiscal year are increases in income and inheritance taxes on the wealthy. The effect of the tax hikes in securing fiscal resources for the government, however, is certain to be limited, and they may discourage people in high income brackets from working, lessening the nation's economic vitality. 来年度改正では、富裕層を対象に所得税と相続税の課税強化を打ち出した。財源確保の効果は限定的で、労働意欲や経済活力をそぐことになりかねない。
Expansion of the tax breaks on housing loans and on some items of business activity has also been incorporated into the tax system revision outline, but it is unclear how effectively these steps will bolster the economy. 住宅ローン減税の拡充や企業向け減税も盛り込まれたが、どこまで経済をテコ入れできるかは未知数だ。
Such measures as a full-fledged cut in corporate income tax, coupled with a solid growth strategy, must be realized. 成長戦略と連動した法人税減税などが求められよう。
The government should explore ways to balance the tax burdens in each category of income level, assets and consumption. 所得・資産・消費で均衡のとれた負担のあり方を探るべきだ。
(From The Yomiuri Shimbun, Jan. 25, 2013) （2013年1月25日01時20分 読売新聞）
The Yomiuri Shimbun (Jan. 25, 2013) Sanctions on North Korea meaningless if not effective 対「北」制裁強化 安保理決議の実効性を高めよ（1月24日付・読売社説）
It is crucial for the international community to make continuous efforts to pressure North Korea and improve the effectiveness of sanctions against the country. 北朝鮮への圧力の手を緩めず、実効性を高めることが重要だ。
On Tuesday, the U.N. Security Council unanimously adopted Resolution 2087, which boosts sanctions against North Korea. 国連の安全保障理事会が、北朝鮮への制裁を強化する決議２０８７を全会一致で採択した。
The resolution condemned Pyongyang's December launch of a long-range ballistic missile, which North Korea claimed sent a satellite into orbit. The Security Council also expressed its "determination to take significant action" if the country launches another missile or conducts a new nuclear test. 決議は、北朝鮮が「人工衛星打ち上げ」と称して昨年１２月、安保理決議に違反する長距離弾道ミサイル発射を強行したことを非難した。新たなミサイル発射や核実験を行う場合、安保理が「重大な行動を取る」とも警告している。
It took time for the Security Council to arrange the details of the sanctions. However, the new resolution means that members of the international community have joined hands to make a tough response to North Korea's provocative actions. This deserves praise. 制裁内容の調整に時間を要したが、新たな決議採択は、国際社会が結束して北朝鮮の挑発に厳しく対応したものと評価できる。
The latest resolution was a product of compromise between the United States and China, both of whom are permanent members of the Security Council. 決議は、常任理事国である米国と中国の妥協の結果でもある。
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Resolution not best, but better
The United States tried to heighten punitive actions against North Korea by adding new sanctions with the help of Japan and South Korea. However, China reportedly opposed this idea and insisted the Security Council should issue a presidential statement--which is not legally binding--instead of a resolution. 米国は、日本や韓国と連携しながら、制裁の枠組みを広げ、強化することを目指した。これに対し中国は当初、新たな制裁には否定的で、法的拘束力のない議長声明とするよう主張したという。
In the end, the Security Council decided to adopt a resolution but refrained from imposing new sanctions on North Korea. Instead, the Security Council has beefed up existing sanctions stipulated in previous resolutions, such as adding new entities to its travel ban and freeze on assets. 最終的に決議採択に落ち着く代わりに、中身は、資産凍結や海外渡航禁止措置の対象追加など、既存の決議に基づく制裁強化にとどまった。
The resolution could have been better if it imposed new sanctions, such as obligating member countries to inspect North Korean cargos. However, this is clear progress compared to the Security's Council's response to North Korea's previous missile launch in April. 貨物検査の義務づけなど新規制裁に踏み込まなかった点で物足りなさは残る。 それでも、昨年４月に北朝鮮がミサイルを発射した際、中国の反対で安保理が北朝鮮を非難する議長声明しか出せなかったのに比べると前進だ。
At that time the Security Council only managed to issue a presidential statement condemning North Korea, due to protests from China. It is clear that the Security Council's lukewarm response has inflated Pyongyang's ego, and is one reason the nation decided to launch another missile in December. 当時の甘い対応が北朝鮮を増長させ、再度の発射を許す一因となったのは明らかだ。
The Security Council's new resolution has drawn an angry response from North Korea. The nation said it will take countermeasures against the resolution and "bolster its military capabilities for self-defense, including nuclear deterrence." This could be interpreted as expressing Pyongyang's intention to conduct a fresh nuclear test. 北朝鮮は、安保理決議に強く反発し、「核抑止力を含む自衛的な軍事力」を強化する「対応措置」を講じると宣言した。核実験の予告とも受け取れる。
North Korea has twice conducted nuclear tests, both of which took place in response to the Security Council's condemnation of Pyongyang's missile launches. If the international community fails to prevent Pyongyang from conducting a third test, the horror of a nuclear-armed North Korea will become more imminent, further exacerbating regional tensions. 北朝鮮は、安保理にミサイル発射を非難されたのに対抗して、２回の核実験を強行した。３回目を許せば、核ミサイルの脅威が高まり、地域は一層緊張しよう。
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China must act
As a permanent member of the Security Council and a regional neighbor, China should strongly urge North Korea to stop threatening the international community. 中国は、安保理常任理事国として、隣国の北朝鮮に挑発をやめるよう厳しく迫るべきだ。
The underlying reason why China agreed to adopting a U.N. resolution is its strained relationship with the United States over Beijing's territorial claims in the South China Sea and to the Senkaku Islands. We believe China judged it would be an additional burden on the country if it also clashed with the United States over North Korea. 中国が制裁強化決議に同意した背景には、南シナ海の領有権問題や尖閣諸島を巡って米国とのあつれきを深める中、北朝鮮問題でも対立する事態は重荷となるため、避けたいとの判断もあろう。
Efforts to boost sanctions against North Korea will be meaningless if they fail to produce tangible results. China, which accounts for about 70 percent of North Korea's trade, has a heavy responsibility to strictly comply with and strengthen the sanctions, such as an embargo on commodities related to weapons of mass destruction and luxury goods. 制裁を強化しても、効果が上がらなければ意味はない。北朝鮮の貿易額の７割を占める中国には、大量破壊兵器関連物資や贅沢(ぜいたく)品の禁輸などの制裁を順守、徹底し、強化する重い責任がある。
Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga has said the government plans to take independent action against North Korea, such as beefing up Japan's sanctions against the country. We urge the government to come up with ideas that will effectively discourage North Korea's provocations. 菅官房長官は、日本も独自の制裁を強化する考えを示した。効果的な策を検討してもらいたい。
(From The Yomiuri Shimbun, Jan. 24, 2013) （2013年1月24日01時07分 読売新聞）
The Yomiuri Shimbun (Jan. 24, 2013) Was military action only way to end Algerian siege? 邦人死亡確認 人命軽視はやむを得ないか（1月23日付・読売社説）
The Algerian hostage crisis has ended with tragic consequences. 痛ましい結末だ。
Seven Japanese, including employees of plant engineering and manufacturing firm JGC Corp., were confirmed to have been killed during an attack on an Algerian natural gas plant by a group of Islamist militants. アルジェリアの天然ガス関連施設がイスラム武装勢力に襲われた事件でプラントメーカー「日揮」社員ら日本人７人の死亡が確認された。
We condemn the criminal group for targeting "corporate warriors" diligently working in a foreign country under severe conditions. 過酷な環境の異国で仕事に励む“企業戦士”を標的にした犯罪者集団を強く非難する。
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe denounced the terrorist attack Tuesday, saying: "It's extremely heartbreaking. We'll never tolerate terrorism." We agree entirely. 安倍首相が「痛恨の極みだ。テロを絶対に許さない」と言明したのは、当然である。
The siege was unusual in that more than 30 heavily armed terrorists held hostage scores of people from several countries, including Japan, Britain and the United States. ３０人を超す重武装のテロ集団が日米英など多国籍の外国人多数を拘束する特異な事件だった。
An investigation must be conducted urgently to get to the bottom of this incident. Suspicion has arisen that the assailants had collaborators at the plant who provided information and guidance. 事件の全容解明と検証が急がれる。施設内に内通者がいて武装勢力を手引きした疑いがある。
At a news conference Monday, Algerian Prime Minister Abdelmalek Sellal said 37 foreigners died and 29 militants were killed in the siege. アルジェリアのセラル首相は記者会見で、外国人３７人が死亡、犯人２９人を殺害したと述べた。
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Hostages' lives not priority?
The Algerian military operation to bring the situation under control as soon as possible has been criticized for not giving enough consideration to the hostages' lives. Sellal stood by the decision to launch the assault by stressing his government's stance of not yielding to terrorism. His statement also reflects the domestic situation in which long years of civil war killed as many as 150,000 people in Algeria. アルジェリア軍の早期制圧作戦には、人質の人命軽視との批判があった。セラル首相が「テロに屈しない」と強調した背景には、長年の内戦で１５万人もの犠牲者を出した国内事情もあるだろう。
Sellal said launching the military operation soon after the siege started was necessary because the militants had attempted to flee Algeria with the hostages and planted explosives in a bid to blow up the gas complex. 武装勢力が人質を連れて国外逃亡を図ったほか、ガス田施設を破壊しようと爆弾を仕掛けており、それを阻止するには早期制圧が不可欠だった、とも説明した。
If the militants had been allowed to get away with their crimes, it could lead to second and third terrorist attacks. The Algerian government apparently felt it had no alternative but to resort to the use of force. 今回の武装勢力の犯行を許せば、第２、第３のテロを誘発しかねない。アルジェリア政府としては、武力行使以外に選択肢がなかったということなのだろう。
Any unilateral attack on economic activity in a civilized society must be met with return fire. 文明社会で営まれる経済活動に一方的に攻撃を仕掛けられたら、応戦せざるを得ない。
British Prime Minister David Cameron expressed dissatisfaction over the fact that his government was not told of the military operation in advance. But after the siege ended, he showed a degree of understanding of the early Algerian military operation by saying resolving the crisis would be a very difficult mission for security forces of any country. キャメロン英首相は、武力行使の事前通告がなかったことに不満を表明していたが、事件終結後は「どの国の治安部隊にも非常に難しい任務」だったと指摘し、早期制圧に一定の理解を示した。
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Lessons for Japan
The Abe administration has dispatched a government-chartered aircraft to Algeria to bring home survivors and the victims' bodies. We also urge the government to quickly confirm what happened to three Japanese who remain unaccounted for. 安倍政権は政府専用機をアルジェリアに派遣し、生存者の帰国や遺体の搬送を進める。なお安否が不明な３人の確認も急ぎたい。
It is important that the Algerian government be asked to give detailed explanations on the circumstances under which the military operation was conducted, and how the Japanese died. どういう状況で軍事作戦が行われ、日本人が死亡したのかについて、アルジェリア政府に詳細な説明を求めることが大切だ。
The crisis has brought problems with the Japanese government's crisis management system to the surface. 一方で、日本政府の危機管理体制上の課題も浮かび上がった。
Like the United States and European countries also affected by the siege, Japan only obtained scant snippets of information while the Algerian forces conducted the military operation. アルジェリア軍が軍事作戦を主導する中、欧米諸国と同様、事件情報がほとんど取れなかった。
Japan has 49 uniformed defense attaches stationed overseas, including only two in Africa--one in Egypt and one in Sudan. The number of such attaches in Africa must be steadily increased. 自衛隊制服組の防衛駐在官は現在、世界全体で４９人いるが、アフリカはエジプトとスーダンの２人だけだ。着実な増員が必要だ。
To protect Japanese firms operating in troubled regions, specialists with expertise on these areas and antiterrorism measures should be trained, and the nation's information-gathering and analyzing capabilities strengthened. 紛争地域に進出した日本企業を守るには、各地域やテロ対策の専門家を育成し、情報収集・分析能力を高めることが急務である。
(From The Yomiuri Shimbun, Jan. 23, 2013) （2013年1月23日02時00分 読売新聞）
The Yomiuri Shimbun (Jan. 23, 2013) Japan's role must be enhanced in defense cooperation with U.S. 防衛指針見直し 同盟強化へ日本の役割拡充を（1月22日付・読売社説）
The effectiveness of the Japan-U.S. alliance cannot be guaranteed through a treaty and documents alone. It is essential to expand the role of the Self-Defense Forces and enhance the relationship of trust between the two nations by having Japan undertake its fair share of responsibilities and burdens. 日米同盟の実効性は、条約や文書だけでは担保されない。自衛隊の役割を拡大し、日本が応分の責任と負担を引き受けて両国の信頼関係を高めることが欠かせない。
The Japanese and U.S. governments have started reviewing the guidelines for bilateral defense cooperation. Given the Chinese military's recent expanded maritime activities and other factors, the review of guidelines is meant to effectively strengthen cooperation between the SDF and U.S. forces. 日米両政府が、日米防衛協力指針（ガイドライン）の見直し作業を開始した。中国軍の海洋進出などを踏まえ、自衛隊と米軍の連携を実質的に強化するものだ。
The current guidelines released in 1997 enabled the SDF to provide logistic support to U.S. forces in the event of an emergency in areas surrounding Japan, and led to the establishment of legislation in 1999 on the nation's response to such contingencies. １９９７年策定の現行指針は、日本周辺有事における自衛隊の対米軍後方支援を可能にし、９９年の周辺事態法整備につながった。
It was of great significance that defense cooperation was concretely stipulated in preparations for any contingency on the Korean Peninsula--a crisis that could happen on Japan's doorstep--and that a new direction for the Japan-U.S. alliance in the post-Cold War era was clearly spelled out. 朝鮮半島有事という目の前の危機に備えて具体的な防衛協力を定め、冷戦後の新たな日米同盟の方向性を明示した意義は大きい。
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Security situation severe
But since then, the security situation in areas around Japan has become even more severe: China is pushing on with a robust military buildup and has engaged in saber-rattling around the Senkaku Islands, and North Korea conducted two nuclear tests. だが、その後、中国の大幅な軍備増強や尖閣諸島周辺での示威活動、北朝鮮の２回の核実験などによって、日本周辺の安全保障情勢は一段と厳しくなっている。
This fundamental review of Japan-U.S. defense cooperation, for the first time in 16 years, fits in neatly with the United States' "rebalance" toward Asia, which was clearly expressed in its new defense strategy guidelines released in January last year, and the planned revision of Japan's National Defense Program Guidelines as early as this year. We highly regard the review of bilateral defense cooperation. １６年ぶりに日米協力のあり方を抜本的に見直すことは、「アジア重視」を鮮明にした昨年１月の米国の新国防戦略や、年内にも日本の防衛大綱を改定する流れと合致しており、高く評価したい。
One focal point in this process will be tightening Japan-U.S. cooperation in times of peace. 指針見直しの焦点の一つは、平時における日米協力の強化だ。
Since the contingency law was established, an emergency situation has yet to be recognized under the law. It is imperative that the SDF and U.S. forces work closely in sharing information to prevent a crisis from occurring and establish systems to jointly deal with any situation that has become tense but is yet to reach the point of being an emergency. 法制定後、周辺事態は一度も認定されていない。周辺事態には至らないものの、情勢が緊迫した段階で、自衛隊と米軍が緊密に情報交換して危機を抑止し、共同対処する態勢を築くことが大切だ。
We want more joint exercises by the Ground Self-Defense Force and U.S. Marine Corps for the defense of remote islands, and expanded warning and surveillance operations through joint operations by the Air Self-Defense Force and the U.S. Air Force of Global Hawk unmanned surveillance and reconnaissance aircraft. 陸上自衛隊と米海兵隊による離島防衛の共同訓練や、航空自衛隊と米空軍の無人偵察機グローバルホークの共同運用による警戒監視活動の拡充を着実に進めたい。
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Ease restrictions on support
The SDF can provide refueling and transport support to U.S. forces only in emergency situations. We suggest consideration be given to enabling these operations in times of peace as well. 自衛隊による米軍への補給・輸送支援については、現在の有事限定から、平時も実施可能にすることを検討してはどうか。
Cooperation should not just be limited to the SDF and U.S. forces, but also concrete measures for cooperation involving such organs as the Japan Coast Guard and police, as well as the military forces of South Korea, Australia and India, should be compiled. 自衛隊と米軍の協力にとどまらず、海上保安庁、警察や韓国、豪州、インド各軍などとの連携に関する具体策もまとめるべきだ。
Another key issue in the spotlight is whether Japan can exercise its right to collective self-defense. もう一つの焦点は、集団的自衛権の行使に関する問題である。
The government is expected to soon hear opinions again from an expert panel launched under the first Cabinet of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, and start studying how to handle the right to collective self-defense. 政府は近く、行使容認を提言した第１次安倍内閣の有識者会議から改めて意見聴取し、集団的自衛権の扱いの検討を始める。
If a U.S. military vessel comes under attack during a joint exercise on the high seas, an SDF vessel will launch a counterattack. If a ballistic missile is heading toward the United States, Japan will intercept it. These are among four scenarios that had been studied by the expert panel. We think it is an urgent task to enable the nation to use its right to collective self-defense in these four scenarios. 公海上で共同訓練中の米軍艦船が攻撃された際、自衛隊艦船が反撃する。米国に向かう弾道ミサイルを日本が迎撃する――。有識者会議が研究した、これら４類型については集団的自衛権の行使を可能にすることが急務である。
Reflecting such a tangible result properly in the process of reviewing the defense cooperation guidelines will further solidify the Japan-U.S. alliance. その結果をガイドライン見直しに適切に反映させることが、日米同盟をより強固にしよう。
(From The Yomiuri Shimbun, Jan. 22, 2013) （2013年1月22日01時34分 読売新聞）
The Yomiuri Shimbun (Jan. 22, 2013) Intl cooperation needed to stamp out terrorism 邦人人質事件 テロ封じに国際連携が肝要だ（1月21日付・読売社説）
The terrorist attack and hostage-taking incident launched by an armed Islamist group in Algeria has come to a bloody end. イスラム武装勢力によるテロが引き起こした惨劇である。
It will be essential to get to the bottom of this incident so measures to prevent any repeat occurrence can be devised. 事件の全容を解明し、再発防止策につなげたい。
The incident at a natural gas plant at Ain Amenas in eastern Algeria ended Saturday, three days after it started, when Algerian special forces stormed the complex to bring the situation under control. アルジェリア東部イナメナスの天然ガス関連施設で発生した人質事件は、アルジェリア軍が制圧作戦を強行し、発生から４日間で終わった。
Dozens of Islamist militants and hostages have been confirmed dead, according to the Algerian government. The dead reportedly include Japanese employees of JGC Corp., a major plant engineering and manufacturing firm. We offer our sincere condolences to the victims caught up in this incident and their families. アルジェリア政府によると多数の武装勢力と人質の死亡が確認されている。プラントメーカー「日揮」の邦人関係者の死亡情報もある。事件に巻き込まれた犠牲者に哀悼の意を表したい。
Algerian government forces launched an attack on the terrorists Thursday, the day after the hostages were seized. This reflected its sense of urgency that similar terrorist attacks might follow unless the crisis was brought under control immediately. アルジェリア政府は、事件発生の翌日の１７日、武装勢力への攻撃を開始した。早期に制圧しなければ、同種のテロを誘発しかねないという危機感からだろう。
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Attack can't be condoned
In the 1990s, about 150,000 people were killed in an internal war between Algerian government forces and Islamist militants. In view of this, the Algerian government was unbending in its refusal of any request for negotiations with the terrorists this time. １９９０年代に政府とイスラム武装勢力との内戦で、約１５万人もの死者を出したという事情もある。テロリストとは「いかなる交渉も拒否する」方針だった。
The Islamist group's capture of plant workers and taking them hostage is a despicable act of terrorism that can never be condoned. This is obvious. But a question arises over whether the Algerian military operation was taken after carefully working out a strategy from the viewpoint of rescuing the hostages. 武装勢力の人質事件は卑劣なテロ行為であり、断じて許すことはできないのは当然だ。ただ、アルジェリア政府の軍事行動は、人質救出の観点から周到に練られたものだったのだろうか。
In talks with Algerian Prime Minister Abdelmalek Sellal over the telephone Sunday, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe expressed regret that the crisis had ended in a bloodbath. Abe was quoted as telling Sellal: "Japan had called for giving top priority to the hostages' safety. It was regrettable that we received severe information about the Japanese hostages." 安倍首相は２０日、アルジェリアのセラル首相との電話会談で「人命最優先と申し入れてきた。日本人の安否に関して厳しい情報に接することになったのは残念だ」と軍事行動に遺憾の意を示した。
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Lack of communication
