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2013年01月10日
社説:２０１３年を展望する 「外交の勘」を磨きたい
January 07, 2013(Mainichi Japan)
Editorial: Japan should brush up its diplomatic instincts
社説:２０１３年を展望する 「外交の勘」を磨きたい
Japan's diplomatic policy for the New Year is set to begin. Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, who is responsible for the new agenda, is the grandson of former Prime Minister Nobusuke Kishi, while Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Taro Aso, who supports Abe, is the grandson of former Prime Minister Shigeru Yoshida.
新しい年の外交が始動する。それを担う首相・安倍晋三氏は岸信介元首相の孫、安倍氏を支える麻生太郎副総理兼財務相兼金融担当相は吉田茂元首相の孫だ。
Yoshida signed the Japan-U.S. Security Treaty with the United States, which has served as the foundation for Japan's postwar development and stability, and Kishi revised it into its current form.
戦後日本の発展と安定の基盤をなしてきた日米安保条約は吉田元首相が結び、岸元首相が改定して現在の形にした。
The grandsons of these two former prime ministers are set to work closely in breaking the diplomatic impasse amid growing concern about what is widely perceived as a diplomatic crisis.
外交危機が叫ばれる今、２人の血を受け継ぐ孫がコンビを組んで難局打開にあたることになったわけである。
Kishi based his governing of Japan on the country's security policy.
岸元首相は国家を運営する基礎を安全保障に置いた。
In his book, "Oiso Zuiso" ("Essay from Oiso"), Yoshida quoted Colonel Edward House, a foreign policy adviser to former U.S. President Thomas Woodrow Wilson, as saying that countries that have no diplomatic instincts would fail.
吉田元首相は自著「大磯随想」で「外交の『勘』のない国民は亡（ほろ）びる」とのウィルソン元米大統領側近エドワード・ハウス大佐の言葉を紹介している。
◇対症療法外交は限界だ
Prudent diplomatic policy is indispensable for not only the survival of countries but also to allow governments to put their utmost efforts into domestic policy issues, including economic revitalization, social security and education. Moreover, intensifying friction with other countries could fuel the public's anxiety and eventually give rise to exclusive nationalism. To prevent such a situation, it is necessary for the Japanese government to reconfirm that diplomatic policy is the basis for ensuring the country's stability.
賢明な外交は単に国家の生存にとどまらず、経済再生や社会保障、教育などの内政課題に政権が全力を注ぐためにも不可欠な条件であろう。また、外国との摩擦が激しくなれば国民の不安感が強まり排他的なナショナリズムが勢いを増しかねない。そうした状況を作り出さないためにも、外交が国の安定を支える根幹であることをまず確認したい。
A diplomatic crisis, which should be dubbed a "national crisis," has continued in Japan in recent years as tensions between Japan and its neighbors heightened over territorial issues. The year 2013 must be the year when the wisdom of the whole nation will be fully utilized to break the deadlock.
そのうえでここ数年を振り返るなら、領土で係争を抱えた近隣諸国すべてと緊張が高まり、国難とも言うべき外交危機が続いてきた。今年はその局面転換に国の知恵を総結集する年にしなければならない。
Prime Minister Abe took over the reins of government after bitterly criticizing as a "diplomatic defeat" Japan's friction with China, South Korea and Russia over the Senkaku Islands, the Takeshima Islands and the Northern Territories, respectively, as well as the meandering over the relocation of U.S. Marine Corps Air Station Futenma in Okinawa Prefecture under the previous administration. There is no denying that the Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ)-led previous administration that lacked diplomatic instincts brought about the mess. However, no one can tell for sure that Japan would not have suffered the same diplomatic defeat if the LDP had been in power.
尖閣諸島や竹島、北方四島の領土摩擦や普天間飛行場移設をめぐる日米同盟の迷走などを安倍首相は「外交敗北」と厳しく批判し、政権を奪還した。確かに「外交の勘」のない民主党政権の不手際がこうした混乱を招いた面は否定できない。
だが、自民党なら外交敗北はなかったと言い切れるだろうか。
The current diplomatic crisis is attributable to the ambiguous diplomatic policy carried out by the longstanding LDP-led administration. It was when the LDP was in power that China enacted a law on its territorial waters in 1992 to recognize the Senkaku Islands as part of its territory, which was an overture to its provocative acts around the area. The dispute over the relocation of the Futenma base is the result of the past LDP-led administration's longstanding appeasement policy in which it forced Okinawa to host an excessive number of U.S. bases in return for massive financial assistance.
今日の外交危機は、長年の自民党政権のあいまいな外交がもたらしたものでもあろう。中国が９２年に領海法を制定して尖閣諸島を自国の領海に組み込み、今に至る挑発行為の先触れとしたのは自民党政権の時代だった。沖縄の問題も、経済支援を組み合わせて重い米軍基地負担を事実上固定化する懐柔策のツケがここにきて噴出しているのである。
The world is undergoing rapid changes. The current international situation is different from that when the LDP was in power until 2009 when the DPJ took over the reins of government. The United States' influence on the world has relatively declined while China, which has replaced Japan as the No. 2 economic power, is also showing military ambitions. South Korea now needs to rely less on Japan. Russia and India have also been increasing their presence as new regional players. Simply responding to changes in the situation in its neighboring countries and complying with U.S. wishes is no longer effective.
世界の動きは速い。今の国際情勢は自民党が政権を担ってきた数年前までと同じではない。米国の国力が相対的に落ち、日本を抜いて世界第２の経済大国となった中国が軍事面でも野心を隠さず、韓国はかつてほど日本を必要としなくなっている。地域の新しいプレーヤーとしてロシア、インドの存在感も大きくなってきた。周囲の変化や米国の意向に合わせた対症療法的な外交では、もはや日本は立ち行かないのだ。
As such, Prime Minister Abe is required to work toward rearranging and stabilizing Japan's diplomatic policy that fits with the times instead of rehashing the LDP's previous diplomatic policy. He should begin efforts to strengthen the Japan-U.S. alliance by seriously considering the purpose of the agreement.
