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2011年04月14日
レベル７ 「最悪」の更新を防げ
(Mainichi Japan) April 13, 2011
Japan must prevent another Level 7 nuclear plant crisis by all means
社説：レベル７ 「最悪」の更新を防げ
The Chernobyl disaster in 1986, which was rated Level 7 on the International Nuclear and Radiological Event Scale (INES), is still regarded as the world's worst nuclear power plant accident in history. Level 7 crises are accidents that lead to "major releases of radioactive materials."
世界の原発史上最悪の事故は８６年に旧ソ連で起きたチェルノブイリ原発事故と考えられてきた。国際評価尺度（ＩＮＥＳ）では、「放射性物質の重大な外部放出」を伴うレベル７と評価されている。
Just recently, the government has raised the level of the crisis at the Fukushima No. 1 Nuclear Power Plant that was hit hard by a massive tsunami generated by the March 11 Great East Japan Earthquake to Level 7 on the INES.
政府は、東京電力福島第１原発で続いている事故もまた、レベル７に相当すると認めた。
The decision will not cause any change in the work underway to place the crippled nuclear plant under control. Now, there is no choice but to take all possible measures to cool down the cores of the affected reactors.
これによって事故収束に向けた作業が変わるわけではない。今は安定した冷却に向け、あらゆる対策をとっていくしか選択肢はない。
Still, questions remain as to why the crisis level was raised at this time. It would be a problem if it reflects the government's underestimation of the seriousness of the crisis and reluctance to fully release information on the accident.
しかし、なぜ今ごろになって評価を引き上げたのか、疑問は残る。事故に対する認識の甘さや、情報公開への及び腰な態度を反映してのことなら、問題だ。
The government raised the crisis level of the Fukushima nuclear accident from 4 to 5 on March 18. By that time, explosions and fires had occurred near the affected reactors one after another. It was obvious that a considerable amount of radioactive substances had been leaking from the reactors, judging from the levels of radiation around the plant.
政府は福島原発の事故を３月１８日にレベル４から５に引き上げている。この時すでに、原子炉周辺では次々と爆発や火災が起きていた。周囲の放射線レベルを見ても、かなりの量の放射性物質が放出されているのは明らかだった。
Nevertheless, an estimation of the total amount of radiation leaked from the plant, based on which the crisis level was rated 7, had not been released until recently. The government explained that it took a long time to increase the accuracy of the data. However, it will lose the public's confidence if it had been aware that the accident should be rated Level 7 but delayed the announcement by saying it was still analyzing figures.
ところが、レベル７の判断材料となる放出総量の試算はなかなか公開されなかった。精度を上げるのに時間がかかったというのが政府の説明だが、レベル７を認識しつつ、毎日「試算中」と答えるにとどまったとすれば信頼を損なう。
The government was also slow in releasing the cumulative radiation levels, based on which evacuation plans are worked out. The data, which is indispensable in ensuring the safety of residents near the plant, must be transparent and released promptly.
計画避難の判断基準となる積算線量の公開にも、もたつきが見られた。積算線量は住民の安全を守るために不可欠なデータで、情報公開に不透明さや遅れがあってはならない。
The government has also emphasized the differences between the Fukushima plant accident and the Chernobyl crisis. It is true that the Fukushima accident is different from Chernobyl in which massive levels of radiation were released in a short period of time and that some people died of acute radiation exposure. The amount of radiation that has leaked from the Fukushima plant is estimated at one-tenth of that which leaked from the Chernobyl plant.
政府は、チェルノブイリと福島原発の事故の違いも強調している。確かに、放射性物質が一時に大量放出され、被ばくによる急性放射線障害で死者が出たチェルノブイリとは状況が異なる。これまでのところ放出量も１０分の１と見積もられている。
At the same time, the Fukushima crisis is unprecedented in that four of its reactors simultaneously became out of control. Slow but constant radiation leaks from the plant have confused local residents. No one can tell how long the crisis will continue or whether it will develop into a more serious catastrophe.
一方で、福島原発では４基が一度に制御不能に陥るという前代未聞の事態が起きた。だらだら続く放出は、周辺住民を翻弄（ほんろう）している。それがいつまで続くのか、もっと深刻な事態が起きるのか。予測はつかない。
Therefore, Japan is required by the international community to reconfirm the seriousness of the Fukushima nuclear plant crisis and respond to it rather than compare the degree of the accident with that of the Chernobyl crisis. Tokyo Electric Power Co. (TEPCO) that operates the crippled Fukushima No. 1 Nuclear Power Plant as well as the government should reflect on their overly optimistic thinking that an accident like the Chernobyl crisis would never happen in Japan, which led to the serious situation at the Fukushima plant.
そう考えると、事故の程度を比較するより、改めて福島原発の深刻さを受け止め、対処することが国際的にも求められる。日本ではチェルノブイリのような事故は起こり得ないと考えた東電や政府の甘さが過酷な事故につながったことも再確認すべきだ。
Powerful aftershocks following the March 11 earthquake have been occurring in not only Fukushima Prefecture but also many other areas. The crisis has illustrated the vulnerability of nuclear power plants -- they tend to lose external electric power sources necessary to cool down the reactor cores if hit by powerful temblors. It is also obvious that some of the nuclear power plants across the country face risks of being paralyzed by powerful quakes and ensuing tsunami.
福島だけでなく各地で大きな余震が続いている。地震で外部電源が失われやすいという原発施設の弱点も浮き彫りになった。全国の原発の中に巨大地震や津波のリスクを抱えているものがあることも明らかだ。
While working to place the plant under control, the government and power suppliers must inspect nuclear power plants across the country and take measures to prevent major earthquakes and tsunami from causing major crises at these facilities. Another Level 7 nuclear power plant catastrophe must be prevented by all means.
福島の事態収拾とは別に点検と対策を急ぐべきだ。レベル７をもうひとつ抱えるような事態は、決して引き起こしてはならない。
毎日新聞 2011年4月13日 東京朝刊
Japan must prevent another Level 7 nuclear plant crisis by all means
社説：レベル７ 「最悪」の更新を防げ
The Chernobyl disaster in 1986, which was rated Level 7 on the International Nuclear and Radiological Event Scale (INES), is still regarded as the world's worst nuclear power plant accident in history. Level 7 crises are accidents that lead to "major releases of radioactive materials."
世界の原発史上最悪の事故は８６年に旧ソ連で起きたチェルノブイリ原発事故と考えられてきた。国際評価尺度（ＩＮＥＳ）では、「放射性物質の重大な外部放出」を伴うレベル７と評価されている。
Just recently, the government has raised the level of the crisis at the Fukushima No. 1 Nuclear Power Plant that was hit hard by a massive tsunami generated by the March 11 Great East Japan Earthquake to Level 7 on the INES.
政府は、東京電力福島第１原発で続いている事故もまた、レベル７に相当すると認めた。
The decision will not cause any change in the work underway to place the crippled nuclear plant under control. Now, there is no choice but to take all possible measures to cool down the cores of the affected reactors.
これによって事故収束に向けた作業が変わるわけではない。今は安定した冷却に向け、あらゆる対策をとっていくしか選択肢はない。
Still, questions remain as to why the crisis level was raised at this time. It would be a problem if it reflects the government's underestimation of the seriousness of the crisis and reluctance to fully release information on the accident.
しかし、なぜ今ごろになって評価を引き上げたのか、疑問は残る。事故に対する認識の甘さや、情報公開への及び腰な態度を反映してのことなら、問題だ。
The government raised the crisis level of the Fukushima nuclear accident from 4 to 5 on March 18. By that time, explosions and fires had occurred near the affected reactors one after another. It was obvious that a considerable amount of radioactive substances had been leaking from the reactors, judging from the levels of radiation around the plant.
政府は福島原発の事故を３月１８日にレベル４から５に引き上げている。この時すでに、原子炉周辺では次々と爆発や火災が起きていた。周囲の放射線レベルを見ても、かなりの量の放射性物質が放出されているのは明らかだった。
Nevertheless, an estimation of the total amount of radiation leaked from the plant, based on which the crisis level was rated 7, had not been released until recently. The government explained that it took a long time to increase the accuracy of the data. However, it will lose the public's confidence if it had been aware that the accident should be rated Level 7 but delayed the announcement by saying it was still analyzing figures.
ところが、レベル７の判断材料となる放出総量の試算はなかなか公開されなかった。精度を上げるのに時間がかかったというのが政府の説明だが、レベル７を認識しつつ、毎日「試算中」と答えるにとどまったとすれば信頼を損なう。
The government was also slow in releasing the cumulative radiation levels, based on which evacuation plans are worked out. The data, which is indispensable in ensuring the safety of residents near the plant, must be transparent and released promptly.
計画避難の判断基準となる積算線量の公開にも、もたつきが見られた。積算線量は住民の安全を守るために不可欠なデータで、情報公開に不透明さや遅れがあってはならない。
The government has also emphasized the differences between the Fukushima plant accident and the Chernobyl crisis. It is true that the Fukushima accident is different from Chernobyl in which massive levels of radiation were released in a short period of time and that some people died of acute radiation exposure. The amount of radiation that has leaked from the Fukushima plant is estimated at one-tenth of that which leaked from the Chernobyl plant.
政府は、チェルノブイリと福島原発の事故の違いも強調している。確かに、放射性物質が一時に大量放出され、被ばくによる急性放射線障害で死者が出たチェルノブイリとは状況が異なる。これまでのところ放出量も１０分の１と見積もられている。
At the same time, the Fukushima crisis is unprecedented in that four of its reactors simultaneously became out of control. Slow but constant radiation leaks from the plant have confused local residents. No one can tell how long the crisis will continue or whether it will develop into a more serious catastrophe.
一方で、福島原発では４基が一度に制御不能に陥るという前代未聞の事態が起きた。だらだら続く放出は、周辺住民を翻弄（ほんろう）している。それがいつまで続くのか、もっと深刻な事態が起きるのか。予測はつかない。
Therefore, Japan is required by the international community to reconfirm the seriousness of the Fukushima nuclear plant crisis and respond to it rather than compare the degree of the accident with that of the Chernobyl crisis. Tokyo Electric Power Co. (TEPCO) that operates the crippled Fukushima No. 1 Nuclear Power Plant as well as the government should reflect on their overly optimistic thinking that an accident like the Chernobyl crisis would never happen in Japan, which led to the serious situation at the Fukushima plant.
そう考えると、事故の程度を比較するより、改めて福島原発の深刻さを受け止め、対処することが国際的にも求められる。日本ではチェルノブイリのような事故は起こり得ないと考えた東電や政府の甘さが過酷な事故につながったことも再確認すべきだ。
Powerful aftershocks following the March 11 earthquake have been occurring in not only Fukushima Prefecture but also many other areas. The crisis has illustrated the vulnerability of nuclear power plants -- they tend to lose external electric power sources necessary to cool down the reactor cores if hit by powerful temblors. It is also obvious that some of the nuclear power plants across the country face risks of being paralyzed by powerful quakes and ensuing tsunami.
福島だけでなく各地で大きな余震が続いている。地震で外部電源が失われやすいという原発施設の弱点も浮き彫りになった。全国の原発の中に巨大地震や津波のリスクを抱えているものがあることも明らかだ。
While working to place the plant under control, the government and power suppliers must inspect nuclear power plants across the country and take measures to prevent major earthquakes and tsunami from causing major crises at these facilities. Another Level 7 nuclear power plant catastrophe must be prevented by all means.
福島の事態収拾とは別に点検と対策を急ぐべきだ。レベル７をもうひとつ抱えるような事態は、決して引き起こしてはならない。
毎日新聞 2011年4月13日 東京朝刊
2011年04月13日
政治の１カ月 責任感がなお乏しい
(Mainichi Japan) April 12, 2011
Politicians must put aside differences, join hands to overcome disaster
社説：政治の１カ月 責任感がなお乏しい
April 11 marked one month since a massive earthquake and tsunami devastated northeastern Japan, claiming thousands of lives. The administration of Prime Minister Naoto Kan remains in a difficult position, burdened with the tasks of supporting and restoring disaster-hit areas, while trying to overcome the crisis at Tokyo Electric Power Co. (TEPCO)'s Fukushima No. 1 Nuclear Power Plant.
東日本大震災の発生から１１日で１カ月となる。被災地の支援・復興と東京電力福島第１原発の危機回避。同時進行の対応を求められる菅直人政権にとって依然として苦しい状況が続く。
At the same time, the presence of the Diet in the crisis has been weak. Now is the time for the ruling and opposition parties to jointly exercise their wisdom and utilize the power of politics.
一方で国会の影も薄いままだ。政治の力をどう結集するか。与野党は改めて知恵を出し合う時だ。
Looking back on the month since the earthquake and tsunami, it is lamentable that the initial response to the crisis at the nuclear power plant was so slow.
１カ月を振り返り、今さらながらに悔やまれるのは福島第１原発の「複合事故」に対する初動の遅れだ。
Why, for example, didn't officials quickly open vents to release pressure in the nuclear reactor containment vessels?
例えば原子炉格納容器の弁を開けて圧力を下げる「ベント」に、なぜもっと早く踏み切れなかったのか。
The Mainichi and other media outlets have been probing the handling of the crisis, and it seems that there was a lack of mutual understanding between the government and TEPCO. In fact there was even a degree of mistrust -- a factor that no doubt hampered the response to the disaster.
毎日新聞をはじめ既に検証を試みているが、政府と東京電力との間に意思疎通がなく、逆に不信感さえ生んで、その後の対応にも悪影響を及ぼしたのは確かだろう。
Naturally, top priority must now be given to bringing the crisis under control as soon as possible. People in Japan and across the world are closely watching the handling of the crisis, and the government must conduct its own investigation to flush out any problems.
もちろん今は原発危機を一刻も早く回避するのが最優先だが、今回の原発事故対応には国民は当然のこと、世界中が注視している。政府自身が詳細に検証し、問題点を洗い出すのが今後の大きな課題となる。
Still, government bureaucrats have been complaining that information isn't being shared and that it is unclear where reports should be filed. These issues remain a point of concern.
１カ月が経過するというのに、なお懸念されるのは各府省の官僚側から「情報が共有されていない」「誰に報告したらいいか分からない」などの不満が漏れていることだ。
Since the March 11 earthquake, more than 20 headquarters, councils and affiliated teams have been set up to boost the response by the Prime Minister's Office to the disaster.
大震災後、官邸の態勢強化のため設置された「本部」や「会議」は傘下のチームも含めると２０を超える。
Administrative vice ministers from all government ministries have also joined a liaison council helping government agencies communicate on support measures for people affected by the disaster.
被災者生活支援各府省連絡会議には全府省の事務次官も集めた。
But the chain of command remains unclear -- an issue that is said to have caused confusion.
ところが指揮系統が不明確で混乱の要因となっているという。
The prime minister apparently harbors his own sense of distrust toward bureaucrats, but leadership involves putting administrative organizations to use.
首相には官僚に対する不信感もあるようだ。だが、行政組織を使いこなすのも指導力だ。
What Kan needs to do now is clearly state: "I'll leave you to do the things that you can do, but I'll take the final responsibility."
今必要なのは「任せるところは任せる。しかし最後の責任は私が取る」という姿勢をもっと明確にすることだ。
Without such a stance he will not be able to win the public's trust.
それがなければ国民の信頼も得られない。
Opposition parties also have a big role to play.
野党にも大きな役割が求められている。
The Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) has hinted it will not form a grand coalition government with the ruling Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ). Instead, the party says, it will aim to become a "responsible opposition party," cooperating on issues that it should combine forces on. However, this has probably left many people with the impression that the LDP is only backing away from the front lines.