British Prime Minister David Cameron has expressed dissatisfaction over the fact that his government was not told of the attack in advance. Communication between the Algerian government and countries affected by the crisis was not smooth, and Algeria's release of information on the safety of hostages has been insufficient. キャメロン英首相も、事前通告がなかったことに不満を表明した。アルジェリアと関係国の意思疎通は円滑ではなく、安否に関する情報の提供も不十分だった。
The Algerian government must unveil to the international community all the details of the hostage crisis and its rescue operations after investigating why it could not prevent the militants from entering a vital gas plant where many foreigners work. アルジェリア政府は、外国人が大勢働く重要な施設に武装勢力の侵入を許した原因や、救出作戦の詳細など、事件の全貌を国際社会に明らかにする必要がある。
Armed Islamist forces are active not only in Algeria but also in northern and western areas of Africa. Unraveling the hostage-taking incident will help shed more light on this situation. イスラム武装勢力はアルジェリアだけでなく、アフリカ北・西部一帯を股にかけて活動している。事件の解明により、その実態をつかむ手がかりが得られよう。
The international community must use this incident as a step toward standing firm against terrorism and taking effective steps to stamp it out. 今回の事件を、国際社会がテロに対して毅然(きぜん)として立ち向かい、有効な手立てを講じるための一歩としなくてはならない。
The siege has left many issues to be addressed by Japanese companies operating overseas. They need to urgently review their crisis prevention and response arrangements. 一方、事件は、海外展開する日本企業にも課題を残した。危機への備えの再点検が急務である。
Abe took the lead in working out government measures to handle the hostage crisis. It may be said that Japan reacted diligently to the crisis, with the Prime Minister's Office at the heart of the response. 日本政府は安倍首相が陣頭指揮に当たった。首相官邸を中心に精力的な対応を見せたと言える。
However, the government's information-gathering and analyzing capabilities have been revealed to be inadequate. The government should consider necessary measures including a review of the personnel in diplomatic missions overseas. Further efforts must be made to bolster the country's crisis management system. ただ、政府の情報収集・分析が十分とは言えまい。在外公館の陣容の見直しなど必要な措置を検討すべきだ。危機管理体制を一層強化してもらいたい。
(From The Yomiuri Shimbun, Jan. 21, 2013) （2013年1月21日01時50分 読売新聞）
The Yomiuri Shimbun (Jan. 19, 2013) China's air pollution shows limits of focus on growth 中国大気汚染 成長至上主義の限界露呈した（1月18日付・読売社説）
China now has to pay the price for its distorted policy of ignoring environmental protection measures as a result of its focus on economic growth above all else. 経済成長至上主義で環境対策を軽視してきたツケと歪(ゆが)みをさらけ出したといえるだろう。
In various Chinese cities, air pollution has become a serious problem. In Beijing, for instance, the concentration of particulate matter 2.5 micrometers in diameter or less--known as PM2.5--found per cubic meter in smoke from factories and exhaust gas from automobiles briefly rose to more than 10 times the recommended environmental standard in China and nearly 40 times the safe limit in the guideline set by the World Health Organization. 中国の各都市で大気汚染が深刻化している。 工場の排煙や自動車の排ガスなどに含まれる直径２・５マイクロ・メートル以下の微小粒子状物質（ＰＭ２・５）が１立方メートル当たりの観測値で、北京で一時、基準値の１０倍以上、世界保健機関（ＷＨＯ）指針値の４０倍近くに達した。
PM2.5 particles can penetrate deep inside the lungs, causing asthma, bronchitis and lung cancer. Thick smog containing these particles has been generated in China, and the number of people with respiratory ailments has sharply increased. Low visibility caused by the smog has greatly affected traffic. ＰＭ２・５は肺の奥まで入り込み、ぜんそくや気管支炎、肺がんを発症させる物質だ。これを含んだ濃霧が発生し、呼吸器疾患の患者が急増した。視界不良により交通機関にも大きな影響が出た。
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Environment ignored
The daily life of Japanese living in the country has been also threatened, with two schools for Japanese children in Shanghai recently suspending students' outside activities. This is a serious environmental pollution that cannot be overlooked. 上海の日本人学校では、屋外活動が中止になるなど、在留邦人の生活も脅かされている。看過できない甚大な環境汚染である。
The main causes of the thick smog are an increase in exhaust gas, the combustion of coal for heating and a lack of strong wind, resulting in the retention of polluted air in the atmosphere. The phenomenon occurs every year around this time, but this year the pollution is extremely bad. 暖房用の石炭焼却に伴う排ガスが増え、風が弱く空気が滞留したことなどが濃霧の原因だ。毎年この時期に起きる現象だが、今年は特に劣悪な汚染となった。
Factors behind the situation include the disorderly expansion of production activities along with sharp economic growth and a drastic increase in the number of automobiles. 背景にあるのは、急成長に伴う生産活動の無秩序な拡大と自動車の激増である。
Manufacturers do not observe environmental regulations and regional authorities do not supervise them strictly. The quality of desulfurization devices is said to be poor and some even say many are not operating. 製造業者は環境規制を守らず、地方当局もそれを厳しく監督していない。脱硫装置の性能は低く、稼働してさえいないとされる。
Under a "scientific development concept" banner, the previous administration of Hu Jintao transformed the country's gross domestic product-centered policy and declared it would aim at sustainable development while also paying consideration to the environment. However, the current reality shows the level of China's environmental pollution has already gone beyond the acceptable limit. 胡錦濤前政権は、「科学的発展観」を掲げて、それまでの国内総生産（ＧＤＰ）中心の方針を転換し、環境へも配慮する持続可能な発展を目指すとしてきた。だが、実態は環境汚染が限界に来ていることを示している。
If environmental measures are delayed, the Chinese government will have to pay a great price for its mistaken policy. The Xi Jinping administration must fully recognize this and take measures to sufficiently deal with the air pollution. 環境対策が遅れれば、その代償は一層大きくなる。そのことを習近平政権は十分に認識し、万全の対策を講じるべきである。
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Japan's problem, too
For Japan, the air pollution in China is not a fire on the opposite side of the river. Similarly to yellow sand, the particles will disperse into neighboring countries such as Japan and South Korea via westerly winds. So it is unavoidable for the pollutants to cause a certain degree of contamination across borders. 中国の大気汚染は人ごとではない。黄砂と同様に、偏西風で日本や韓国など周辺国へと拡散し、一定の越境汚染は避けられない。
Although it is not yet determined that they came from China, particulate matter exceeding the Japanese safety level has been observed in Japan. Caution will be necessary hereafter. 中国からの飛来とは断定できないが、基準を超える微小粒子状物質が日本で観測されている。今後も警戒を要するだろう。
Japan has promoted cooperation with China in energy saving and environmental protection to create a mutually beneficial relationship based on common strategic interests. We wonder to what extent this policy produced results. 日本は中国との戦略的互恵関係を構築しようと、省エネ・環境協力を前進させてきたが、どこまで効果をもたらしたのか。
More than a dozen nuclear reactors have been operating in China, and the government plans to construct more than 50 additional reactors. 中国は原子力発電所十数基を運転させ、５０基以上の建設を計画している。
If a reactor accident took place, it would have an immeasurable effect on Japan. There must be many ways Japan can cooperate with China in this field. 万一、原発事故が発生すれば、日本への影響は計り知れない。この分野でも日本が中国に協力できることは多いはずだ。
Japan should patiently appeal to China about the importance of environmental problems and needs to call on the country to utilize the know-how of Japan's antipollution measures. 日本は中国に対し、環境問題の重要性を粘り強く訴え、中国が日本の公害対策のノウハウを活用するよう働きかける必要がある。
(From The Yomiuri Shimbun, Jan. 18, 2013) （2013年1月18日02時01分 読売新聞）
The Yomiuri Shimbun (Jan. 19, 2013) Govt must deal sternly with Islamic extremists' terrorism 邦人人質事件 イスラム過激派の許せぬテロ（1月18日付・読売社説）
In a despicable act of terrorism, a group of Islamist extremists seized a natural gas complex in Ain Amenas in eastern Algeria on Wednesday and took a large number of foreign hostages, including Japanese and U.S. nationals. 卑劣なテロである。 北アフリカのアルジェリアでイスラム武装勢力が東部イナメナスの天然ガス関連施設を襲撃し、日米など多数の外国人を人質にして立てこもった。
The Japanese taken hostage are apparently employees of or related to JGC Corp., a Yokohama-based plant manufacturer known as Nikki in Japanese. Details about their safety remain unknown. 日本人は、プラントメーカー「日揮」の関係者が拘束されているようだが、安否の詳細は不明だ。
The Algerian military launched a military attack aimed at rescuing the hostages, but there are reports many of them may have been killed. 人質解放のためにアルジェリア軍が攻撃を開始し、多数の犠牲者が出たとも報じられている。
This is an extremely worrying situation. 極めて憂慮される事態だ。
It is a matter of course for Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, on a visit to Hanoi, to strongly condemn the hostage-taking incident, saying it "can never be tolerated." 安倍首相が、滞在先のベトナム・ハノイで人質事件について「断じて許すことはできない」と厳しく非難したのは当然だ。
Japan and other countries involved in the hostage crisis must work together and cooperate with the Algerian government to rescue the hostages. 日本など関係国は連携し、アルジェリア政府に協力して人質の救出に全力を挙げねばならない。
The identity of the hostage-takers has not been fully confirmed. However, they claim their action is in retaliation for the French military's intervention in neighboring Mali and they are demanding French troops cease military operations. 武装勢力の正体に不明な点もあるが、犯行声明は、仏軍による隣国マリへの介入に対する「報復」だと主張し、仏軍の軍事行動の停止を求めている。
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Influx of insurgents into Mali
The Mali government has been undermined since a coup d'etat last year by rebels in the country's military. Taking advantage of this situation, armed Islamist extremists streamed into Mali from Algeria and seized control of Mali's northern region. Foreigners have been frequently abducted in Mali, making the country's security situation even more precarious. マリ政府は、昨年の軍反乱部隊のクーデターで弱体化した。その隙をついて、アルジェリアからイスラム武装勢力が流入し、北部を支配している。外国人誘拐が相次ぎ、治安が悪化している。
In December, the U.N. Security Council adopted a resolution in response to requests from the Malian government, authorizing military intervention by the country's neighbors. 国連の安全保障理事会は昨年１２月、マリ政府の要請を受けて、周辺国による軍事介入を認める決議を採択した。
It was perhaps inevitable that France, Mali's former colonial power, found it necessary to launch military operations in that country to defeat the armed Islamist forces. Should the stability of North Africa become even more convulsive because of the rampant militancy of the armed extremists, the region's already serious situation could deteriorate. 旧宗主国フランスが武装勢力を掃討するとして１１日から介入に踏み切ったのは、やむを得なかったと言える。武装勢力の跳梁(ちょうりょう)で北アフリカ地域の安定が揺らげば、事態は一層深刻になりかねない。
The hostage crisis is a major challenge for Abe's administration. The capability of the Abe government, which has defined the task of crisis management as one of its three policy pillars alongside resuscitation of the economy and reconstruction from the Great East Japan Earthquake, is now being tested. こうした背景下で起きた今回の事件は、安倍政権にとって大きな試練だ。「危機管理」を、「経済再生」「復興」と並ぶ柱に位置づけた政権の能力が問われる。
The initial government response to the hostage crisis was swift. 事件直後の初期対応は迅速だった。
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Beef up intl cooperation
In a telephone call to his Algerian counterpart after the crisis began, Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida urged that every possible effort should be made to ensure the safety of the hostages. The government lost no time in deciding to send Parliamentary Vice Foreign Minister Minoru Kiuchi, who was on a tour of European nations, to Algeria. 岸田外相がアルジェリアの外相との電話会談で人質の安全確保を要請し、欧州訪問中の城内実外務政務官をアルジェリアに派遣することを決めた。
The government also set up a countermeasures task force comprising ministers concerned to deal with the crisis. In the task force's first session, it confirmed a policy of "making people's lives the top priority." 政府は、関係閣僚による対策本部を設置し、初会合で「人命第一」の方針で対処することを確認した。
In another conversation over the phone, Abe and British Prime Minister David Cameron agreed on the need for the two countries to cooperate closely in resolving the crisis. 安倍首相はキャメロン英首相と電話会談し、事件解決に向け緊密に協力することで一致した。
Eradicating terrorism cannot be achieved without strengthening the cooperation of the international community to resolutely deal with terrorist acts. テロ根絶には、国際社会が連帯を強化して毅然(きぜん)として対応していかねばならない。
Not only in Algeria but also in other countries in the Middle East and Africa, terrorists frequently target foreign nationals. アルジェリアに限らず、中東アフリカ各地で外国人を狙うテロが頻発している。
The Foreign Ministry should exert every effort to ensure the safety of Japanese in these areas by remaining in close contact with the United States and other countries so they can exchange pertinent information. 外務省は、米国はじめ各国と情報交換を密にしながら、現地の邦人の安全確保に万全を期してもらいたい。
(From The Yomiuri Shimbun, Jan. 18, 2013) （2013年1月18日02時01分 読売新聞）
The Yomiuri Shimbun (Jan. 17, 2013) Spread of renewable energy faces many hurdles ドイツ「脱原発」 再生エネ普及に高いハードル（1月16日付・読売社説）
Many obstacles must be surmounted before the nation can introduce renewable energy, such as wind and solar power, on a full scale. Japan should learn from Germany's trial-and-error approach. 風力や太陽光など再生可能エネルギーの本格的普及へハードルは高い。日本はドイツの試行錯誤に学ばねばならない。
Germany has adopted a policy of ending nuclear power by abolishing all nuclear plants by 2022. Berlin pins its hopes on renewable energy as alternative power sources. ドイツは、２０２２年までの原子力発電所全廃を決め、「脱原発」を打ち出した。代替電力として再生エネに期待をかけている。
The main pillar of this policy to promote renewable energy in Germany is a fixed-price purchase system that was established in 2000. Under this system, power companies are obliged to purchase electricity generated from renewable energy sources at high fixed prices for a specific number of years. 普及策の柱は、２０００年に制定した再生エネの「固定価格買い取り制度」だ。電力会社が、再生エネの電力を一定年数、高値の固定価格で買い取る制度だ。
This resulted in a surge of companies entering the solar power generation and other renewable energy markets. The percentage of electricity generated by renewable energy sources to total electricity increased from 7 percent in 2000 to 20 percent in 2011. これによって太陽光発電などへ参入が急増し、再生エネが発電総量に占める割合は、００年の７％から１１年の２０％まで伸びた。
However, this has resulted in a continuous increase in electricity rates because the cost of purchasing electricity from renewable energy sources is added to the rates. 問題は、買い取り費用を上乗せするため、電気料金の引き上げに歯止めがかからない点にある。
Germans naturally complained after it was announced in October last year that in 2013 their average annual electricity bills were expected to rise by about 100 euros, or about 12,000 yen, per household. 昨年１０月、１３年の年間電気代が１世帯あたり１００ユーロ（約１万２０００円）程度上昇する見通しが発表されるや、国民の不満が一気に高まったのも当然だろう。
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Negative impact on business
Industrial circles also oppose the electricity rate hike because they are concerned about the negative impact the higher costs will have on their businesses. 産業界も、料金引き上げに反発する。コスト高による経営への打撃を懸念するからだ。
Admitting shortcomings in the fixed-price purchase system, German Environment Minister Peter Altmaier announced in the same month that the government would drastically review its renewable energy policy. The system, therefore, is now at a major crossroad. アルトマイヤー独環境相は昨年１０月、固定価格買い取り制度の欠点を認め、再生エネ政策を抜本的に見直す方針を表明した。制度は大きな岐路に立たされている。
The spread of renewable energy has not necessarily led to the promotion of related industries or employment in Germany. It is symbolic that German solar panel makers collapsed one after another when they lost out to cheap Chinese-made solar panels. 再生エネ普及は、必ずしも関連産業の振興や雇用につながっていない。安い中国製の太陽光パネルに押され、ドイツのメーカーの破綻が相次いだことは象徴的だ。
Wind power generation, a major renewable energy source, also has problems. Wind power plants have been set up mainly in the northern part of Germany, but areas that consume large amounts of electricity are industrial zones in the south. New power lines from north to south are needed, but their construction faces difficulty due to opposition from environmental groups. 主力の風力発電にも問題がある。発電所が設置されているのは主に北部で、電力の大量消費地は南部の工業地帯だ。北から南へ送電線の新設が必要なのに、環境保護団体の反対で難航している。
In Japan, a fixed-price purchase system was launched last July under the Democratic Party of Japan-led administration of then Prime Minister Naoto Kan. It was modeled on Germany's system. 日本では民主党の菅政権が、ドイツを参考に再生エネの固定価格買い取り制度導入に踏み切り、昨年７月、制度はスタートした。
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Learn from Germany
However, there are a number of problems with a system in which power companies purchase electricity from renewable energy sources at prices higher than normal for a maximum of 20 years. If the system is only advantageous to companies able to purchase a large quantity of solar panels, technological innovation will suffer. Revision of Japan's system, based on Germany's situation, is an urgent task. しかし、最長２０年間も通常より高い固定価格で買い取る仕組みには問題が多い。安価な太陽光パネルを大量に購入する企業が有利になるだけでは、技術革新も進みようがない。ドイツの現状を踏まえ、制度修正が急務である。
The German government allows nine nuclear reactors to continue operating after confirming their safety, even though public opinion supports the abolition of nuclear power plants in the wake of the crisis at the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant. Germany's stable power supply is supported by electricity imported from neighboring countries and by ensuring that nuclear reactors will operate for nearly 10 more years. 独政府は、福島第一原発の事故で世論が「脱原発」に傾いた中でも、安全性を確認した上で、原発９基の稼働を続けている。近隣諸国から電力は輸入できるし、あと１０年近く原発を動かすことで、電力の安定供給を支えている。
In Japan, only two nuclear reactors are operating. Stable power supplies may suffer a blow unless the government quickly reactivates safe reactors. 日本では、稼働中の原発は２基だけだ。政府が安全な原発の再稼働を急がなければ、電力の安定供給体制が揺らぐ。
(From The Yomiuri Shimbun, Jan. 16, 2013) （2013年1月16日00時15分 読売新聞）
The Yomiuri Shimbun (Jan. 16, 2013) Ailing chipmaker Renesas must reform, achieve self-reliance ルネサス再建 政府主導で甘え断つ改革を（1月15日付・読売社説）
Even if a company is indispensable to Japan's manufacturing industry, it will face difficulty reconstructuring itself under the government's initiative. Such a company needs to reform its management in a way that does not depend on government support. 日本の製造業に不可欠な企業だとしても、政府主導で再建する道は険しい。甘えを断ち切る経営改革が求められよう。
The Innovation Network Corporation of Japan (INCJ), a state-backed investment fund, has decided to buy about 70 percent of shares in Renesas Electronics Corp., a major but financially troubled chipmaker, and put the company under its umbrella. Eight companies including Toyota Motor Corp. and Nissan Motor Co. will hold a combined 6 percent of shares in the chipmaker. 官民投資ファンドの産業革新機構が、経営不振に陥った半導体大手ルネサスエレクトロニクスの株式の約７割を買収し、傘下に収める方針を決めた。トヨタ自動車、日産自動車など８社も計６％の株主となる。
With total public and private investment amounting up to 200 billion yen, a rare "hinomaru coalition" support system has been established. 官民合わせた出資額が最大２０００億円という「日の丸連合」による異例の支援体制である。
Renesas was founded by Mitsubishi Electric Corp., Hitachi Ltd. and NEC Corp., and is the world's largest maker of microcontroller chips, with a share of about 30 percent in the global market. The product controls the functions of motors in automobiles and home appliances. ルネサスの母体は三菱電機、日立製作所、ＮＥＣの電機３社だ。自動車や家電のモーターを制御するマイコンの首位メーカーで、世界シェア約３割を占める。
The Great East Japan Earthquake caused major damage to Renesas' main factory. Many domestic companies were forced to halt production because they were unable to procure microcontrollers. 東日本大震災では、ルネサスの主力工場が被災したため、日本各社がマイコンを調達できずに生産停止に追い込まれた。
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Inefficient management
This shows manufacturers are largely dependent on Renesas. However, Renesas has chalked up losses for seven consecutive years--including a period under one of its predecessors--and the company is expected to register a massive deficit this fiscal year. ルネサス頼みの実態を示すが、それでもルネサスは前身企業時代から７年連続で最終赤字となり、今期も巨額赤字の見込みだ。
The poor business performances seem to be caused by inefficient management under a motley collection of different companies and discount sales of a variety of products, kept in small volumes, to cater to the requests of clients. 寄り合い所帯で非効率な経営が続いた上、納入先からの要求に合わせて少量多品種の安値販売を続けてきたことが要因だろう。
A U.S. investment fund once offered to provide financial assistance. But if Renesas were placed under the umbrella of a foreign firm, it may result in an outflow of technology abroad or disruptions in the procurement of parts by domestic companies. 一時、米系投資ファンドによる支援の動きも出たが、ルネサスが外資傘下に入れば、技術が海外流出したり、日本各社の部品調達に支障が出たりしかねない。
