英字新聞

The Yomiuri Shimbun (Sep. 11, 2011)
Govt must offer visible support for reconstruction
３・１１から半年　復興へ政府は目に見える支援を（9月10日付・読売社説）

Six months have passed since the Great East Japan Earthquake on March 11.
　東日本大震災から、あすで半年になる。

Recovery and reconstruction efforts have been continuing in disaster-hit areas.
　被災地では復旧・復興に向けた懸命の努力が続いている。

But the scars left by the massive earthquake and tsunami are so profound that many affected municipalities have yet to draw up blueprints to rebuild their areas.
だが震災の爪痕は深く、思うように地域再建の青写真が描けていない自治体がほとんどだ。

In areas around the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant, where evacuation orders have been issued, municipal government offices and residents were uprooted en masse. No prospect is in sight for their return home.
　避難指示が出ている福島第一原子力発電所周辺では、役場と住民がそっくり移転しており、帰郷の見通しも立っていない。

In his first news conference after taking office, Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda said recovery and reconstruction of the disaster-stricken areas and measures to end the nuclear crisis at the Fukushima plant are at the top of his administration's agenda.
　野田首相は就任の記者会見で、被災地の復旧・復興と原発事故対応が「何よりも最優先だ」と述べた。

After inspecting the crippled plant Thursday, Noda pledged to Fukushima Gov. Yuhei Sato his government's commitment to swiftly decontaminate areas affected by radioactive material released by the nuclear power plant.
８日は福島第一原発を視察した後、佐藤雄平福島県知事に、事故で放出された放射性物質の除染を早急に進めると確約した。

People in disaster-hit areas became increasingly impatient with the slow response to the disaster by the previous Kan administration.
　菅前政権の震災対応の遅れに被災地はいらだちを募らせてきた。

The current administration must provide swift, strong and visible support for recovery and reconstruction of the devastated areas.
被災地の再生へ、政府は迅速かつ強力な復旧・復興支援を、目に見える形で推進すべきだ。

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Debris disposal key issue
　◆瓦礫処理と除染がカギ◆

Nearly 4,000 residents died or went missing in Ishinomaki, Miyagi Prefecture, which had a pre-disaster population of 160,000.
　人口１６万の宮城県石巻市は、津波被害で４０００人近くが死亡または行方不明になった。

With debris removal completed in the city center, shops have resumed business there.
　中心部の瓦礫(がれき)撤去は終わり、商店も再開し始めた。

Residential streets and principal roads have also been cleared of debris.
住宅街や主要道路の瓦礫も片づいた。

But in suburban areas, debris lies scattered on farmland and elsewhere and has been piled up in temporary storage locations.
　だが、郊外に出ると、農地などに未処理の瓦礫が散乱し、仮置き場には搬入された瓦礫が山積みになっている。

Painstaking efforts were reportedly made to eradicate the swarms of flies infesting the garbage.
大量のハエも発生、駆除に手を焼いたという。

The dismantling of wrecked houses and office buildings will add to the heaps of debris, overwhelming the capacity of temporary storage places.
　今後、倒壊した家屋や事業所の解体が進めば、仮置き場が収容能力を超えてしまう恐れがある。

Through consultations with the prefectural government, the municipal government is accelerating efforts to build a new incinerator and select a final debris disposal center.
市は県と協議し、焼却炉の新設と最終処理場の確保を急いでいる。

Disposal of the huge amount of debris hampers reconstruction.
　膨大な瓦礫の処理問題が復興の妨げになっている。

The central government must do everything it can to reduce the financial burdens of local governments.
政府は自治体の負担軽減に、最大限の努力を払う必要があろう。

The reconstruction of Fukushima Prefecture cannot be completed without ending the nuclear crisis.
　福島県では、原発事故の収束なくして復興はありえない。

Stable cooling of the reactors is under way and almost no new radioactive substances are reportedly being released.
原発は今、原子炉の安定冷却が進行中で、新たな放射性物質の放出はほとんどなくなっている。

By January without fail, the reactors must be cooled so their inner temperatures are stabilized at less than 100 C.
来年１月を目標とする「冷温停止」を確実に達成しなければならない。

Decontamination is indispensable to bring about the day when evacuated residents can return home.
　原発避難住民の帰宅に道筋をつけるには、地域の除染が不可欠だ。

Even in areas not subject to evacuation, there are places where radioactive contamination is high enough to cause health concerns among residents.
避難対象地域以外でも汚染度の高い場所があり、住民の健康への影響が心配されている。

Soil improvement must be carried out immediately at school grounds and on agricultural land.
　校庭や農地などは直ちに土壌改良に取りかかる必要がある。

Removing the surface soil up to a depth of five centimeters will reduce radioactive cesium levels to just one-tenth, experts say.
表土を５センチ撤去すれば放射性セシウムは１０分の１に減り、

By replacing this soil with untainted earth, radioactive cesium contamination will be reduced to one-hundredth, they say.
そこへ新たな土を盛れば元の１００分の１に低減できると専門家は指摘する。

The government should take the lead in promoting decontamination work without farming it out to local governments.
　政府は自治体に丸投げすることなく、率先して除染作業を進めていってほしい。