自民党は連立政権に加わるのは拒否する考えを示し、協力すべき点は協力する「責任野党」を目指すというが、多くの国民には腰が引けていると映っているのではないか。
The Mainichi has called for the formation of a "recovery Cabinet" with the ruling and opposition parties working in unison to help Japan recover from the disaster. The reason for this is that we believe now is not the time for parties to spend all their efforts engaged in their longstanding political bickering.
毎日新聞が日本の再生・復興に向け与野党が一致協力する「日本再生内閣」を樹立するよう求めているのは、与野党が昔ながらの政争に明け暮れている場合ではないと考えるからだ。
One comment that recently emerged from political circles was that Kan should have been more humble in soliciting LDP leader Sadakazu Tanigaki's cooperation when he asked Tanigaki to join the Cabinet, as this would have altered the situation.
「菅首相が自民党の谷垣禎一総裁に入閣を求めた際、もっと謙虚に協力をお願いすべきだった。そうすれば様相は変わっていた」という声も聞く。
To look at this another way, we would like to think that there is still room for the DPJ and the LDP to come together.
裏を返せば民主党と自民党が歩み寄る素地はまだ残っていると考えたい。
At the same time, the DPJ and the LDP are not the only two players.
民主、自民両党だけではない。
We also want the other opposition parties to serious think about how they can create an "All-Japan" disaster response team.
他の野党も「オールジャパン」体制をどう構築するか、真剣に考えてほしい。
Now is the time for Diet members to transform their mindsets.
国会議員こそ発想を大きく転換する時期である。
毎日新聞 2011年4月11日 4時00分
Politicians must put aside differences, join hands to overcome disaster
社説：政治の１カ月 責任感がなお乏しい
April 11 marked one month since a massive earthquake and tsunami devastated northeastern Japan, claiming thousands of lives. The administration of Prime Minister Naoto Kan remains in a difficult position, burdened with the tasks of supporting and restoring disaster-hit areas, while trying to overcome the crisis at Tokyo Electric Power Co. (TEPCO)'s Fukushima No. 1 Nuclear Power Plant.
東日本大震災の発生から１１日で１カ月となる。被災地の支援・復興と東京電力福島第１原発の危機回避。同時進行の対応を求められる菅直人政権にとって依然として苦しい状況が続く。
At the same time, the presence of the Diet in the crisis has been weak. Now is the time for the ruling and opposition parties to jointly exercise their wisdom and utilize the power of politics.
一方で国会の影も薄いままだ。政治の力をどう結集するか。与野党は改めて知恵を出し合う時だ。
Looking back on the month since the earthquake and tsunami, it is lamentable that the initial response to the crisis at the nuclear power plant was so slow.
１カ月を振り返り、今さらながらに悔やまれるのは福島第１原発の「複合事故」に対する初動の遅れだ。
Why, for example, didn't officials quickly open vents to release pressure in the nuclear reactor containment vessels?
例えば原子炉格納容器の弁を開けて圧力を下げる「ベント」に、なぜもっと早く踏み切れなかったのか。
The Mainichi and other media outlets have been probing the handling of the crisis, and it seems that there was a lack of mutual understanding between the government and TEPCO. In fact there was even a degree of mistrust -- a factor that no doubt hampered the response to the disaster.
毎日新聞をはじめ既に検証を試みているが、政府と東京電力との間に意思疎通がなく、逆に不信感さえ生んで、その後の対応にも悪影響を及ぼしたのは確かだろう。
Naturally, top priority must now be given to bringing the crisis under control as soon as possible. People in Japan and across the world are closely watching the handling of the crisis, and the government must conduct its own investigation to flush out any problems.
もちろん今は原発危機を一刻も早く回避するのが最優先だが、今回の原発事故対応には国民は当然のこと、世界中が注視している。政府自身が詳細に検証し、問題点を洗い出すのが今後の大きな課題となる。
Still, government bureaucrats have been complaining that information isn't being shared and that it is unclear where reports should be filed. These issues remain a point of concern.
１カ月が経過するというのに、なお懸念されるのは各府省の官僚側から「情報が共有されていない」「誰に報告したらいいか分からない」などの不満が漏れていることだ。
Since the March 11 earthquake, more than 20 headquarters, councils and affiliated teams have been set up to boost the response by the Prime Minister's Office to the disaster.
大震災後、官邸の態勢強化のため設置された「本部」や「会議」は傘下のチームも含めると２０を超える。
Administrative vice ministers from all government ministries have also joined a liaison council helping government agencies communicate on support measures for people affected by the disaster.
被災者生活支援各府省連絡会議には全府省の事務次官も集めた。
But the chain of command remains unclear -- an issue that is said to have caused confusion.
ところが指揮系統が不明確で混乱の要因となっているという。
The prime minister apparently harbors his own sense of distrust toward bureaucrats, but leadership involves putting administrative organizations to use.
首相には官僚に対する不信感もあるようだ。だが、行政組織を使いこなすのも指導力だ。
What Kan needs to do now is clearly state: "I'll leave you to do the things that you can do, but I'll take the final responsibility."
今必要なのは「任せるところは任せる。しかし最後の責任は私が取る」という姿勢をもっと明確にすることだ。
Without such a stance he will not be able to win the public's trust.
それがなければ国民の信頼も得られない。
Opposition parties also have a big role to play.
野党にも大きな役割が求められている。
The Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) has hinted it will not form a grand coalition government with the ruling Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ). Instead, the party says, it will aim to become a "responsible opposition party," cooperating on issues that it should combine forces on. However, this has probably left many people with the impression that the LDP is only backing away from the front lines.
自民党は連立政権に加わるのは拒否する考えを示し、協力すべき点は協力する「責任野党」を目指すというが、多くの国民には腰が引けていると映っているのではないか。
The Mainichi has called for the formation of a "recovery Cabinet" with the ruling and opposition parties working in unison to help Japan recover from the disaster. The reason for this is that we believe now is not the time for parties to spend all their efforts engaged in their longstanding political bickering.
毎日新聞が日本の再生・復興に向け与野党が一致協力する「日本再生内閣」を樹立するよう求めているのは、与野党が昔ながらの政争に明け暮れている場合ではないと考えるからだ。
One comment that recently emerged from political circles was that Kan should have been more humble in soliciting LDP leader Sadakazu Tanigaki's cooperation when he asked Tanigaki to join the Cabinet, as this would have altered the situation.
「菅首相が自民党の谷垣禎一総裁に入閣を求めた際、もっと謙虚に協力をお願いすべきだった。そうすれば様相は変わっていた」という声も聞く。
To look at this another way, we would like to think that there is still room for the DPJ and the LDP to come together.
裏を返せば民主党と自民党が歩み寄る素地はまだ残っていると考えたい。
At the same time, the DPJ and the LDP are not the only two players.
民主、自民両党だけではない。
We also want the other opposition parties to serious think about how they can create an "All-Japan" disaster response team.
他の野党も「オールジャパン」体制をどう構築するか、真剣に考えてほしい。
Now is the time for Diet members to transform their mindsets.
国会議員こそ発想を大きく転換する時期である。
毎日新聞 2011年4月11日 4時00分
2011年04月10日
原発で支えられる砂上の楼閣
毎日新聞の力作。
経済技術大国の栄光におごった秀才たち（官僚と政治家）が悲劇をひきおこした。
政府と東電のちぐはぐな記者会見はノモンハン事件を彷彿とさせる。
ノモンハン事件のときには軍部により言論統制がなされていました。
今も政府や東電により報道管制（秘匿・隠匿）が一部ですが見受けられます。
国民に悪影響を与えるというのが理由ですが、よけいなお世話です。
国民が知りたいのは真実です。たとえそれがどんなに恐ろしいものでも。
幸いなことに、今の日本に言論統制はありません。
霞ヶ関、検察、政治家たちに向かってせめてブログを通して国民の思い（願い）を発信しましょう。
（スラチャイ記）
(Mainichi Japan) April 9, 2011
A society that depends on nuclear energy is just like a house of cards
風知草：特別編 津波が剥ぎ取ったもの＝山田孝男
A tsunami triggered by the March 11 Great East Japan Earthquake not only destroyed towns and ports in northeastern Honshu, but also demonstrated various problems involving Japan's post-war energy policy.
津波が剥ぎ取ったものは三陸の街や港だけではない。
The nuclear power policy that the government had disguised as rock-solid has actually proved so vulnerable. Prosperity built around such a policy is fragile. This has illustrated a wide perception gap between people on the seriousness of the crisis.
無力なのに盤石を装ってきた原子力行政の虚妄。その砂上に築かれた繁栄の危うさ、事態の深刻さに対する国民の認識ギャップもあらわになった。
Even though people are calling for solidarity and collective efforts to overcome the disaster, nobody apparently has the impression that the groundwork has been laid for the restoration of Japan.
一致団結、総力結集と言葉は躍るが、日本復活の基盤が整ったという実感はない。
Late last week, I visited quake- and tsunami-ravaged areas in the Sanriku district along the Pacific coast of the Tohoku region -- Rikuzen-Takata in Iwate Prefecture, Kesennuma, Minami-Sanriku and Ishinomaki in Miyagi Prefecture, as well as the Fukushima Prefecture city of Soma. Many of these areas have been left in ruins. A large part of Kesennuma has been reduced to ashes by quake-triggered fires.
先週末、遅ればせながら三陸を見てきた。陸前高田、気仙沼、南三陸、石巻。福島では相馬に入った。津々浦々が廃虚であり、火災を伴った気仙沼は焦土だった。
In sharp contrast, inland areas of quake-hit cities and towns remain intact. Residents of the Tokyo metropolitan area are losing their sense of crisis. No wonder that there is a wide perception gap on the seriousness of the disaster.
だが、被災県も海岸から少し内陸に入れば無傷。まして首都圏の緊張はゆるみつつある。国民の意識に差が出るのも無理はない。
In an interview, former Fukushima Gov. Eisaku Sato emphasized that the nuclear accident is a man-made disaster. Sato, 71, is known as a staunch opponent of nuclear power generation.
福島へ南下したついでに郡山まで足を延ばし、いまや原子力行政批判の代表的論客となった佐藤栄佐久・前同県知事（７１）に会った。
The former governor pointed out that the biggest problem involving the national government's nuclear power policy is that bureaucrats and power suppliers are under the wrong impression that nuclear power generation is absolutely safe and should be promoted by all means and that they keep problems involving such plants a secret. He thus asserted that efforts to invite electric power companies to build nuclear power plants in sparsely populated areas in a bid to create jobs for local residents are nothing but addictive drugs for regional communities.
事故は人災です、と前知事は明快だ。「原発は安全。推進あるのみ」という官僚と電力会社の思い込みと秘密主義こそが問題であり、地域にとって原発誘致は麻薬でしかないと言い切った。
Sato served five terms as governor from 1988. Initially, he promoted the introduction of nuclear power plants, but a wide gap emerged between him and the national government as well as Tokyo Electric Power Co. (TEPCO), the operator of the tsunami-crippled Fukushima No. 1 Nuclear Power Plant. After he resigned during his fifth tenure, he was arrested for accepting bribes and later indicted. He was convicted by the district and high courts, and has appealed the ruling to the Supreme Court.
この人は８８年から知事を５期務めた。はじめは原発推進派だったが、しだいに国・東京電力との溝を深めた。５期目の半ばで辞任した直後、収賄容疑で逮捕・起訴。１、２審とも有罪で上告中の身だ。
It is inappropriate to jump to the conclusion that he was arrested as a result of a politically motivated investigation aimed at suppressing anti-nuclear power movements, but what he pointed out has been proven by various news reports.
それが「反原発」つぶしの「国策捜査」だったかどうか、速断はできないが、前知事の指摘はすでに多くの報道で裏づけられている。
The government's Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency (NISA) learned that a U.S. research institute had pointed to the possibility that the loss of an electric power source could lead to a reactor core meltdown, but disregarded it. The Fukushima Prefecture town of Futaba, which hosts the plant's No. 5 and 6 reactors, still suffers from huge budget deficits even though 30 years have passed since the power station was built.
原子力安全・保安院は、電源喪失による炉心溶融の可能性を指摘した米国の研究機関の調査を把握していながら軽視した。原発のある双葉町は誘致３０年を経て巨額の財政赤字に苦しんでいる。
A historian who heard inconsistent announcements that the government and TEPCO made in their separate news conferences said the crisis is just like the "Nomonhan Incident," an armed conflict that broke out between Japanese and Soviet forces along the border between Mongolia and Manchuria, currently part of northeastern China, in 1939.
話を聞きながら、先週、高名な現代史家からいただいた電話を思い出した。政府と東電のちぐはぐな記者会見を観察した歴史家の口から、「これはノモンハン事件じゃないですかね」という感想が飛び出した。
ノモンハン事件とは１９３９（昭和１４）年、当時の満州国（現中国東北部）国境で起きた日ソ両軍の衝突だ。
Japan, which was overconfident of its military might after its victory in the Japanese-Russo War, underestimated Russia and went into another armed conflict with it. Even though Japanese soldiers on the battlefront were outstanding, Japan suffered a humiliating defeat because of inadequate instructions given by elite officers who did not know actual warfare.
日露戦争勝利で慢心した日本は不当にソ連を侮り、前線の奮闘にもかかわらず、実戦を知らないエリート将校たちの拙劣な指揮・指導で惨敗した。
The Japanese military covered up their defeat in the battle, and fought in the Pacific War without analyzing the cause of its failure in the incident, leading to its catastrophic defeat in World War II.
日本軍は敗北を隠し、敗因を追究せず、続く太平洋戦争を同じ体制で戦い、亡国の結末を迎えた。
The Nomonhan incident raised questions as to whether Japan should seek to restore disaster-ravaged areas under the leadership of elite bureaucrats -- who were overly proud of Japan's prosperity as an economic and technological superpower -- without clarifying the cause of their mistake that led to the crisis.
経済技術大国の栄光におごった秀才たちの失敗を問わず、同じ陣容で漠然と復興を目指していいのかという疑問がわく。
At the time of the Nomonhan Incident, the Cabinet of Prime Minister Kiichiro Hiranuma was unable to control the Imperial Japanese Army and he was forced to step down after being tossed about in a complex international situation.
ノモンハン事件当時の首相は平沼騏一郎だった。内閣は陸軍を制御できず、平沼は国際情勢にほんろうされて去った。
There are now calls urging the two major political parties -- the Democratic Party of Japan and the Liberal Democratic Party -- to form a grand coalition in order to facilitate their cooperation in overcoming the disaster. However, there is no point in forming a large ruling bloc that cannot control bureaucrats.
ひるがえって今日、大連立もけっこうだが、官僚の手綱をさばけない、形ばかりの総力体制を敷いたところで無意味ではないかという疑問をぬぐえない。
At Rikuzen-Takata, which has been left in ruin, work is under way to install new utility polls along National Route 45. The public has agreed that it is an urgent task to quickly restore utilities, but there is no consensus about a vision on what kind of society should be created after rebuilding destroyed infrastructure.