The public and private sectors share a sense of crisis over Renesas because it is a key company in the manufacturing field. Therefore, they took action to counter the foreign fund's buyout offensive. 官民が「ルネサスは日本のものづくりを支える重要企業」として危機感を共有し、外資の買収攻勢を巻き返したと言えよう。
The INCJ, which has taken over the management of Renesas, said it would help the company "build up a strong constitution capable of competing globally." 経営権を握る革新機構は、「グローバルで競争できる筋肉質の体質を作る」と表明している。
But even if the company boasts of high-level technology, optimism on its future outlook may not be warranted. ただ、高い技術力を持っていても、先行きは楽観できない。
The government bears a grave responsibility in extending assistance to a private company by injecting a huge amount of public funds. The government must accelerate its efforts to make the company profitable. 巨額の公的資金を投入して民間企業を支援する政府の責任は重大だ。黒字体質に転換する戦略を加速しなければならない。
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Don't sell products cheaply
If client companies that have become major shareholders continue to ask Renesas to develop and produce microcontrollers cheaply, it will be difficult for the company to operate in the black. We believe it is necessary for the company to expand its sales channels overseas. 主要株主になった顧客企業がルネサスに安価なマイコン開発や生産を求め続けるなら、ルネサスの収益向上は難しい。海外にも販路を拡大する工夫が要る。
While additional restructuring measures, including job cuts, should proceed, efforts should be made for the company to invest vigorously in growing fields. 人員削減など追加リストラを進めるとともに、成長分野への積極的な投資で活路を開くべきだ。
Elpida Memory Inc., another major chipmaker in which the government injected public funds, went bankrupt about three years after the assistance was extended. A repetition of this failure is unacceptable. 政府が公的支援した別の半導体大手、エルピーダメモリは約３年で経営破綻した。失敗を繰り返すことは許されない。
The administration of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe attaches importance to strengthening the nation's industrial competitiveness and has proposed the INCJ be used for this purpose. It also has called for the creation of a new fund to support companies so they can expand their overseas businesses. However, the point is not to launch a number of funds, but to ensure immediate tangible achievements. 安倍政権は産業競争力強化を重視し、革新機構の活用のほか、企業の海外進出を支援する新たなファンド創設も打ち出した。ファンドの乱立に終わらせず、速やかに成果を上げる必要がある。
(From The Yomiuri Shimbun, Jan. 15, 2013) （2013年1月15日00時16分 読売新聞）
The Yomiuri Shimbun (Jan. 15, 2013) Let the power of youth snap Japan out of its funk 成人の日 若い力で停滞を打ち破ろう（1月14日付・読売社説）
Today, the second Monday of January, is Coming-of-Age Day. We congratulate about 1.22 million people who were born in 1992 and turned 20 years old this year to become new members of adult society. きょうは成人の日。 １９９２年に生まれた１２２万人の新成人が、大人の仲間入りすることを祝いたい。
They are of the generation who has grown up during the "two lost decades" that followed the bursting of the bubble economy. 新成人は、バブル経済崩壊後の「失われた２０年」が成育期に重なった世代だ。
During this period, Japan's economy has languished, and its gross domestic product has been overtaken by that of China. Japan has surrendered its position as the world's second-biggest economy. この間、日本は景気が低迷し、中国に国内総生産（ＧＤＰ）で抜かれ、世界第２位の座を明け渡した。
While the proportion of students going on to university remains above 50 percent, the employment situation is still grim. This is a period when young people are struggling to stay optimistic about their prospects. 大学進学率が５０％を超える一方で、就職難が続く。明るい展望を持ちにくい時代と言える。
But precisely because this is a tough situation, we have high expectations for the power of youth. We hope new adults who have already started their careers and those yet to join the workforce will work and study hard with pride that they are "vital" members of society. だが、厳しい状況だからこそ、若い力への期待は大きい。既に働いている新成人も、これから社会に出る人も、「社会から求められている」という自負心を持って仕事や勉学に取り組んでほしい。
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Mostly satisfied with life
In a 2012 survey by the Cabinet Office, as many as 75 percent of people in their 20s-- those slightly older than the new batch of adults--said they were "satisfied" with their current lifestyle. This figure was the highest of all age brackets. 内閣府の昨年の世論調査で、「今の生活に満足している」との回答が、どの年代よりも高い７５％に上ったのが、新成人の先輩にあたる２０歳代である。
Sociologist Noritoshi Furuichi, author of the book "Zetsubo no Kuni no Kofukuna Wakamono-tachi" (The Happy Youth of a Desperate Country), believes the survey results indicated that people of this age "have little expectation that things will get better tomorrow, so they focus on spending joyful times with their peers here and now." その背景について、「絶望の国の幸福な若者たち」の著者で社会学者の古市憲寿さんは「明日が良くなると期待できないから、今、ここで、仲間と過ごす幸せを大事にするしかない」と分析する。
Possibly reflecting their sense of despair over the future, an increasing number of young people are seeking jobs that offer employment stability. According to a survey in 2012 by Japan Productivity Center, a government-backed think tank, 60 percent of newly recruited employees--an all-time high--said they "want to work at my current company for life." 将来への閉塞感を反映してか、就職には安定志向が強まっている。日本生産性本部の調査では、「今の会社に一生勤めようと思う」と答えた新入社員は昨年、過去最高の６０％に達した。
Nevertheless, large firms cannot necessarily guarantee employment for life. Symbolic of this is the fact that many major home appliance manufacturers are groaning under huge deficits. Their quandary has been caused by such factors as intense international competition and their failure to keep up with foreign rivals in developing business strategies well suited to fast-changing market conditions. とは言え、大企業なら安泰とは限らない。家電大手が巨額の赤字に苦しんでいるのは、その象徴である。激しい国際競争や、市場の変化に合わせたビジネス展開で後れをとったことなどが要因だ。
Many companies in the home appliance industry and other sectors have been doing their utmost to survive by exercising their ingenuity in boosting their technological capabilities and improving their services. 家電業界に限らず、各企業が技術革新やサービス向上を工夫し、生き残りを目指している。
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Harnessing the Internet
The day will come when today's new adults take up the role of reinvigorating their companies and society. 新成人たちが、いずれ日本企業や社会を元気にする役割を担う日も来るはずだ。
One promising sign is that a number of young people have been actively starting businesses on their own. Many have designed new products on their websites, sent orders to production service firms to make them, and marketed the products on the Internet. This way of doing business, which originated in the United States, is spreading in Japan. 希望を持てる動きの一つが、若者による起業が活発になっていることだ。ウェブサイト上で新商品をデザインし、製造サービス会社に製作を発注し、販売もインターネットで行う。米国発のこのビジネスが日本にも広がり始めた。
Since their childhood, new adults have been accustomed to using cell phones and personal computers. We hope they come up with flexible ideas unbound by conventional thinking. 新成人たちは、子供の頃から携帯電話やパソコンに親しんできた。従来にはない柔軟なアイデアを発揮してもらいたい。
All the residents of Katsurao, Fukushima Prefecture, have had to evacuate due to the crisis at Tokyo Electric Power Co.'s Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant. On Jan. 2, the village government hosted a Coming-of-Age Day celebration in the district where the residents have moved. 東京電力福島第一原発事故で全村避難が続く福島県葛尾村は今月２日、移転先で成人式を開いた。
At the ceremony, a new male adult spoke of his determination to work hard in the future. "I'll do my best to give other victims of the disaster hope for the future, and never forget the earthquake and tsunami catastrophe and the preciousness of my hometown." 新成人の男性は「震災や故郷を忘れず、被災者の希望になれるよう頑張りたい」と決意を述べた。
We sincerely hope each new adult, while cherishing their own dreams and hopes, has the courage to carve out a new era. それぞれの思いを胸に、時代を切り開いてほしい。
(From The Yomiuri Shimbun, Jan. 14, 2013) （2013年1月14日01時27分 読売新聞）
The Yomiuri Shimbun (Jan. 14, 2013) China should relax government control of media 中国紙記者スト 言論は統制強化で抑え込めぬ（1月13日付・読売社説）
It has become clear that China's new leadership headed by Xi Jinping intends to tighten government control over Chinese media. 中国メディアに対する統制を強化する習近平政権の姿勢が鮮明になったといえよう。
The New Year's editorial of the Southern Weekend, a weekly newspaper in Guangdong Province that is highly popular for its aggressive investigative reporting of corruption and other irregularities, was replaced at the order of the propaganda department of the Communist Party Committee of the province. The editorial writers of the Southern Weekend, also known as the Southern Weekly, went on strike to protest the action. 腐敗追及などの調査報道で人気のある中国広東省の週刊紙「南方週末」の新年社説が、お目付け役である省共産党委員会宣伝部の指示で書き換えられ、これに抗議する記者たちがストを起こした。
Management of the Southern Weekend and the editorial writers subsequently held negotiations over the matter, with the province's Communist Party Committee acting as arbitrator. The issue was settled with the editorial writers agreeing to stop the walkout and the weekly's management agreeing not to punish them. It could be inferred that the way the problem was settled represented a concession on the part of the Xi administration, which is wary about expansion of democracy movements. 南方週末の経営陣と記者側が省党委員会の調停で事態収拾へ協議した結果、記者たちはストを中止し、経営陣は記者の責任を問わないことで決着した。民主化運動の拡大を警戒する習政権がひとまず譲歩したとみてよい。
However, on the heels of the incident, the Communist Party's Central Propaganda Department instructed media across the country to republish an editorial of the party's mouthpiece People's Daily that warned that any media that publicly criticized the government would be "certainly defeated." だが事件後、党中央宣伝部は、メディアが政府に公然と対抗すれば「必ず敗れる」と警告する党機関紙・人民日報系紙の社説を転載するよう各新聞社に指示した。
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Action counters Constitution
The Chinese government probably considered it essential to toughen its control over the freedom of speech in order to maintain the Communist Party's dictatorial rule. 一党独裁を維持していく上で、むしろ言論統制は強める必要があると考えているからだろう。
The weekly's editorial that instigated the latest incident was titled "China's Dream, the Dream of Constitutionalism" and published on Jan. 3. 今回、当局が検閲で問題視したのは、「中国の夢、憲政の夢」と題する３日付の南方週末の社説だ。
The editorial urged Chinese leaders to uphold the importance of steering the government democratically based on China's Constitution. The party must have regarded the editorial as tantamount to rejecting the Communist Party's dictatorship, and the weekly was ordered to replace it with another. 憲法に基づく民主的な政治の重要性を訴えた内容が、共産党独裁を否定するものと受け止めて、差し替えさせた。
China's Constitution guarantees freedom of speech. The reality, however, is that the party's propaganda department has the power to reassign media personnel, a power it wields extrajudicially. 中国憲法は「言論の自由」を保障している。しかし、メディアの人事権を握る党宣伝部が超法規的な存在としてにらみを利かせているのが実態である。
Interference in the content of articles has become an everyday event, but open challenges to the authority of the propaganda department are extremely rare. 記事への介入は日常茶飯事だが、今回のように記者が統制に反発し、宣伝部と激しく対立したのは極めて異例だ。
In this case, maybe the editorial writers were testing the attitude of the newly inaugurated Xi administration toward the media. 記者の行動には、発足直後の習政権の出方をうかがう意図もあったのだろう。
When the incident was reported on the Internet, more than 150 former media employees posted protest letters online, and human rights activists and scholars released protest statements one after another. 事件がインターネットで伝わると、元記者ら１５０人以上が連名で抗議書簡をネットに公開したほか、人権活動家や学者らも抗議声明を出す事態に発展した。
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Accept changes in society
An influential newspaper in Beijing also resisted the propaganda department, temporarily refusing to republish the editorial of the People's Daily. 北京の有力紙も宣伝部に抵抗し、警告社説の転載を一時拒否した。
Given that the number of people using the Internet in China has surpassed 500 million, it must already be very hard for Beijing to suppress voices calling for the freedom of speech by means of conventional iron-fisted oppression. ネット人口が５億人を超えた中国で、言論の自由拡大を求める声を従来の強権的手法で抑え込むのはもはや難しいのではないか。
Meanwhile, income disparities in China have become increasingly egregious, and dissatisfaction among ordinary people has neared a breaking point. 中国の所得格差は深刻で、民衆の不満は極限まで膨らんでいる。
Apart from this problem, easing media control is indispensable to clamping down on corruption by high-ranking party officials. 幹部の汚職摘発を進めるためにも報道統制の緩和は欠かせない。
The United States has expressed its concern over the Chinese authorities' censorship of the Southern Weekend. 南方週末に対する中国当局の検閲には、米政府が懸念を示した。
The Xi administration should be aware that the suppression of freedom of speech has marred China's image as the world's second-largest economic powerhouse. 習政権は、言論弾圧が世界第２位の経済大国のイメージを損なっていることを自覚すべきである。
If the Chinese authorities want social stability, they must respond sincerely to the rapid diversification in society that comes with the globalization of the economy. 中国当局が安定を求めるなら、経済のグローバル化に伴い価値観が多様化してきた社会の変化を、真摯(しんし)に受け止めねばならない。
(From The Yomiuri Shimbun, Jan. 13, 2013) （2013年1月13日01時41分 読売新聞）
The Yomiuri Shimbun (Jan. 13, 2013) Stimulus package expected to be 1st step in restoring Japan 緊急経済対策 「強い日本」取り戻す第一歩に（1月12日付・読売社説）
The emergency stimulus package approved by the Cabinet of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Friday is the first step in "Abenomics," which aims to spur growth and pull the nation's economy out of its period of prolonged deflation. The government must boost recovery efforts by implementing the planned measures swiftly. 成長を重視してデフレ脱却を目指す「アベノミクス」の第１弾である。迅速に実行し、日本経済の再生に弾みを付けなければならない。
The Abe administration has endorsed the urgent economic package of projects worth more than 20 trillion yen, which will be undertaken by central and local governments. 安倍政権が、国・地方合わせた事業規模が２０兆円超にのぼる緊急経済対策を決定した。
The administration will draw about 10 trillion yen from state coffers for the stimulus, which takes a three-pronged approach consisting of reconstruction and disaster management, creation of wealth through economic growth, and ensuring the happy livelihood of the public and the revitalization of regional areas. The package is intended to boost the nation's gross domestic product by 2 percent in real terms and create 600,000 jobs. 復興・防災対策、成長による富の創出、暮らしの安心・地域活性化の３本柱に約１０兆円の国費を投入する。対策は、実質国内総生産（ＧＤＰ）を２％押し上げ、６０万人の雇用を創出するという。
A draft supplementary budget for fiscal 2012, which will finance the economic measures, totals about 13 trillion yen, coming close to the size of the first extra budget for fiscal 2009 formulated by the Cabinet of then Prime Minister Taro Aso to counter a recession following the "Lehman shock." 対策の裏付けとなる２０１２年度補正予算案の総額は約１３兆円に達し、リーマン・ショック後の不況対策で麻生政権が策定した０９年度第１次補正予算に迫る。
At a press conference Friday, Abe said the government would shift from a policy of redistributing wealth amid economic contraction to a favorable cycle of growth and wealth. 首相は記者会見で「縮小均衡の再配分から、成長による富の創出へ転換を図る」と語った。
We urge the government to take quick action to pass the extra budget early and bring about a robust economy. 政府は補正予算案を早期に成立させ、「強い経済」の実現を目指すスピードが問われよう。
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Excessive focus on public works
We highly regard the Abe administration's stance, shown in the stimulus package, to push for companies' growth through such measures as promoting investment in the private sector. 対策が、民間投資の活性化など企業の成長力を強化する姿勢を打ち出したのは評価できる。
However, the package as a whole appears to rely on public works projects seeking to immediately buoy the economy. The state spending on public works projects that the government plans to include in the fiscal 2012 supplementary budget amounts to about 5 trillion yen, exceeding that for the year's initial budget. ただ、総じて、景気浮揚への即効性を重視するあまり、公共事業頼みとなった感は否めない。補正予算案に盛り込む５兆円強の公共事業費は、１２年度当初予算の公共事業費を上回る規模だ。
Only a one-time effect can be expected from a stimulus package centering on public works projects. In light of this, concerns linger over the extent to which Abe's stimulus will shore up the economy and boost employment. 公共事業主体の景気刺激策は一過性の効果しか期待できない。成長の底上げや雇用拡大にどこまで結びつくか、懸念される。
The government also needs to speed up working out a comprehensive strategy to achieve sustainable growth. It is also essential for the government and the Bank of Japan to join hands to carry out bold monetary easing. 持続的成長につなげる総合的な戦略の策定を急ぐ必要がある。政府と日本銀行の連携による大胆な金融緩和の実現も欠かせない。
Striking a balance between driving growth and rehabilitating public finances must be a key aspect of such efforts. 忘れてならないのは、成長と財政再建をどう両立させるかだ。
As a result of high government spending, the issuance of government bonds for fiscal 2012, including both the initial and extra budgets, is expected to be about 50 trillion yen. This figure is significantly higher than the annual cap of 44 trillion yen set under the Democratic Party of Japan-led government to maintain fiscal discipline. 大規模な財政出動に踏み切る結果、１２年度の新規国債発行額は当初予算と補正予算を合わせて約５０兆円に膨らむ。民主党政権下で財政規律維持の目安としてきた年４４兆円を大きく上回る。
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Fiscal health must be improved
To raise the consumption tax rate in April 2014 as scheduled, steady economic recovery is needed. It is thus inevitable for the government to focus on stimulus efforts with aggressive spending for the time being. １４年４月に消費税率引き上げを予定通り実施するには、着実な景気回復が必要になる。当面は積極財政で景気のテコ入れを重視するとの判断はやむを得まい。
Nevertheless, it is important to prevent lavish spending and reduce expenditures, given that the nation' fiscal health is the worst among major industrial countries. Questions have also been raised over the Abe administration's apparent move to revive public works projects that were cut drastically by the DPJ-led government. そうであっても、先進国で最悪の財政事情を考えれば、ばらまき型予算を排除し、歳出を絞り込むことが重要だ。民主党政権で大幅カットされた公共事業の復活を目指す動きも問題である。
The Abe administration must not allow a fiscal 2013 budget to finance public works projects with low investment efficiency in the name of disaster-management measures. １３年度予算編成では、投資効率の低い公共事業を防災名目で潜り込ませてはならない。
The government should set specific goals to improve its fiscal health and quickly work on medium- and long-term measures to achieve sound public finances. 政府は、具体的な財政再建目標を設定し、中長期的な財政健全化への取り組みを急ぐべきだ。
(From The Yomiuri Shimbun, Jan. 12, 2013) （2013年1月12日01時32分 読売新聞）
--The Asahi Shimbun, Jan. 11 EDITORIAL: LDP remains unchanged in its return to power 大型補正予算―昔の自民のままですか
We cannot help thinking that the Liberal Democratic Party has not changed. 自民党は変わっていない。そう思わざるをえない。
The administration of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has decided the outline of a supplementary budget for fiscal 2012, which ends in March 2013. 安倍政権が、今年度の補正予算の概要を固めた。
The total government expenditure in the budget is slightly more than 13 trillion yen ($146 billion), which is close to the record high of 14.7 trillion yen set by the supplementary budget compiled in spring 2009 by the administration of then-Prime Minister Taro Aso. 国の支出総額は１３兆円強と、０９年春に麻生政権がまとめた過去最大の補正予算に迫る。
Excluding planned government expenditures for the basic pension programs from the 13 trillion yen, the remaining 10 trillion yen will be used for "emergency economic measures." Of that amount, half will be spent on public works projects. The funds for those public works will be covered with the issuance of government bonds. As a result, the total amount of government bonds issued in fiscal 2012, including that of the initial budget for that year, is expected to come close to 50 trillion yen. 基礎年金の国庫負担分を除いた１０兆円余の「緊急経済対策」のうち、公共事業が半分を占める。財源は国債の発行だ。当初予算と合わせた今年度の国債発行額は、５０兆円に近づく見通しだ。
At present, the government’s total debts stand at around 1,000 trillion yen. In such a situation, the Abe administration is emphasizing that its fiscal policies will first realize economic growth to increase tax revenues. “We will deal with the (serious fiscal) situation flexibly in the short term and with discipline in the mid- to long term,” he says. 国の借金残高が１千兆円に達するなか、安倍政権は財政運営について、「まず経済成長を実現し、税収を増やす」「短期は柔軟に、中・長期は規律をもって」と強調する。