よって安倍首相は自民党時代の焼き直しではなく、新しい時代に合わせた発想と行動で外交の立て直しと安定に取り組む必要がある。再三強調する日米同盟強化についても、何のための同盟かを常に自問自答することから始めるべきである。
Former Prime Minister Yoshida wrote in his book that both Japan and the United States should hold frank discussions on enforcing the Japan-U.S. security treaty, noting that both countries signed the accord from the standpoint of their respective national policies.
"I think the United States signed the bilateral security treaty out of the need for its Pacific strategy and from the standpoint of a broad U.S. national policy. Japan, for its part, also signed the treaty from the standpoint of its own defense and broad national policy," he wrote. "In enforcing this treaty, our two countries should frankly discuss a wide variety of matters."
吉田元首相は日米安保を「アメリカがただ日本が可愛くて結んだものではないだろう。アメリカの太平洋の戦略的必要から、またアメリカの国策的な見地から結んだものであろうと思う」として、「日本も、日本自身の防衛と、国策的な考え方から結んだものである」「この条約を実施して行く上に、もっと率直にいろいろ話し合っていいのではないか」と書いた（「大磯随想」）。
◇歴史問題でつまずくな
The Japan-U.S. alliance will remain solid as long as the two countries need each other. However, the pact will collapse if either side deems that such cooperative relations detrimentally affect their national interests. Japan should clearly show its policy of responding to the Senkaku Islands issue and the relocation of U.S. bases in Okinawa and pursue a solution that will contribute to both countries' national interests and to the stability in the whole region through frank dialogue. Japan and the United States are required to transform the bilateral alliance from one in which Japan unilaterally follows and relies on the United States.
日米が互いに必要だと考える限り日米同盟は強力であり、どちらかが国益にプラスにならないと判断すればその命運は尽きる。尖閣諸島への対処も沖縄の基地移設も、まずは日本側の方針を明確に示し、率直な話し合いを通じて日米双方の国益と地域全体の平和と安定にプラスとなるような道を探るべきだ。米国の言いなりでも、日本が一方的に頼るのでもない同盟のあり方を、改めて作り上げることが求められよう。
At the same time, Japan should strengthen its solidarity with the entire international community. Media outlets throughout the world have expressed grave concern and criticism of China's provocative acts over the sovereignty of the Senkaku Islands. Japan's position over the issue has been supported by the international community. Behind such support is the world's understanding that Japan is a country that peacefully settles its disputes with other countries through negotiations and that Japan attaches importance to broad-minded nationalism, in which it seeks to peacefully coexist with other countries, rather than narrow-minded nationalism.
同時に、国際社会との連帯をいっそう深めたい。尖閣諸島の問題では中国の乱暴な振る舞いに世界のメディアが「中国が差し控えるべきことは武力で現状を変えることだ」（米紙）、「日本は外交解決を追求し続けているが中国は軍事力の行使を好む」（イタリアの通信社）などとして懸念と批判を強めている。
日本の立場と主張は国際社会に支持されている。その背景にあるのは日本が外国との係争を平和的に話し合いで処理する国であり、偏狭なナショナリズムより、相手と共存を図るナショナリズムを大事にする国だという世界の理解であろう。
Editorial: Japan should brush up its diplomatic instincts
社説:２０１３年を展望する 「外交の勘」を磨きたい
Japan's diplomatic policy for the New Year is set to begin. Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, who is responsible for the new agenda, is the grandson of former Prime Minister Nobusuke Kishi, while Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Taro Aso, who supports Abe, is the grandson of former Prime Minister Shigeru Yoshida.
新しい年の外交が始動する。それを担う首相・安倍晋三氏は岸信介元首相の孫、安倍氏を支える麻生太郎副総理兼財務相兼金融担当相は吉田茂元首相の孫だ。
Yoshida signed the Japan-U.S. Security Treaty with the United States, which has served as the foundation for Japan's postwar development and stability, and Kishi revised it into its current form.
戦後日本の発展と安定の基盤をなしてきた日米安保条約は吉田元首相が結び、岸元首相が改定して現在の形にした。
The grandsons of these two former prime ministers are set to work closely in breaking the diplomatic impasse amid growing concern about what is widely perceived as a diplomatic crisis.
外交危機が叫ばれる今、２人の血を受け継ぐ孫がコンビを組んで難局打開にあたることになったわけである。
Kishi based his governing of Japan on the country's security policy.
岸元首相は国家を運営する基礎を安全保障に置いた。
In his book, "Oiso Zuiso" ("Essay from Oiso"), Yoshida quoted Colonel Edward House, a foreign policy adviser to former U.S. President Thomas Woodrow Wilson, as saying that countries that have no diplomatic instincts would fail.
吉田元首相は自著「大磯随想」で「外交の『勘』のない国民は亡（ほろ）びる」とのウィルソン元米大統領側近エドワード・ハウス大佐の言葉を紹介している。
◇対症療法外交は限界だ
Prudent diplomatic policy is indispensable for not only the survival of countries but also to allow governments to put their utmost efforts into domestic policy issues, including economic revitalization, social security and education. Moreover, intensifying friction with other countries could fuel the public's anxiety and eventually give rise to exclusive nationalism. To prevent such a situation, it is necessary for the Japanese government to reconfirm that diplomatic policy is the basis for ensuring the country's stability.