見渡す限り廃虚の陸前高田市で、国道４５号沿いに新しい電柱を植え込む作業が進んでいた。ライフラインの復旧を急げという合意はあるが、それから先、どんな社会を築くのかという確かな合意はどこにもない。
The crisis has clarified that a society that depends heavily on electricity generated largely by nuclear power plants -- which Japan as a post-war economic and technological superpower has achieved -- is just like a house of cards. Japanese leaders as well as members of the general public should be aware of this. (By Takao Yamada, Expert Senior Writer)
戦後の経済技術大国がたどりついた原発依存の「オール電化社会」は砂上の楼閣にすぎなかった。その現状認識が重要ではないか。
毎日新聞 2011年4月7日 東京朝刊
経済技術大国の栄光におごった秀才たち（官僚と政治家）が悲劇をひきおこした。
政府と東電のちぐはぐな記者会見はノモンハン事件を彷彿とさせる。
ノモンハン事件のときには軍部により言論統制がなされていました。
今も政府や東電により報道管制（秘匿・隠匿）が一部ですが見受けられます。
国民に悪影響を与えるというのが理由ですが、よけいなお世話です。
国民が知りたいのは真実です。たとえそれがどんなに恐ろしいものでも。
幸いなことに、今の日本に言論統制はありません。
霞ヶ関、検察、政治家たちに向かってせめてブログを通して国民の思い（願い）を発信しましょう。
（スラチャイ記）
(Mainichi Japan) April 9, 2011
A society that depends on nuclear energy is just like a house of cards
風知草：特別編 津波が剥ぎ取ったもの＝山田孝男
A tsunami triggered by the March 11 Great East Japan Earthquake not only destroyed towns and ports in northeastern Honshu, but also demonstrated various problems involving Japan's post-war energy policy.
津波が剥ぎ取ったものは三陸の街や港だけではない。
The nuclear power policy that the government had disguised as rock-solid has actually proved so vulnerable. Prosperity built around such a policy is fragile. This has illustrated a wide perception gap between people on the seriousness of the crisis.
無力なのに盤石を装ってきた原子力行政の虚妄。その砂上に築かれた繁栄の危うさ、事態の深刻さに対する国民の認識ギャップもあらわになった。
Even though people are calling for solidarity and collective efforts to overcome the disaster, nobody apparently has the impression that the groundwork has been laid for the restoration of Japan.
一致団結、総力結集と言葉は躍るが、日本復活の基盤が整ったという実感はない。
Late last week, I visited quake- and tsunami-ravaged areas in the Sanriku district along the Pacific coast of the Tohoku region -- Rikuzen-Takata in Iwate Prefecture, Kesennuma, Minami-Sanriku and Ishinomaki in Miyagi Prefecture, as well as the Fukushima Prefecture city of Soma. Many of these areas have been left in ruins. A large part of Kesennuma has been reduced to ashes by quake-triggered fires.
先週末、遅ればせながら三陸を見てきた。陸前高田、気仙沼、南三陸、石巻。福島では相馬に入った。津々浦々が廃虚であり、火災を伴った気仙沼は焦土だった。
In sharp contrast, inland areas of quake-hit cities and towns remain intact. Residents of the Tokyo metropolitan area are losing their sense of crisis. No wonder that there is a wide perception gap on the seriousness of the disaster.
だが、被災県も海岸から少し内陸に入れば無傷。まして首都圏の緊張はゆるみつつある。国民の意識に差が出るのも無理はない。
In an interview, former Fukushima Gov. Eisaku Sato emphasized that the nuclear accident is a man-made disaster. Sato, 71, is known as a staunch opponent of nuclear power generation.
福島へ南下したついでに郡山まで足を延ばし、いまや原子力行政批判の代表的論客となった佐藤栄佐久・前同県知事（７１）に会った。
The former governor pointed out that the biggest problem involving the national government's nuclear power policy is that bureaucrats and power suppliers are under the wrong impression that nuclear power generation is absolutely safe and should be promoted by all means and that they keep problems involving such plants a secret. He thus asserted that efforts to invite electric power companies to build nuclear power plants in sparsely populated areas in a bid to create jobs for local residents are nothing but addictive drugs for regional communities.
事故は人災です、と前知事は明快だ。「原発は安全。推進あるのみ」という官僚と電力会社の思い込みと秘密主義こそが問題であり、地域にとって原発誘致は麻薬でしかないと言い切った。
Sato served five terms as governor from 1988. Initially, he promoted the introduction of nuclear power plants, but a wide gap emerged between him and the national government as well as Tokyo Electric Power Co. (TEPCO), the operator of the tsunami-crippled Fukushima No. 1 Nuclear Power Plant. After he resigned during his fifth tenure, he was arrested for accepting bribes and later indicted. He was convicted by the district and high courts, and has appealed the ruling to the Supreme Court.
この人は８８年から知事を５期務めた。はじめは原発推進派だったが、しだいに国・東京電力との溝を深めた。５期目の半ばで辞任した直後、収賄容疑で逮捕・起訴。１、２審とも有罪で上告中の身だ。
It is inappropriate to jump to the conclusion that he was arrested as a result of a politically motivated investigation aimed at suppressing anti-nuclear power movements, but what he pointed out has been proven by various news reports.
それが「反原発」つぶしの「国策捜査」だったかどうか、速断はできないが、前知事の指摘はすでに多くの報道で裏づけられている。
The government's Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency (NISA) learned that a U.S. research institute had pointed to the possibility that the loss of an electric power source could lead to a reactor core meltdown, but disregarded it. The Fukushima Prefecture town of Futaba, which hosts the plant's No. 5 and 6 reactors, still suffers from huge budget deficits even though 30 years have passed since the power station was built.
原子力安全・保安院は、電源喪失による炉心溶融の可能性を指摘した米国の研究機関の調査を把握していながら軽視した。原発のある双葉町は誘致３０年を経て巨額の財政赤字に苦しんでいる。
A historian who heard inconsistent announcements that the government and TEPCO made in their separate news conferences said the crisis is just like the "Nomonhan Incident," an armed conflict that broke out between Japanese and Soviet forces along the border between Mongolia and Manchuria, currently part of northeastern China, in 1939.
話を聞きながら、先週、高名な現代史家からいただいた電話を思い出した。政府と東電のちぐはぐな記者会見を観察した歴史家の口から、「これはノモンハン事件じゃないですかね」という感想が飛び出した。
ノモンハン事件とは１９３９（昭和１４）年、当時の満州国（現中国東北部）国境で起きた日ソ両軍の衝突だ。
Japan, which was overconfident of its military might after its victory in the Japanese-Russo War, underestimated Russia and went into another armed conflict with it. Even though Japanese soldiers on the battlefront were outstanding, Japan suffered a humiliating defeat because of inadequate instructions given by elite officers who did not know actual warfare.
日露戦争勝利で慢心した日本は不当にソ連を侮り、前線の奮闘にもかかわらず、実戦を知らないエリート将校たちの拙劣な指揮・指導で惨敗した。
The Japanese military covered up their defeat in the battle, and fought in the Pacific War without analyzing the cause of its failure in the incident, leading to its catastrophic defeat in World War II.
日本軍は敗北を隠し、敗因を追究せず、続く太平洋戦争を同じ体制で戦い、亡国の結末を迎えた。
The Nomonhan incident raised questions as to whether Japan should seek to restore disaster-ravaged areas under the leadership of elite bureaucrats -- who were overly proud of Japan's prosperity as an economic and technological superpower -- without clarifying the cause of their mistake that led to the crisis.
経済技術大国の栄光におごった秀才たちの失敗を問わず、同じ陣容で漠然と復興を目指していいのかという疑問がわく。
At the time of the Nomonhan Incident, the Cabinet of Prime Minister Kiichiro Hiranuma was unable to control the Imperial Japanese Army and he was forced to step down after being tossed about in a complex international situation.
ノモンハン事件当時の首相は平沼騏一郎だった。内閣は陸軍を制御できず、平沼は国際情勢にほんろうされて去った。
There are now calls urging the two major political parties -- the Democratic Party of Japan and the Liberal Democratic Party -- to form a grand coalition in order to facilitate their cooperation in overcoming the disaster. However, there is no point in forming a large ruling bloc that cannot control bureaucrats.
ひるがえって今日、大連立もけっこうだが、官僚の手綱をさばけない、形ばかりの総力体制を敷いたところで無意味ではないかという疑問をぬぐえない。
At Rikuzen-Takata, which has been left in ruin, work is under way to install new utility polls along National Route 45. The public has agreed that it is an urgent task to quickly restore utilities, but there is no consensus about a vision on what kind of society should be created after rebuilding destroyed infrastructure.
見渡す限り廃虚の陸前高田市で、国道４５号沿いに新しい電柱を植え込む作業が進んでいた。ライフラインの復旧を急げという合意はあるが、それから先、どんな社会を築くのかという確かな合意はどこにもない。
The crisis has clarified that a society that depends heavily on electricity generated largely by nuclear power plants -- which Japan as a post-war economic and technological superpower has achieved -- is just like a house of cards. Japanese leaders as well as members of the general public should be aware of this. (By Takao Yamada, Expert Senior Writer)
戦後の経済技術大国がたどりついた原発依存の「オール電化社会」は砂上の楼閣にすぎなかった。その現状認識が重要ではないか。
毎日新聞 2011年4月7日 東京朝刊
2011年04月09日
原発震災 中長期の見通しも示せ
(Mainichi Japan) April 8, 2011
Clear outlook for nuclear crisis necessary for residents to move on with their lives
社説：原発震災 中長期の見通しも示せ
There appears to be no immediate end in sight for the crisis at the Fukushima No. 1 Nuclear Power Plant damaged by the March 11 earthquake and tsunami. Never before in history has a nuclear accident dragged on for so long, leading the Nuclear Safety Commission (NSC) of Japan to say that the crisis has "surpassed the range and magnitude anticipated under pre-existing disaster-prevention schemes."
原発災害は収束の時期がみえてこない。これほど長く続く原発事故は世界にも例がない。原子力安全委員会は「既存の防災対策の枠を超えている」との見方を示している。
Both Tokyo Electric Power Co. (TEPCO) and the government are now at a point where they must devise and implement measures that take mid- to long-term prospects into consideration. In doing so, they must consider carefully the lives of the many people who have evacuated from communities located close to the power plant.
東京電力も政府も、中長期的な見通しを踏まえ、さまざまな対応策を立てていく時期にきている。その際には、原発周辺から避難している多数の人々の今後の暮らしに、きちんと思いをはせてほしい。
Workers on site have their hands full trying to deal with radiation-tainted water and injecting nitrogen into the No. 1 reactor to stave off an explosion in the reactor containment vessel. Such measures, however, aim to subdue what can be characterized as "side effects" that get in the way of attempts to deal with the primary problem.
今、現場は、汚染水対策や格納容器の爆発を防ぐための窒素封入作業に追われている。こうした作業は、事故対策を妨げる「副作用」を抑えているようなものだ。
Meanwhile, the real first step in bringing the crisis under control requires cooling the reactors down to stabilize temperatures, and stopping the leakage of radioactive materials.
本来の事故収束の第１段階は、すべての原子炉を安定した冷却に持ち込み、放射性物質の外部への漏えいを止めることだ。
To achieve this, a closed system that removes the heat in the reactors without relying on the injection of water from an external source must be established. Ordinarily, the residual-heat-removal system installed in the reactors would carry out this task, but radiation leaks have frustrated efforts to restore the system. As such, the situation calls for discussions on possibly instituting a new heat-removal system.
そのためには、外部から注水せずに核燃料の熱を取り除く閉じた循環系を確立しなくてはならない。通常は「残留熱除去系」がその役目を果たすが、放射性物質の汚染に阻まれ復旧作業が進まない。状況を見極め、新たな熱除去系を外から導入することも検討した方がいい。
Regardless of the cooling method, it will not be an easy job, and may take longer than the "several months" the government has predicted for a resolution.
ただ、いずれにしても、簡単な作業ではない。数カ月という政府の見通しを上回ることもあるだろう。
Even after progress is made in this first step, we are still faced with the task of cooling spent nuclear fuel for years to come. Beyond that, moreover, lies the problem of how the reactors will be decommissioned.
収束の第１段階が達成されても、核燃料はさらに何年も冷やし続けなくてはならない。その先には、どのように廃炉を進めるかという課題が待ち受ける。
As we find ourselves only at the beginning of a long road ahead, the government's emergency measures are no longer relevant to the current state of affairs.
こうした長い対策の入り口にあって、政府の緊急時対応はすでに実態にあわなくなっている。
For example, because the government's advisory for residents living between a 20-kilometer and a 30-kilometer radius from the Fukushima power station was not issued with the intention of lasting for months, it is only natural that the government is now deliberating a new plan of action. The government must make a prompt decision -- that should then be thoroughly explained to residents -- and provide ongoing support for those who are affected.
そもそも、２０〜３０キロ圏内の住民に出されている屋内退避の指示は、何カ月も続くことを前提にしていない。政府が新たな指針を検討しているのは当然だ。すみやかに決定し、住民に丁寧に説明した上で、その暮らしを支えていってもらいたい。
Some residents who evacuated from homes within a 20-kilometer radius are seeking permission to return temporarily, an understandable request from people who escaped with just the clothes on their back after being hit with the triple punch of the earthquake, tsunami and nuclear crisis. We hope that all safety precautions are taken to grant their wish.
避難指示が出ている２０キロ圏内では一時帰宅の要望がある。二重三重の災害に見舞われ着の身着のままで避難した人々の願いはよくわかる。安全に十分注意しつつ、かなえたい。
In addition, local residents need to be given a mid- to long-term outlook: Will they be able to return permanently to their homes in several months' time, or will it take years? Will some residents have to prepare themselves for the possibility that they will never be able to return?
さらに、住民にとって必要なのは、その先の中長期的な見通しだ。本当に自宅に戻れるのは数カ月後なのか、それとも数年後なのか。場合によっては再び戻れないという覚悟がいるのか。
We understand that such forecasts are difficult to make, as they are contingent upon whether or not the situation worsens, and how restoration efforts progress.
これらの見通しは、今後、事態が悪化することがあるかどうかにも、作業の進み具合にもかかっている。予測が難しいことはわかる。
Still, unless both TEPCO and the government release forecasts that account for a margin of error, people cannot move on with their lives or plan for the future. It must not be forgotten that ambiguity -- and not bad news -- can at times deliver a stronger blow on morale.
しかし、幅をもたせた上で、東電も政府も、見通しを語るべきだ。そうしなければ、人々は将来の生活設計が立てられない。悪い情報より、あいまいな状況が、人々の気持ちをくじくことがあるのを忘れてはならない。
毎日新聞 2011年4月8日 2時41分
Clear outlook for nuclear crisis necessary for residents to move on with their lives
社説：原発震災 中長期の見通しも示せ
There appears to be no immediate end in sight for the crisis at the Fukushima No. 1 Nuclear Power Plant damaged by the March 11 earthquake and tsunami. Never before in history has a nuclear accident dragged on for so long, leading the Nuclear Safety Commission (NSC) of Japan to say that the crisis has "surpassed the range and magnitude anticipated under pre-existing disaster-prevention schemes."
原発災害は収束の時期がみえてこない。これほど長く続く原発事故は世界にも例がない。原子力安全委員会は「既存の防災対策の枠を超えている」との見方を示している。
Both Tokyo Electric Power Co. (TEPCO) and the government are now at a point where they must devise and implement measures that take mid- to long-term prospects into consideration. In doing so, they must consider carefully the lives of the many people who have evacuated from communities located close to the power plant.
東京電力も政府も、中長期的な見通しを踏まえ、さまざまな対応策を立てていく時期にきている。その際には、原発周辺から避難している多数の人々の今後の暮らしに、きちんと思いをはせてほしい。
Workers on site have their hands full trying to deal with radiation-tainted water and injecting nitrogen into the No. 1 reactor to stave off an explosion in the reactor containment vessel. Such measures, however, aim to subdue what can be characterized as "side effects" that get in the way of attempts to deal with the primary problem.
今、現場は、汚染水対策や格納容器の爆発を防ぐための窒素封入作業に追われている。こうした作業は、事故対策を妨げる「副作用」を抑えているようなものだ。
Meanwhile, the real first step in bringing the crisis under control requires cooling the reactors down to stabilize temperatures, and stopping the leakage of radioactive materials.