We are not going to deny such thinking completely. However, we get the impression that the Liberal Democratic Party is going on a spending spree out of elation that it was able to take back the reins of the government. そうした考えを頭から否定するつもりはない。しかし、政権復帰に浮かれたかのような大盤振る舞いがすぎないか。
Under names such as “reconstruction and disaster prevention” and “establishment of safe living conditions and revitalization of local communities,” the amount of public works projects in the supplementary budget was increased to a level comparable to that of an annual budget. Since there is no way the entire amount can be spent within fiscal 2012, the budget is virtually reserved for fiscal 2013 and beyond. 公共事業は「復興・防災」や「暮らしの安心・地域活性化」を名目に、年間予算に匹敵する額に積み上げられた。今年度中に使い切れるはずはなく、先々への予約の様相だ。
In the area of defense, the cost for purchasing missiles from abroad is positioned as part of the economic measures on grounds that Japanese companies are involved in their production process. 防衛分野でも、生産に日本企業がかかわるとして、ミサイル購入費などが経済対策に位置づけられるという。
Those “unreasonable” expenditures were approved because the LDP had first decided that the amount for the economic measures should be as large as 10 trillion yen. 「まず金額ありき」で、与党が早々に「１０兆円規模」を打ち出したことの弊害である。
The decision reminds us of the supplementary budgets compiled in the autumn of 2011 in response to the Great East Japan Earthquake and in the spring of 2009 to stimulate the economy. 思い出すのは、東日本大震災を受けた１１年秋、そして０９年春の補正予算だ。
The LDP and New Komeito, both of which were opposition parties at the time, had much to do with the compilation of the post-quake supplementary budget. But far-fetched “piggyback” expenditures not directly related to the recovery of stricken areas became prevalent. 震災復興の補正には、野党だった自民、公明両党も深くかかわったが、被災地再建とは直接関係のない便乗・こじつけ型の支出が横行した。
The supplementary budget of spring 2009, decided under the Aso administration in response to a sudden economic slowdown caused by the collapse of U.S. investment bank Lehman Brothers in September 2008, also put priority on the total budget amount. In fact, it was so lavish that it eventually led the Board of Audit to point out various wasteful expenditures. 麻生政権の０９年春の補正も、リーマン・ショックによる急激な経済の落ち込みを受け、規模が優先された。その後、会計検査院からさまざまな無駄が指摘される始末だった。
In the Dec. 16 Lower House election, the LDP advocated “the strengthening of the national land” as a mainstay of its election pledges. Now, the LDP headquarters is busy dealing with officials of industry associations who are flocking there with petitions. Is this large-scale supplementary budget a gift of gratitude to them for supporting the LDP in the Lower House election and also a means to obtain their support in the Upper House election slated for summer 2013? 先の衆院選で自民党は「国土強靱（きょうじん）化」を公約の柱に掲げた。いま、党本部は陳情に訪れる業界団体の関係者らで大にぎわいだ。大型の補正予算は、衆院選での支持のお礼と夏の参院選に向けた期待料なのか。
The big supplementary budget was also compiled to boost the economy in the first half of fiscal 2013 as economic growth in that period is believed to be necessary to make the final decision in the autumn of this year on the consumption tax hike scheduled for spring 2014. 大型補正には、１３年度前半の景気を押し上げる思惑もある。来春の消費増税の実施をこの秋に最終判断する際、その数値がカギを握るからだ。
If even the Finance Ministry--which is supposed to play a leading role in reducing the government's debts--is falling into step with plans to increase spending in order to be able to raise the consumption tax, the situation is truly deplorable. 財政再建の旗振り役であるべき財務省までが増税実現のための歳出増で歩調を合わせたのなら何をかいわんや、である。
In the beginning of this year, an income tax increase started for the advancement of post-quake reconstruction activities. Going forward, consumers will be required to shoulder heavier financial burdens one after another, including a consumption tax hike. 年明けから所得税で震災復興増税が始まった。今後も消費増税など負担増は目白押しだ。
In such a situation, taxpayers are sure to raise objections if the government keeps compiling such generous budgets. こんな予算編成を続けていては、納税者が黙っていまい。
The Yomiuri Shimbun (Jan. 11, 2013) Provide more govt support for practical use of iPS cells ｉＰＳ研究 再生医療実用化へ支援充実を（1月10日付・読売社説）
The ultimate goal of medicine is to completely heal disease and injuries. Induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells, which can be grown into different body cells, could become a pivotal technology that helps achieve this goal. 医学の究極目標は、病気やケガを根本から治療することである。 その要の技術となり得るのが、様々な細胞に変化できるｉＰＳ細胞（人工多能性幹細胞）だ。
The functions of organs needing treatment could be restored if iPS cells made from the patient's skin cells are grown into those of the organs and then implanted in the patient's own body. Patients would have no risk of rejecting the organ because the injected cells are from their body. We hope such treatment--which once seemed like the stuff of dreams--will be put into practical use. 患者の皮膚細胞から作り出したｉＰＳ細胞を治療対象の臓器の細胞に育てて移植すれば、臓器の機能は再生できる。元は患者の細胞なので拒絶反応はない。夢のような治療の実現を期待したい。
Kyoto University Prof. Shinya Yamanaka, the creator of iPS cells, won the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine last year. Japan is among the leading nations in the basic research of regenerative medicine. ｉＰＳ細胞を生み出した京都大学の山中伸弥教授が昨年、ノーベル生理学・医学賞を受賞した。日本は、再生医療の基礎研究で世界の先頭集団にいる。
The government's recent announcement that it will help beef up iPS research must be music to the ears of many patients. The Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology Ministry has revised its road map on iPS cell research and development, moving up the previous schedule and now aiming to establish treatment methods for patients with nerve damage within five years, among other targets. 政府がｉＰＳ細胞の研究を加速する方針を打ち出したことは、多くの患者に朗報だろう。 文部科学省は、研究開発のロードマップを改定した。従来の計画を前倒しして、神経損傷患者の治療を５年以内に実現するなどの目標を掲げた。
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Fierce competition
A supplementary budget for the current fiscal year ending in March, which the government will endorse next week, is expected to feature measures for improving research facilities and supporting studies by universities and companies. The Economy, Trade and Industry Ministry has reportedly been examining how it can help develop related industries. 政府が来週決める今年度補正予算案にも、研究施設の整備や、企業や大学への支援策を盛り込む方針だ。経済産業省は、関連産業の育成策などを検討中という。
International competition to put iPS technology into practical use is fierce. The United States, which regards iPS cells as a priority field in bioscience research, allocates a huge budget for research and development in this area. In European nations, the business and academic sectors have been rapidly accelerating their joint projects. Japan must not be left behind in this race. It should revitalize its medical industry by putting innovative medical technology into practical use. 実用化を目指す国際競争は激烈だ。米国は、ｉＰＳ細胞を生命科学研究の重点に位置づけ、巨額の研究開発予算を投じている。欧州でも、産学による研究開発が急速に拡大している。 日本も遅れてはならない。革新的な医療技術の実用化により、医療産業の活性化につなげることが求められる。
Massive investments are needed for research and development of medical science and treatments. It is vital for the government to provide continuing support to these fields as researchers inevitably go through failures before achieving success and putting their studies to practical use. A framework also should be established promptly to encourage companies and universities to take on bold challenges in these fields. 医学、医療の研究開発には巨額の投資が必要だ。実用化までには試行錯誤は避けられず、政府の継続的な支援が欠かせない。 企業や大学が果敢に挑めるような体制の構築も急ぎたい。
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Cancer fears
Some observers have voiced fears about the safety of iPS cells, saying they might turn cancerous when used for treatment. However, there are signs this concern could be resolved, as Yamanaka and other researchers have developed technology to eliminate factors that could turn iPS cells cancerous. ｉＰＳ細胞については、実際に治療に使うと、がん化する恐れがあるとして、安全面での課題を指摘する声もある。この点については、がん化する要因をなくす技術を山中教授らが開発し、解決への道筋は見えてきた。
The Riken national research institute will start clinical research on retinal treatment using iPS cells by the end of this year, which will be the nation's first clinical application involving such cells. Kyoto University, meanwhile, plans to create a bank to stock frozen iPS cells made from cells from a number of people. We hope these institutions will speed up their research. 理化学研究所は年内にも、ｉＰＳ細胞による網膜治療の臨床研究に乗り出す。国内の臨床応用は初めてだ。京大は、多数の人のｉＰＳ細胞を作って凍結保存する「ストック計画」も予定している。研究を加速してもらいたい。
The biggest issue is surely how clinical research--which is conducted to ensure a treatment under development is safe and effective--can be streamlined. Japan's clinical research system has been criticized for taking far longer to approve research results than those of other countries. 最大の問題は、安全性、有効性を確かめる臨床試験をどう効率化するかだろう。日本の臨床試験は海外に比べ、承認に年月がかかると批判されている。
The Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry should knuckle down to the task of improving the clinical research system. 厚生労働省は、臨床試験制度の改善に本腰を入れるべきだ。
(From The Yomiuri Shimbun, Jan. 10, 2013) （2013年1月10日01時21分 読売新聞）
The Yomiuri Shimbun (Jan. 10, 2013) Govt should introduce reduced consumption tax rate system 税制改正論議 自公で軽減税率を実現せよ（1月9日付・読売社説）
To achieve the economic revival trumpeted by the administration of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, tax system reforms that bring in sufficient tax revenue and are conducive to the nation's economic growth are now needed. 安倍政権が掲げる「経済再生」へ、税収を確保し、成長に資する税制改革が問われている。
The Liberal Democratic Party's Tax System Research Commission and New Komeito's Tax Research Council have begun full-fledged discussions on tax system revisions for fiscal 2013. 自民、公明両党の税制調査会が、２０１３年度税制改正に向けて本格的な議論をスタートさせた。
Discussions on tax system revisions for the next fiscal year have been delayed by more than one month compared with regular years due to last month's House of Representatives election. The LDP and Komeito aim to draw up an outline for the revisions later this month, but little time is left. 来年度の税制改正論議は、衆院選の影響で例年より１か月以上遅れている。自公両党は１月下旬の税制改正大綱の策定を目指すが、残された時間は少ない。
The government will make a plan approved by the ruling parties' tax panels its final tax system revision plan. It is of great significance that panel members will tap their expertise to discuss how to craft an ideal tax system, which should be fair, neutral and simple. 政府は与党税調の決定を最終的な税制改正案とする。税調メンバーの専門知識を生かし、公平・中立・簡素という税制のあるべき姿を議論する意義は大きい。
Priority should be placed on creating an environment that will enable the consumption tax rate to be increased from 5 percent to 8 percent in April 2014. 優先すべき課題は、１４年４月の５％から８％への消費税率引き上げをにらんだ環境整備である。
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2-stage plan has merits
Measures to support low-income earners when the tax increase is implemented have been left unaddressed since the Democratic Party of Japan was in power. The planned tax system revisions for fiscal 2013 should clearly spell out the introduction of a reduced tax rate system under which the consumption tax rate on daily necessities and some other goods is kept low. 民主党政権時代から低所得者対策が積み残しのままだ。税制改正では、生活必需品などの消費税率を低く抑える軽減税率の導入を明確に打ち出す必要がある。
A similar system has been implemented in European countries. It has the advantage of being easy for consumers to feel its benefits, such as a limited tax burden on daily shopping. 軽減税率は欧州各国が実施している。日常の買い物での負担が限定的になるなど、消費者に恩恵が分かりやすいことが利点だ。
Komeito has presented a plan to introduce the reduced tax rate system in two phases. We think this is worthy of consideration. 公明党が提示している２段階の導入論は、検討に値する。
Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism Minister Akihiro Ota, a former Komeito leader, proposed reduced tax rates be applied only on such items as rice, miso, soy sauce and newspapers when the consumption tax rate is raised to 8 percent, and then the range of items subject to the lower rates be expanded when the consumption tax is increased later to 10 percent. 公明党前代表の太田国土交通相は、「消費税率を８％に引き上げる段階で軽減税率の対象をコメ、みそ、しょうゆ、新聞などに限定し、１０％への引き上げ時に対象を拡大する」との案を示した。
Wariness about the reduced rate system persists in the LDP, but we urge the party to coordinate its members' opinions quickly. The LDP then must talk with Komeito and the DPJ, and steadily carry out integrated reform of the social security and tax systems, which the three parties have agreed on. 自民党には慎重論が根強いものの、調整を急いでほしい。そのうえで自公民の協議に入り、３党で合意した社会保障・税一体改革を着実に進めなければならない。
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Alleviate other burdens
It is also necessary to consider areas in which people will have to shoulder an increased burden due to the consumption tax hike. We urge the government to discuss the extension of housing loan tax breaks, which will expire at the end of this year, as part of its support for home purchases. 消費増税で負担が増える分野への目配りも必要だ。住宅購入支援としては、今年末で期限切れとなる住宅ローン減税の延長を検討してもらいたい。
The automobile industry wants the vehicle acquisition and weight taxes abolished, claiming that vehicle owners would have to shoulder a heavier burden imposed by the double taxation with the increased consumption tax. However, canning these taxes would generate huge tax revenue shortfalls, so a decision should not be rushed on this matter. 自動車業界は、消費税との二重課税でユーザーの負担が重くなるなどとして、自動車取得税と自動車重量税の廃止を求めている。だが、巨額の財源不足をもたらすため、慎重に対応すべきである。
A review of income and inheritance taxes is also a focus of attention in the fiscal 2013 tax system revisions. Ideas floated so far include raising the top income tax rate from 40 percent to 45 percent and to reduce various tax deductions in inheritance tax, which are subtracted from taxable assets, and to raise inheritance tax rates. １３年度改正では、所得税と相続税の見直しも焦点だ。所得税では最高税率を４０％から４５％に引き上げ、相続税については課税対象から差し引く控除の縮小や税率引き上げなどが浮上している。
These proposals are apparently intended, by squarely aiming at the wealthy, to alleviate the discontent of low-income earners, who will have to bear a relatively large increased burden when the consumption tax is hiked. 富裕層を狙い撃ちにすることで、消費増税に伴って負担が重くなる低所得者の不満を和らげようとする思惑があるのだろう。
However, only an extremely small number of people will be subject to the higher taxes, and therefore the government cannot expect any boost in tax revenues from them. Ideas that simply pander to the public should be avoided. しかし、こうした課税強化は対象者が極めて少なく、税収を増やす効果は期待できない。大衆迎合的な発想は避けるべきだ。
(From The Yomiuri Shimbun, Jan. 9, 2013) （2013年1月9日01時03分 読売新聞）
January 07, 2013(Mainichi Japan) Editorial: Japan should brush up its diplomatic instincts 社説:２０１３年を展望する 「外交の勘」を磨きたい
Japan's diplomatic policy for the New Year is set to begin. Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, who is responsible for the new agenda, is the grandson of former Prime Minister Nobusuke Kishi, while Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Taro Aso, who supports Abe, is the grandson of former Prime Minister Shigeru Yoshida. 新しい年の外交が始動する。それを担う首相・安倍晋三氏は岸信介元首相の孫、安倍氏を支える麻生太郎副総理兼財務相兼金融担当相は吉田茂元首相の孫だ。
Yoshida signed the Japan-U.S. Security Treaty with the United States, which has served as the foundation for Japan's postwar development and stability, and Kishi revised it into its current form. 戦後日本の発展と安定の基盤をなしてきた日米安保条約は吉田元首相が結び、岸元首相が改定して現在の形にした。
The grandsons of these two former prime ministers are set to work closely in breaking the diplomatic impasse amid growing concern about what is widely perceived as a diplomatic crisis. 外交危機が叫ばれる今、２人の血を受け継ぐ孫がコンビを組んで難局打開にあたることになったわけである。
Kishi based his governing of Japan on the country's security policy. 岸元首相は国家を運営する基礎を安全保障に置いた。
In his book, "Oiso Zuiso" ("Essay from Oiso"), Yoshida quoted Colonel Edward House, a foreign policy adviser to former U.S. President Thomas Woodrow Wilson, as saying that countries that have no diplomatic instincts would fail. 吉田元首相は自著「大磯随想」で「外交の『勘』のない国民は亡（ほろ）びる」とのウィルソン元米大統領側近エドワード・ハウス大佐の言葉を紹介している。
◇対症療法外交は限界だ
Prudent diplomatic policy is indispensable for not only the survival of countries but also to allow governments to put their utmost efforts into domestic policy issues, including economic revitalization, social security and education. Moreover, intensifying friction with other countries could fuel the public's anxiety and eventually give rise to exclusive nationalism. To prevent such a situation, it is necessary for the Japanese government to reconfirm that diplomatic policy is the basis for ensuring the country's stability. 賢明な外交は単に国家の生存にとどまらず、経済再生や社会保障、教育などの内政課題に政権が全力を注ぐためにも不可欠な条件であろう。また、外国との摩擦が激しくなれば国民の不安感が強まり排他的なナショナリズムが勢いを増しかねない。そうした状況を作り出さないためにも、外交が国の安定を支える根幹であることをまず確認したい。
A diplomatic crisis, which should be dubbed a "national crisis," has continued in Japan in recent years as tensions between Japan and its neighbors heightened over territorial issues. The year 2013 must be the year when the wisdom of the whole nation will be fully utilized to break the deadlock. そのうえでここ数年を振り返るなら、領土で係争を抱えた近隣諸国すべてと緊張が高まり、国難とも言うべき外交危機が続いてきた。今年はその局面転換に国の知恵を総結集する年にしなければならない。
Prime Minister Abe took over the reins of government after bitterly criticizing as a "diplomatic defeat" Japan's friction with China, South Korea and Russia over the Senkaku Islands, the Takeshima Islands and the Northern Territories, respectively, as well as the meandering over the relocation of U.S. Marine Corps Air Station Futenma in Okinawa Prefecture under the previous administration. There is no denying that the Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ)-led previous administration that lacked diplomatic instincts brought about the mess. However, no one can tell for sure that Japan would not have suffered the same diplomatic defeat if the LDP had been in power. 尖閣諸島や竹島、北方四島の領土摩擦や普天間飛行場移設をめぐる日米同盟の迷走などを安倍首相は「外交敗北」と厳しく批判し、政権を奪還した。確かに「外交の勘」のない民主党政権の不手際がこうした混乱を招いた面は否定できない。 だが、自民党なら外交敗北はなかったと言い切れるだろうか。
The current diplomatic crisis is attributable to the ambiguous diplomatic policy carried out by the longstanding LDP-led administration. It was when the LDP was in power that China enacted a law on its territorial waters in 1992 to recognize the Senkaku Islands as part of its territory, which was an overture to its provocative acts around the area. The dispute over the relocation of the Futenma base is the result of the past LDP-led administration's longstanding appeasement policy in which it forced Okinawa to host an excessive number of U.S. bases in return for massive financial assistance. 今日の外交危機は、長年の自民党政権のあいまいな外交がもたらしたものでもあろう。中国が９２年に領海法を制定して尖閣諸島を自国の領海に組み込み、今に至る挑発行為の先触れとしたのは自民党政権の時代だった。沖縄の問題も、経済支援を組み合わせて重い米軍基地負担を事実上固定化する懐柔策のツケがここにきて噴出しているのである。
The world is undergoing rapid changes. The current international situation is different from that when the LDP was in power until 2009 when the DPJ took over the reins of government. The United States' influence on the world has relatively declined while China, which has replaced Japan as the No. 2 economic power, is also showing military ambitions. South Korea now needs to rely less on Japan. Russia and India have also been increasing their presence as new regional players. Simply responding to changes in the situation in its neighboring countries and complying with U.S. wishes is no longer effective. 世界の動きは速い。今の国際情勢は自民党が政権を担ってきた数年前までと同じではない。米国の国力が相対的に落ち、日本を抜いて世界第２の経済大国となった中国が軍事面でも野心を隠さず、韓国はかつてほど日本を必要としなくなっている。地域の新しいプレーヤーとしてロシア、インドの存在感も大きくなってきた。周囲の変化や米国の意向に合わせた対症療法的な外交では、もはや日本は立ち行かないのだ。