賢明な外交は単に国家の生存にとどまらず、経済再生や社会保障、教育などの内政課題に政権が全力を注ぐためにも不可欠な条件であろう。また、外国との摩擦が激しくなれば国民の不安感が強まり排他的なナショナリズムが勢いを増しかねない。そうした状況を作り出さないためにも、外交が国の安定を支える根幹であることをまず確認したい。
A diplomatic crisis, which should be dubbed a "national crisis," has continued in Japan in recent years as tensions between Japan and its neighbors heightened over territorial issues. The year 2013 must be the year when the wisdom of the whole nation will be fully utilized to break the deadlock.
そのうえでここ数年を振り返るなら、領土で係争を抱えた近隣諸国すべてと緊張が高まり、国難とも言うべき外交危機が続いてきた。今年はその局面転換に国の知恵を総結集する年にしなければならない。
Prime Minister Abe took over the reins of government after bitterly criticizing as a "diplomatic defeat" Japan's friction with China, South Korea and Russia over the Senkaku Islands, the Takeshima Islands and the Northern Territories, respectively, as well as the meandering over the relocation of U.S. Marine Corps Air Station Futenma in Okinawa Prefecture under the previous administration. There is no denying that the Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ)-led previous administration that lacked diplomatic instincts brought about the mess. However, no one can tell for sure that Japan would not have suffered the same diplomatic defeat if the LDP had been in power.
尖閣諸島や竹島、北方四島の領土摩擦や普天間飛行場移設をめぐる日米同盟の迷走などを安倍首相は「外交敗北」と厳しく批判し、政権を奪還した。確かに「外交の勘」のない民主党政権の不手際がこうした混乱を招いた面は否定できない。
だが、自民党なら外交敗北はなかったと言い切れるだろうか。
The current diplomatic crisis is attributable to the ambiguous diplomatic policy carried out by the longstanding LDP-led administration. It was when the LDP was in power that China enacted a law on its territorial waters in 1992 to recognize the Senkaku Islands as part of its territory, which was an overture to its provocative acts around the area. The dispute over the relocation of the Futenma base is the result of the past LDP-led administration's longstanding appeasement policy in which it forced Okinawa to host an excessive number of U.S. bases in return for massive financial assistance.
今日の外交危機は、長年の自民党政権のあいまいな外交がもたらしたものでもあろう。中国が９２年に領海法を制定して尖閣諸島を自国の領海に組み込み、今に至る挑発行為の先触れとしたのは自民党政権の時代だった。沖縄の問題も、経済支援を組み合わせて重い米軍基地負担を事実上固定化する懐柔策のツケがここにきて噴出しているのである。
The world is undergoing rapid changes. The current international situation is different from that when the LDP was in power until 2009 when the DPJ took over the reins of government. The United States' influence on the world has relatively declined while China, which has replaced Japan as the No. 2 economic power, is also showing military ambitions. South Korea now needs to rely less on Japan. Russia and India have also been increasing their presence as new regional players. Simply responding to changes in the situation in its neighboring countries and complying with U.S. wishes is no longer effective.
世界の動きは速い。今の国際情勢は自民党が政権を担ってきた数年前までと同じではない。米国の国力が相対的に落ち、日本を抜いて世界第２の経済大国となった中国が軍事面でも野心を隠さず、韓国はかつてほど日本を必要としなくなっている。地域の新しいプレーヤーとしてロシア、インドの存在感も大きくなってきた。周囲の変化や米国の意向に合わせた対症療法的な外交では、もはや日本は立ち行かないのだ。
As such, Prime Minister Abe is required to work toward rearranging and stabilizing Japan's diplomatic policy that fits with the times instead of rehashing the LDP's previous diplomatic policy. He should begin efforts to strengthen the Japan-U.S. alliance by seriously considering the purpose of the agreement.
よって安倍首相は自民党時代の焼き直しではなく、新しい時代に合わせた発想と行動で外交の立て直しと安定に取り組む必要がある。再三強調する日米同盟強化についても、何のための同盟かを常に自問自答することから始めるべきである。
Former Prime Minister Yoshida wrote in his book that both Japan and the United States should hold frank discussions on enforcing the Japan-U.S. security treaty, noting that both countries signed the accord from the standpoint of their respective national policies.
"I think the United States signed the bilateral security treaty out of the need for its Pacific strategy and from the standpoint of a broad U.S. national policy. Japan, for its part, also signed the treaty from the standpoint of its own defense and broad national policy," he wrote. "In enforcing this treaty, our two countries should frankly discuss a wide variety of matters."
吉田元首相は日米安保を「アメリカがただ日本が可愛くて結んだものではないだろう。アメリカの太平洋の戦略的必要から、またアメリカの国策的な見地から結んだものであろうと思う」として、「日本も、日本自身の防衛と、国策的な考え方から結んだものである」「この条約を実施して行く上に、もっと率直にいろいろ話し合っていいのではないか」と書いた（「大磯随想」）。
◇歴史問題でつまずくな
The Japan-U.S. alliance will remain solid as long as the two countries need each other. However, the pact will collapse if either side deems that such cooperative relations detrimentally affect their national interests. Japan should clearly show its policy of responding to the Senkaku Islands issue and the relocation of U.S. bases in Okinawa and pursue a solution that will contribute to both countries' national interests and to the stability in the whole region through frank dialogue. Japan and the United States are required to transform the bilateral alliance from one in which Japan unilaterally follows and relies on the United States.
日米が互いに必要だと考える限り日米同盟は強力であり、どちらかが国益にプラスにならないと判断すればその命運は尽きる。尖閣諸島への対処も沖縄の基地移設も、まずは日本側の方針を明確に示し、率直な話し合いを通じて日米双方の国益と地域全体の平和と安定にプラスとなるような道を探るべきだ。米国の言いなりでも、日本が一方的に頼るのでもない同盟のあり方を、改めて作り上げることが求められよう。
At the same time, Japan should strengthen its solidarity with the entire international community. Media outlets throughout the world have expressed grave concern and criticism of China's provocative acts over the sovereignty of the Senkaku Islands. Japan's position over the issue has been supported by the international community. Behind such support is the world's understanding that Japan is a country that peacefully settles its disputes with other countries through negotiations and that Japan attaches importance to broad-minded nationalism, in which it seeks to peacefully coexist with other countries, rather than narrow-minded nationalism.