本来の事故収束の第１段階は、すべての原子炉を安定した冷却に持ち込み、放射性物質の外部への漏えいを止めることだ。
To achieve this, a closed system that removes the heat in the reactors without relying on the injection of water from an external source must be established. Ordinarily, the residual-heat-removal system installed in the reactors would carry out this task, but radiation leaks have frustrated efforts to restore the system. As such, the situation calls for discussions on possibly instituting a new heat-removal system.
そのためには、外部から注水せずに核燃料の熱を取り除く閉じた循環系を確立しなくてはならない。通常は「残留熱除去系」がその役目を果たすが、放射性物質の汚染に阻まれ復旧作業が進まない。状況を見極め、新たな熱除去系を外から導入することも検討した方がいい。
Regardless of the cooling method, it will not be an easy job, and may take longer than the "several months" the government has predicted for a resolution.
ただ、いずれにしても、簡単な作業ではない。数カ月という政府の見通しを上回ることもあるだろう。
Even after progress is made in this first step, we are still faced with the task of cooling spent nuclear fuel for years to come. Beyond that, moreover, lies the problem of how the reactors will be decommissioned.
収束の第１段階が達成されても、核燃料はさらに何年も冷やし続けなくてはならない。その先には、どのように廃炉を進めるかという課題が待ち受ける。
As we find ourselves only at the beginning of a long road ahead, the government's emergency measures are no longer relevant to the current state of affairs.
こうした長い対策の入り口にあって、政府の緊急時対応はすでに実態にあわなくなっている。
For example, because the government's advisory for residents living between a 20-kilometer and a 30-kilometer radius from the Fukushima power station was not issued with the intention of lasting for months, it is only natural that the government is now deliberating a new plan of action. The government must make a prompt decision -- that should then be thoroughly explained to residents -- and provide ongoing support for those who are affected.
そもそも、２０〜３０キロ圏内の住民に出されている屋内退避の指示は、何カ月も続くことを前提にしていない。政府が新たな指針を検討しているのは当然だ。すみやかに決定し、住民に丁寧に説明した上で、その暮らしを支えていってもらいたい。
Some residents who evacuated from homes within a 20-kilometer radius are seeking permission to return temporarily, an understandable request from people who escaped with just the clothes on their back after being hit with the triple punch of the earthquake, tsunami and nuclear crisis. We hope that all safety precautions are taken to grant their wish.
避難指示が出ている２０キロ圏内では一時帰宅の要望がある。二重三重の災害に見舞われ着の身着のままで避難した人々の願いはよくわかる。安全に十分注意しつつ、かなえたい。
In addition, local residents need to be given a mid- to long-term outlook: Will they be able to return permanently to their homes in several months' time, or will it take years? Will some residents have to prepare themselves for the possibility that they will never be able to return?
さらに、住民にとって必要なのは、その先の中長期的な見通しだ。本当に自宅に戻れるのは数カ月後なのか、それとも数年後なのか。場合によっては再び戻れないという覚悟がいるのか。
We understand that such forecasts are difficult to make, as they are contingent upon whether or not the situation worsens, and how restoration efforts progress.
これらの見通しは、今後、事態が悪化することがあるかどうかにも、作業の進み具合にもかかっている。予測が難しいことはわかる。
Still, unless both TEPCO and the government release forecasts that account for a margin of error, people cannot move on with their lives or plan for the future. It must not be forgotten that ambiguity -- and not bad news -- can at times deliver a stronger blow on morale.
しかし、幅をもたせた上で、東電も政府も、見通しを語るべきだ。そうしなければ、人々は将来の生活設計が立てられない。悪い情報より、あいまいな状況が、人々の気持ちをくじくことがあるのを忘れてはならない。
毎日新聞 2011年4月8日 2時41分
2011年04月08日
震災と国際社会 世界への発信足りない
(Mainichi Japan) April 7, 2011
Gov't, TEPCO should release more information on radiation contamination
社説：震災と国際社会 世界への発信足りない
The government and Tokyo Electric Power Co. (TEPCO) appear to be too insensitive to global criticism over their response to the crisis at the crippled Fukushima No. 1 Nuclear Power Plant that the power supplier operates.
政府も東京電力も、原発事故に向けられる世界からの視線に鈍感すぎはしないか。
It should be regarded as a diplomatic blunder that the government has come under fire for failing to provide a detailed explanation to not only local governments concerned and fishermen's cooperatives but also neighboring countries before discharging water contaminated with low levels of radiation from the plant into the sea.
福島第１原発から低濃度放射性物質を含む汚染水を海に放出する際、自治体や漁業関係者だけでなく、近隣諸国にていねいな事前説明をせず反発を招いたことは、外交上の失態である。
The administration of Prime Minister Naoto Kan should keep in mind that the crisis at the tsunami-hit nuclear power plant could have a huge impact on a global scale and that many countries share the same concerns and interests with Japan regarding nuclear power generation.
今回の原発事故が、日本一国を超えて地球規模で影響を与えかねないこと、そして世界の多くの国が日本と同じ懸念と利害を共有していることを、菅直人政権は改めて認識すべきだ。
The South Korean Foreign Affairs and Trade Ministry expressed deep displeasure at Japan's failure to notify Seoul before discharging radioactive water into the sea, while the Russian government has voiced concern that radiation could adversely affect fishing resources.
汚染水の放出に、韓国外交通商省は「事前通報」がなかったと強い不満を表明した。ロシア政府からも魚類に危険が及ぶことを心配する声が出ている。
It is a matter of course that Chief Cabinet Secretary Yukio Edano expressed regret over Tokyo's failure to provide an explanation before releasing contaminated water into the ocean, saying, "We must take seriously the opinions that we should've provided a detailed explanation in advance."
枝野幸男官房長官が６日の記者会見で「あらかじめ詳細な説明が必要だったとの指摘は、真摯（しんし）に受け止めていかなければならない」と語ったのは当然である。
The U.N. Convention on the Law of the Sea, to which Japan is a signatory, obligates parties to prevent the contamination of sea water and minimize the release of toxic or harmful substances into the sea from ground-based sources.
日本も署名している国連海洋法条約は、海洋汚染を防止する一般的義務を締約国に負わせるとともに、毒性または有害な物質の陸にある発生源からの放出を最小にするよう求めている。
Foreign Minister Takeaki Matsumoto denied that TEPCO's discharge of radioactive water into the sea from the Fukushima nuclear plant constitutes a breach of duties specified by the convention, suggesting that whether to release information on the discharge of radioactive water is left to the discretion of the government.
松本剛明外相は「国際法上の義務との関係でただちに問題になるものではない」と語り、情報提供はあくまで自発的な判断によるものとの見解を示した。
His judgment may be in line with the widely accepted interpretation of the treaty. However, this is more than a matter of obligations written on paper. It is rather a matter of responsibility and common sense that Japan should have shown to the world as a country that has caused grave anxiety to the international community as a result of the nuclear power plant accident.
国際法の解釈はそうかもしれない。だがこれは、紙に書かれた義務うんぬんではなく、原発事故で世界に大きな不安を与えてしまった国の最低限の責務、良識の問題ではなかろうか。
Once released into the sea or atmosphere, radioactive substances spread regardless of territorial water and airspace.
いったん海洋や大気中に出た放射性物質は、領海や領空とはかかわりなく拡散していく。
Even though the amount of radiation is said to be minimal and will have no impact on people's health, continuing to release radioactive materials means continuing to pollute the planet.
薄められて健康に害はないとされてはいるものの、それを放出し続けることは、この地球を日々汚染しているということである。
If the government and TEPCO are aware of that, they should consider the weight of their accountability to the world.
その自覚があるのなら、国際社会に対する説明責任の重みをもう一度かみしめてほしい。
Since the March 11 Great East Japan Earthquake struck, 134 countries and territories have offered to extend relief to Japan, and 32 countries, territories and international organizations have provided relief supplies to disaster-hit areas.
東日本大震災発生以来、１３４の国・地域から支援の申し出があり、３２カ国・地域・国際機関から物資の提供を受けている。
The U.S. and other rescue teams played an important role in searching for missing people and recovering the bodies of victims.
行方不明者や遺体の捜索には米軍や各国救助チームの協力が大きな助けになった。
The calm behavior of survivors and the maintenance of law and order in society have greatly impressed the world. 被災者たちの落ち着いた言動や秩序立った社会の様子は、世界に強い感銘をもたらした。
These incidents have reminded us that Japan is closely linked to the rest of the world.
震災後、日本と世界は一つとの思いを深くする。
At the same time, however, the governments of many other countries as well as overseas media outlets have become increasingly critical of the Japanese government and TEPCO for releasing too little information on the crisis at the Fukushima nuclear plant and in a late manner.
その一方、各国政府やメディアは原発事故をめぐる日本政府や東電の情報公開に「遅い」「少ない」との不信を強めている。
Japan should cooperate with the International Atomic Energy Agency and other international bodies in creating a system to promptly dispatch detailed information to the world on radiation contamination and how to respond to the crisis.
放射能汚染の情報や対処方針を早く、詳細に世界に向け発信する態勢を、国際原子力機関（ＩＡＥＡ）などとも連携して作り直すべきだ。
The government and TEPCO's inward-looking responses to the crisis could cause friction with other countries and damage cooperative relations Japan has nurtured with the international community.
内向きな対応は海外諸国との無用なあつれきを生み、せっかく築かれた国際社会との連帯にもヒビを生じさせかねない。
毎日新聞 2011年4月7日 東京朝刊
Gov't, TEPCO should release more information on radiation contamination
社説：震災と国際社会 世界への発信足りない
The government and Tokyo Electric Power Co. (TEPCO) appear to be too insensitive to global criticism over their response to the crisis at the crippled Fukushima No. 1 Nuclear Power Plant that the power supplier operates.
政府も東京電力も、原発事故に向けられる世界からの視線に鈍感すぎはしないか。
It should be regarded as a diplomatic blunder that the government has come under fire for failing to provide a detailed explanation to not only local governments concerned and fishermen's cooperatives but also neighboring countries before discharging water contaminated with low levels of radiation from the plant into the sea.
福島第１原発から低濃度放射性物質を含む汚染水を海に放出する際、自治体や漁業関係者だけでなく、近隣諸国にていねいな事前説明をせず反発を招いたことは、外交上の失態である。
The administration of Prime Minister Naoto Kan should keep in mind that the crisis at the tsunami-hit nuclear power plant could have a huge impact on a global scale and that many countries share the same concerns and interests with Japan regarding nuclear power generation.
今回の原発事故が、日本一国を超えて地球規模で影響を与えかねないこと、そして世界の多くの国が日本と同じ懸念と利害を共有していることを、菅直人政権は改めて認識すべきだ。
The South Korean Foreign Affairs and Trade Ministry expressed deep displeasure at Japan's failure to notify Seoul before discharging radioactive water into the sea, while the Russian government has voiced concern that radiation could adversely affect fishing resources.
汚染水の放出に、韓国外交通商省は「事前通報」がなかったと強い不満を表明した。ロシア政府からも魚類に危険が及ぶことを心配する声が出ている。
It is a matter of course that Chief Cabinet Secretary Yukio Edano expressed regret over Tokyo's failure to provide an explanation before releasing contaminated water into the ocean, saying, "We must take seriously the opinions that we should've provided a detailed explanation in advance."
枝野幸男官房長官が６日の記者会見で「あらかじめ詳細な説明が必要だったとの指摘は、真摯（しんし）に受け止めていかなければならない」と語ったのは当然である。
The U.N. Convention on the Law of the Sea, to which Japan is a signatory, obligates parties to prevent the contamination of sea water and minimize the release of toxic or harmful substances into the sea from ground-based sources.
日本も署名している国連海洋法条約は、海洋汚染を防止する一般的義務を締約国に負わせるとともに、毒性または有害な物質の陸にある発生源からの放出を最小にするよう求めている。
Foreign Minister Takeaki Matsumoto denied that TEPCO's discharge of radioactive water into the sea from the Fukushima nuclear plant constitutes a breach of duties specified by the convention, suggesting that whether to release information on the discharge of radioactive water is left to the discretion of the government.
松本剛明外相は「国際法上の義務との関係でただちに問題になるものではない」と語り、情報提供はあくまで自発的な判断によるものとの見解を示した。
His judgment may be in line with the widely accepted interpretation of the treaty. However, this is more than a matter of obligations written on paper. It is rather a matter of responsibility and common sense that Japan should have shown to the world as a country that has caused grave anxiety to the international community as a result of the nuclear power plant accident.
国際法の解釈はそうかもしれない。だがこれは、紙に書かれた義務うんぬんではなく、原発事故で世界に大きな不安を与えてしまった国の最低限の責務、良識の問題ではなかろうか。
Once released into the sea or atmosphere, radioactive substances spread regardless of territorial water and airspace.
いったん海洋や大気中に出た放射性物質は、領海や領空とはかかわりなく拡散していく。
Even though the amount of radiation is said to be minimal and will have no impact on people's health, continuing to release radioactive materials means continuing to pollute the planet.
薄められて健康に害はないとされてはいるものの、それを放出し続けることは、この地球を日々汚染しているということである。
If the government and TEPCO are aware of that, they should consider the weight of their accountability to the world.
その自覚があるのなら、国際社会に対する説明責任の重みをもう一度かみしめてほしい。
Since the March 11 Great East Japan Earthquake struck, 134 countries and territories have offered to extend relief to Japan, and 32 countries, territories and international organizations have provided relief supplies to disaster-hit areas.
東日本大震災発生以来、１３４の国・地域から支援の申し出があり、３２カ国・地域・国際機関から物資の提供を受けている。
The U.S. and other rescue teams played an important role in searching for missing people and recovering the bodies of victims.
行方不明者や遺体の捜索には米軍や各国救助チームの協力が大きな助けになった。
The calm behavior of survivors and the maintenance of law and order in society have greatly impressed the world. 被災者たちの落ち着いた言動や秩序立った社会の様子は、世界に強い感銘をもたらした。
These incidents have reminded us that Japan is closely linked to the rest of the world.
震災後、日本と世界は一つとの思いを深くする。
At the same time, however, the governments of many other countries as well as overseas media outlets have become increasingly critical of the Japanese government and TEPCO for releasing too little information on the crisis at the Fukushima nuclear plant and in a late manner.
その一方、各国政府やメディアは原発事故をめぐる日本政府や東電の情報公開に「遅い」「少ない」との不信を強めている。
Japan should cooperate with the International Atomic Energy Agency and other international bodies in creating a system to promptly dispatch detailed information to the world on radiation contamination and how to respond to the crisis.
放射能汚染の情報や対処方針を早く、詳細に世界に向け発信する態勢を、国際原子力機関（ＩＡＥＡ）などとも連携して作り直すべきだ。
The government and TEPCO's inward-looking responses to the crisis could cause friction with other countries and damage cooperative relations Japan has nurtured with the international community.
内向きな対応は海外諸国との無用なあつれきを生み、せっかく築かれた国際社会との連帯にもヒビを生じさせかねない。
毎日新聞 2011年4月7日 東京朝刊
2011年04月07日
福島第１原発事故と地方経済
(Mainichi Japan) April 6, 2011
TEPCO has responsibility for creating jobs in areas hit by crisis at nuclear plant
記者の目：福島第１原発事故と地方経済＝森禎行
Workers who are trying to repair reactors at the Fukushima No. 1 Nuclear Power Plant, which was hit by a massive tsunami triggered by the March 11 killer quake, are drawing worldwide attention. I have covered their work and their sense of mission in which they are working hard to cool down the reactors and prevent radiation leaks while risking their own lives is indeed respectable.
東京電力福島第１原発（福島県大熊町、双葉町）の事故で、作業にあたる「フクシマの労働者」が世界的に注目されている。私はその作業員たちの取材を続けてきた。命を張った「使命感」はあまりにも尊い。
At the same time, the crisis at the plant demonstrates that the workers have to engage in such dangerous work because the local community relies heavily on the nuclear plant for job opportunities. The regional economy is in such a serious situation.
