英字新聞

November 03, 2014(Mainichi Japan)
Editorial: Prime Minister Abe's 'fabrication' remarks lack levelheadedness
社説:首相の「捏造」発言　冷静さを欠いている

It's mindboggling that a nation's prime minister can flippantly accuse a major newspaper of fabricating a story.
　一国の首相の口からこんな発言が軽々しく飛び出すことに驚く。
　安倍晋三首相が朝日新聞を名指しして、その報道を「捏造（ねつぞう）だ」と国会の場で断じた。

By definition, a fabrication is the act of making something up where nothing exists; it is not a misinterpretation or misunderstanding of facts. During Diet deliberations, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe accused the Asahi Shimbun of fabricating a story. But the prime minister needs to calmly rethink whether the report he was referring to in his statement constitutes a fabrication.
だが、捏造とは事実の誤認ではなく、ありもしない事実を、あるかのようにつくり上げることを指す。果たして今回の報道がそれに当たるかどうか、首相は頭を冷やして考え直した方がいい。

Here are the facts: On Oct. 29, the prime minister had lunch with his close aides. After the meeting, one of the lawmakers who had been in attendance told reporters that the prime minister had said the ruling and opposition camps "should call a cease-fire" over the political funding scandals. The next morning, the Asahi and other media outlets, including the Mainichi Shimbun, Yomiuri Shimbun, Sankei Shimbun and the Nikkei daily newspapers, reported the story.
　経過はこうだ。首相は先月２９日昼、側近議員らと食事した。終了後、出席者の一人が報道陣に対し、首相はその席で政治資金問題に関し「（与野党ともに）『撃ち方やめ』になればいい」と語った、と説明した。これを受け、朝日のみならず毎日、読売、産経、日経など報道各社が、その発言を翌日朝刊で報じた。

But during Diet deliberations on Oct. 30 and 31, the prime minister singled out the Asahi's article, saying, "I did not say that. Creating a fire where there is nothing is fabrication."
　ところが首相は３０、３１両日の国会答弁で朝日の記事だけを指して「私は言っていない。火がないところに火をおこすのは捏造だ」などと批判し続けた。

The aide who had attributed the "cease-fire" comment to the prime minister subsequently retracted the earlier statement, saying, "I was the one who said that. I said, 'This should result in a cease-fire,' and the prime minister merely agreed." In other words, the prime minister's aide made the error that led to the news reports.
一方、当初、報道陣に首相発言を説明した出席者はその後、「発言者は私だった。私が『これで撃ち方やめですね』と発言し、首相は『そうだね』と同意しただけだ」と修正した。つまり発端は側近らのミスだったということになる。

Abe argued that "statements should be confirmed with the person who made them." We agree. But at present, reporters are only given occasional opportunities to pose questions to the prime minister at times deemed convenient by the prime minister's camp. If the prime minister feels so strongly about statements coming directly from the source, why not set regular interviews with reporters twice a day, as was the practice when Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi was in office?
　首相は「発言を本人に確かめるのは当然」と言う。その通りである。ただし現在、首相と担当記者との質疑の場は実際には首相側の都合で時折設定されているに過ぎない。首相がそう言うのなら、小泉純一郎首相時代のように１日２度、定期的にインタビューの場を設けてはどうか。

The prime minister seems to be entrenched in viewing the Asahi as his enemy. Even in his latest remarks, he appears to be trying to say that the Asahi is bent on criticizing him no matter what. He told the Diet, "The editor-in-chief of the Asahi apparently once said that the company's mission is to bring down the Abe administration." However, the Asahi has denied such allegations, and it remains unclear how much evidence the prime minister has to back up such a statement.
　首相はかねて朝日新聞を「敵」だと見なしているようで、今回の記事も「最初に批判ありきだ」と言いたいようだ。「安倍政権を倒すことを社是としていると、かつて朝日の主筆がしゃべったということだ」とも国会で発言している。だが、朝日側はその事実はないと否定しており、首相がどれだけ裏付けを取って語っているかも不明である。

Does Abe believe that a large proportion of the public will applaud him if he employs the term "fabrication" to criticize a newspaper that has been embroiled in a scandal involving its reporting of the so-called wartime comfort women issue and testimony by the late former head of the disaster-hit Fukushima No. 1 Nuclear Power Plant?
　あるいは慰安婦報道や東京電力福島第１原発事故の「吉田調書」報道問題で揺れる朝日を、「捏造」との言葉で批判すれば拍手してくれる人が多いと考えているのだろうか。

Regardless, in the latest case, the prime minister does not appear to have closely investigated the events that led to the reports. The problem could have been easily resolved if he'd just clarified that he was not the one who made the "cease-fire" remark, and asked media outlets to correct the misunderstanding.
　いずれにしても今回、報道に至る経過を首相が精査したうえで語っているようには見えない。「私は語っていない」と報道各社に修正を求めれば済む話だったと考える。

Prime Minister Abe tends to devote his efforts to making attacks, rather than lending an ear to criticism. With the money scandals involving Cabinet ministers nowhere near resolution, he seems to be irritable of late. But witnessing him vigorously criticizing the media brings into question his ability to be levelheaded in dealing with the various domestic and diplomatic challenges that Japan faces.
　従来、批判に耳を傾けるより、相手を攻撃することに力を注ぎがちな首相だ。特に最近は政治とカネの問題が収束せず、いら立っているようでもある。しかし、ムキになって報道批判をしている首相を見ていると、これで内政、外交のさまざまな課題に対し、冷静な判断ができるだろうかと心配になるほどだ。

毎日新聞　2014年11月02日　02時30分（最終更新　11月02日　13時55分）