同時に、国際社会との連帯をいっそう深めたい。尖閣諸島の問題では中国の乱暴な振る舞いに世界のメディアが「中国が差し控えるべきことは武力で現状を変えることだ」（米紙）、「日本は外交解決を追求し続けているが中国は軍事力の行使を好む」（イタリアの通信社）などとして懸念と批判を強めている。
日本の立場と主張は国際社会に支持されている。その背景にあるのは日本が外国との係争を平和的に話し合いで処理する国であり、偏狭なナショナリズムより、相手と共存を図るナショナリズムを大事にする国だという世界の理解であろう。
2013年01月03日
社説:２０１３年を展望する 骨太の互恵精神育てよ
January 01, 2013(Mainichi Japan)
Editorial: Japan's 2013 to be shaped by power of its economy, power of peace
社説:２０１３年を展望する 骨太の互恵精神育てよ
2013 will be a year of new approaches for Japan, and we believe the nation's new ways of being will come in two facets.
２０１３年は、戦後日本の生き方が、二つの意味で試される年になるのではないだろうか。
The first: Japan's latent economic power. Economic policy will grapple with ways to enlarge the economic pie, and then decide how that pie will be sliced.
一つは、日本経済の底力だ。経済政策には、全体のパイをどう増やしていくか、という側面と、それをどう分配するか、と２通りある。
The previous Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ) administration put the most emphasis on the latter half of that equation, distributing generous support to young people and those in agriculture in the form of child allowances, free high school tuition, and farming household subsidies.
民主党政権は後者の分配政策を重視、子ども手当、高校授業料無償化、農家への戸別所得補償といった形で若年層、第１次産業に手厚く予算を配分した。
The newly minted Liberal Democratic Party (LDP)-led administration of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, on the other hand, is intensely focused on the size of the pie, championing sweeping monetary easing and public investment under the name of breaking away from deflation.
これに対し安倍政権は、前者の成長政策を前面に押し立て、デフレ脱却の名の下に大胆な金融緩和と公共投資の必要性を唱えている。
◇若者へ所得移転を
Of course, just about everyone ought to be happier if there's more pie to go around, and here at the outset we have no intention of speaking ill of the idea.
確かに、全体のパイが大きくなれば誰もがハッピーになるはずで、のっけからくさすつもりは毛頭ない。
However, we must point out that it's not as if preceding administrations have done nothing towards that goal in the 20 plus years since the economic bubble burst.
They pushed zero interest rates, went ahead with major monetary easing measures of their own, and poured money into mostly public works projects as emergency economic measures on numerous occasions.
ただし、指摘すべきは、バブル崩壊後の２０年余り、歴代政権は何もしてこなかったのではなく、金融政策としてはゼロ金利や量的緩和、財政政策としては公共事業を中心とした数次に及ぶ緊急経済対策を打ってきた。
In the end, quite similar strategies were piled one atop the other, amassing a quadrillion yen national debt in the process.
いわば類似政策を積み重ねてきた結果が、１０００兆円にものぼる借金財政を生んだ、という事実だ。
Behind Japan's lack of growth are its low birthrate and aging population, the rise of emerging economies, and environmental limitations on our supply and use of energy and resources. These are all structural causes, and we want to see the Abe administration tackle them head-on.
成長できない背景には、少子化による人口減と高齢化、新興国の台頭、資源・エネルギーの環境制約があるのだが、安倍政権にはこういった構造的要因にも手をつけてほしい。
Japan's population is greying at the fastest rate in the world, and already one in four Japanese is 65 or older. This fact makes a well-considered and solid plan to deal with the aging society especially important.
特に、すでに４人に１人が６５歳以上となっている世界最速の高齢化には、腰を据えた対策が必要だ。
Furthermore, to create an environment where young people are confident they have the financial wherewithal to have and raise children of their own, we believe it's time that a part of our limited economic pie -- employment and income -- be shifted to those young people from the older, wealthier segment of society.
若い人たちが自分たちの子どもを産み育てることのできる環境を整備するためには、限られたパイの中で、豊かな高齢者層から雇用も所得も不安定な若年者層へのより明確な所得移転が必要になるのではないだろうか。
What we'd like people to bear in mind here is the importance of mutual concessions and reciprocity.
その際に心がけたいのは、互譲と互恵の精神である。
We need to think that, in yielding to another, we ourselves are blessed and enriched. We also need to make this a mutual process, repeated many times.
相手に譲ることで自らが恩恵を受ける、豊かになる、それを相互に繰り返す、そういった心の持ちようだ。
To make use of Japan's young people to the full extent of their abilities will in turn revitalize all of society, the benefits of which will flow back to the elderly.
若い人たちを生かすことが社会全体の活力につながり、めぐりめぐって高齢者層の利益になる。
Even if the economic pie does not grow, can we not create such a positive redistribution cycle?
全体のパイが増えなくてもそんなプラスの分配サイクルはできないか。
To that end, we'd like to see some of the DPJ's policies that never got off the ground pushed forward by the new administration.
民主政権では踏み込めなかった政策をぜひ前に進めてほしい。
As Japan has held to its postwar focus on light armament and economy-first policy, its economy has managed to survive the calamities of the currency crisis, the oil shock and the end of the bubble economy.