同時に、その背景に、原発に雇用を頼るがゆえに危険な作業に向かわざるをえない地方経済の深刻さも感じ、胸が痛む。
People living far away from areas affected by the nuclear crisis should also consider ways to create regional communities in which residents can lead their lives without relying on nuclear power plants.
原発に頼らず普通の市民が息づく町づくりを、原発被災地から離れた私たちも考えなければならない。
◇地元雇用が東電と国の責務
I went to the Fukushima Prefecture city of Iwaki -- a core city in the Hamadori district along the Pacific coast -- in late March. Many residents in areas around the plant had traveled to the city in order to take shelter there, and workers who were stuck inside the plant were taking brief breaks there.
私は３月下旬、同県いわき市に入った。太平洋に面した浜通り地方の中核都市だ。原発の周辺住民が避難先として目指し、発電所内に缶詰めだった労働者が休息する場所の一つにもなっていた。
Workers who were allowed to leave the plant after long, harsh work were all tight-lipped. Their long beards and deep wrinkles between their eyebrows illustrated the tough work they were engaged in. The purple-red jerseys they were wearing in place of their contaminated work clothes looked like proof that they were taking a break in a safe place.
発電所からようやく出てきた労働者は、一様に口が重かった。伸び放題のひげと、険しい眉間（みけん）のしわが作業の過酷さを物語っていた。汚染された作業服に代わって着る赤紫色のジャージーが“安息の地”に移った証しに見えた。
Workers at the plant are based in its special quake-resistant building. They cannot enjoy decent meals or sleep properly in such a building. They also confront invisible radiation at the plant.
発電所内の彼らは、免震重要棟という閉ざされた建物を拠点とする。満足な食事や睡眠は望むべくもない。そして、目に見えない放射能と向き合う作業。現実を少しずつだが聞いた。
They say they were unable to promptly grasp the situation at the plant because it was changing so often following the disaster. When a hydrogen explosion occurred in the building housing one of the reactors the day after the quake, a 47-year-old employee of Tokyo Electric Power Co. (TEPCO), who was in the special quake-resistant building, only felt that the vibrations caused by the blast were different from those of a quake. He said he was unable to see through buildings housing reactors that were hundreds of meters away, and learned of the explosion from NHK TV news.
現場でも、刻々と変化する事態はのみ込めなかったという。震災翌日の水素爆発では、免震重要棟にいた東電社員（４７）は「地震とは揺れが違うな」と感じる程度だった。数百メートル離れた原子炉建屋が見通せず、つけっ放しのＮＨＫテレビで「これだったのか」と知ったという。
◇ここで働く使命感と不安
What struck me was that workers range in age from those in their 20s to 60s. It was about 15 years ago that I, a native of Tokyo, met with a worker at a nuclear power plant for the first time. When I talked with a homeless man, he told me proudly, "I previously worked at a nuclear power plant. I was exposed to radiation, but I'm all right." That encounter gave me the impression that single, middle-aged or elderly people work at nuclear plants.
印象深かったのは、年齢が２０代から６０代まで幅広いことだった。東京出身の私が原発労働者に初めて接したのは約１５年前。首都圏の野宿者と話す機会があり、「原発で働いた。被ばくしたけど体は大丈夫」と誇らしげに話した。その話から、単身の中高年が作業するイメージが強かった。
This time, I met with many workers who belong to the same generation as mine and are raising children. A 35-year-old TEPCO employee, who was urged to flee the city of Minami-Soma, said he moved shelters three times. "Still, I was relocated on fewer occasions than many others."
今回、私と同じ子育て世代に多く出会った。南相馬市からの避難を求められた東電社員（３５）は「避難所は３カ所移り、私は少ない方」と申し訳なさそうに話した。
When asked why he chose to return to the crippled plant, he said, "I've been engaged in this work," expressing a sense of mission he harbors.
避難先から職場に戻った理由を尋ねると「この仕事に携わってきた」とはっきりした口調で使命感を語った。
At an evacuation shelter in Iwaki, I interviewed many workers who were at the plant when the disaster struck. There are many offices of subcontractors on the premises of the plant, and a total of some 10,000 people were working at TEPCO's Fukushima No. 1 and No. 2 nuclear power plants. I felt that nuclear plants are at the center of many huge towns. The plants are not just dry machines, but need the support of many people to function.
いわき市内の避難所では、震災当日に発電所にいた多くの労働者を取材した。所内は下請け業者の事務所棟が建ち並ぶ。福島第１、第２を合わせて原発関連で約１万人が働く。巨大な“町”だと改めて感じた。原発は無味乾燥な機械でなく、多くの人の支えで動いていた。
There have been discussions about the risks of radiation leaks from nuclear plants for nearly half a century. Those in favor of nuclear power plants have pointed out that such plants are indispensable in Japan, which is short of natural resources. Opponents have cited their concern about radiation leaks and called for the introduction of substitute energy sources.
「放射能の危険性」の議論は半世紀近く続いてきた。「原発必要派」は、資源の乏しい日本で不可欠だと強調。「不要派」は「放射能の不安が絶えない」と、代替エネルギーの導入を訴えてきた。
A 37-year-old former employee of a subcontractor, who had worked at Fukushima No. 1 Nuclear Power Plant for nearly 20 years, said he is relieved because he will likely find a new job at another nuclear plant.
"Without nuclear power plants, I would lose my job. I now feel relieved because I've learned I'll probably get a new job at another plant," he said at an evacuation shelter.
避難所での取材では、福島第１で２０年近く勤務した元請け会社社員（３７）は「原発が無ければ、仕事は無い。何とか別の原発で働けそうでほっとしている」と話した。
Another employee of a subcontractor in his 30s expressed concern about being forced to work to repair the damaged reactors. "If I'm asked to assist in the work, I'll have no choice but to comply."
別の３０代の下請け会社社員は「応援要請を受けたら行かざるをえない」と不安げに話した。
Their statements demonstrate the serious reality of the regional community -- many local residents have no choice but to work at nuclear plants despite fears of radiation exposure. TEPCO has three nuclear power stations -- Fukushima No. 1 and No. 2 and Kashiwazaki-Kariwa in Niigata Prefecture. All three plants are situated in Tohoku Electric Power Co.'s service area. Nevertheless, all power generated at these plants is sent to TEPCO's service area around Tokyo. TEPCO built its nuclear power plants far away from its headquarters in the capital while claiming that the facilities are safe, and won support from the communities that host the plants by creating many jobs for local residents. However, its claim has collapsed.
そんな労働者の話を聞き、原発問題の本質は、「放射能の危険を承知で原発で働く」という地方の重い現実だと感じた。東電は福島第１、第２、新潟県の柏崎刈羽の３原発を持つ。いずれも東電の電力供給エリアではなく、東北電力のエリアだ。この３原発で作った電気はすべて首都圏に送られる。東電は「原発は安全」と胸を張りながら東京の本社から遠い地方に立地し、多大な雇用で地元の支持をつなぎとめてきた。今回、その構図は破綻した。
Ironically, TEPCO is required to play an important role in efforts to restore disaster-hit areas. It is one of a few companies that can create numerous job opportunities in rural areas. Since it is clear that the employment situation will worsen in quake- and tsunami-hit areas, TEPCO has a responsibility to create more jobs for local residents. It remains to be seen how the management of the power supplier will be restructured but in any case, it cannot be recognized that the company has fulfilled its responsibility for the crisis at the nuclear plant even if it uses its own money and public funds to pay compensation to those affected. In addition to paying compensation, TEPCO must create work opportunities.
皮肉にも、今後の復興においても東電の役割は極めて大きい。地方で大きな雇用を生み出せる企業は少ないのだ。現地の雇用情勢が深刻化するのは必至で、東電には雇用に関する責務がある。東電の経営形態がどうなるか不透明だが、公的資金と同社の資金で賠償を行えば済むという話ではない。被災地の未来像を描くためには、補償だけではなく「雇用」が不可欠だ。
TEPCO has responsibility for creating jobs in areas hit by crisis at nuclear plant
記者の目：福島第１原発事故と地方経済＝森禎行
Workers who are trying to repair reactors at the Fukushima No. 1 Nuclear Power Plant, which was hit by a massive tsunami triggered by the March 11 killer quake, are drawing worldwide attention. I have covered their work and their sense of mission in which they are working hard to cool down the reactors and prevent radiation leaks while risking their own lives is indeed respectable.
東京電力福島第１原発（福島県大熊町、双葉町）の事故で、作業にあたる「フクシマの労働者」が世界的に注目されている。私はその作業員たちの取材を続けてきた。命を張った「使命感」はあまりにも尊い。
At the same time, the crisis at the plant demonstrates that the workers have to engage in such dangerous work because the local community relies heavily on the nuclear plant for job opportunities. The regional economy is in such a serious situation.
同時に、その背景に、原発に雇用を頼るがゆえに危険な作業に向かわざるをえない地方経済の深刻さも感じ、胸が痛む。
People living far away from areas affected by the nuclear crisis should also consider ways to create regional communities in which residents can lead their lives without relying on nuclear power plants.
原発に頼らず普通の市民が息づく町づくりを、原発被災地から離れた私たちも考えなければならない。
◇地元雇用が東電と国の責務
I went to the Fukushima Prefecture city of Iwaki -- a core city in the Hamadori district along the Pacific coast -- in late March. Many residents in areas around the plant had traveled to the city in order to take shelter there, and workers who were stuck inside the plant were taking brief breaks there.
私は３月下旬、同県いわき市に入った。太平洋に面した浜通り地方の中核都市だ。原発の周辺住民が避難先として目指し、発電所内に缶詰めだった労働者が休息する場所の一つにもなっていた。
Workers who were allowed to leave the plant after long, harsh work were all tight-lipped. Their long beards and deep wrinkles between their eyebrows illustrated the tough work they were engaged in. The purple-red jerseys they were wearing in place of their contaminated work clothes looked like proof that they were taking a break in a safe place.
発電所からようやく出てきた労働者は、一様に口が重かった。伸び放題のひげと、険しい眉間（みけん）のしわが作業の過酷さを物語っていた。汚染された作業服に代わって着る赤紫色のジャージーが“安息の地”に移った証しに見えた。
Workers at the plant are based in its special quake-resistant building. They cannot enjoy decent meals or sleep properly in such a building. They also confront invisible radiation at the plant.
発電所内の彼らは、免震重要棟という閉ざされた建物を拠点とする。満足な食事や睡眠は望むべくもない。そして、目に見えない放射能と向き合う作業。現実を少しずつだが聞いた。
They say they were unable to promptly grasp the situation at the plant because it was changing so often following the disaster. When a hydrogen explosion occurred in the building housing one of the reactors the day after the quake, a 47-year-old employee of Tokyo Electric Power Co. (TEPCO), who was in the special quake-resistant building, only felt that the vibrations caused by the blast were different from those of a quake. He said he was unable to see through buildings housing reactors that were hundreds of meters away, and learned of the explosion from NHK TV news.
現場でも、刻々と変化する事態はのみ込めなかったという。震災翌日の水素爆発では、免震重要棟にいた東電社員（４７）は「地震とは揺れが違うな」と感じる程度だった。数百メートル離れた原子炉建屋が見通せず、つけっ放しのＮＨＫテレビで「これだったのか」と知ったという。
◇ここで働く使命感と不安
What struck me was that workers range in age from those in their 20s to 60s. It was about 15 years ago that I, a native of Tokyo, met with a worker at a nuclear power plant for the first time. When I talked with a homeless man, he told me proudly, "I previously worked at a nuclear power plant. I was exposed to radiation, but I'm all right." That encounter gave me the impression that single, middle-aged or elderly people work at nuclear plants.
印象深かったのは、年齢が２０代から６０代まで幅広いことだった。東京出身の私が原発労働者に初めて接したのは約１５年前。首都圏の野宿者と話す機会があり、「原発で働いた。被ばくしたけど体は大丈夫」と誇らしげに話した。その話から、単身の中高年が作業するイメージが強かった。
This time, I met with many workers who belong to the same generation as mine and are raising children. A 35-year-old TEPCO employee, who was urged to flee the city of Minami-Soma, said he moved shelters three times. "Still, I was relocated on fewer occasions than many others."
今回、私と同じ子育て世代に多く出会った。南相馬市からの避難を求められた東電社員（３５）は「避難所は３カ所移り、私は少ない方」と申し訳なさそうに話した。
When asked why he chose to return to the crippled plant, he said, "I've been engaged in this work," expressing a sense of mission he harbors.
避難先から職場に戻った理由を尋ねると「この仕事に携わってきた」とはっきりした口調で使命感を語った。
At an evacuation shelter in Iwaki, I interviewed many workers who were at the plant when the disaster struck. There are many offices of subcontractors on the premises of the plant, and a total of some 10,000 people were working at TEPCO's Fukushima No. 1 and No. 2 nuclear power plants. I felt that nuclear plants are at the center of many huge towns. The plants are not just dry machines, but need the support of many people to function.
いわき市内の避難所では、震災当日に発電所にいた多くの労働者を取材した。所内は下請け業者の事務所棟が建ち並ぶ。福島第１、第２を合わせて原発関連で約１万人が働く。巨大な“町”だと改めて感じた。原発は無味乾燥な機械でなく、多くの人の支えで動いていた。
There have been discussions about the risks of radiation leaks from nuclear plants for nearly half a century. Those in favor of nuclear power plants have pointed out that such plants are indispensable in Japan, which is short of natural resources. Opponents have cited their concern about radiation leaks and called for the introduction of substitute energy sources.
「放射能の危険性」の議論は半世紀近く続いてきた。「原発必要派」は、資源の乏しい日本で不可欠だと強調。「不要派」は「放射能の不安が絶えない」と、代替エネルギーの導入を訴えてきた。
A 37-year-old former employee of a subcontractor, who had worked at Fukushima No. 1 Nuclear Power Plant for nearly 20 years, said he is relieved because he will likely find a new job at another nuclear plant.
"Without nuclear power plants, I would lose my job. I now feel relieved because I've learned I'll probably get a new job at another plant," he said at an evacuation shelter.
避難所での取材では、福島第１で２０年近く勤務した元請け会社社員（３７）は「原発が無ければ、仕事は無い。何とか別の原発で働けそうでほっとしている」と話した。
Another employee of a subcontractor in his 30s expressed concern about being forced to work to repair the damaged reactors. "If I'm asked to assist in the work, I'll have no choice but to comply."
別の３０代の下請け会社社員は「応援要請を受けたら行かざるをえない」と不安げに話した。
Their statements demonstrate the serious reality of the regional community -- many local residents have no choice but to work at nuclear plants despite fears of radiation exposure. TEPCO has three nuclear power stations -- Fukushima No. 1 and No. 2 and Kashiwazaki-Kariwa in Niigata Prefecture. All three plants are situated in Tohoku Electric Power Co.'s service area. Nevertheless, all power generated at these plants is sent to TEPCO's service area around Tokyo. TEPCO built its nuclear power plants far away from its headquarters in the capital while claiming that the facilities are safe, and won support from the communities that host the plants by creating many jobs for local residents. However, its claim has collapsed.
