英字新聞

The Yomiuri Shimbun (Nov. 30, 2012)
Voters must warily scrutinize new parties' vague slogans
日本未来の党　「卒原発」には国政を託せない（11月29日付・読売社説）

How could we entrust Japan's future to a political party that touts a slogan of "ending the use of nuclear power plants," which would likely weaken the nation if adopted?
　国力を衰退させる「脱原発」を政治目標に掲げる政党に、日本の未来を託せるだろうか。

Nippon Mirai no To (Japan future party) celebrated its inauguration Wednesday, with Shiga Gov. Yukiko Kada being chosen as the party leader. Kada said her party will draw up a "program to achieve a nuclear-free society," seeking to gradually abolish all nuclear power plants. Kada added that she wants to achieve the goal within 10 years.
　日本未来の党が、正式に発足した。代表に就任した嘉田由紀子滋賀県知事は「卒原発プログラム」を作成し、徐々に原発を減らして１０年後をめどに原発ゼロにする意向を示した。

The party's slogans are merely vague concepts, listing phrases such as "stopping reliance on tax hikes," "taking the policy initiative away from bureaucrats" and "diplomacy with dignity." The party has yet to prepare concrete measures, even on important topics such as the economy, social security and national security.
　「脱増税」「脱官僚」「品格ある外交」など抽象的な言葉ばかりを掲げている。経済や社会保障、安全保障といった重要なテーマでさえまだ政策がない政党だ。

People's Life First and another new party founded by former agriculture minister Masahiko Yamada are scheduled to join Nippon Mirai no To. At first glance, it would seem that Kada called the other two parties to join her. In reality, however, it was People's Life First head Ichiro Ozawa and Yamada who did the behind-the-scenes negotiations for the three parties to reach an agreement on unification.
　嘉田氏が「この指止まれ」と呼びかけたように見えるが、実態は国民の生活が第一の小沢一郎代表や、民主党を離党して新党を結成した山田正彦元農相らが根回しをして、合流を決めたものだ。

Nippon Mirai no To's empty slogans and the disorderly shifting of allegiances among former House of Representatives members scrambling to be reelected in the coming general election are clear examples of how the quality of politicians has deteriorated.
　空疎なスローガンと、生き残りのために右往左往する前衆院議員たちの姿には、政治家の劣化を痛感せざるを得ない。

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Irresponsible energy policy

Kada's "sotsu gempatsu" slogan, which literally means "graduating from nuclear power plants," is basically no different from the "datsu-gempatsu" slogan adopted by several other parties, which literally means "breaking with nuclear power plants."
　嘉田氏が掲げる「卒原発」は脱原発と大差はない。

Touting such a slogan without showing a clear path to achieve the goal is a mere display of a desire, which obviously is irresponsible.
それだけでは願望に過ぎず、無責任である。

Nippon Mirai no To should prepare a concrete plan on how to stably supply electricity and secure an alternative energy source to nuclear power as well as how to deal with the economic loss and unemployment that plant shutdowns would bring. The party also needs to explain how to deal with the continuing necessity of human resources development in the nuclear sector.
　電力の安定供給や代替エネルギー確保、経済・雇用対策、原子力の人材育成などについて現実的な計画を明確に示すべきだ。

In launching itself, Nippon Mirai no To adopted the "Lake Biwa declaration," which includes a sentence that reads, "The prefecture with the greatest unrecognized risk of being damaged by possible accidents at nuclear power plants is Shiga, which is near Wakasa Bay, where a number of aging nuclear plants are located." This statement clearly lacks consideration for the feelings of municipalities where the power plants are actually located, neglecting the fact that Shiga Prefecture benefits from electricity produced by such aging nuclear plants.
　結党に際して発表した「びわこ宣言」には「原発事故の潜在的リスクが最も高いのは老朽化した多数の原発が集中立地する若狭湾に近い滋賀県」とある。電力供給の恩恵を受けておきながら、原発立地自治体への配慮が不十分だ。

We urge Kada to reconsider her intention of entering national-level politics merely for the interests of Shiga Prefecture. It is said that what obsessed Kada's mind the most in launching the new party was whether she would be able to handle the jobs of governor and party leader simultaneously. We assume she will face various hardships in carrying out her dual duties, as this is the first time for Kada to run a political party.
　滋賀県の利害のために国政に進出するとの発想も改める必要がある。嘉田氏は知事と党首との兼務が可能かどうか悩んだという。政党運営の経験がないだけに、両立には困難が伴うに違いない。

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The man behind the curtain

It seems that Ozawa had no compunctions about putting an end to People's Life First, a party whose name was carefully chosen by Ozawa himself. However, this is no surprise, as it is apparent that Ozawa wished to avoid entering the election campaign as a party leader, considering his image. In exchange, Ozawa's opinions were reflected in the draft of Nippon Mirai no To's election platform.
　小沢氏が名称にもこだわった政党をあっさり捨てても、驚くには当たるまい。党首として前面に出たくなかったのだろう。その分、未来の党の公約原案には小沢氏の従来の主張が反映されている。

The efforts of People's Life First to form an alliance with Nippon Ishin no Kai (Japan Restoration Party) failed, and a new party comprising only former Democratic Party of Japan members would be unlikely to receive attention in the election campaign. We assume Ozawa's intention was to rally from behind by installing Kada, who has a clean image, as leader of the new party. Another display of Ozawa's tactical mastery.
　日本維新の会と連携できず、民主党離党組の党だけでは選挙戦で埋没する。クリーンイメージの嘉田氏を「表の顔」に担ぎ出して巻き返そうと考えたようだ。相変わらずの小沢流である。

The public's discontent against conventional parties has soared after a prolonged period of political paralysis. As a result, various new parties have been emerging and merging in the political arena, in a rather haphazard way. However, we have to put a question mark on their abilities to take the helm of the nation. Their policies have a strong flavor of pandering to the masses.
　「決められない政治」で既存政党に対する国民の不信感が高まる中、急ごしらえの新党の離合集散が目立っている。だが、新党は、国政を担う能力に疑問符が付き、政策も大衆迎合色が濃厚だ。

We ask voters to pay sufficient attention to such tendencies of the new parties and scrutinize their real value in the general election.
　有権者はそのことを十分理解した上で、新党の真価を見極めることが重要である。

(From The Yomiuri Shimbun, Nov. 29, 2012)
（2012年11月29日01時32分 読売新聞）