戦後軽軍備・経済重視路線を堅持する中で、為替危機、石油ショック、バブル崩壊などいくつもの激変を乗り切ってきた日本経済である。
Now is the time to use the economic potential so evident in this resilience to shift gears, to deal with the mature economy that Japan enjoys.
今こそ、その底力を発揮して成熟経済対応にギアチェンジする時である。
The spirit of reciprocity must not only be applied to intergenerational relations, but to foreign relations as well.
互恵の精神は、世代間対立だけでなく、国と国との関係にも応用できる。
The second facet of Japan's new way of life in 2013 lies here, in the power of peace bound up in a national government that has never pursued war.
二つ目に試される日本政治の平和力とも関わってくる。
The greatest issue facing Japanese diplomacy is how to deal with the rising power of China.
日本外交の当面の最大の課題は、台頭する中国とどう向き合うか、にある。
There is talk in international circles that Chinese incursions into Japanese territorial waters and airspace over the Senkaku Islands dispute could lead to an armed clash.
尖閣諸島をめぐる対立は、中国側の領海、領空侵犯で武力紛争の可能性まで取りざたされるに至っている。
As a country that hasn't fired a shot in anger in some 67 years, all Japanese must now reconfirm the peace power of our nation and discuss how we can avoid Japan-China relations from worsening.
戦後６７年間一回も戦争をせずにこられた我が国の平和力を今一度点検し、どうすれば最悪の事態を回避できるか、国民的議論が必要だ。
Japanese postwar pacifism is built on two main premises: a vow grounded in reflection on World War II to never again launch a war of aggression, and on the deterrent embodied in the Japan-U.S. Security Treaty.
戦後の平和を支えてきたのは、あの戦争に対する反省からきた二度と侵略戦争はしないという誓いと、現実的な抑止力として機能する日米安保体制であろう。
Japan strives to solve all its international disputes through dialogue.
係争はあくまでも話し合いで解決する。
Of course for the sake of deterring potential enemies, Japan must prepare itself militarily.
もちろん、適正な抑止力を維持するための軍事上の備えは怠らない。
For this reason, we must reconfirm the meaning and the function of the security treaty.
そのためには、日米安保体制の意義、機能を再確認しておくことが大切だ。
On top of this, we believe it important to study the history of the 1920s.
そのうえで１９２０年代の歴史から学びたい。
◇あくまで国際協調で
The Taisho period (1912-1926) saw the formation of two major political parties, and the national discourse rang with the voices of democracy.
日本で初めて２大政党が定着し大正デモクラシーが高らかに宣言された時代である。
In the end, however, party politics couldn't protect the peace.
だが、結果的に政党政治は平和を守り切れなかった。
The Great Kanto Earthquake of 1923 combined with a global financial crisis sent the Japanese economy into turmoil. Calls for imperial expansion on the Asian continent intensified, and bellicose, xenophobic hardliners drowned out the good sense of those calling for international cooperation and compromise. Militarism took over, and in the name of supporting Imperial rule, the government led our nation into reckless war.
関東大震災や世界恐慌で経済が混乱し中国大陸に対する帝国主義的な領土拡張競争が激化する中、排外主義的対外強硬路線の大声が、妥協主義的国際協調路線の良識をかき消し、軍部独走、大政翼賛政治が私たちを無謀な戦争に追いやった。
What our very own history teaches us is that when two countries cannot compromise over a territorial or sovereignty dispute, useless escalation follows.
領土や主権をめぐる争いは双方がどちらも譲歩できないことにより、いたずらに対立がエスカレートするのも歴史が教えるところである。
We believe Japan must discard cheap anti-foreign sentiment and seek big-picture international cooperation.
安直な排外主義を排し、大局的な国際協調路線に立ちたい。
Japan is doing its best now to deal with the Senkaku dispute with China through dialogue based on legal principles. China, meanwhile, which had it examined the history of the Senkaku dispute ought to have shelved its claims to the islands, is obviously trying to change the present reality with a show of sheer power.
尖閣を巡る一連の経緯を振り返ると、棚上げされてきたはずのこの問題に対して、力による現状変更を仕掛けてきているのは明らかに中国側であり、日本はあくまで対話と法理で問題解決を図ろうとしている。
Japan must explain carefully and persistently what's going on to the world and to Asian nations in particular, and thereby make friends and allies in its confrontation with China. We should not end up alone in this.
こういった日本の立場と主張をアジア諸国を中心に世界に対し粘り強く丁寧に説明し理解を得て仲間を作る。決して孤立化しないことだ。
Editorial: Japan's 2013 to be shaped by power of its economy, power of peace
社説:２０１３年を展望する 骨太の互恵精神育てよ
2013 will be a year of new approaches for Japan, and we believe the nation's new ways of being will come in two facets.
２０１３年は、戦後日本の生き方が、二つの意味で試される年になるのではないだろうか。
The first: Japan's latent economic power. Economic policy will grapple with ways to enlarge the economic pie, and then decide how that pie will be sliced.
一つは、日本経済の底力だ。経済政策には、全体のパイをどう増やしていくか、という側面と、それをどう分配するか、と２通りある。
The previous Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ) administration put the most emphasis on the latter half of that equation, distributing generous support to young people and those in agriculture in the form of child allowances, free high school tuition, and farming household subsidies.
民主党政権は後者の分配政策を重視、子ども手当、高校授業料無償化、農家への戸別所得補償といった形で若年層、第１次産業に手厚く予算を配分した。
The newly minted Liberal Democratic Party (LDP)-led administration of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, on the other hand, is intensely focused on the size of the pie, championing sweeping monetary easing and public investment under the name of breaking away from deflation.
これに対し安倍政権は、前者の成長政策を前面に押し立て、デフレ脱却の名の下に大胆な金融緩和と公共投資の必要性を唱えている。
◇若者へ所得移転を
Of course, just about everyone ought to be happier if there's more pie to go around, and here at the outset we have no intention of speaking ill of the idea.