そんな労働者の話を聞き、原発問題の本質は、「放射能の危険を承知で原発で働く」という地方の重い現実だと感じた。東電は福島第１、第２、新潟県の柏崎刈羽の３原発を持つ。いずれも東電の電力供給エリアではなく、東北電力のエリアだ。この３原発で作った電気はすべて首都圏に送られる。東電は「原発は安全」と胸を張りながら東京の本社から遠い地方に立地し、多大な雇用で地元の支持をつなぎとめてきた。今回、その構図は破綻した。
Ironically, TEPCO is required to play an important role in efforts to restore disaster-hit areas. It is one of a few companies that can create numerous job opportunities in rural areas. Since it is clear that the employment situation will worsen in quake- and tsunami-hit areas, TEPCO has a responsibility to create more jobs for local residents. It remains to be seen how the management of the power supplier will be restructured but in any case, it cannot be recognized that the company has fulfilled its responsibility for the crisis at the nuclear plant even if it uses its own money and public funds to pay compensation to those affected. In addition to paying compensation, TEPCO must create work opportunities.
皮肉にも、今後の復興においても東電の役割は極めて大きい。地方で大きな雇用を生み出せる企業は少ないのだ。現地の雇用情勢が深刻化するのは必至で、東電には雇用に関する責務がある。東電の経営形態がどうなるか不透明だが、公的資金と同社の資金で賠償を行えば済むという話ではない。被災地の未来像を描くためには、補償だけではなく「雇用」が不可欠だ。
2011年04月06日
住民の集団避難 共同体を全力で守ろう
(Mainichi Japan) April 5, 2011
Protection of communities must take priority in quake restoration efforts
社説：住民の集団避難 共同体を全力で守ろう
An evacuation order affecting residents near the crippled Fukushima No. 1 Nuclear Power Plant looks likely to be prolonged. Residents of the Miyagi Prefecture town of Minami-Sanriku, which was devastated by the March 11 tsunami, have also begun to move to other administrative districts to take shelter until temporary housing is completed in the town.
福島第１原発の周辺で放射性物質漏れ被害から逃れるため居住地を集団で離れた住民の避難生活が長期化の様相をみせている。津波で大きな被害を受けた宮城県南三陸町も仮設住宅ができるまでの間、他自治体への集団避難を開始した。
The government should take all possible measures to ensure evacuated residents maintain their communities while they are taking shelter. Even in cases where residents in the same neighborhoods have been forced to flee to separate shelters, the central government needs to uphold residents' relations with their local governments and prevent them from being isolated.
住民が避難前とできるだけ同じようなコミュニティーを維持しつつ生活できるよう、政府は手を尽くさねばならない。住民が離ればなれに避難せざるを得なかった場合も、故郷の自治体と関係を絶たず、孤立を防ぐ仕組みを検討すべきである。
Eight towns and villages situated around the quake- and tsunami-hit nuclear power plant are particularly threatened by radiation leaking from the power station. These municipalities have not only evacuated their residents or urged them to voluntarily flee their neighborhoods, but also temporarily relocated their municipal government headquarters to other administrative districts.
原発の放射性物質漏れ事故の影響でとりわけ深刻な事態に直面しているのは周辺８町村だ。避難指示や自主避難で住民だけでなく、役場の機能までほかの自治体に移さざるを得ない状況となっている。
The Fukushima Prefecture town of Futaba, which is home to the nuclear plant, has shifted its municipal government headquarters, as well as many of its residents, three times: to the prefecture's town of Kawamata, to Saitama Super Arena and to the building of a now defunct high school in Kazo, Saitama Prefecture. The municipal government of Okuma, Fukushima Prefecture, has decided to collectively relocate its residents to Aizu-Wakamatsu in the same prefecture.
第１原発がある双葉町の場合、多くの住民が役場の機能ごと同県川俣町、さいたまスーパーアリーナ、埼玉県加須市の旧県立高校と３度にわたり移転した。福島県大熊町は会津若松市への集団移転を進めている。
Residents of these areas were forced to flee their homes and take shelter in the wake of devastation caused by the massive March 11 killer quake and tsunami and the ongoing threat of radiation leaks from the nuclear plant. Their plight is immeasurable.
津波被害に追い打ちをかけるような原発事故で着の身着のまま避難し、移転生活を強いられている苦難は察してあまりある。
More than 1,300 residents of Futaba, who are taking shelter in Kazo, are aiming to maintain their communities. The national government has a responsibility to provide housing to these evacuees and take other steps to support their livelihoods and help them maintain their communities, as their time away from home is likely to be prolonged. In fact, it may be better to say that the responsibility lies on the entire nation.
１３００人以上が移り住んだ加須市で双葉町民は従来のコミュニティーを維持しながらの生活を目指すという。集団移転した住民に対し、政府は避難が相当長期化する場合も念頭に置き、住宅確保をはじめとする生活の維持と共同体の存続に取り組む責任がある。それは、私たち国民の責務と言い換えてもいいはずだ。
The national government must eliminate vertically divided administrative functions and be prepared to support education, nursing care, medical services and employment for evacuees as a whole. The local governments of disaster-hit areas from which residents have been evacuated and those in areas where the evacuees are taking shelter need to fully cooperate with each other in ensuring that both groups of residents can get along with each other. The national government should also help lessen the burdens on the local governments, by assisting in the management of data on residents, for example.
教育、医療、介護、雇用の確保などさまざまな分野でタテ割りにならぬよう、一体支援を展開する体制が必要だ。移転先の住民と融和しつつ生活をともにするには被災地、移転先両自治体の連携も欠かせない。住民データの管理など、役場機能の負担軽減策も導入すべきだ。
At the same time, questions remain as to how to maintain the connections between those who have fled their quake- and tsunami-ravaged neighborhoods on an individual basis and the local governments of their hometowns. The central government has not grasped how many residents from disaster-hit areas have fled to other areas. It is an urgent task for the national government to gather such information with the help of the local governments concerned.
一方で、震災で個人や家族単位で他市町村に受け入れられた人をどう故郷の自治体とつなぐかも課題となる。それぞれの被災地から住民が他自治体にどう避難したか、現状では把握しきれていない。政府は移転先の自治体の協力を得て、情報収集を急がねばならない。
It is feared that some residents have lost contact with the local governments of their hometowns after shifting their resident registrations to areas where they are taking shelter, and cannot receive information on relief measures in their hometowns. The central government should implement measures to allow evacuees to receive administrative services from the authorities of the areas where they are taking shelter while maintaining their resident status in their hometown even if their time in shelter is prolonged.
やむを得ず移転先に住民票を移した結果、旧住所の自治体と連絡が途絶え、救援情報が届かなくなる事態が懸念される。本人が希望すれば長期間であっても住民票を移さず、しかも移転先の行政サービスを受けられるような制度を工夫すべきだ。
Evacuees' resident registries will serve as important bonds with the local governments of their hometowns until they return and begin to restore their communities. The central government should regard the protection of the communities in quake- and tsunami-hit areas as the core of its disaster recovery efforts.
住民がやがて舞い戻り、故郷の再建に取り組むまで、住民票は大事な「きずな」となる。政府は共同体の保護を震災の復興政策の一環と位置づけ、特に留意してほしい。
毎日新聞 2011年4月4日 2時31分
Protection of communities must take priority in quake restoration efforts
社説：住民の集団避難 共同体を全力で守ろう
An evacuation order affecting residents near the crippled Fukushima No. 1 Nuclear Power Plant looks likely to be prolonged. Residents of the Miyagi Prefecture town of Minami-Sanriku, which was devastated by the March 11 tsunami, have also begun to move to other administrative districts to take shelter until temporary housing is completed in the town.
福島第１原発の周辺で放射性物質漏れ被害から逃れるため居住地を集団で離れた住民の避難生活が長期化の様相をみせている。津波で大きな被害を受けた宮城県南三陸町も仮設住宅ができるまでの間、他自治体への集団避難を開始した。
The government should take all possible measures to ensure evacuated residents maintain their communities while they are taking shelter. Even in cases where residents in the same neighborhoods have been forced to flee to separate shelters, the central government needs to uphold residents' relations with their local governments and prevent them from being isolated.
住民が避難前とできるだけ同じようなコミュニティーを維持しつつ生活できるよう、政府は手を尽くさねばならない。住民が離ればなれに避難せざるを得なかった場合も、故郷の自治体と関係を絶たず、孤立を防ぐ仕組みを検討すべきである。
Eight towns and villages situated around the quake- and tsunami-hit nuclear power plant are particularly threatened by radiation leaking from the power station. These municipalities have not only evacuated their residents or urged them to voluntarily flee their neighborhoods, but also temporarily relocated their municipal government headquarters to other administrative districts.
原発の放射性物質漏れ事故の影響でとりわけ深刻な事態に直面しているのは周辺８町村だ。避難指示や自主避難で住民だけでなく、役場の機能までほかの自治体に移さざるを得ない状況となっている。
The Fukushima Prefecture town of Futaba, which is home to the nuclear plant, has shifted its municipal government headquarters, as well as many of its residents, three times: to the prefecture's town of Kawamata, to Saitama Super Arena and to the building of a now defunct high school in Kazo, Saitama Prefecture. The municipal government of Okuma, Fukushima Prefecture, has decided to collectively relocate its residents to Aizu-Wakamatsu in the same prefecture.
第１原発がある双葉町の場合、多くの住民が役場の機能ごと同県川俣町、さいたまスーパーアリーナ、埼玉県加須市の旧県立高校と３度にわたり移転した。福島県大熊町は会津若松市への集団移転を進めている。
Residents of these areas were forced to flee their homes and take shelter in the wake of devastation caused by the massive March 11 killer quake and tsunami and the ongoing threat of radiation leaks from the nuclear plant. Their plight is immeasurable.
津波被害に追い打ちをかけるような原発事故で着の身着のまま避難し、移転生活を強いられている苦難は察してあまりある。
More than 1,300 residents of Futaba, who are taking shelter in Kazo, are aiming to maintain their communities. The national government has a responsibility to provide housing to these evacuees and take other steps to support their livelihoods and help them maintain their communities, as their time away from home is likely to be prolonged. In fact, it may be better to say that the responsibility lies on the entire nation.
１３００人以上が移り住んだ加須市で双葉町民は従来のコミュニティーを維持しながらの生活を目指すという。集団移転した住民に対し、政府は避難が相当長期化する場合も念頭に置き、住宅確保をはじめとする生活の維持と共同体の存続に取り組む責任がある。それは、私たち国民の責務と言い換えてもいいはずだ。
The national government must eliminate vertically divided administrative functions and be prepared to support education, nursing care, medical services and employment for evacuees as a whole. The local governments of disaster-hit areas from which residents have been evacuated and those in areas where the evacuees are taking shelter need to fully cooperate with each other in ensuring that both groups of residents can get along with each other. The national government should also help lessen the burdens on the local governments, by assisting in the management of data on residents, for example.
教育、医療、介護、雇用の確保などさまざまな分野でタテ割りにならぬよう、一体支援を展開する体制が必要だ。移転先の住民と融和しつつ生活をともにするには被災地、移転先両自治体の連携も欠かせない。住民データの管理など、役場機能の負担軽減策も導入すべきだ。
At the same time, questions remain as to how to maintain the connections between those who have fled their quake- and tsunami-ravaged neighborhoods on an individual basis and the local governments of their hometowns. The central government has not grasped how many residents from disaster-hit areas have fled to other areas. It is an urgent task for the national government to gather such information with the help of the local governments concerned.
一方で、震災で個人や家族単位で他市町村に受け入れられた人をどう故郷の自治体とつなぐかも課題となる。それぞれの被災地から住民が他自治体にどう避難したか、現状では把握しきれていない。政府は移転先の自治体の協力を得て、情報収集を急がねばならない。
It is feared that some residents have lost contact with the local governments of their hometowns after shifting their resident registrations to areas where they are taking shelter, and cannot receive information on relief measures in their hometowns. The central government should implement measures to allow evacuees to receive administrative services from the authorities of the areas where they are taking shelter while maintaining their resident status in their hometown even if their time in shelter is prolonged.
やむを得ず移転先に住民票を移した結果、旧住所の自治体と連絡が途絶え、救援情報が届かなくなる事態が懸念される。本人が希望すれば長期間であっても住民票を移さず、しかも移転先の行政サービスを受けられるような制度を工夫すべきだ。
Evacuees' resident registries will serve as important bonds with the local governments of their hometowns until they return and begin to restore their communities. The central government should regard the protection of the communities in quake- and tsunami-hit areas as the core of its disaster recovery efforts.
住民がやがて舞い戻り、故郷の再建に取り組むまで、住民票は大事な「きずな」となる。政府は共同体の保護を震災の復興政策の一環と位置づけ、特に留意してほしい。
毎日新聞 2011年4月4日 2時31分
2011年04月05日
カメラマンとして
毎日新聞若手記者の力作です。
この記事の編集途中、胸がつまり涙がこぼれました。
（スラチャイ記）
(Mainichi Japan) April 4, 2011
Photographer battles with emotions as he confronts tsunami destruction head-on
大震災と報道：直面した「死」、本質どう伝える がれきの中で自問続け
新聞に載った１枚の写真に、胸を打たれることがある。長文の記事より多くのことを伝えることも。この大津波後の現場ではどうだったのか。「大震災と報道」特集は、写真部員の現場報告と合わせ、「読者に届けたい」の一心で困難に立ち向かった、新聞販売店の奮闘ぶりの一端を報告したい。
◇カメラマンとして
Early in the morning on March 12, the day after a massive earthquake and tsunami struck Japan's Tohoku region, I arrived at the Gamo district of Sendai.
震災発生翌日の１２日早朝。私は仙台市宮城野区の蒲生地区に入った。
"There are dead bodies everywhere," people said.
「そのあたりでいっぱい死んでいる」。人々が口々に訴えていた。
What used to be a residential area of about 300 households had disappeared. Mud covered the first and second floors of a nearby elementary school. Pallid locals who had survived by escaping to the roof of the building said that it was "hell." Bodies lay across the rubble as firefighters searched for survivors. Aftershocks and tsunami continued, one after another. Waves about a meter high surged upstream on the Nanakitagawa River.
約３００戸の住宅街は消えていた。近くの小学校は２階部分まで泥だらけ。「地獄だ」。屋上で難を逃れた人たちが青ざめていた。遺体がそばにあるのに、消防隊員は生存者の捜索で手いっぱい。余震が続き、津波が次々に来る。目の前の七北田川では高さ１メートルほどの波がはるか上流までさかのぼっていった。
That afternoon, I made my way to nearby Sendai port, where any traces of it being a bustling weekend shopping area were now gone. Remnants of trucks and buildings blocked the roads, and people carrying their belongings under both arms formed long lines.
午後、近くの仙台港に移動した。週末ににぎわうショッピングエリアの変わり果てた姿。トラックや建物の残骸が道路をふさぎ、両手に荷物を抱えた人の行列が続く。
I found the body of a man, naked from the waist up, in the rubble. People hurried on their way, and did not stop to look at the man. I took several photos of him, but didn't send them in to the office.
上半身裸の男性の遺体が、がれきの中であらわになっていた。人々は見向きもせず、先を急ぐ。私は男性の写真を数枚撮ったが、送稿はしなかった。
It was in my fifth year as a reporter at the paper that I decided that I wanted to show the public exactly what I was seeing in the field, and switched to being a photographer. Now stationed at the Sendai Bureau, I call Sendai home. Never in my wildest dreams did I imagine that such destruction would strike my city. I just can't make any sense of it, and there have been moments when I just don't want to see any of this anymore.
「自分の目で現実を見て、そのまま伝えたい」。そう考えた私は入社５年目、記者から写真記者になった。いまは仙台支局に駐在してこの街で暮らす。自分の街がこんなことになるとは。気持ちの整理がつかない。「もうこれ以上見たくない」とも思った。
On March 13, I headed to Higashi-Matsushima, where over 200 bodies had been found. I had just been in the city the day before the earthquake to cover ice-fish fishing, which was in its high season. Just a few days later, I watched as Self-Defense Force (SDF) members carried body after body wrapped in blankets. I clicked away on my camera from a distance. A photographer from another newspaper followed the SDF troops, but I refused to entertain ideas of where they were headed. I told myself that it was getting too dark, anyway, and left to go home.