As such, Prime Minister Abe is required to work toward rearranging and stabilizing Japan's diplomatic policy that fits with the times instead of rehashing the LDP's previous diplomatic policy. He should begin efforts to strengthen the Japan-U.S. alliance by seriously considering the purpose of the agreement. よって安倍首相は自民党時代の焼き直しではなく、新しい時代に合わせた発想と行動で外交の立て直しと安定に取り組む必要がある。再三強調する日米同盟強化についても、何のための同盟かを常に自問自答することから始めるべきである。
Former Prime Minister Yoshida wrote in his book that both Japan and the United States should hold frank discussions on enforcing the Japan-U.S. security treaty, noting that both countries signed the accord from the standpoint of their respective national policies. "I think the United States signed the bilateral security treaty out of the need for its Pacific strategy and from the standpoint of a broad U.S. national policy. Japan, for its part, also signed the treaty from the standpoint of its own defense and broad national policy," he wrote. "In enforcing this treaty, our two countries should frankly discuss a wide variety of matters." 吉田元首相は日米安保を「アメリカがただ日本が可愛くて結んだものではないだろう。アメリカの太平洋の戦略的必要から、またアメリカの国策的な見地から結んだものであろうと思う」として、「日本も、日本自身の防衛と、国策的な考え方から結んだものである」「この条約を実施して行く上に、もっと率直にいろいろ話し合っていいのではないか」と書いた（「大磯随想」）。
◇歴史問題でつまずくな
The Japan-U.S. alliance will remain solid as long as the two countries need each other. However, the pact will collapse if either side deems that such cooperative relations detrimentally affect their national interests. Japan should clearly show its policy of responding to the Senkaku Islands issue and the relocation of U.S. bases in Okinawa and pursue a solution that will contribute to both countries' national interests and to the stability in the whole region through frank dialogue. Japan and the United States are required to transform the bilateral alliance from one in which Japan unilaterally follows and relies on the United States. 日米が互いに必要だと考える限り日米同盟は強力であり、どちらかが国益にプラスにならないと判断すればその命運は尽きる。尖閣諸島への対処も沖縄の基地移設も、まずは日本側の方針を明確に示し、率直な話し合いを通じて日米双方の国益と地域全体の平和と安定にプラスとなるような道を探るべきだ。米国の言いなりでも、日本が一方的に頼るのでもない同盟のあり方を、改めて作り上げることが求められよう。
At the same time, Japan should strengthen its solidarity with the entire international community. Media outlets throughout the world have expressed grave concern and criticism of China's provocative acts over the sovereignty of the Senkaku Islands. Japan's position over the issue has been supported by the international community. Behind such support is the world's understanding that Japan is a country that peacefully settles its disputes with other countries through negotiations and that Japan attaches importance to broad-minded nationalism, in which it seeks to peacefully coexist with other countries, rather than narrow-minded nationalism. 同時に、国際社会との連帯をいっそう深めたい。尖閣諸島の問題では中国の乱暴な振る舞いに世界のメディアが「中国が差し控えるべきことは武力で現状を変えることだ」（米紙）、「日本は外交解決を追求し続けているが中国は軍事力の行使を好む」（イタリアの通信社）などとして懸念と批判を強めている。 日本の立場と主張は国際社会に支持されている。その背景にあるのは日本が外国との係争を平和的に話し合いで処理する国であり、偏狭なナショナリズムより、相手と共存を図るナショナリズムを大事にする国だという世界の理解であろう。
Japan must respect such international opinion. The advantage of Japan, which does not measure national strength by military capability, is its close bonds with the international community. Whether the Abe administration can manage relations with countries that are difficult to get along with by increasing its supporters and decreasing its enemies is being called into question. こうした国際世論を大事にしなければならない。軍事力を国力のバロメーターにしない日本の強みは国際社会との絆の深さである。敵を減らし、味方を増やしながら、付き合いの難しい国家との関係をいかにうまく管理するかが肝心である。
The image a leader of a country portrays to the international community is a crucial matter that can largely affect national interests. It has been largely pointed out in the international community that Japan has been leaning toward the right following the House of Representatives election in December last year. Under the circumstances, the Abe administration must be cautious about the interpretation of Japan's history of wartime atrocities by its Asian neighbors. In the LDP's previous administrations, gaffes by Cabinet members over the matter often ended up damaging Japan's national interests. The new administration must not repeat these mistakes. The Abe administration should exercise prudence, brush up its diplomatic instincts and break the diplomatic impasse in 2013. 一国の政治指導者がどのような国際イメージを浸透させるかは、その国の国益を左右するほど重要だ。衆院選を受け日本の右傾化を指摘する声もあるだけに、歴史認識問題では慎重さが大切である。閣僚の軽率な言動が結果として国益を損なってきた歴代自民党政権の失敗は繰り返してはならない。注意深く賢い振る舞いで「外交の勘」を働かせ、局面を打開する一年にしてほしい。
--The Asahi Shimbun, Jan. 6 EDITORIAL: East Asian countries must overcome hardships to share peace, prosperity アジアの国境―繁栄わかちあう知恵を
Nearly 100 years ago, the saga of a territorial dispute began over the Aland Islands in the northern part of the Baltic Sea. 今から１００年近く前、北欧を舞台に始まった話である。 バルト海の北方に浮かぶオーランド諸島。
The combined land area of the small islands is slightly larger than that of the main island of Okinawa Prefecture. 小さな島を全部あわせれば、沖縄本島をひとまわり大きくした広さになる。
Finland based its sovereignty claim over the Aland Islands on the historical fact that they had been under its control for long periods, while neighboring Sweden pointed to the sentiment among residents of the islands, who spoke Swedish in their daily lives. The sovereignty dispute was submitted to the League of Nations. この島々の領有権をめぐってフィンランドと隣国スウェーデンとの間で争いがおきた。フィンランドは古くからの統治の実績を言い、スウェーデンは自国語を日常生活で使う住民の思いを理由にあげた。両国の対立は国際連盟に持ち込まれた。
‘DEMILITARIZED ISLANDS’ IN NORTH EUROPE ■北欧の「非武の島」
In June 1921, the League of Nations decided that Finland should retain sovereignty over the islands but they should be made an autonomous, demilitarized and politically neutral region. １９２１年６月、連盟の裁定が下った。フィンランドへの帰属を認めるかわりに、島を非武装中立とし、住民の自治を認めるべし――。
Both countries accepted the ruling and concluded an international treaty to make Aland “demilitarized islands.” 両国はこれを受け入れ、オーランドを「非武の島」とする国際協定が結ばれた。
Inazo Nitobe (1862-1933), a Japanese educator who was an undersecretary general of the league at that time, said the settlement over the Aland Islands will establish a precedent for dealing with future territorial problems that may disturb amicable relations of countries, whether large or small. But the significance of the ruling goes beyond that. 当時の国際連盟事務次長、新渡戸（にとべ）稲造は「将来、諸国間の友好関係を妨げる類似の問題が生じた場合、大小にかかわらずその処置の先例を確立することになる」と語った。だが裁定の意義はそれにとどまらない。
National borders, by nature, separate nations from nations, people from people. For the 28,000 residents of the Aland Islands, however, the national border now exists only by name, and it works to link countries and people. 国境はもともと、国と国、人と人を隔てる。しかし２万８千人の島民にとって、いまや国境はあってなきがごとき存在だ。 むしろ国と国、人と人とをつなぐものにさえなっている。
The passengers of ferries traveling between the islands and Sweden are not required to carry passports. Seventy percent of young people who have graduated from high school on the islands go on to universities in Sweden. Camilla Gunell, current premier of the autonomous government of Aland, says the economy of the islands benefits from an increase in people who cross the border. The decision by the League of Nations that settled the dispute has helped make the islanders richer, Gunell says. 海を渡るフェリーの乗客にパスポートは必要ない。島の高校を出た若者の７割が隣国スウェーデンの大学に進む。自治政府のカミラ・グネル首相は「国境を越える人が増えれば島の経済も潤う。あの裁定が私たちを豊かにしてくれた」と話す。
An important undertaking to change the meaning of a national border has been also made in Germany, which faces the southern part of the Baltic Sea. バルト海南方にあるドイツでも国境の持つ意味を変えようとする努力が払われてきた。
Frankfurt (Oder) is a town located on the German-Polish border, a one-hour train ride from Berlin. Before World War II, the whole region around the town was part of Germany. Following Germany’s defeat in the war, however, the area on the opposite side of the Oder River became Polish territory. Many Germans, driven out of the area that had become part of the Soviet bloc, crossed the Oder River into Germany. 首都ベルリンから電車で１時間の国境の街フランクフルト・オーデル。第２次世界大戦前、一帯はドイツ領だった。しかし敗戦によってオーデル川の対岸はポーランド領となった。多くのドイツ人が旧ソ連陣営となった地域から追われ、オーデル川を越えてきた。
SETTLING HISTORY ISSUES ■歴史問題の清算
An attempt to make the border less of a barrier to exchanges between people of the two countries started in 1970. 国境の壁に穴をあけようという試みは１９７０年に始まる。
In that year, Willy Brandt (1913-1992), chancellor of West Germany, visited Poland and other countries in the Soviet bloc and announced his country’s acceptance of the borderline drawn after the war. There was opposition to Brandt’s decision within West Germany, but he made the move to ensure the coexistence and the stability of Western and Eastern Europe. 旧西ドイツのブラント首相がポーランドなど旧ソ連陣営を訪問し、敗戦後に引かれた国境線を受け入れた。国内には不満があったが、東西欧州の共存と安定を手にするためだ。
Viadrina European University, on the German side of the Oder River, was established in 1991, after the Cold War ended. The university has started a program to help people visit their hometowns in the former German territory. The project is part of the university’s efforts to accomplish its mission of serving as a bridge between the East and the West in Europe. Under the program, students at the university make necessary arrangements for people’s trips to their hometowns in the Polish side of the Oder River, including finding interpreters. It is an attempt to build links between people living on both sides of the border. オーデル川沿いのドイツ領にあるヨーロッパ大学を訪ねた。冷戦が終わった後の９１年に創設された。「東西のかけ橋」になるとの校是の下に取り組んでいるのが、故郷訪問プロジェクトだ。旧ドイツ領へ帰郷する人々の旅行や通訳の手配を学生たちが引き受ける。国境を超えて人と人とをつなぐ取り組みだ。
These developments in Europe are different from the path that has led to the current situation in East Asia. 欧州がたどってきた歩みと、東アジアの現状は異なる。
Last year, tensions flared between Japan and its two neighbors--China and South Korea--over islands. The differences between the governments’ sovereignty claims seem unbridgeable. The conditions are not right for the kind of settlement worked out through diplomatic efforts in which Nitobe was involved. 日本は昨年、領土問題で中国や韓国との対立を深めた。政府間の主張はすれ違ったままだ。新渡戸が関わった裁定をあてはめる条件は整っていない。
Despite increased interdependence among countries due to economic globalization, territorial disputes in areas around Japan continue to generate acute international tension because of history issues related to World War II. 経済グローバル化による相互依存の深まりにもかかわらず、日本の近隣で領土をめぐる緊張が高まる背景には、先の戦争をめぐる歴史問題がある。
After the end of the war, Germany totally admitted to the war crimes committed by the Nazis. This made it possible for Germany to cooperate with neighboring countries in leading Europe toward regional integration. ドイツはナチスの戦争犯罪を全面的に認め、周辺国とともに欧州の統合を引っ張ってきた。
On various occasions, Japan has also expressed its regret and apologies for its past invasion of neighboring countries. As a result, Japan has managed to obtain an understanding from Southeast Asian nations. 日本も、過去の侵略に対する反省と謝罪の意をさまざまな機会に表し、東南アジアでは日本への理解が広がった。
But mutual trust between Japan and its close neighbors has been eroded repeatedly by some Japanese politicians’ indiscreet remarks and actions related to history issues. ところが肝心の近隣国との信頼関係は、歴史認識をめぐる一部政治家の浅慮な言動によって何度も揺るがされた。
The shift in the balance of power between Japan and China, caused by China’s rise, has also widened the gaps in perceptions of people in both countries. 中国の台頭による日中の力関係の変化も、双方の人々の意識の溝を広げている。
How should we solve the structural problems behind such mutual distrust? こうした不信の構造をどうすれば崩せるのか。
There have been a variety of steady, low-profile efforts to tackle this challenge. 地道な試みは続いている。
For example, a discussion forum called “Jing Forum” was created for regular debates between students of the University of Tokyo and Peking University. Every year, around two dozen students from both universities lodge together to discuss a wide range of issues in English. The forum’s seventh debate camp took place last autumn at the height of tensions between Japan and China over the Senkaku Islands, a group of islets in the East China Sea. 東京大と北京大の学生による「京論壇」というフォーラムがある。双方二十数人の学生が毎年合宿し、英語で討論する。７回目の開催にあたる昨年秋、日中関係は緊張の極にあった。
Still, the participating students chose the Senkaku Islands dispute as a topic for discussions in one of the subcommittees. In Beijing, where anti-Japanese protests were raging, and in Tokyo, the students of the two universities spent two weeks or so examining the claims of both governments and engaged in heated debates. They also listened to the opinions of academics and visited companies. それでも学生たちは分科会の一つで、あえて尖閣問題を取り上げた。反日デモが繰り広げられた北京、そして東京と２週間余り、両政府の主張を吟味し、議論をぶつけた。学者の意見を聞き、企業も訪ねた。
In the end, none of the students totally accepted the arguments of the other side. As they discussed factors related to the educational and media environments where the claims of both countries have been generated, however, some students said they were not convinced of their governments’ arguments in the dispute. In a debriefing session, students stated their own opinions, instead of those of their governments. 最終的に、相手国の言い分をそのまま認める学生はいなかった。ただ、それぞれの考えが生まれた教育やメディア環境を話すうち、「政府の意見に確信が持てない」という声も出た。報告会では、政府ではなく、学生それぞれの意見を述べた。
“Although we didn’t reach an agreement, we understood each other and created a sense of trust between the two sides through discussions,” says Daiki Komatsu, a 21-year-old student at the University of Tokyo who heads the forum. “In order to improve relations between Japan and China, I believe it is important for us to develop stronger links between us.” 「折り合いは見つからなかったけれど、議論を続けることで相手を理解し、信頼感が生まれた。日中関係を良くするには僕たちがつながっていくことが大事だと思う」。代表の幸松大喜さん（２１）はこう振り返る。
The 21st century is an age of Asia, where countries like China, India and Indonesia will expand their power and influence. We should never allow the region to return to an era of military confrontation. The countries in the region need to overcome the challenges facing them to share peace and prosperity. 中国やインド、インドネシアなどが台頭する２１世紀はアジアの時代だ。軍事対立の道に舞い戻ってはならない。平和と繁栄を分かちあうため、困難を乗り越えていこう。
The Yomiuri Shimbun (Jan. 7, 2013) South Korean refusal to extradite Yasukuni arson suspect unjust 靖国放火容疑者 韓国の引き渡し拒否は不当だ（1月6日付・読売社説）
An unjust decision by the South Korean judicial authorities could seriously affect relations with Japan. 日韓関係を損なう韓国司法の不当な決定だ。
Japan's request to the South Korean government to extradite a Chinese suspected of setting fire to the Shinmon main gate of Yasukuni Shrine was turned down by the Seoul High Court, which called the arson attack a "political crime." The suspect is now back in China. 東京の靖国神社の神門に放火した疑いで日本政府が韓国政府に身柄引き渡しを求めていた中国人容疑者について、ソウル高裁が「政治犯」と認定して引き渡しの拒否を決定し、容疑者は中国に帰国した。
Beijing openly requested that the suspect be repatriated to China, arguing that he should be handled like a "political prisoner." The South Korean decision to comply with that request indicates the country shows more consideration to China than Japan. 容疑者の身柄引き渡しを巡っては、中国が政治犯としての処遇を求めて強制送還を公然と要求していた。日本より中国への配慮が強くにじみ出た決定と言えよう。
It was natural for Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to say: "South Korea effectively ignored the bilateral treaty on extradition. It is extremely regrettable and I would like to strongly protest." 安倍首相が「韓国の対応は日韓犯罪人引き渡し条約を事実上、まったく無視したものだ。極めて遺憾で、強く抗議したい」と述べたのも当然である。
The suspect was sentenced to 10 months in South Korea for throwing a Molotov cocktail at the Japanese Embassy in Seoul in January last year. During questioning, he reportedly confessed to setting a fire at Yasukuni in December 2011. この容疑者は、昨年１月にソウルの日本大使館に火炎瓶を投げ込んだ罪で韓国で懲役１０月の実刑判決が確定し服役した。取り調べ中に、一昨年１２月の靖国神社への放火についても自供していた。
===
'Comfort woman' motive
Asked for a motive for the series of attacks on Japanese facilities, the suspect reportedly said his grandmother was a so-called comfort woman and he was angry over the Japanese government's views on history and its responses. 日本の施設を連続して狙った犯行の動機について、容疑者は、祖母がいわゆる従軍慰安婦で、日本政府の歴史認識や対応への怒りからだと供述していたという。
The Seoul High Court said Yasukuni enshrines war criminals convicted for leading a war of aggression and the shrine is a "political symbol" as it is used as a national facility and is visited by cabinet ministers and other people. ソウル高裁は、靖国神社について、「侵略戦争を主導し、有罪判決を受けた戦犯が合祀(ごうし)」され、閣僚らが参拝するなど国家施設として使用されている「政治的象徴性がある」と指摘した。
The court ruled that the arson attack on Yasukuni was a crime with the political purpose of changing Japan's policies. It turned down extradition on the grounds that the arson was tantamount to a "political crime." そのうえで、放火は日本の政策変更を狙った政治的な目的による犯行で、引き渡しを拒否できる「政治犯罪」にあたるとした。
This is a surprising ruling, as it equates the exoneration of an arsonist with absolving a person who commits a serious crime in the name of a political cause based on historical events. This is the same as saying that anything can be done to Yasukuni Shrine. 驚くべき判断だ。これでは、過去の歴史と絡めて、放火という重大な犯罪に“政治的大義”を認め、放免したに等しい。靖国神社には何をしても許されると言ったも同然ではないか。
We are concerned that the court ruling may induce other people to commit similar crimes. 同種の犯罪を誘発しないかと危惧せざるを得ない。
===
Gap in historical views
A huge gap exists in the views on historical events between Japan and South Korea. However, it is totally unreasonable to imply that arson is a political crime. 日本と韓国の間に過去認識を巡って大きな溝が存在するのはまぎれもない事実だ。だが、放火という犯罪に政治的な意味合いを持たせるのは明らかにおかしい。
The South Korean judicial authorities have ruled on other historical issues. 歴史問題に絡んだ韓国の司法当局の判断は他にもある。
In August 2011, the South Korean Constitutional Court ruled it was unconstitutional for the South Korean government to have failed to make an effort to solve the issue of compensation rights of former comfort women. 一昨年８月に憲法裁判所は、韓国政府が元慰安婦の賠償請求権について解決に努力しないのは憲法違反にあたると判断した。
In May last year, the South Korean Supreme Court ruled that the individual compensation rights of former Korean laborers who were brought to work at Japanese companies during World War II were valid. 昨年５月には最高裁が、第２次大戦中に日本企業に徴用された韓国人元労働者の個人の賠償請求権は有効とする判断を示した。
The issue of such compensation rights was settled "completely and finally" under one of the bilateral agreements concluded when bilateral relations were normalized. The Japanese government should continue to firmly maintain this position. 請求権問題は国交正常化の際の協定で「完全かつ最終的に」解決されている。その立場を、日本政府は今後も堅持すべきである。
(From The Yomiuri Shimbun, Jan. 6, 2013) （2013年1月6日01時21分 読売新聞）
The Yomiuri Shimbun (Jan. 6, 2013) Abe administration's ability to tackle problems faces test 転機の日本政治 試される安倍政権の統治能力（1月5日付・読売社説）
◆参院選前に着実に成果を示せ◆
With the change of government, positive signs have emerged for the nation's prospects for this year. 政権交代して迎えた今年を展望すれば、やや明るい兆しも見える。
Since just before the administration of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe was launched, the super-strong yen has weakened and stock prices have jumped, apparently reflecting high hopes for the Abe administration's economic measures. On Friday, the first trading day of 2013, most stocks on the Tokyo Stock Exchange climbed, recovering levels seen before the Great East Japan Earthquake of March 11, 2011. 安倍政権の発足前後から、超円高が修正され、株価も急上昇した。経済政策への期待感がうかがえる。新年初日の取引だった４日の大発会は、ほぼ全面高で東日本大震災前の水準を回復した。
Can Abe restore a "strong Japan" and put an end to the nation's revolving-door politics, which has seen the prime minister change about once a year? 安倍首相は「強い日本」を取り戻し、ほぼ１年ごとに首相が代わる政治に終止符を打てるのか。
If the public's high hopes turn into disappointment, the Abe Cabinet is expected to face a strict verdict in the House of Councillors election scheduled for July. The prime minister must produce results swiftly. 期待が失望に変わると７月の参院選でたちまち国民から厳しい審判が下されよう。首相は迅速に成果を上げていかねばならない。
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End practice of handouts ◆バラマキ復活させるな◆
Referring to 2013 as the Year of the Snake, Abe said at his first press conference Friday: "The snake symbolizes prosperous business. I'll work hard for the nation so we can take a big step forward toward boosting and reviving the economy." 安倍首相は年頭の記者会見で「巳年(みどし)のヘビは商売繁盛のシンボルでもある。景気が上向いていくよう、経済再生の大きな一歩をしるせるよう頑張る」と語った。