確かに、全体のパイが大きくなれば誰もがハッピーになるはずで、のっけからくさすつもりは毛頭ない。
However, we must point out that it's not as if preceding administrations have done nothing towards that goal in the 20 plus years since the economic bubble burst.
They pushed zero interest rates, went ahead with major monetary easing measures of their own, and poured money into mostly public works projects as emergency economic measures on numerous occasions.
ただし、指摘すべきは、バブル崩壊後の２０年余り、歴代政権は何もしてこなかったのではなく、金融政策としてはゼロ金利や量的緩和、財政政策としては公共事業を中心とした数次に及ぶ緊急経済対策を打ってきた。
In the end, quite similar strategies were piled one atop the other, amassing a quadrillion yen national debt in the process.
いわば類似政策を積み重ねてきた結果が、１０００兆円にものぼる借金財政を生んだ、という事実だ。
Behind Japan's lack of growth are its low birthrate and aging population, the rise of emerging economies, and environmental limitations on our supply and use of energy and resources. These are all structural causes, and we want to see the Abe administration tackle them head-on.
成長できない背景には、少子化による人口減と高齢化、新興国の台頭、資源・エネルギーの環境制約があるのだが、安倍政権にはこういった構造的要因にも手をつけてほしい。
Japan's population is greying at the fastest rate in the world, and already one in four Japanese is 65 or older. This fact makes a well-considered and solid plan to deal with the aging society especially important.
特に、すでに４人に１人が６５歳以上となっている世界最速の高齢化には、腰を据えた対策が必要だ。
Furthermore, to create an environment where young people are confident they have the financial wherewithal to have and raise children of their own, we believe it's time that a part of our limited economic pie -- employment and income -- be shifted to those young people from the older, wealthier segment of society.
若い人たちが自分たちの子どもを産み育てることのできる環境を整備するためには、限られたパイの中で、豊かな高齢者層から雇用も所得も不安定な若年者層へのより明確な所得移転が必要になるのではないだろうか。
What we'd like people to bear in mind here is the importance of mutual concessions and reciprocity.
その際に心がけたいのは、互譲と互恵の精神である。
We need to think that, in yielding to another, we ourselves are blessed and enriched. We also need to make this a mutual process, repeated many times.
相手に譲ることで自らが恩恵を受ける、豊かになる、それを相互に繰り返す、そういった心の持ちようだ。
To make use of Japan's young people to the full extent of their abilities will in turn revitalize all of society, the benefits of which will flow back to the elderly.
若い人たちを生かすことが社会全体の活力につながり、めぐりめぐって高齢者層の利益になる。
Even if the economic pie does not grow, can we not create such a positive redistribution cycle?
全体のパイが増えなくてもそんなプラスの分配サイクルはできないか。
To that end, we'd like to see some of the DPJ's policies that never got off the ground pushed forward by the new administration.
民主政権では踏み込めなかった政策をぜひ前に進めてほしい。
As Japan has held to its postwar focus on light armament and economy-first policy, its economy has managed to survive the calamities of the currency crisis, the oil shock and the end of the bubble economy.
戦後軽軍備・経済重視路線を堅持する中で、為替危機、石油ショック、バブル崩壊などいくつもの激変を乗り切ってきた日本経済である。
Now is the time to use the economic potential so evident in this resilience to shift gears, to deal with the mature economy that Japan enjoys.
今こそ、その底力を発揮して成熟経済対応にギアチェンジする時である。
The spirit of reciprocity must not only be applied to intergenerational relations, but to foreign relations as well.
互恵の精神は、世代間対立だけでなく、国と国との関係にも応用できる。
The second facet of Japan's new way of life in 2013 lies here, in the power of peace bound up in a national government that has never pursued war.
二つ目に試される日本政治の平和力とも関わってくる。
The greatest issue facing Japanese diplomacy is how to deal with the rising power of China.
日本外交の当面の最大の課題は、台頭する中国とどう向き合うか、にある。
There is talk in international circles that Chinese incursions into Japanese territorial waters and airspace over the Senkaku Islands dispute could lead to an armed clash.
尖閣諸島をめぐる対立は、中国側の領海、領空侵犯で武力紛争の可能性まで取りざたされるに至っている。
As a country that hasn't fired a shot in anger in some 67 years, all Japanese must now reconfirm the peace power of our nation and discuss how we can avoid Japan-China relations from worsening.
戦後６７年間一回も戦争をせずにこられた我が国の平和力を今一度点検し、どうすれば最悪の事態を回避できるか、国民的議論が必要だ。
Japanese postwar pacifism is built on two main premises: a vow grounded in reflection on World War II to never again launch a war of aggression, and on the deterrent embodied in the Japan-U.S. Security Treaty.
戦後の平和を支えてきたのは、あの戦争に対する反省からきた二度と侵略戦争はしないという誓いと、現実的な抑止力として機能する日米安保体制であろう。
Japan strives to solve all its international disputes through dialogue.
係争はあくまでも話し合いで解決する。
Of course for the sake of deterring potential enemies, Japan must prepare itself militarily.
もちろん、適正な抑止力を維持するための軍事上の備えは怠らない。
For this reason, we must reconfirm the meaning and the function of the security treaty.
そのためには、日米安保体制の意義、機能を再確認しておくことが大切だ。
On top of this, we believe it important to study the history of the 1920s.
そのうえで１９２０年代の歴史から学びたい。
◇あくまで国際協調で
The Taisho period (1912-1926) saw the formation of two major political parties, and the national discourse rang with the voices of democracy.
日本で初めて２大政党が定着し大正デモクラシーが高らかに宣言された時代である。
In the end, however, party politics couldn't protect the peace.