翌１３日。２００人以上の遺体が見つかった宮城県東松島市に向かった。まさに震災前夜、最盛期のシラウオ漁を取材するため訪れた場所だった。自衛隊員が毛布に包んだ遺体を次々に運ぶ。私は遠くからシャッターを切った。他社のカメラマンは遺体を追いかけて行った。その先に何があるのかを、私は考えようとしなかった。「もう日が暮れるから」などと自分に言い聞かせ、その場を離れた。
Meanwhile, my colleagues had been covering what lay beyond what I had been willing to see. It was their photos of mud-covered bodies being laid on the floor of gymnasiums used as makeshift morgues with family members collapsing in tears next to them that captured the true essence of the tsunami. The real tragedy of the monstrous waves is not that entire cities were reduced to rubble, but that many people died. I had been trying to avert my eyes from those deaths.
その日、同僚は「その先」で取材していた。泥まみれの遺体が並ぶ「安置所」の体育館。泣き崩れる遺族を写した写真は、今回の津波の本質を切り取っていたと思う。震災の本当の悲惨さは、街ががれきと化したことではなく、多くの人が死んだことにあるのだ。私は「死」から目を背けていたのだ。
How am I supposed to share what's actually happening at the disaster sites with our readers? There are weekly magazines that have published photos of dead bodies, and some argue that newspapers should do the same. Right now, though, I don't know what the right answer is. Since the tsunami, I've had bad dreams numerous times. In those dreams, I try frantically to run to safety, but my legs refuse to move. Just as I'm about to be swallowed by a tidal wave, I wake up. I worry that readers would also suffer from nightmares if certain photos were to be published in the paper.
この現場の本当の姿を伝えるにはどうしたらいいのだろう。一部の週刊誌は遺体そのものを掲載し、新聞にも載せるべきだという議論がある。だが、いまの私には分からない。私は最近、津波に襲われる夢を何度も見る。必死に逃げようとするが足が動かず、津波にのみ込まれそうになる場面で目が覚める。新聞の写真を見て読者が悪夢に襲われたらと思ってしまう。
Regardless, I still recognize the significance of photography. On March 22, 11 days after the quake, I flew into Miyagi Prefecture's Tashiro Island, located off the coast of Ishinomaki, on an SDF helicopter. Residents of the island were at a loss for words when they saw the newspaper I had brought with me. Radios had been their single source of information for over 10 days, and only when they saw the images of destruction were they able to fully comprehend how bad the situation was.
ただ、写真は大切だと強く思う。震災発生から１１日後の２２日、宮城県石巻市の沖合にある田代島に自衛隊ヘリで入った。持参した新聞の写真を見た住民は、「こんなひどいのか」と絶句していた。１０日以上情報源はラジオだけだったという。写真で見て初めて、各地の惨状が理解できたのだ。
Three weeks have passed since the massive temblor and ensuing tsunami, and many people are still making the rounds at morgues in search of missing family members. There have been signs of hope, too, however. One morning when temperatures plunged to subzero, I met Kyoko Kato, a 59-year-old woman taking refuge at an evacuation shelter in the city of Kesennuma. Washing clothes in ice-cold water with her bare hands, Kato smiled and said, "Feeling the cold is proof that I'm alive." I captured her chapped skin with my camera.
発生から３週間たっても多くの人が遺体安置所を回り、肉親を捜し続けている。その一方で、少しずつ変化も見られる。宮城県気仙沼市の避難所。氷点下の気温となった朝、真水で黙々と洗濯する人がいた。加藤京子さん（５９）。「冷たいと感じるのは生きている証しだっちゃ」と笑った。そのあかぎれの手を写真に収めた。
Later that day, I ran into Kato in the hallway of the shelter. "You don't have any food with you, do you? Wait right here," Kato said, and came back with a cream-filled roll and tomato juice that had been distributed to the evacuees. I told her that I couldn't accept something so precious, but she would have none of that.
その昼、避難所の廊下で会った加藤さんは、私を覚えていてくれた。「あんた、ご飯ないんでしょ。ちょっと待ってなさい」と言って、配給されたクリームパンとトマトジュースを差し出す。「そんな貴重な物、もらえません」と固辞しても押しつける。
"Yesterday, some volunteers sang for us. It went something like 'Let us be thankful for hearts more than for things,' and it made me cry," Kato said, and with a smile, she left. Cream oozed out of the roll as I bit into it, and melted in my mouth. "Delicious," I thought, as tears streamed down my face.
「昨日ね、ボランティアの人の歌を聞いたの。物より心に感謝しようって。泣けちゃってさ」。小さな笑い声を残し、加藤さんは立ち去った。遠慮しつつパンをほおばる。クリームが口の中でとろけ、「うまいなー」と思った瞬間、涙がぼろぼろこぼれてきた。
What are we human beings doing here on earth? What is the meaning of life? These are questions that I've ruminated on before, but find myself asking again. The sight of disaster victims trying to get on with their lives -- despite having seen so many people die senseless deaths -- makes me realize that I can't look away. I have to keep confronting this reality, and capturing it with my camera. (By Hiroshi Maruyama, Photo Department)
人間ってなんだろう。命ってなんだろう。今まで何度も考えてきたはずのことを自問している。多くの理不尽な死に直面し、そしてそれでも生活を始めた被災者の姿。私はやはり、見なくてはならないと思う。見て、撮り続けなければと。
この記事の編集途中、胸がつまり涙がこぼれました。
（スラチャイ記）
(Mainichi Japan) April 4, 2011
Photographer battles with emotions as he confronts tsunami destruction head-on
大震災と報道：直面した「死」、本質どう伝える がれきの中で自問続け
新聞に載った１枚の写真に、胸を打たれることがある。長文の記事より多くのことを伝えることも。この大津波後の現場ではどうだったのか。「大震災と報道」特集は、写真部員の現場報告と合わせ、「読者に届けたい」の一心で困難に立ち向かった、新聞販売店の奮闘ぶりの一端を報告したい。
◇カメラマンとして
Early in the morning on March 12, the day after a massive earthquake and tsunami struck Japan's Tohoku region, I arrived at the Gamo district of Sendai.
震災発生翌日の１２日早朝。私は仙台市宮城野区の蒲生地区に入った。
"There are dead bodies everywhere," people said.
「そのあたりでいっぱい死んでいる」。人々が口々に訴えていた。
What used to be a residential area of about 300 households had disappeared. Mud covered the first and second floors of a nearby elementary school. Pallid locals who had survived by escaping to the roof of the building said that it was "hell." Bodies lay across the rubble as firefighters searched for survivors. Aftershocks and tsunami continued, one after another. Waves about a meter high surged upstream on the Nanakitagawa River.
約３００戸の住宅街は消えていた。近くの小学校は２階部分まで泥だらけ。「地獄だ」。屋上で難を逃れた人たちが青ざめていた。遺体がそばにあるのに、消防隊員は生存者の捜索で手いっぱい。余震が続き、津波が次々に来る。目の前の七北田川では高さ１メートルほどの波がはるか上流までさかのぼっていった。
That afternoon, I made my way to nearby Sendai port, where any traces of it being a bustling weekend shopping area were now gone. Remnants of trucks and buildings blocked the roads, and people carrying their belongings under both arms formed long lines.
午後、近くの仙台港に移動した。週末ににぎわうショッピングエリアの変わり果てた姿。トラックや建物の残骸が道路をふさぎ、両手に荷物を抱えた人の行列が続く。
I found the body of a man, naked from the waist up, in the rubble. People hurried on their way, and did not stop to look at the man. I took several photos of him, but didn't send them in to the office.
上半身裸の男性の遺体が、がれきの中であらわになっていた。人々は見向きもせず、先を急ぐ。私は男性の写真を数枚撮ったが、送稿はしなかった。
It was in my fifth year as a reporter at the paper that I decided that I wanted to show the public exactly what I was seeing in the field, and switched to being a photographer. Now stationed at the Sendai Bureau, I call Sendai home. Never in my wildest dreams did I imagine that such destruction would strike my city. I just can't make any sense of it, and there have been moments when I just don't want to see any of this anymore.
「自分の目で現実を見て、そのまま伝えたい」。そう考えた私は入社５年目、記者から写真記者になった。いまは仙台支局に駐在してこの街で暮らす。自分の街がこんなことになるとは。気持ちの整理がつかない。「もうこれ以上見たくない」とも思った。
On March 13, I headed to Higashi-Matsushima, where over 200 bodies had been found. I had just been in the city the day before the earthquake to cover ice-fish fishing, which was in its high season. Just a few days later, I watched as Self-Defense Force (SDF) members carried body after body wrapped in blankets. I clicked away on my camera from a distance. A photographer from another newspaper followed the SDF troops, but I refused to entertain ideas of where they were headed. I told myself that it was getting too dark, anyway, and left to go home.
翌１３日。２００人以上の遺体が見つかった宮城県東松島市に向かった。まさに震災前夜、最盛期のシラウオ漁を取材するため訪れた場所だった。自衛隊員が毛布に包んだ遺体を次々に運ぶ。私は遠くからシャッターを切った。他社のカメラマンは遺体を追いかけて行った。その先に何があるのかを、私は考えようとしなかった。「もう日が暮れるから」などと自分に言い聞かせ、その場を離れた。
Meanwhile, my colleagues had been covering what lay beyond what I had been willing to see. It was their photos of mud-covered bodies being laid on the floor of gymnasiums used as makeshift morgues with family members collapsing in tears next to them that captured the true essence of the tsunami. The real tragedy of the monstrous waves is not that entire cities were reduced to rubble, but that many people died. I had been trying to avert my eyes from those deaths.
その日、同僚は「その先」で取材していた。泥まみれの遺体が並ぶ「安置所」の体育館。泣き崩れる遺族を写した写真は、今回の津波の本質を切り取っていたと思う。震災の本当の悲惨さは、街ががれきと化したことではなく、多くの人が死んだことにあるのだ。私は「死」から目を背けていたのだ。
How am I supposed to share what's actually happening at the disaster sites with our readers? There are weekly magazines that have published photos of dead bodies, and some argue that newspapers should do the same. Right now, though, I don't know what the right answer is. Since the tsunami, I've had bad dreams numerous times. In those dreams, I try frantically to run to safety, but my legs refuse to move. Just as I'm about to be swallowed by a tidal wave, I wake up. I worry that readers would also suffer from nightmares if certain photos were to be published in the paper.
この現場の本当の姿を伝えるにはどうしたらいいのだろう。一部の週刊誌は遺体そのものを掲載し、新聞にも載せるべきだという議論がある。だが、いまの私には分からない。私は最近、津波に襲われる夢を何度も見る。必死に逃げようとするが足が動かず、津波にのみ込まれそうになる場面で目が覚める。新聞の写真を見て読者が悪夢に襲われたらと思ってしまう。
Regardless, I still recognize the significance of photography. On March 22, 11 days after the quake, I flew into Miyagi Prefecture's Tashiro Island, located off the coast of Ishinomaki, on an SDF helicopter. Residents of the island were at a loss for words when they saw the newspaper I had brought with me. Radios had been their single source of information for over 10 days, and only when they saw the images of destruction were they able to fully comprehend how bad the situation was.
ただ、写真は大切だと強く思う。震災発生から１１日後の２２日、宮城県石巻市の沖合にある田代島に自衛隊ヘリで入った。持参した新聞の写真を見た住民は、「こんなひどいのか」と絶句していた。１０日以上情報源はラジオだけだったという。写真で見て初めて、各地の惨状が理解できたのだ。
Three weeks have passed since the massive temblor and ensuing tsunami, and many people are still making the rounds at morgues in search of missing family members. There have been signs of hope, too, however. One morning when temperatures plunged to subzero, I met Kyoko Kato, a 59-year-old woman taking refuge at an evacuation shelter in the city of Kesennuma. Washing clothes in ice-cold water with her bare hands, Kato smiled and said, "Feeling the cold is proof that I'm alive." I captured her chapped skin with my camera.
発生から３週間たっても多くの人が遺体安置所を回り、肉親を捜し続けている。その一方で、少しずつ変化も見られる。宮城県気仙沼市の避難所。氷点下の気温となった朝、真水で黙々と洗濯する人がいた。加藤京子さん（５９）。「冷たいと感じるのは生きている証しだっちゃ」と笑った。そのあかぎれの手を写真に収めた。
Later that day, I ran into Kato in the hallway of the shelter. "You don't have any food with you, do you? Wait right here," Kato said, and came back with a cream-filled roll and tomato juice that had been distributed to the evacuees. I told her that I couldn't accept something so precious, but she would have none of that.
その昼、避難所の廊下で会った加藤さんは、私を覚えていてくれた。「あんた、ご飯ないんでしょ。ちょっと待ってなさい」と言って、配給されたクリームパンとトマトジュースを差し出す。「そんな貴重な物、もらえません」と固辞しても押しつける。
"Yesterday, some volunteers sang for us. It went something like 'Let us be thankful for hearts more than for things,' and it made me cry," Kato said, and with a smile, she left. Cream oozed out of the roll as I bit into it, and melted in my mouth. "Delicious," I thought, as tears streamed down my face.
「昨日ね、ボランティアの人の歌を聞いたの。物より心に感謝しようって。泣けちゃってさ」。小さな笑い声を残し、加藤さんは立ち去った。遠慮しつつパンをほおばる。クリームが口の中でとろけ、「うまいなー」と思った瞬間、涙がぼろぼろこぼれてきた。
What are we human beings doing here on earth? What is the meaning of life? These are questions that I've ruminated on before, but find myself asking again. The sight of disaster victims trying to get on with their lives -- despite having seen so many people die senseless deaths -- makes me realize that I can't look away. I have to keep confronting this reality, and capturing it with my camera. (By Hiroshi Maruyama, Photo Department)
人間ってなんだろう。命ってなんだろう。今まで何度も考えてきたはずのことを自問している。多くの理不尽な死に直面し、そしてそれでも生活を始めた被災者の姿。私はやはり、見なくてはならないと思う。見て、撮り続けなければと。
2011年04月04日
不安が判断力を奪う
(Mainichi Japan) April 3, 2011
Kaleidoscope of the Heart: Disaster anxiety disrupts judgment
香山リカのココロの万華鏡：不安が判断力を奪う ／東京
In addition to the giant earthquake on March 11 and the tsunami it generated, more and more problems have occurred at the quake-hit nuclear power plant in Fukushima Prefecture. Although their homes may have been spared from the tsunami, it is difficult to imagine the feelings of those who have had to evacuate from areas around the plant because of radiation.
地震や津波に加えて、原発の被害が拡大している。震災で家がなくなったわけではないのに、地元を離れて避難しなければならない人たちの無念さは、どれほどのものであろう。
One result of the plant crisis was that residents in the Tokyo metropolitan area were advised to not to allow infants to drink tap water. Levels of radioactive substances over health standards had been detected at a water filtration plant in the capital, spreading anxiety among many people.
Because of all this, I am now seeing patients visit my consultation room saying they are worried about radiation.
首都圏でも「乳児には水道水を飲ませないで」という呼びかけが行われ、多くの人が不安を感じている。
One said, "No matter how much I wash my hands, I can't shake the worry that they might be tainted with radioactive substances."
"I felt nauseated after drinking tea made with tap water," another said.
診察室には早くも、「手を洗っても洗っても放射性物質がついている気がして」「水道水でいれたお茶を飲んだら吐き気がした」などと訴える人が訪れ始めている。
In one extreme case, a person had been refraining from deep breathing out of fear of inhaling radiation, and they panicked after feeling a pain in their chest.