His government plans to draw up emergency economic measures and submit a large-scale supplementary budget for fiscal 2012 to the Diet. It has also said it intends to work out bold monetary measures in cooperation with the Bank of Japan. 緊急経済対策をとりまとめ、大規模な補正予算案を国会に提出する。日銀と連携して大胆な金融政策を打ち出す意向も表明した。
First of all, the government needs to put the teetering economy on a recovery track. まずは、もたつく景気を回復軌道に乗せることが必要だ。
It reportedly aims to decide on a draft budget for next fiscal year by late this month. It must ensure smooth Diet deliberations and prevent delays in implementing the budget. We want the government and ruling parties to make every effort to pass the budget early. 来年度予算編成については１月中の政府原案決定を目指すという。国会審議の難航で予算執行が遅れてはなるまい。政府・与党は、本予算の早期成立にも全力を挙げてもらいたい。
Meanwhile, the Abe administration has announced in rapid succession a series of policy changes. They include dropping an income guarantee for individual farming households and a review of a program to end tuition for high schools. Both are key measures of the Democratic Party of Japan. We regard the new administration's decision to correct such handout measures as reasonable. 安倍政権は、民主党の目玉政策だった「高校授業料無償化」の見直しや、農家に対する戸別所得補償制度の廃止など、矢継ぎ早に政策転換の方針を打ち出している。バラマキ政策を修正するのは妥当な判断だと言える。
However, it would be problematic if the Abe administration continued handout policies in different forms. It is vital for the government to recreate a growth strategy to boost the nation's industrial competitiveness. ただし、形を変えたバラマキの復活になっては困る。産業競争力を高める成長戦略を再構築することが肝要である。
Taro Aso, deputy prime minister and finance minister, has indicated the new government has no intention to stick to the 44 trillion yen cap on new bond issuance set under the DPJ-led government. However, he should not forget the government needs to balance its policy measures with fiscal discipline. 麻生副総理・財務相は、新規国債発行額を４４兆円以下に抑えるとする民主党政権の目標にはこだわらない意向のようだが、財政規律との両立を忘れてはならない。
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Focus on electoral system reform ◆選挙制度改革に本腰を◆
During the ordinary Diet session that will start late this month, the Abe administration will be tested on its ability to manage the Diet, which will continue to be divided at least until the July upper house election. The government and ruling parties should focus on passing legislation by trying to form alliances with opposition parties on a policy-by-policy basis. 今月末に召集される通常国会では、国会運営能力が問われる。参院選までは衆参のねじれが続く。政府・与党は、政策ごとに部分連合を実現し、法案を成立させることに専念する必要がある。
One task that cannot wait is reform of the electoral system of the House of Representatives. もはや待ったなしの課題が、衆院の選挙制度改革である。
The Liberal Democratic Party, New Komeito and the DPJ have agreed to discuss drastic reform, including a reduction in the number of lower house seats. With regard to the current system that combines single-seat constituencies and proportional representation blocs, many problems have been pointed out, such as the huge gap between votes and seats won. These problems tend to destabilize politics. 自民、公明、民主３党は、定数削減を含む抜本改革を検討することで一致している。現行の小選挙区比例代表並立制では、得票数と獲得議席数の隔たりが大きく、政治が安定しないなど、様々な問題点が指摘されている。
Political parties should start to discuss as quickly as possible how to improve the current electoral system. 制度をどう改善するか、各党は早急に議論を開始すべきだ。
If they cannot discuss the issue because of partisan interests involved in the electoral system, we propose a forum be established for experts to discuss the matter. 選挙制度には党利党略が絡むため、政党協議で議論を出せないのであれば、有識者による議論の場を設けることも考えたい。
Meanwhile, the Abe administration faces many pending issues that require coordination within the LDP, between the ruling and opposition parties or with local governments. 一方、安倍政権は、自民党内あるいは与党間、自治体との間で調整が必要な懸案も抱えている。
One of the issues is participation in negotiations on the Trans-Pacific Partnership free trade framework. その一つは環太平洋経済連携協定（ＴＰＰ）への参加問題だ。
The LDP is divided over participation in the TPP talks due to strong opposition from agricultural organizations. With this in mind, LDP Secretary General Shigeru Ishiba said, "We have to decide some kind of party policy [on the TPP issue] before the House of Councillors election." 自民党内では、農業団体が強く反対していることもあって、参加への賛否が割れている。これを念頭に、石破幹事長は「参院選までに党として何らかの対処方針を決めないといけない」と述べた。
However, it will be too late if the LDP does not take the issue seriously, saying only it must come up with a policy "before the upper house election." It is urgent for the LDP to coordinate opinions within the party with the aim of joining the TPP talks. だが、「参院選まで」と悠長に構えていては手遅れになる。交渉参加へ党内をまとめることは急務だ。
Japan will not get anywhere unless it sits down at the negotiating table with the 11 countries that will participate in the TPP. The government should exercise its negotiation ability and promote the creation of trade rules that will serve the national interests. ＴＰＰに参加する１１か国との交渉の席につかなければ何も始まらない。交渉力を発揮し、国益にかなう貿易ルール作りを進めるべきである。
For economic growth, it is indispensable to restart idled nuclear reactors once they have been confirmed to be safe. The Abe administration must clear many hurdles such as persuading local governments hosting nuclear power plants. 経済成長のために、安全性が確認された原子力発電所の再稼働は欠かせない。安倍政権は、自治体の説得など様々なハードルを越えなければならない。
If the ruling parties win a majority in the upper house election, an environment will be created in which they can take their time to face such issues as constitutional revisions and exercising the right to collective self-defense. At that time, the LDP's ability to coordinate opinions with Komeito will be put to the test again. 参院選で与党が過半数の議席を獲得すれば、憲法改正や集団的自衛権の行使を巡る問題にじっくりと向き合う環境が整うだろう。その際には、改めて公明党との調整力が試される。
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Coordination with Komeito key ◆公明党との調整も重要◆
In spring last year, the LDP compiled a second draft of its proposed constitutional revisions. Almost all LDP members are in step as far as exercising of the right to collective self-defense is concerned. Komeito remains cautious about both issues. 自民党は昨年春に第２次憲法改正草案を取りまとめた。集団的自衛権の行使についても、党内でほぼ足並みがそろった。公明党はいずれも慎重な構えだ。
However, the security environment surrounding Japan has been drastically changing. China has intruded into not only the territorial waters off the Senkaku Islands but also the airspace above them. North Korea successfully launched a long-range ballistic missile capable of reaching the U.S. mainland. We must not look away from these crises. しかし、日本の安全保障環境は激変している。中国が尖閣諸島を巡り、領海だけでなく領空まで侵犯し、北朝鮮が米本土への到達も可能な長距離弾道ミサイルの発射に成功した。そんな危機から目をそらしてはならない。
The Constitution, which cannot deal with the ever-changing situations at home and abroad, needs to be revised. Also, it is quite right to take measures to strengthen the Japan-U.S. alliance. 内外の情勢の変化に対応しきれなくなっている憲法は改める必要がある。日米同盟強化のための手立てを講じることも当然だ。
The Abe administration must maintain the political power to boldly tackle constitutional revisions and exercising the right to collective self-defense. 安倍政権には、憲法改正や集団的自衛権の行使にも果敢に取り組む政治力が求められる。
(From The Yomiuri Shimbun, Jan. 5, 2013) （2013年1月5日01時46分 読売新聞）
The Yomiuri Shimbun (Jan. 5, 2013) Deeper EU integration needed as European crisis drags on 試練の世界経済 欧州危機の収束はまだ途上だ（1月4日付・読売社説）
◆財政再建緩めずに「統合深化」を◆
Europe's protracted fiscal and financial crises appear to have escaped their worst phases, but there is no knowing what lies ahead. Indications are that difficult times for the world economy will most likely continue this year as well. 長期化している欧州の財政・金融危機は、最悪期を脱したかのように見えるが、先行きは不透明である。世界経済の試練が今年も続くだろう。
The European crisis must be overcome by every possible means, to enable the global economy to get on track for a full-fledged recovery. 欧州危機を封じ込め、本格的な景気回復を実現しなければならない。
The World Economic Outlook released last autumn by the International Monetary Fund reduced its world growth forecast for 2013 to 3.6 percent after inflation, and it seems the pace of the recovery in the world economy will remain sluggish. 国際通貨基金（ＩＭＦ）は昨秋、２０１３年の世界経済見通しを実質３・６％成長に下方修正した。緩慢な回復にとどまりそうだ。
The biggest factor behind this is that growth in the eurozone will likely be a meager 0.2 percent from the year before, meaning growth will be close to zero. Some observers even say Europe's growth may fall below zero for the second consecutive year. 最大の要因は、ユーロ圏が前年比０・２％増とほぼゼロ成長に低迷することだ。２年連続でマイナス成長に陥る観測すらある。
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Break the negative chain ◆負の連鎖を断ち切れ◆
The European crisis, which has lasted for more than three years, has had a harmful influence on the economies of Japan, the United States and other countries, while slowing growth in newly emerging economies, too, as shown by conspicuous declines in China's exports to Europe. ３年以上続く欧州危機は、米国や日本経済に悪影響を及ぼし、中国の欧州向け輸出が減少するなど新興国経済も減速させた。
As long as these negative chain reactions continue, there can be no prospects for the world economy to regain its buoyancy. こうした「負の連鎖」を断ち切らない限り、世界経済が再浮上する展望は開けない。
It was a welcome development that the European Central Bank and the European Union beefed up steps, though belatedly, to contain the crisis from last autumn through the year-end. 欧州中央銀行（ＥＣＢ）と欧州連合（ＥＵ）が昨秋から年末にかけ、遅ればせながら、危機封じ込め策を強化したのは前進だ。
The ECB has decided to employ the extraordinary measure of purchasing government bonds of crisis-stricken countries without limitations, in addition to a bold monetary easing policy. ＥＣＢは大胆な金融緩和策に加えて、危機国の国債を無制限に買い取るという異例の方針を決めた。
As a permanent safety net for extending assistance to crisis-ridden nations, the European Stabilization Mechanism has been launched. On top of this, an additional bailout package for Greece has also been put in place. 危機国支援の恒久的な安全網として欧州安定メカニズム（ＥＳＭ）も発足した。ギリシャに対する追加支援も実施された。
It is highly commendable that Europe's credit unrest has eased and the market has begun to regain stability. 信用不安が和らぎ、市場が落ち着いてきたことは評価できる。
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Still many things to do
Optimism that the eurozone crises have ended, however, should not be allowed. だが、「ユーロ危機は終わった」と楽観するのは禁物だ。
For one thing, Greece has yet to emerge from a serious recession. The path to slashing its government debts as planned is very treacherous. ギリシャは深刻な景気後退から抜け出せない。計画通りに政府債務を削減する道は険しい。
In Spain, the bursting of a property bubble has caused banks to suffer from a mountain of nonperforming loans, while government finances have kept deteriorating. It is problematic that the Spanish government is still hesitant about whether to officially request assistance from the EU. スペインでも、不動産バブル崩壊で銀行が不良債権を抱え、国家財政は悪化した。ＥＵへの支援要請を躊躇(ちゅうちょ)しているのは問題だ。
As Italian Prime Minister Mario Monti has expressed his intention to step down, a general election scheduled for February may be turbulent. イタリアで財政再建を主導してきたモンティ首相が辞意を表明したため、２月に実施される総選挙も波乱要素になりうる。
Under the circumstances, every European country must avoid the folly of easing measures to cope with the crisis. In order not to rekindle the crisis, steady, continuous efforts should be made to rebuild government finances. At the same time, policies should be implemented to place priority on reinvigorating business activities by making the most of the framework for extending assistance to countries in trouble. 各国がここで対応を緩めるのは愚策だ。危機が再燃しないよう、財政再建を着実に進め、支援の枠組みを活用するとともに、景気を重視する政策も肝要である。
Efforts to deepen the integration of the eurozone must continue in order to solve its structural problem of having a single currency but different fiscal policies among member countries. 「通貨は一つで財政はバラバラ」という構造問題の解決へ、ユーロ圏は「統合深化」の取り組みを足踏みさせてはならない。
A policy to unify banking supervision in the region has been decided. However, concrete measures for fiscal integration have been postponed. The key to the issue is what Germany decides. 域内の銀行監督を一元化する方針は決まったが、財政統合の具体策は先送りされている。カギを握るのは大国ドイツの決断だ。
Within the European economic giant, there is strong opposition to giving further assistance to southern European nations struggling with fiscal crises and fiscal integration. ドイツでは、財政危機に陥った南欧諸国への一層の支援や財政統合に反対論が根強い。
Germany's general election in autumn this year will be a focal point for whether the eurozone can deepen its integration. ユーロ圏が統合深化にさらに踏み込めるかどうかは、今秋のドイツの総選挙が焦点になる。
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Fiscal cliff avoided
For U.S. President Barack Obama, whose second term in office is to start soon, fiscal rehabilitation and economic revitalization will continue to be weighty pending issues. ２期目がスタートするオバマ米大統領にとって、引き続き、財政再建と経済再生が重い課題だ。
◆回避された米財政の崖◆
Negotiations between Obama and congressional leaders to avoid the fiscal cliff, a term describing the expiration of major tax cuts and large automatic spending cuts, went into the New Year. However, they finally reached an agreement on an extension of tax cuts for middle-class earners and a tax increase for the rich. 大型減税失効と予算の強制削減が重なる「財政の崖」を巡る大統領と議会の協議は、越年した末、中間所得層の減税延長や富裕層増税などでようやく決着した。
Avoiding falling off the cliff brought relief to financial markets. However, there are many issues still pending, such as drastic fiscal rehabilitation measures and an increase in the U.S. debt ceiling--the quota for issuing U.S. government bonds. 崖からの転落を土壇場で回避できたことは市場に安心感を与えたが、抜本的な財政再建策や米国債発行枠（債務上限）引き上げなど先送りされた課題も多い。
As the confrontation between Obama and Congress is still dragging on, there will probably be twists and turns ahead. 大統領と議会の対立は尾を引いており、波乱含みである。
The U.S. economy has been on a moderate recovery path with the housing market picking up. However, the unemployment rate is still hovering at a high level of just under 8 percent, and thus it is still difficult to find jobs. 米国経済は住宅市場が好転し、緩やかに持ち直しつつあるとはいえ、失業率は８％弱に高止まりして雇用情勢は厳しい。
In a rare move, the U.S. Federal Reserve Board has decided to keep interest rates near zero until the jobless rate is stabilized at 6.5 percent or below. We hope the U.S. government and the FRB will strengthen their cooperation to improve employment and realize a powerful U.S. economy. 米連邦準備制度理事会（ＦＲＢ）は、失業率が６・５％程度に安定するまで、ゼロ金利政策を継続する異例の金融緩和策を決めた。政府とＦＲＢが一段と連携を強化し、雇用改善と力強い米国経済を実現してもらいたい。
Expectations are running high for the "shale gas revolution," development of the nontraditional natural gas that has been going on in North America. When shale gas is used on a regular basis, the U.S. manufacturing industry likely will revive, making U.S. industries more competitive. 北米で非在来型天然ガスの開発が進む「シェールガス革命」への期待が高まっている。本格的に普及すれば米製造業が復活し、産業競争力の強化につながろう。
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Stabilizing Japan-China relations ◆日中関係安定が重要◆
In China, where real economic growth for 2012 is suspected to have gone below the 8 percent target linked to sustaining sufficient employment levels, the pace for economic recovery is slow. Economic growth in China this year is expected to stay around 8 percent. １２年の実質経済成長率が、雇用維持に重要な目安の８％を割ったとみられる中国では、景気回復の足取りが鈍い。今年の成長も８％程度にとどまりそうだ。
After the Lehman Brothers shock in autumn 2008, the Chinese government realized a V-shaped recovery leveraged by large-scale economic stimulus measures, serving as a locomotive for the global economy. 中国政府は０８年秋のリーマン・ショック後、大型景気対策をテコにＶ字回復を実現し、世界を牽引(けんいん)した。
However, there are no signs that China will come up with similar large-scale economic measures this time. だが、中国が今、同じような対策を打つ気配はみえない。
A key issue for China is transition from an economy excessively dependent on exports to one led by domestic demand such as individual consumption. 中国の懸案は、過度に輸出に依存する経済から、個人消費など内需主導型経済への転換だ。
If Japan-China relations get chillier, due to intensification of the confrontation between the two countries over the Senkaku Islands in Okinawa Prefecture, Japanese companies will stop investing in China, an outcome that would also seriously affect the Chinese economy. Chinese leaders must recognize anew the importance of stabilizing bilateral relations. 尖閣諸島を巡る日本との対立激化で日中関係が冷え込めば、日本企業による中国投資にブレーキがかかり、中国経済にも響く。両国関係を安定させる重要性を中国当局は再認識すべきである。
(From The Yomiuri Shimbun, Jan. 4, 2013) （2013年1月4日01時20分 読売新聞）
--The Asahi Shimbun, Jan. 3 EDITORIAL: A letter to high school students 高校生の皆さんへ―支え合いに取り組もう
To the 214 first-year students at Kagawa Prefectural Takamatsu-Kougei High School: 香川県立高松工芸高校１年生２１４人の皆さんへ。
Thank you for writing essays on our editorial about the issue of integrated tax and social security reform in Contemporary Social Studies classes. 現代社会の授業で「社会保障と税の一体改革」に関する社説に感想文を書いていただき、ありがとうございました。
The editorial titled "Do adults understand?" was published on Dec. 28, 2011. It was written from the point of view of a member of a future generation who was lamenting the fact that their generation would be forced to pay for the huge debt the Japanese government had piled up to finance its spending. おととし１２月２８日付の「オトナはわかってる？」という社説でした。日本の政府が大きな借金をしていることを、そのツケを回される将来世代になりかわって嘆く内容でした。
When we responded to your essays on the article, you all again took the trouble of writing what you felt. We were very happy because we found in this correspondence great hope for the future of this country. 返事を出したら、また一人ひとりが感想を書いてくれて。 とてもうれしく思いました。この交流を通して、大きな希望を見いだせたからです。
IT'S NO LONGER SOMEONE ELSE'S PROBLEM ■「お任せ」はもう限界
One of you wrote, "It is important for us all to think about 'what today's adults have failed to do' instead of simply complaining about their selfishness." こんな一文がありました。 《大人は自分勝手だと文句をいうだけでなく「今の大人ができなかったこと」を考えることが、私たちにとって大切だ》
What is it exactly that today's adults have failed to do? 今の大人ができなかったことって、何だろう。
Sociologist Shinji Miyadai offers good insight into this question. 社会学者の宮台真司さんの言葉がヒントになります。
"Japan is a society where people complain and leave matters to others, not a society where people take on matters and think about them," he writes. 「日本は、引き受けて考える社会でなく、任せて文句を言う社会」
Here are some typical examples of how Japanese tend to think: 具体的には、こんな考え方じゃないだろうか。
* It is the responsibility of bureaucrats and politicians to make policy decisions on such difficult issues as social security and tax. All we ordinary people can do is gripe about how things stand. ――社会保障と税なんて難しい問題は、官僚や政治家が決めること。普通の私たちは文句をいうことしかできない。
* We left the problem for politicians to handle when we cast our ballots at the polls. In the end, people in power will work things out, right? ――選挙で政治家に任せた。最後はエライ人がつじつまを合わせてくれるんでしょ。
For many years in Japan, the amount of money the government spends and distributes has been bigger than the amount of money collected by the government through taxes. To make up the difference, the government has been piling up more and more debt. 日本では、税金で集めるお金より、国が使ったり配ったりするお金が多いので、つじつま合わせに借金をしてきました。
Obviously, however, the government cannot continue running up debt forever. But it is not easy to increase taxes, either, whether the consumption tax or other levies. でも、借金はいつまでも続けられない。消費税とか、税金を増やすのも簡単じゃない。
Meanwhile, the number of elderly people who need social security services like nursing care and pensions continues to grow at an alarming pace. 一方で、介護や年金など社会保障を必要とするお年寄りはどんどん多くなる。
It seems that we can no longer afford to leave this important problem for people in power to deal with. As a first step toward abandoning this attitude, let us learn how the social security system works. 「お任せ」は、もう限界みたい。そこから脱するために、まず社会保障がどうやって成り立つのか、考えてみる。
BUILDING TIES ■つながりをつくる
When you look around you, don't you find that there is a growing number of lonely people in your neighborhood? 君たちが暮らすご近所を見回してみると、孤独な人が増えてませんか？
Take old people, for instance. As they grow physically weaker, they find it increasingly difficult to go out. They also feel sad as their memory dims, making it harder for them to keep following what is happening around them. お年寄り。体力がなくなって外出が難しくなる。記憶力が衰え、周りのことがわからなくなると悲しいだろう。