だが、結果的に政党政治は平和を守り切れなかった。
The Great Kanto Earthquake of 1923 combined with a global financial crisis sent the Japanese economy into turmoil. Calls for imperial expansion on the Asian continent intensified, and bellicose, xenophobic hardliners drowned out the good sense of those calling for international cooperation and compromise. Militarism took over, and in the name of supporting Imperial rule, the government led our nation into reckless war.
関東大震災や世界恐慌で経済が混乱し中国大陸に対する帝国主義的な領土拡張競争が激化する中、排外主義的対外強硬路線の大声が、妥協主義的国際協調路線の良識をかき消し、軍部独走、大政翼賛政治が私たちを無謀な戦争に追いやった。
What our very own history teaches us is that when two countries cannot compromise over a territorial or sovereignty dispute, useless escalation follows.
領土や主権をめぐる争いは双方がどちらも譲歩できないことにより、いたずらに対立がエスカレートするのも歴史が教えるところである。
We believe Japan must discard cheap anti-foreign sentiment and seek big-picture international cooperation.
安直な排外主義を排し、大局的な国際協調路線に立ちたい。
Japan is doing its best now to deal with the Senkaku dispute with China through dialogue based on legal principles. China, meanwhile, which had it examined the history of the Senkaku dispute ought to have shelved its claims to the islands, is obviously trying to change the present reality with a show of sheer power.
尖閣を巡る一連の経緯を振り返ると、棚上げされてきたはずのこの問題に対して、力による現状変更を仕掛けてきているのは明らかに中国側であり、日本はあくまで対話と法理で問題解決を図ろうとしている。
Japan must explain carefully and persistently what's going on to the world and to Asian nations in particular, and thereby make friends and allies in its confrontation with China. We should not end up alone in this.
こういった日本の立場と主張をアジア諸国を中心に世界に対し粘り強く丁寧に説明し理解を得て仲間を作る。決して孤立化しないことだ。
2012年07月31日
香山リカのココロの万華鏡:いじめは誰にでも起きる ／東京
July 29, 2012(Mainichi Japan)
Kaleidoscope of the Heart: Bullying could happen to anyone
香山リカのココロの万華鏡:いじめは誰にでも起きる ／東京
The backlash against the problem of bullying has spread further.
いじめ問題の波紋がさらに広がっている。
Following a recent publication of my column here, in which I wrote: "Why are those who are being bullied not seeking help? This is a problem that requires further thought," I was criticized for "trying to say that the victims who aren't seeking help are to blame."
このコラムで「なぜ『いじめられてる』とＳＯＳを出せないか。もう一度、考えてみたい」と書いたら、「サインを出せない被害者が悪いと言いたいのか」と批判の声が上がった。
Needless to say, that is not the case. What I was really trying to say is that there are cases when, being in the swirl of all of this turmoil, some people are just unable to call for help, because they cannot fully realize what is happening to them.
もちろんそうではない。私がいちばん言いたかったのは、「その渦中にあるときには自分の身に何が起きているのか、はっきりわからず、ＳＯＳの声も上げられない場合がある」ということだ。
As a matter of fact, I have witnessed this situation at my consultation room a couple of times now.
診察室でも何度もそういう経験をした。
Among these cases was a parent who brought their junior high school-aged daughter to me, saying she had been unwilling to go to school.
After talking with the girl, I came to realize that she had been a victim of malicious bullying.
あるとき「不登校ぎみなんです」と保護者に連れられて診察室に来た女子中学生といろいろと話しているうちに、その子は学校で陰湿ないじめ被害にあっていることがわかったことがあった。
However, when I told her that I think her problem was not her refusal to go to school, but the bullying itself, telling her she was correct not to go to school, she shook her head in denial, saying she disagrees with my opinion.
私は「不登校じゃなくていじめじゃないの。学校に行かないのは正解だよ」と言ったのだが、女子生徒は「えっ、そうなんですか。違うと思います」と首を横に振るばかりだった。
I wonder, could this be some sort of refusal to accept that one is being bullied?
「いじめられている、なんて思いたくない」ということなのだろう。
There are other cases, in which although bullied children gather courage to tell their parents and schools that they have been bullied, the adults themselves refuse to accept the reality.
中には、子どもが勇気を出していじめを認め、保護者や学校に申し出ても、今度はおとなたちが「まさか、いじめだなんて」と現実を見ようとしない場合もある。
I wonder if this is what happened at the school in Otsu, where a boy committed suicide after being bullied by classmates.
今回の大津市の問題もこれに当たるのだろうか。
Many adults think that for bullying to occur, there should be other fundamental problems happening at the institution.
そういったおとなたちは「いじめ事件が起きるのは、日ごろから何か問題があるからだ」と思っていて、
Many people refuse to accept that bullying is actually happening, on the grounds that theirs is "a proper institution, that has nothing to do with badly handled households or schools."
「ウチはしっかりやっている。そういったダメな家庭、学校とは違う」と思い込みたいために、「これはいじめなんかじゃない」と言ってしまうのだ。
We all need to acknowledge that, unfortunately, with the current school system and society, bullying could happen anywhere.
まず、誰もが認めなければならないのは、残念ながらいまの社会、いまの学校では、どんなところでもいじめの問題はすぐに起きる、ということだ。
Therefore, people who have fallen victim to bullying or schools where such incidents have occurred do not need to think that there is something wrong with them or the institution.
そして、いじめが起きたからといって、「私が悪いんだ」「ウチはダメな学校になってしまった」などと考える必要はない。
Children who are being bullied should try to stay away from the place where that is happening, or in other words -- the school.
被害を受けてしまったら、本人はいじめが起きる場、つまり学校から逃げる。
Such children's parents should welcome them at home, while school officials should share the responsibility for the incident and deal with it together, instead of putting it all on the child's homeroom teacher or other single individuals.