「呼吸するだけで放射能に汚染されるのでは」と深い呼吸を控えているうちに、胸が苦しくなりパニック状態に陥った人もいた。
Although these people are probably overly worried, the effects of these worries should not be taken lightly. The worries themselves can make people feel ill, adversely affecting their work and daily lives.
おそらくそれらは“気のせい”なのだが、だからといって軽く考えることはできない。場合によっては、本当に体調に変化が生じ、仕事や生活に支障が出てくることもある。
Overly worrying can make it impossible for us to make calm judgments, discouraging us from doing something, or conversely making us act impulsively. These worries can be more harmful than the reality that has spawned them.
「こうなったらどうしよう」と悪いことを先取りして感じる「不安」は、私たちにとって最大の敵だ。気持ちを萎縮させ、冷静な判断ができなくなり、動きを止めたり衝動に走らせたりする。考えようによっては、実際に起きている困難以上に有害だともいえるのだ。
The other day, I had an opportunity to talk with people in quake- and tsunami-hit areas.
先日、被災地の方と直接、話をする機会があった。
"Many people in Tokyo who are scared that tap water might be contaminated with radiation have stocked up on mineral water," I told them.
"We here are glad just to have our tap water running again," one of them responded.
「東京では水道水を怖れる人がミネラルウオーターの買い占めている」と話すと、「こっちは水道が復旧しただけで大喜びなのに」と言われた。
It is true that the crisis at the nuclear plant does not paint a pretty picture. It is feared that radioactive contamination of air and soil could continue for a long time. However, it is a big problem that some people outside of the disaster-hit areas, who need to support those in them, have stricken by panic and cannot lead their lives normally.
たしかに、原発の状況は予断を許さず、今後、長期にわたって大気や土壌の汚染が続くことが懸念される。しかし、いま被災地を支えなければならない人たちまでが、不安からパニック状態に陥り、自分の生活を送ることさえできなくなる、というのは大きな問題だ。
Close attention should be paid to the crisis at the nuclear power plant. However, I would like everyone to keep in mind that worry can breed more worry, robbing us of our judgment. We should continually ask ourselves if our worry is constructive, and try to stay calm when we can.
原発の問題は、これからも目を見張り、耳をすまして注意を続けたい。ただ、ひとつ、覚えておいてほしいことがある。それは、いったん「不安」にとりつかれると、それは雪だるま式に増大し続け、私たちから思考力や判断力を奪ってしまう可能性がある、ということだ。「私の感じている『不安』は、必要以上に膨れすぎてはいないか」と、常に自分に問いかけて冷静さを取り戻す必要がある。
There are many people in the disaster-hit areas who can't wonder about whether or not to drink tap water because it's not running in the first place. While keeping that in mind, let us continue to keep watch over the development of the crisis and live our lives. (By Rika Kayama, psychiatrist)
「水道水を飲んでよいかどうかという前に、その水がまだ出ないのだ」と言っている人たちも、いまだに被災地には大勢いる。そのことを心にとめながら、事態の推移を見守り、自分の態度を決めていきたい。
毎日新聞 2011年3月29日 地方版
Kaleidoscope of the Heart: Disaster anxiety disrupts judgment
香山リカのココロの万華鏡：不安が判断力を奪う ／東京
In addition to the giant earthquake on March 11 and the tsunami it generated, more and more problems have occurred at the quake-hit nuclear power plant in Fukushima Prefecture. Although their homes may have been spared from the tsunami, it is difficult to imagine the feelings of those who have had to evacuate from areas around the plant because of radiation.
地震や津波に加えて、原発の被害が拡大している。震災で家がなくなったわけではないのに、地元を離れて避難しなければならない人たちの無念さは、どれほどのものであろう。
One result of the plant crisis was that residents in the Tokyo metropolitan area were advised to not to allow infants to drink tap water. Levels of radioactive substances over health standards had been detected at a water filtration plant in the capital, spreading anxiety among many people.
Because of all this, I am now seeing patients visit my consultation room saying they are worried about radiation.
首都圏でも「乳児には水道水を飲ませないで」という呼びかけが行われ、多くの人が不安を感じている。
One said, "No matter how much I wash my hands, I can't shake the worry that they might be tainted with radioactive substances."
"I felt nauseated after drinking tea made with tap water," another said.
診察室には早くも、「手を洗っても洗っても放射性物質がついている気がして」「水道水でいれたお茶を飲んだら吐き気がした」などと訴える人が訪れ始めている。
In one extreme case, a person had been refraining from deep breathing out of fear of inhaling radiation, and they panicked after feeling a pain in their chest.
「呼吸するだけで放射能に汚染されるのでは」と深い呼吸を控えているうちに、胸が苦しくなりパニック状態に陥った人もいた。
Although these people are probably overly worried, the effects of these worries should not be taken lightly. The worries themselves can make people feel ill, adversely affecting their work and daily lives.
おそらくそれらは“気のせい”なのだが、だからといって軽く考えることはできない。場合によっては、本当に体調に変化が生じ、仕事や生活に支障が出てくることもある。
Overly worrying can make it impossible for us to make calm judgments, discouraging us from doing something, or conversely making us act impulsively. These worries can be more harmful than the reality that has spawned them.
「こうなったらどうしよう」と悪いことを先取りして感じる「不安」は、私たちにとって最大の敵だ。気持ちを萎縮させ、冷静な判断ができなくなり、動きを止めたり衝動に走らせたりする。考えようによっては、実際に起きている困難以上に有害だともいえるのだ。
The other day, I had an opportunity to talk with people in quake- and tsunami-hit areas.
先日、被災地の方と直接、話をする機会があった。
"Many people in Tokyo who are scared that tap water might be contaminated with radiation have stocked up on mineral water," I told them.
"We here are glad just to have our tap water running again," one of them responded.
「東京では水道水を怖れる人がミネラルウオーターの買い占めている」と話すと、「こっちは水道が復旧しただけで大喜びなのに」と言われた。
It is true that the crisis at the nuclear plant does not paint a pretty picture. It is feared that radioactive contamination of air and soil could continue for a long time. However, it is a big problem that some people outside of the disaster-hit areas, who need to support those in them, have stricken by panic and cannot lead their lives normally.
たしかに、原発の状況は予断を許さず、今後、長期にわたって大気や土壌の汚染が続くことが懸念される。しかし、いま被災地を支えなければならない人たちまでが、不安からパニック状態に陥り、自分の生活を送ることさえできなくなる、というのは大きな問題だ。
Close attention should be paid to the crisis at the nuclear power plant. However, I would like everyone to keep in mind that worry can breed more worry, robbing us of our judgment. We should continually ask ourselves if our worry is constructive, and try to stay calm when we can.
原発の問題は、これからも目を見張り、耳をすまして注意を続けたい。ただ、ひとつ、覚えておいてほしいことがある。それは、いったん「不安」にとりつかれると、それは雪だるま式に増大し続け、私たちから思考力や判断力を奪ってしまう可能性がある、ということだ。「私の感じている『不安』は、必要以上に膨れすぎてはいないか」と、常に自分に問いかけて冷静さを取り戻す必要がある。
There are many people in the disaster-hit areas who can't wonder about whether or not to drink tap water because it's not running in the first place. While keeping that in mind, let us continue to keep watch over the development of the crisis and live our lives. (By Rika Kayama, psychiatrist)
「水道水を飲んでよいかどうかという前に、その水がまだ出ないのだ」と言っている人たちも、いまだに被災地には大勢いる。そのことを心にとめながら、事態の推移を見守り、自分の態度を決めていきたい。
毎日新聞 2011年3月29日 地方版
2011年04月02日
やさしさの輪
震災から３週間、世界の優しさに感動する毎日だ。
素早い対応で日本の手助けを即実行されたオバマ大統領。
自国の電力も十分でないのにあえてガスタービン発電機器を貸与してくれたタイ。
破格ともいえる台湾市民のチャリティーイベントとドネーション。
原発事故処理の手助けを申し出てそれを実行するフランス。
いま世界にやさしさの輪が広がろうとしている。
（スラチャイ記）
(Mainichi Japan) April 1, 2011
Compassion seen on all sides seen after Japan's disasters
余録：やさしさの輪
U.S. rescue teams dispatched to the tsunami-ravaged Iwate Prefecture cities of Ofunato and Kamaishi were taken aback by the devastating scene in front of them.
岩手県の大船渡と釜石に入った米救援隊の消防士はその惨状に驚く。
But what they found more striking were their encounters with the locals.
"I haven't got much," said a woman whose shop had been reduced to rubble, as she offered rice crackers to the workers.
それにもまして印象深かったのは倒壊したある店の女性主人だった。その人は「何もありませんが」とせんべいを差し出したのだ
Likewise, a member of a Chinese rescue team in Ofunato recalls being thanked by local passersby for traveling such a long way to help, receiving candy and snacks from them.
同じく大船渡市で捜索活動をした中国の援助隊員は、通りがかりの住民に「遠くからわざわざありがとう」と声をかけられ、アメや菓子を手渡された。
Another worker who tried to buy food at a convenience store said payment was refused when the shop staff realized the customer was helping in relief efforts. The worker ended up being given instant noodles and rice balls for free.
別の隊員は現地コンビニで「援助隊なら」と代金の受け取りを拒まれ、カップ麺やおにぎりの提供を受けたという
Such acts of compassion among the Japanese in the face of hardship have touched the hearts of many overseas, but those in other countries have been showing plenty of compassion themselves.
苦境にあっても思いやりを失わぬ被災者の姿は外国人に感銘を与えた。だが、外国の人々も負けてはいない。
Present and former residents of an orphanage in Malaysia, for example, raised money through a donation drive. The money, along with a message of encouragement, was delivered to the Japanese Embassy in Malaysia.
マレーシアのある孤児院では孤児が修道女らに働きかけて被災地への募金活動を始め、自分らと卒業生の分も含む義援金と激励の言葉を日本大使館に寄せた
Meanwhile, 40 Pakistani children with thalassemia, a blood disease also known as Mediterranean anemia, and the head of a welfare organization donated 10 soccer balls to a Japanese Consulate for Japanese children in the disaster areas.
パキスタンの地中海性貧血を患う子供たち４０人は福祉団体代表と共に日本の領事館へ被災地の子供たちにとサッカーボール１０個を寄贈した。
Japan has received words of gratitude and encouragement as well as monetary donations from developing countries in Asia grateful for the support Japan has provided them in the past, both during normal times and after disasters have struck.
アジアの途上国からは過去の日本の援助や災害支援への感謝と共に寄せられる義援金やお見舞いのメッセージが相次いでいる
Elsewhere, poor students living in Brazil's impoverished regions have offered change they collected in empty cans, while an 8-year-old from Sweden was talking about wanting to use allowance money to send water to Japan. There was also a taxi driver in Poland who refused to accept fare from Japanese passengers, and a Russian gentleman who disappeared after dropping off a massive amount of money and wishing Japan well.
空き缶に小銭を集めたブラジルの貧しい地区の生徒たち、お小遣いで被災者に水を送りたいというスウェーデンの８歳の子、日本人からは代金を取れないと言ったポーランドのタクシー運転手、巨額の金と「がんばって」との一言だけを残していったロシアの紳士−−
In the post-earthquake days, people's kindness and compassion have been seen in small acts everywhere. We hope that with these acts, the sadness enveloping the areas affected by the earthquake, tsunami and other crises will be healed. ("Yoroku," a front-page column in the Mainichi Shimbun)
人へのやさしさや思いやりが地球のあちこちで小さな奇跡を起こし続けている「３・１１」後である。今は被災地を覆う深い悲しみも、いつかはこの奇跡の輪の中でいやされる日が来るよう祈る。
毎日新聞 2011年4月1日 0時22分
素早い対応で日本の手助けを即実行されたオバマ大統領。
自国の電力も十分でないのにあえてガスタービン発電機器を貸与してくれたタイ。
破格ともいえる台湾市民のチャリティーイベントとドネーション。
原発事故処理の手助けを申し出てそれを実行するフランス。
いま世界にやさしさの輪が広がろうとしている。
（スラチャイ記）
(Mainichi Japan) April 1, 2011
Compassion seen on all sides seen after Japan's disasters
余録：やさしさの輪
U.S. rescue teams dispatched to the tsunami-ravaged Iwate Prefecture cities of Ofunato and Kamaishi were taken aback by the devastating scene in front of them.
岩手県の大船渡と釜石に入った米救援隊の消防士はその惨状に驚く。
But what they found more striking were their encounters with the locals.
"I haven't got much," said a woman whose shop had been reduced to rubble, as she offered rice crackers to the workers.
それにもまして印象深かったのは倒壊したある店の女性主人だった。その人は「何もありませんが」とせんべいを差し出したのだ
Likewise, a member of a Chinese rescue team in Ofunato recalls being thanked by local passersby for traveling such a long way to help, receiving candy and snacks from them.
同じく大船渡市で捜索活動をした中国の援助隊員は、通りがかりの住民に「遠くからわざわざありがとう」と声をかけられ、アメや菓子を手渡された。
Another worker who tried to buy food at a convenience store said payment was refused when the shop staff realized the customer was helping in relief efforts. The worker ended up being given instant noodles and rice balls for free.
別の隊員は現地コンビニで「援助隊なら」と代金の受け取りを拒まれ、カップ麺やおにぎりの提供を受けたという
Such acts of compassion among the Japanese in the face of hardship have touched the hearts of many overseas, but those in other countries have been showing plenty of compassion themselves.
苦境にあっても思いやりを失わぬ被災者の姿は外国人に感銘を与えた。だが、外国の人々も負けてはいない。
Present and former residents of an orphanage in Malaysia, for example, raised money through a donation drive. The money, along with a message of encouragement, was delivered to the Japanese Embassy in Malaysia.
マレーシアのある孤児院では孤児が修道女らに働きかけて被災地への募金活動を始め、自分らと卒業生の分も含む義援金と激励の言葉を日本大使館に寄せた
Meanwhile, 40 Pakistani children with thalassemia, a blood disease also known as Mediterranean anemia, and the head of a welfare organization donated 10 soccer balls to a Japanese Consulate for Japanese children in the disaster areas.
パキスタンの地中海性貧血を患う子供たち４０人は福祉団体代表と共に日本の領事館へ被災地の子供たちにとサッカーボール１０個を寄贈した。
Japan has received words of gratitude and encouragement as well as monetary donations from developing countries in Asia grateful for the support Japan has provided them in the past, both during normal times and after disasters have struck.
アジアの途上国からは過去の日本の援助や災害支援への感謝と共に寄せられる義援金やお見舞いのメッセージが相次いでいる
Elsewhere, poor students living in Brazil's impoverished regions have offered change they collected in empty cans, while an 8-year-old from Sweden was talking about wanting to use allowance money to send water to Japan. There was also a taxi driver in Poland who refused to accept fare from Japanese passengers, and a Russian gentleman who disappeared after dropping off a massive amount of money and wishing Japan well.
空き缶に小銭を集めたブラジルの貧しい地区の生徒たち、お小遣いで被災者に水を送りたいというスウェーデンの８歳の子、日本人からは代金を取れないと言ったポーランドのタクシー運転手、巨額の金と「がんばって」との一言だけを残していったロシアの紳士−−
In the post-earthquake days, people's kindness and compassion have been seen in small acts everywhere. We hope that with these acts, the sadness enveloping the areas affected by the earthquake, tsunami and other crises will be healed. ("Yoroku," a front-page column in the Mainichi Shimbun)
人へのやさしさや思いやりが地球のあちこちで小さな奇跡を起こし続けている「３・１１」後である。今は被災地を覆う深い悲しみも、いつかはこの奇跡の輪の中でいやされる日が来るよう祈る。
毎日新聞 2011年4月1日 0時22分