Young people who have quit their jobs or left school usually see their circles of acquaintances shrink, and those who have withdrawn from society after being bullied at school must endure solitude. 若者。仕事や学校をやめてしまうと、つきあいが減る。いじめられて、引きこもったりしたら、孤独だろう。
Parents of young children feel lonely and frustrated if they have to spend all of their time at home with their children. 子育て中の親。家の中で、子どもとだけ過ごしていたら寂しく、イライラすることもある。
The most unfortunate thing that can happen to a person is probably to become isolated from society. It is, therefore, vital to help people avoid such a situation by building ties with others. 人とのつながりがなくなるのが一番、不幸せじゃないかな。 そこをなんとかする。人と人のつながりをつくっていく。
Your writings included some heartening comments on this problem. 《ああ、そんなことでいいんだ。ふだんからできそう》
One of you wrote, "Such simple things will help. I can probably do them in my daily life." Another said, "I think more people will become happy if we fix the problems one by one." "I have realized that my surroundings are also part of the country," commented a third. 《一つひとつ直していけば、幸せな人が増えるのでは》 《自分の身のまわりも国の一部なんだ、と気づきました》
The spirit of mutual aid and support expressed in these remarks is the very foundation of social security. 君たちが感想文に書いた、こんな「支え合いの思い」。これこそ、社会保障の土台です。
If we understand the importance of mutual aid and support, we should first do what we can do immediately, either on our own or together with our neighbors. Then, we need to contribute money to pay for the professional medical and nursing-care services that some people need. 支え合いが必要だと思えば、まず自分たちやご近所で、できることをやる。専門的な医療や介護は、プロにやってもらうため、お金を出し合う。
But people generally develop a tendency to think from a standpoint of profits and losses as they grow older. ところが、オトナになると、損得勘定に敏感になる。
Many adults say they are having a hard time trying to make ends meet and demand that people in better financial conditions pay for social security. Others say they deserve to receive more aid because they are so badly off. Still others argue that people should not be given a "free ride" under the system of mutual support. ――自分は生活が苦しい。お金は、もっと余裕がある人に払ってもらいたい。 ――こんなに困ってるのだから、もっと助けてほしい。 ――支え合いに「ただ乗り」している人を甘やかすな。
There are various conflicting opinions on social security issues, and it is difficult to find solutions acceptable to a majority of people. 対立する意見があり、あちらが立てば、こちらが立たず。この調整が難しい。
EVERYBODY HAS A ROLE TO PLAY ■みんなに出番がある
"Politicians who appear on TV don't listen to what others say at all once they start stating their own opinion," one of you wrote. That's exactly true and unfortunately so because working out compromises between people with conflicting opinions and interests is what politics is all about. 《テレビに出る政治家は、自分の意見を言い始めたら、人の意見をまったく聞かない》 なるほど、そうだ。政治とは本来、対立する意見を調整する仕事なのにね。
Some politicians promise to improve the social security system without increasing the financial burden on the public. ――みなさんの負担を増やさず、社会保障をよくします。 そういう政治家もいる。
But there can never be such a magic solution to the problem. でも、そんな夢のような解決策はありっこない。
The only effective way for us to tackle the problem is to stop leaving the work to politicians and bureaucrats and start considering and discussing it as our own challenge. We may have to set aside our wishes and opinions in consideration of others from time to time. お任せをやめ、自分たちに引きつけて、よく考え、話し合うしか道はない。自分が「こうしたい」と思っても、相手のことを考えてゆずったり……。
We also need people who listen carefully to what others say and carry out what they can do quietly. 人の話を聞いて、黙々と行動する人も欠かせない。
"I'm not good at making arguments and usually do nothing but listen to other people's opinions. But it seems that I have to express my opinions on important issues," one of you wrote. 《私は主張するのが苦手で、他の人の意見を聞いてばかりいるけど、大切なことは言わないといけないのかな》
That's right. We urge you to pluck up your courage and voice your opinions on issues that you think are important. そう。大切だと思うことは勇気を出して言ってみる。
Everybody has a role to play. If we roll up our shirt sleeves and get down to tackling the situation, we will probably be able to work out solutions to the problems through constructive discussions. みんなに「出番」がある。腕まくりして取り組み、話し合うなかから、「問題解決」が色々な場所で起こってくる。
"I don't think there are any politicians who are trying to make things worse," one of you said. 《政治家だって国を悪くしようとしている人はいないと思います》
That's also true. You should act on this belief and start by doing what you can do. 確かにね。そんなぎりぎりの信頼感を胸におさめて、まず自分ができることを引き受ける。
If you become voters who recognize the power and importance of mutual support among members of society, politics of this nation will no doubt begin to move in the right direction. That's because politics mirrors what is happening around us. 支え合いの力と思いを身につけた君たちが有権者になれば、政治もきっとよくなるはずだ。政治は私たちの周りで起きていることの鏡なのだから。
We have high expectations of all of you. おおいに期待しています。
The Yomiuri Shimbun (Jan. 3, 2013) Sustaining social security system requires all generations to chip in 社会保障政策 全世代で応分の負担が必要だ（12月31日付・読売社説）
◆活力回復へ少子化に歯止めを◆ Japan's rapidly aging population and chronically low birthrate have cast a dark shadow on the nation's social security system--it has become unclear whether pension, health care, elderly care and other services can be maintained in the future. 急速な少子高齢化で、年金、医療、介護など社会保障制度の維持に黄信号がともっている。
Due to anxiety about the future, the public has become caught up in a mentality to curb spending and increase savings, which has been one reason for the economic slump. We urge Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and his Cabinet to speed up their efforts to rebuild public trust in the social security system. 将来への不安から、消費を控えて貯蓄に回そうとする心理が、景気低迷にもつながっている。安倍内閣は、社会保障制度に対する信頼の回復を急がねばならない。
The Cabinet must give top priority to steadily implementing integrated reform of the social security and tax systems, centering on raising the consumption tax rate. Additional tax revenues will become a funding source for basic pension payments, health care and other welfare services. It will be a major step toward maintaining the social security system. 最優先すべきは、消費税率の引き上げを柱とする社会保障と税の一体改革を着実に進めることだ。消費増税分は、基礎年金や医療などの財源に充てられる。制度を維持していくための大きな一歩になるだろう。
◆改革は長期的な視点で◆
However, it is obvious that such reform--although necessary--is not sufficient to resolve the problem. It will be crucial to implement steps to turn around the low birthrate as a part of long-term reform based on a farsighted viewpoint. 無論、これだけでは不十分だ。将来を見据えた長期的な改革として、少子化対策が重要である。
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Spend more on children
Japan's social security programs have so far provided solid services to the elderly, such as substantial pension payments. On the other hand, measures to tackle the low birthrate have been poor. これまでの日本の社会保障は、年金額などで高齢者に手厚い反面、少子化対策が貧弱だった。
The state coffers are expected to collect an additional 13.5 trillion yen due to the consumption tax increase, and under the integrated reform, 700 billion yen will be used to support child-rearing. However, the money to be spent on child-rearing is nowhere near what was spent by France, Sweden and other nations that successfully conquered their own low birthrate problems. 社会保障と税の一体改革によって、消費増税分１３兆５０００億円のうち、７０００億円が子育て支援策の財源となる。それでも、フランスやスウェーデンなど、少子化の克服に成功した国々に比べると相当見劣りする。
Japan's most recent total fertility rate--the average number of children each woman has in her lifetime--was 1.39, one of the lowest among advanced nations. Due to the low birthrate, the nation's population is expected to drop by more than 30 percent over the next 50 years, and by about two-thirds in 100 years. 日本は、１人の女性が産む子供の数を示す合計特殊出生率が１・３９で、先進国では最低のレベルだ。出生率の低下で、人口は今後５０年間に３割以上も減り、１００年後には３分の１の規模に縮むと予測されている。
If the government is unable to increase the birthrate, the labor force will drop significantly. As a result, the working generation will have to bear a heavier burden to keep social security programs running. It also will hurt economic growth and diminish social vitality. 少子化に歯止めがかからなければ、労働力人口が減少し、現役世代の社会保障費負担は重くなる。経済成長にもマイナスで、社会の活力をそぐことにもなる。
Many women are still forced to quit their jobs when they have babies. This situation must be changed. Concern about losing their jobs has become one reason some women hesitate to have children. The government must urgently create an environment in which women can work without anxieties, such as by boosting child care services and increasing income compensation for women taking child care leave. 出産を機に退職を余儀なくされる女性が多い現状を改善したい。失職への不安が、出産をためらう一因だ。保育サービスの拡充や育児休業中の所得保障の強化など、安心して働き続けられる環境を整えることが急務だろう。
During a recent press conference, Abe said one of his administration's tasks is to make Japan a nation where more women can have successful careers and feel comfortable having and raising children. During the administrations of the Democratic Party of Japan, 10 politicians held the post of state minister for measures for the declining birthrate in three years and three months. We urge the Abe administration to learn from this awful example and powerfully promote measures to rectify the low birthrate. 安倍首相は記者会見で、女性が活躍し、子供を産み育てやすい国を作っていくことが政権の責務だと強調した。３年３か月で少子化相が計１０人も入れ替わった民主党政権を反面教師とし、強力に少子化対策を進めてもらいたい。
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Help nonregular workers ◆非正規雇用対策が課題◆
The increase in nonregular workers has also become another problem for social security. The ranks of nonregular workers, such as part-time and temporary workers, recently exceeded 18 million--35 percent of the total workforce. 少子化と並び、非正規雇用の増大も社会保障を危うくしている。パート、契約社員などの非正規労働者は１８００万人を超え、被用者の３５％に達した。
Many businesses do not apply social insurance programs--such as pension, medical and employment insurance--to their nonregular employees. The increase in the number of workers not obliged to pay social insurance premiums undermines the foundation of the social security system that is sustained by these premiums. 非正規労働者については、年金、医療、雇用など社会保険を適用していない企業が多い。社会保険料の徴収対象でない労働者の増加は、保険料収入で成り立つ社会保障制度の根幹を揺るがす。
There is wide concern these nonregular workers will face severe lifestyle constraints if they lose their jobs or become ill, and will end up being entitled to only a small pension--or no pension at all. 失業や病気が生活困窮に直結し、将来は無年金・低年金になる恐れも強い。
Nonregular workers are more likely to be axed first in corporate restructuring. Many find it difficult to get married due to financial reasons. The proportion of married nonregular workers in their 30s is about half that of regular employees in the same age bracket. This causes a vicious circle that accelerates the decline in the birthrate. 非正規労働者は、リストラの対象にもなりやすい。経済的な理由で結婚が難しく、３０歳代男性の既婚者の割合は正社員の半分ほどにとどまる。それが少子化を加速させる悪循環を招いている。
Expanding employee pension plans and social insurance programs to nonregular workers and correcting the gap in wages between regular and nonregular workers are major challenges. 非正規労働者に対する厚生年金など社会保険の適用拡大や、正社員との賃金格差の是正は大きな課題である。
At a news conference after his recent appointment as health, labor and welfare minister, Norihisa Tamura said his ministry "will also deal with the employment issue wholeheartedly" to revitalize the economy. This is a reasonable statement. We hope the labor ministry will knuckle down to the task of improving the treatment of nonregular workers. 田村厚生労働相が記者会見で、経済再生のため「雇用についてもしっかり対応したい」と述べたのは妥当だ。非正規労働者の処遇改善にも積極的に取り組んでもらいたい。
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Bearing appropriate burdens
To ensure the social security system is sustainable, every member of the population--young and old, regardless of generation--will need to bear a burden commensurate with their financial abilities. In particular need of an overhaul is the pension system. 社会保障制度を持続可能にするには、若者から高齢者まで、世代を問わず、能力に応じて負担することも求められる。特に見直しが必要なのは、年金税制である。
Tax deductions from public pensions are considerable, so pensioners pay far less tax than do employees whose income is around the same as that of pensioners. It will be necessary to rectify this gap by strengthening taxation on pensioners. 公的年金は税額控除が大きく、年金生活者の納税額は、同じ収入の勤労所得者に比べて大幅に少ない。年金課税を強化し、現役世代との格差を是正すべきだ。
This is not the sole problem. Patients aged 70 to 74 have been temporarily allowed to pay 10 percent of their medical bills from their own pocket, instead of the legally set rate of 20 percent. As a consequence, the proportion of income people in this age bracket use for medical expenses is smaller than that used by people in age groups on either side of them. We think the burden should be raised to 20 percent for people in the 70-74 bracket, as is legally provided for. 問題はそれだけではない。７０～７４歳の医療費の窓口負担は、法定では２割のところ、１割に抑えられている。その結果、前後の年代に比べ、収入に占める負担額の割合が小さい。本来の２割負担に引き上げることが求められる。
◆給付の抑制も不可避◆
Under the current nursing care insurance system, service recipients who need only relatively little help pay 10 percent of the costs--the same level as people requiring a higher level of assistance. Consideration must be given to raising the rate shouldered by the former. 介護サービスは現在、比較的症状が軽い要支援者でも、自己負担率は重度の要介護者と同じ１割だ。今後は負担率の引き上げも検討課題になる。
Cuts in pension benefits will be unavoidable. 給付の抑制も避けられない。
A system was introduced in 2004 to keep the growth rates for public pensions below those for wages and prices. But the system has never been enforced. It should be implemented as early as possible. 公的年金には、賃金や物価の変動率より年金の伸び率を低く抑える仕組みが２００４年に導入されたが、一度も発動されていない。早期に実施する必要がある。
In reality, however, there are large income gaps among pensioners, and many of them rely on basic pension benefits for living expenses. So when the consumption tax rate is raised, it will be crucial to implement measures for low-income earners, such as introducing lower rates for daily living necessities. ただ、年金生活者の所得格差も大きく、生活費を基礎年金だけに頼る低年金の高齢者も少なくない。消費増税の際、生活必需品の軽減税率を導入するなど、低所得者対策が欠かせない。
(From The Yomiuri Shimbun, Dec. 31, 2012) （2012年12月31日01時15分 読売新聞）
January 01, 2013(Mainichi Japan) Editorial: Japan's 2013 to be shaped by power of its economy, power of peace 社説:２０１３年を展望する 骨太の互恵精神育てよ
2013 will be a year of new approaches for Japan, and we believe the nation's new ways of being will come in two facets. ２０１３年は、戦後日本の生き方が、二つの意味で試される年になるのではないだろうか。
The first: Japan's latent economic power. Economic policy will grapple with ways to enlarge the economic pie, and then decide how that pie will be sliced. 一つは、日本経済の底力だ。経済政策には、全体のパイをどう増やしていくか、という側面と、それをどう分配するか、と２通りある。
The previous Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ) administration put the most emphasis on the latter half of that equation, distributing generous support to young people and those in agriculture in the form of child allowances, free high school tuition, and farming household subsidies. 民主党政権は後者の分配政策を重視、子ども手当、高校授業料無償化、農家への戸別所得補償といった形で若年層、第１次産業に手厚く予算を配分した。
The newly minted Liberal Democratic Party (LDP)-led administration of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, on the other hand, is intensely focused on the size of the pie, championing sweeping monetary easing and public investment under the name of breaking away from deflation. これに対し安倍政権は、前者の成長政策を前面に押し立て、デフレ脱却の名の下に大胆な金融緩和と公共投資の必要性を唱えている。
◇若者へ所得移転を
Of course, just about everyone ought to be happier if there's more pie to go around, and here at the outset we have no intention of speaking ill of the idea. 確かに、全体のパイが大きくなれば誰もがハッピーになるはずで、のっけからくさすつもりは毛頭ない。
However, we must point out that it's not as if preceding administrations have done nothing towards that goal in the 20 plus years since the economic bubble burst. They pushed zero interest rates, went ahead with major monetary easing measures of their own, and poured money into mostly public works projects as emergency economic measures on numerous occasions. ただし、指摘すべきは、バブル崩壊後の２０年余り、歴代政権は何もしてこなかったのではなく、金融政策としてはゼロ金利や量的緩和、財政政策としては公共事業を中心とした数次に及ぶ緊急経済対策を打ってきた。
In the end, quite similar strategies were piled one atop the other, amassing a quadrillion yen national debt in the process. いわば類似政策を積み重ねてきた結果が、１０００兆円にものぼる借金財政を生んだ、という事実だ。
Behind Japan's lack of growth are its low birthrate and aging population, the rise of emerging economies, and environmental limitations on our supply and use of energy and resources. These are all structural causes, and we want to see the Abe administration tackle them head-on. 成長できない背景には、少子化による人口減と高齢化、新興国の台頭、資源・エネルギーの環境制約があるのだが、安倍政権にはこういった構造的要因にも手をつけてほしい。
Japan's population is greying at the fastest rate in the world, and already one in four Japanese is 65 or older. This fact makes a well-considered and solid plan to deal with the aging society especially important. 特に、すでに４人に１人が６５歳以上となっている世界最速の高齢化には、腰を据えた対策が必要だ。
Furthermore, to create an environment where young people are confident they have the financial wherewithal to have and raise children of their own, we believe it's time that a part of our limited economic pie -- employment and income -- be shifted to those young people from the older, wealthier segment of society. 若い人たちが自分たちの子どもを産み育てることのできる環境を整備するためには、限られたパイの中で、豊かな高齢者層から雇用も所得も不安定な若年者層へのより明確な所得移転が必要になるのではないだろうか。
What we'd like people to bear in mind here is the importance of mutual concessions and reciprocity. その際に心がけたいのは、互譲と互恵の精神である。
We need to think that, in yielding to another, we ourselves are blessed and enriched. We also need to make this a mutual process, repeated many times. 相手に譲ることで自らが恩恵を受ける、豊かになる、それを相互に繰り返す、そういった心の持ちようだ。
To make use of Japan's young people to the full extent of their abilities will in turn revitalize all of society, the benefits of which will flow back to the elderly. 若い人たちを生かすことが社会全体の活力につながり、めぐりめぐって高齢者層の利益になる。
Even if the economic pie does not grow, can we not create such a positive redistribution cycle? 全体のパイが増えなくてもそんなプラスの分配サイクルはできないか。
To that end, we'd like to see some of the DPJ's policies that never got off the ground pushed forward by the new administration. 民主政権では踏み込めなかった政策をぜひ前に進めてほしい。
As Japan has held to its postwar focus on light armament and economy-first policy, its economy has managed to survive the calamities of the currency crisis, the oil shock and the end of the bubble economy. 戦後軽軍備・経済重視路線を堅持する中で、為替危機、石油ショック、バブル崩壊などいくつもの激変を乗り切ってきた日本経済である。
Now is the time to use the economic potential so evident in this resilience to shift gears, to deal with the mature economy that Japan enjoys. 今こそ、その底力を発揮して成熟経済対応にギアチェンジする時である。
The spirit of reciprocity must not only be applied to intergenerational relations, but to foreign relations as well. 互恵の精神は、世代間対立だけでなく、国と国との関係にも応用できる。
The second facet of Japan's new way of life in 2013 lies here, in the power of peace bound up in a national government that has never pursued war. 二つ目に試される日本政治の平和力とも関わってくる。
The greatest issue facing Japanese diplomacy is how to deal with the rising power of China. 日本外交の当面の最大の課題は、台頭する中国とどう向き合うか、にある。
There is talk in international circles that Chinese incursions into Japanese territorial waters and airspace over the Senkaku Islands dispute could lead to an armed clash. 尖閣諸島をめぐる対立は、中国側の領海、領空侵犯で武力紛争の可能性まで取りざたされるに至っている。
As a country that hasn't fired a shot in anger in some 67 years, all Japanese must now reconfirm the peace power of our nation and discuss how we can avoid Japan-China relations from worsening. 戦後６７年間一回も戦争をせずにこられた我が国の平和力を今一度点検し、どうすれば最悪の事態を回避できるか、国民的議論が必要だ。
Japanese postwar pacifism is built on two main premises: a vow grounded in reflection on World War II to never again launch a war of aggression, and on the deterrent embodied in the Japan-U.S. Security Treaty. 戦後の平和を支えてきたのは、あの戦争に対する反省からきた二度と侵略戦争はしないという誓いと、現実的な抑止力として機能する日米安保体制であろう。
Japan strives to solve all its international disputes through dialogue. 係争はあくまでも話し合いで解決する。
Of course for the sake of deterring potential enemies, Japan must prepare itself militarily. もちろん、適正な抑止力を維持するための軍事上の備えは怠らない。
For this reason, we must reconfirm the meaning and the function of the security treaty. そのためには、日米安保体制の意義、機能を再確認しておくことが大切だ。
On top of this, we believe it important to study the history of the 1920s. そのうえで１９２０年代の歴史から学びたい。
◇あくまで国際協調で
The Taisho period (1912-1926) saw the formation of two major political parties, and the national discourse rang with the voices of democracy. 日本で初めて２大政党が定着し大正デモクラシーが高らかに宣言された時代である。
In the end, however, party politics couldn't protect the peace. だが、結果的に政党政治は平和を守り切れなかった。
The Great Kanto Earthquake of 1923 combined with a global financial crisis sent the Japanese economy into turmoil. Calls for imperial expansion on the Asian continent intensified, and bellicose, xenophobic hardliners drowned out the good sense of those calling for international cooperation and compromise. Militarism took over, and in the name of supporting Imperial rule, the government led our nation into reckless war. 関東大震災や世界恐慌で経済が混乱し中国大陸に対する帝国主義的な領土拡張競争が激化する中、排外主義的対外強硬路線の大声が、妥協主義的国際協調路線の良識をかき消し、軍部独走、大政翼賛政治が私たちを無謀な戦争に追いやった。
What our very own history teaches us is that when two countries cannot compromise over a territorial or sovereignty dispute, useless escalation follows. 領土や主権をめぐる争いは双方がどちらも譲歩できないことにより、いたずらに対立がエスカレートするのも歴史が教えるところである。
We believe Japan must discard cheap anti-foreign sentiment and seek big-picture international cooperation. 安直な排外主義を排し、大局的な国際協調路線に立ちたい。
Japan is doing its best now to deal with the Senkaku dispute with China through dialogue based on legal principles. China, meanwhile, which had it examined the history of the Senkaku dispute ought to have shelved its claims to the islands, is obviously trying to change the present reality with a show of sheer power. 尖閣を巡る一連の経緯を振り返ると、棚上げされてきたはずのこの問題に対して、力による現状変更を仕掛けてきているのは明らかに中国側であり、日本はあくまで対話と法理で問題解決を図ろうとしている。
Japan must explain carefully and persistently what's going on to the world and to Asian nations in particular, and thereby make friends and allies in its confrontation with China. We should not end up alone in this. こういった日本の立場と主張をアジア諸国を中心に世界に対し粘り強く丁寧に説明し理解を得て仲間を作る。決して孤立化しないことだ。
With China itself, we must constantly reassert the merits of the strategic partnership of mutual benefit. 中国との間では、戦略的互恵路線がいかに両国関係にメリットをもたらしたかを改めて確認したい。
First of all, Japan must tolerate the tension involved in dispensing with any hardline talk and sticking to the status quo. まずは、強硬路線の悪循環を排し現状維持の緊張に耐え抜くことだ。
A chance for compromise will emerge from therein. そして、対話と妥協の機をうかがう。
If, for example, China stopped sending government ships to the waters around the Senkakus; if Japan admitted that the islands dispute was in fact a diplomatic issue, then the parties could finally sit at a table and talk about it. 例えば、中国は公船の派遣をやめる。日本も外交問題はあることまでは認め話し合いのテーブルにつく。
We'd like to see leaders from both China and Japan show resourcefulness and courage. 両国首脳の知略と勇気に期待したい。
Distributing the economic pie and the continuation of peace in East Asia -- for these things we call for a spirit of reciprocity that will make this era one of conciliation. パイの配分と平和の継続。時代は互譲の裏付けのある骨太な互恵精神を求めている。
If we look back on all the steps we've taken since the end of World War II, we have built up all the power we need to respond to the demands of the postwar era. 戦後の歩みを振り返ると、私たちにはその時代の要請に応える力は十分に備わっているように思える。
While it is undoubtedly the politicians who will have to work the hardest to put that power to use, we would like all Japanese citizens to remember once more that their jobs are given to them by us. 実現に汗をかくのは一義的には政治家だが、彼らにそういう仕事をさせるのは、私たち国民であることを改めて胸に刻みたい。
The Yomiuri Shimbun (Jan. 1, 2013) Regain national strength through political stability 政治の安定で国力を取り戻せ （1月1日付・読売社説）
◆成長戦略練り直しは原発から◆
Japan stands at a crossroads of whether it can maintain its national strength and retain its status as a major power. 日本は、国力を維持し、先進国の地位を守れるかどうかの岐路に立たされている。
National strength is the total power of a country, comprising such elements as economic and military might, and technological prowess. The primary task of the administration led by Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is to maintain and enhance Japan's strength through political stability. 国力は、経済力、防衛力、技術力などで構成される、その国の総合力だ。安倍政権の使命は、政治の安定によって、国力を維持・向上させることにある。
Boosting national strength will lead to improved social security systems, including pension and health care programs, and reinforce national security policy. That will also shore up disaster management measures and solidify social infrastructure, while accelerating reconstruction from the Great East Japan Earthquake. それが、年金・医療などの社会保障制度の充実、安全保障政策の強化につながる。防災対策や公共インフラの維持、東日本大震災からの復興も加速しよう。
Political stability is also important for Japan to regain its voice and presence in the international community. 政治の安定は、国際社会における発言力や存在感を回復するにも重要だ。
As former Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama created strains in the Japan-U.S. alliance while he was in office, Japan's relations with China, South Korea and Russia also deteriorated. Reorganizing the nation's diplomatic strategy is a matter of urgency. 鳩山元首相が日米同盟を不安定にしたため、中国、韓国、ロシアとの関係も悪化した。外交の立て直しは喫緊の課題だ。
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Upper house poll a key moment ◆参院選が最大のヤマ場◆
The Abe administration's biggest political objective this year is for the Liberal Democratic Party he leads and its coalition partner, New Komeito, to win a majority in the House of Councillors election scheduled for this summer, thereby bringing an end to the divided Diet. 安倍政権の今年最大の政治目標は、夏の参院選で自民、公明両党で過半数を占め、衆参ねじれ国会を解消することである。
Depending on the outcome of the election, Nippon Ishin no Kai (Japan Restoration Party) and Your Party might join the ruling coalition. But this will be premised on the assumption that it will add stability to the administration. 選挙結果次第では、日本維新の会やみんなの党が新たに連立に参加することもあり得るが、政権の安定に資することが前提だ。
If Abe's administration retains a majority in the upper house, the nation's political arena will enter a "stable phase," as there will be up to three years before the next national election is to be held, and more than two years before the next LDP presidential election. 安倍政権が参院で過半数を確保すれば、次の国政選挙まで最大３年、次期総裁選まで２年余あるため、政治は「安定期」に入る。
This will make it possible for the administration to tackle its major political agenda and pending policy issues without being tripped up by resorting to populism. 大衆迎合（ポピュリズム）に足をすくわれることもなく、大きな政治テーマや懸案の政策に取り組むことも可能になろう。
For instance, the administration will be able to propose the enactment of a "Basic Law on National Security" that would enable the nation to exercise its right to collective self-defense, although the LDP will need to coordinate views with Komeito on this issue. 例えば、公明党との調整が必要だが、集団的自衛権の行使を可能にする「国家安全保障基本法」の制定を提案することもできる。
It is crucial for the government to approve the use of the right to collective self-defense and to reinforce the Japan-U.S. alliance so it can deal better with the nuclear and missile development of North Korea, and tensions that have emerged with China since the government nationalized some of the Senkaku Islands last year. 尖閣諸島国有化をめぐる中国との対立、北朝鮮の核・ミサイル開発などに対処するためには、集団的自衛権の行使を容認し、日米同盟を強化することが必要だ。
We hope ruling and opposition parties hold thorough discussions and reach a common understanding on the issue. こうした認識を共有できるよう、与野党で議論を重ねてもらいたい。
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Manage administration moderately ◆節度ある政権運営を◆
In last month's House of Representatives election, the LDP and Komeito together won more than two-thirds of the seats in the lower house. This will enable the coalition to have bills voted down in the upper house enacted by a second vote in the lower chamber. 先の衆院選で自民、公明両党が法案の再議決が可能な定数の３分の２を超える議席を獲得した。
The fact of the matter is that voters opted for stable politics and politics that can move forward, under the administration of the LDP and Komeito, both of which have extensive experience in managing the government. 政権担当経験がある自公両党による安定した政治、前に進める政治を、有権者が選択した結果にほかならない。
Further political dithering can be averted now that the DPJ has been kicked out of power. In addition, it may be said that political instability that could have arisen if a strong third political party had joined a coalition government has been prevented. 民主党政権のさらなる迷走だけでなく、第３極の政権参加による混乱も回避したと言えよう。
The Democratic Party of Japan was demoted to an opposition party after suffering a crushing defeat in the general election, but it still has the second-largest number of seats in the lower house and remains a party with a plurality in the upper house. For the time being, the LDP-Komeito coalition government will need to obtain cooperation from the DPJ while exploring ways of forming a partial coalition involving third political forces. 民主党は大敗して下野したが、衆院でなお第２党にある。参院では引き続き第１党を占めている。当面、自公民３党の連携を軸に、第３極を含めた部分連合を模索する必要がある。
The DPJ is expected to step up its confrontational stance toward the Abe administration in a bid to regain ground in the upper house election set for this summer. 民主党は参院選での巻き返しを期して、安倍政権への対決姿勢を強めてくるだろう。
In the 2007 upper house poll, the Abe-led LDP suffered a bitter defeat, handing the opposition camp control of the upper chamber and creating a divided Diet. Recent years have seen repeated cases of the party that won big in the lower house suffering a setback in the next upper house poll due to a swing in public support. 安倍首相には、２００７年の参院選で苦杯を喫し、衆参ねじれを作った過去もある。衆院選で大勝した政権が、民意の揺り戻しによって、次の参院選で敗北するケースが続いている。
Abe must maintain disciplined management of his administration by diligently seeking to build consensus. 首相に求められるのは、丁寧に合意形成を目指す、節度ある政権運営である。
First and foremost, he must tackle the tasks of resuscitating Japan's economy and restoring economic growth. 真っ先に取り組むべき課題は、経済再生と成長力回復だ。
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3 core policy initiatives ◆「３本の矢」をどう放つ◆
With price increases being held to almost zero, the nominal growth domestic product that reflects more closely sentiment felt by households and businesses has declined by 40 trillion yen compared with five years ago. Consequently, the nation's economic size is stuck at about the same level as it was two decades ago. 物価上昇率はゼロに等しく、家計や企業の実感に近いといわれる名目国内総生産（ＧＤＰ）は５年前に比べて４０兆円も減少した。日本の経済規模は２０年前とほぼ同水準にとどまっている。
All possible policies must be carried out to correct the super-strong yen and defeat deflation so the nation can achieve stable growth. 円高とデフレを解消し、安定成長に向け、政策を総動員しなければならない。
Abe said he will try to lift the country out of deflation by implementing three core policies--credit easing, fiscal stimulus and a growth strategy. His thinking is reasonable. 首相は、「金融緩和」「財政出動」「成長戦略」の３本の矢で、デフレ脱却を図るとしている。妥当な考え方だろう。
The yen has recently weakened against the dollar and stock prices have risen. 為替相場は円安に振れ、株価も上昇してきている。
Setting a 2 percent inflation target, the prime minister has called for concluding a policy agreement between the government and the Bank of Japan to carry out drastic monetary easing. The central bank plans to set an inflation target this month. Stronger cooperation between the government and the central bank will be called for. 首相は、消費者物価の前年比２％上昇を達成するインフレ目標を掲げ、大胆な金融緩和、政府と日銀の政策協定を求めている。日銀は、今月にもインフレ目標を導入する方針だ。政府と日銀の連携強化が問われよう。
Masaaki Shirakawa's term as central bank governor will expire in April. Abe has expressed his intention to appoint as Shirakawa's successor a person who shares his policy of setting a 2 percent inflation target. ４月に白川方明日銀総裁の任期が満了する。首相は、後継総裁にインフレ目標を共有できる人物を充てる意向を示している。
Appointment of the central bank governor requires Diet approval. Under the divided Diet, if Abe's appointee is rejected by the opposition-controlled upper house, the post could be left vacant. We urge the ruling and opposition parties to work together to avoid this possibility. 日銀総裁は、国会同意人事だ。ねじれ国会では、参院が反対すると、空席になる恐れもある。与野党で調整を図りたい。
Fiscal action also is important. The government has been compiling a supplementary budget for fiscal 2012 in parallel with the fiscal 2013 budget. 財政出動も重要だ。政府は１２年度補正予算案と１３年度予算案の編成を並行して進めている。
The government will decide in autumn whether to raise the consumption tax rate from the current 5 percent to 8 percent in April 2014, in line with integrated reform of the social security and tax systems. 社会保障と税の一体改革に沿って、消費税率を来年４月に５％から８％に引き上げるかどうかは、今年秋に政府が判断する。
One factor to be taken into account in making this decision will be GDP growth for the April-June quarter. Abe indicated the tax hike could be put off, depending on the GDP figure. 判断材料の一つが４～６月期のＧＤＰ成長率だ。首相は、その数字次第で、引き上げの先送りもあり得るとしている。
For the tax increase to be surely implemented, we hope the government takes all possible measures to defeat deflation and shore up the economy, by compiling a large supplementary budget worth about 10 trillion yen. 消費税率を確実に引き上げるためにも、１０兆円前後の大型補正予算を組み、デフレ脱却と景気てこ入れに万全を期したい。
In the ordinary Diet session, the fiscal 2013 budget likely will be passed as late as sometime after the Golden Week holiday period in May. It will be inevitable to compile a stopgap budget. To ensure budgets can be seamlessly implemented, it is essential to create an environment in which ruling and opposition parties can cooperate. 通常国会では１３年度予算案成立が５月の連休後にずれ込む見通しだ。暫定予算の編成も必至だ。切れ目のない予算執行の実現へ、与野党が協調できる環境を整えることが大切である。
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Power rate hikes serious issue ◆深刻な電力料金値上げ◆
To promote a growth strategy, the government needs a "control tower" with strong authority and coordination capabilities. We highly regard the prime minister's reinstatement of the Council on Economic and Fiscal Policy and plan to integrate its functions with the newly established "headquarters for Japan's economic revitalization." 政府が成長戦略を進めるうえで不可欠なのが、強い権限と調整力を備えた司令塔だ。首相が経済財政諮問会議を復活させ、新設の日本経済再生本部と一体的に運営することは評価できる。
We want productivity in the private sector to be increased through deregulation in various fields and investment in such growth areas as the environment and medical and nursing care services. 各種規制の緩和、環境や医療・介護など成長分野への投資によって、民間の生産力を高めたい。
Securing electricity cheaply and stably also is essential for growth. 安価で安定的な電力の確保も、成長に欠かせない。
Due to the DPJ's policy direction of weaning the nation off nuclear power, reactors at nuclear power plants, whose output accounted for 30 percent of the nation's power generation, were shut down one after another. Of the 50 commercial reactors in Japan, only two at Kansai Electric Power Co.'s Oi plant are operating. 民主党政権の「脱原発」路線のために、全発電量の３割を占めていた原子力発電所が次々停止し、全国５０基のうち関西電力大飯原発の２基しか稼働できていない。
Thermal power generation has been ramped up to cover the severe electricity shortage. Imports of liquefied natural gas and other sources have surged, causing national wealth totaling about 3 trillion yen per year to flow out to countries that produce these energy sources. Many electricity utilities, including KEPCO, have fallen into the red and filed for approval to increase their rates. 深刻な電力不足を火力発電でカバーするため、液化天然ガス（ＬＮＧ）などの輸入が急増し、年３兆円もの国富が資源産出国に流出している。関電など多くの電力会社は赤字に転落し、電力料金の引き上げを申請している。
The steel industry has estimated it would face additional burdens of more than 90 billion yen if electricity bills were raised by KEPCO and others. This would accelerate the hollowing out of Japan's industries and inevitably affect the people's daily lives, including employment. 鉄鋼業界は、関電などの電力料金値上げが実現すれば、業界全体で９００億円を超える負担増になると試算している。産業空洞化が加速し、雇用など国民生活が脅かされるのは避けられない。
We consider it necessary to restart idled nuclear reactors after their safety is confirmed under new safety guidelines to be established by the Nuclear Regulation Authority. 原子力規制委員会が新たに作る安全基準に従って安全性を確認した原発は、着実に再稼働していく必要がある。
In the latest lower house election, the LDP, which criticized the "zero-nuclear policy" as irresponsible, scored a landslide victory. Now, the Abe administration will be required to work out the best mix of power sources--including nuclear power--as soon as possible. 先の衆院選で、「原発ゼロ」を無責任だとして否定した自民党が大勝したことで、安倍政権には、原子力を含む電源のベストな組み合わせを早急に検討することが求められよう。
Excluding hydropower, renewable energy, such as solar power and wind power, currently accounts for only a little more than 1 percent of Japan's entire power generation. It is still premature to expect renewable energy can be immediately used as a main power source that can replace nuclear power. 太陽光や風力など再生可能エネルギーは、水力を除けば、全発電量の１％強に過ぎない。すぐに原発に代わる主要電源として利用できると期待してはならない。
More than 100 trillion yen will need to be invested on steps to save energy and expand renewable energy. In reality, the public will be forced to shoulder this cost in the form of higher power bills and taxes. 省エネと再生エネ拡大の投資費用は１００兆円を超える。電気料金または税金として国民が負担せざるを得ないのも現実である。
The world will continue using nuclear power and building more reactors. China, in particular, has put more than 10 nuclear reactors into operation and plans to build at least 50 more. 世界は引き続き原発を活用し、増設する。特に中国は、十数基を運転させ、５０基以上の原発建設を計画している。
It will be necessary for Japan to firmly maintain its nuclear technology, which is among the best in the world. Abe has expressed determination to build safe nuclear power plants. To secure and nurture talented human resources in this field, the nation should not exclude the option of building next-generation nuclear reactors. 日本は、原子力分野で世界有数の技術力を、今後も保持する必要がある。首相は、安全な原発の新設へ意欲を示したが、有為な人材を確保・育成するうえでも、次世代型原発の新設という選択肢を排除すべきではない。
From the standpoint of the country's growth, it will be desirable to promote exports of nuclear infrastructure. 成長の観点からは、原発のインフラ輸出も促進したい。
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TPP key to economic growth ◆ＴＰＰ参加で反転攻勢◆
Japan's nuclear power policy also will affect its defense capability, which centers on the Japan-U.S. alliance. 原発政策は、日米同盟を軸とする防衛力にも影響を与える。
Under the Japan-U.S. nuclear power cooperation agreement, Japan is allowed to possess plutonium, which can be converted to nuclear weapons. But the principle to end the use of nuclear power, which was decided under the administration led by former Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda, would mean that Japan will lose not only this privilege but also its status as a U.S. partner for promoting the peaceful use of nuclear power and nuclear nonproliferation. 日米原子力協定によって、日本には核兵器にも転用できるプルトニウムの保有が認められている。野田政権が決定した「原発ゼロ」方針の下では、その特別な権利も、原子力の平和利用や核不拡散をめぐる米国のパートナーとしての地位も、失うことになる。
The Abe administration has good reasons to review the country's nuclear and energy policy. 安倍政権が原発・エネルギー政策を練り直すのは、当然だ。
Generating sustainable growth will require harnessing demand from overseas nations such as those in Asia. As such, participation in the Trans-Pacific Partnership multinational free trade framework has been a pending issue since the DPJ-led government was in power. 持続的成長には、アジアなど海外の需要を取り込む必要がある。環太平洋経済連携協定（ＴＰＰ）への参加問題が、民主党政権からの懸案になっている。
Member nations of the TPP, which aims to promote free trade under U.S. initiatives, plan to conclude their negotiations by the end of this year. Japan must get involved in the process of drawing up rules on eliminating and reducing tariffs as well as trade and investment to reflect its national interests. We urge the prime minister to announce Japan will take a seat at the TPP talks as soon as possible. 米国主導で自由貿易を推進するＴＰＰは、今年中の交渉妥結を目標としている。日本は関税撤廃・引き下げ、貿易・投資のルール作りに関与し、国益を反映させなければならない。首相は、早期に参加を表明すべきである。
By steadily working on these policy agendas for regaining Japan's national strength, the new administration will gradually be able to restore public trust in politics. こうした国力を取り戻すための政策課題を着実にこなすことで、政治への信頼も徐々に取り戻すことができるだろう。
We hope this year will see Japan solidify its footing and become more assertive. 今年を日本が足元を固め、反転攻勢をかける年にしたい。
(From The Yomiuri Shimbun, Jan. 1, 2013) （2013年1月1日01時12分 読売新聞）