保護者は逃げてきた子どもを、家でしっかり受けとめる。学校はそのクラスの担任教員などひとりにすべての責任を押しつけることはしないで、みんなで問題を共有して対処する。
Nobody should try to turn a blind eye to bullying or attempt to hide the truth from the public.
いじめから目をそらしたり、外に対して隠そうとしたりしてはいけない。
In order to protect children from being bullied, you should not think of it as something atypical.
いじめから子どもを守るためにも、いじめを特殊なものと見ないで。
You should think of it as something that could happen anywhere and to anyone.
どこにでも誰にでも起きるものだと考えて。
I would like to repeat that one more time.
もう一度、そう繰り返したい。
(By Rika Kayama, psychiatrist)
毎日新聞 2012年07月24日 地方版
Kaleidoscope of the Heart: Bullying could happen to anyone
香山リカのココロの万華鏡:いじめは誰にでも起きる ／東京
The backlash against the problem of bullying has spread further.
いじめ問題の波紋がさらに広がっている。
Following a recent publication of my column here, in which I wrote: "Why are those who are being bullied not seeking help? This is a problem that requires further thought," I was criticized for "trying to say that the victims who aren't seeking help are to blame."
このコラムで「なぜ『いじめられてる』とＳＯＳを出せないか。もう一度、考えてみたい」と書いたら、「サインを出せない被害者が悪いと言いたいのか」と批判の声が上がった。
Needless to say, that is not the case. What I was really trying to say is that there are cases when, being in the swirl of all of this turmoil, some people are just unable to call for help, because they cannot fully realize what is happening to them.
もちろんそうではない。私がいちばん言いたかったのは、「その渦中にあるときには自分の身に何が起きているのか、はっきりわからず、ＳＯＳの声も上げられない場合がある」ということだ。
As a matter of fact, I have witnessed this situation at my consultation room a couple of times now.
診察室でも何度もそういう経験をした。
Among these cases was a parent who brought their junior high school-aged daughter to me, saying she had been unwilling to go to school.
After talking with the girl, I came to realize that she had been a victim of malicious bullying.
あるとき「不登校ぎみなんです」と保護者に連れられて診察室に来た女子中学生といろいろと話しているうちに、その子は学校で陰湿ないじめ被害にあっていることがわかったことがあった。
However, when I told her that I think her problem was not her refusal to go to school, but the bullying itself, telling her she was correct not to go to school, she shook her head in denial, saying she disagrees with my opinion.
私は「不登校じゃなくていじめじゃないの。学校に行かないのは正解だよ」と言ったのだが、女子生徒は「えっ、そうなんですか。違うと思います」と首を横に振るばかりだった。
I wonder, could this be some sort of refusal to accept that one is being bullied?
「いじめられている、なんて思いたくない」ということなのだろう。
There are other cases, in which although bullied children gather courage to tell their parents and schools that they have been bullied, the adults themselves refuse to accept the reality.
中には、子どもが勇気を出していじめを認め、保護者や学校に申し出ても、今度はおとなたちが「まさか、いじめだなんて」と現実を見ようとしない場合もある。
I wonder if this is what happened at the school in Otsu, where a boy committed suicide after being bullied by classmates.
今回の大津市の問題もこれに当たるのだろうか。
Many adults think that for bullying to occur, there should be other fundamental problems happening at the institution.
そういったおとなたちは「いじめ事件が起きるのは、日ごろから何か問題があるからだ」と思っていて、
Many people refuse to accept that bullying is actually happening, on the grounds that theirs is "a proper institution, that has nothing to do with badly handled households or schools."
「ウチはしっかりやっている。そういったダメな家庭、学校とは違う」と思い込みたいために、「これはいじめなんかじゃない」と言ってしまうのだ。
We all need to acknowledge that, unfortunately, with the current school system and society, bullying could happen anywhere.
まず、誰もが認めなければならないのは、残念ながらいまの社会、いまの学校では、どんなところでもいじめの問題はすぐに起きる、ということだ。
Therefore, people who have fallen victim to bullying or schools where such incidents have occurred do not need to think that there is something wrong with them or the institution.
そして、いじめが起きたからといって、「私が悪いんだ」「ウチはダメな学校になってしまった」などと考える必要はない。
Children who are being bullied should try to stay away from the place where that is happening, or in other words -- the school.
被害を受けてしまったら、本人はいじめが起きる場、つまり学校から逃げる。
Such children's parents should welcome them at home, while school officials should share the responsibility for the incident and deal with it together, instead of putting it all on the child's homeroom teacher or other single individuals.
保護者は逃げてきた子どもを、家でしっかり受けとめる。学校はそのクラスの担任教員などひとりにすべての責任を押しつけることはしないで、みんなで問題を共有して対処する。
Nobody should try to turn a blind eye to bullying or attempt to hide the truth from the public.
いじめから目をそらしたり、外に対して隠そうとしたりしてはいけない。
In order to protect children from being bullied, you should not think of it as something atypical.
いじめから子どもを守るためにも、いじめを特殊なものと見ないで。
You should think of it as something that could happen anywhere and to anyone.
どこにでも誰にでも起きるものだと考えて。
I would like to repeat that one more time.
もう一度、そう繰り返したい。
(By Rika Kayama, psychiatrist)
毎日新聞 2012年07月24日 地方版
2012年07月20日
社説:原発の意見聴取会 ずさん過ぎるやり方だ
July 18, 2012(Mainichi Japan)
Editorial: Gov't should be fair in listening to public opinion on nuclear power
社説:原発の意見聴取会 ずさん過ぎるやり方だ
The government's decision to ban employees at electric power companies from expressing themselves during hearings of opinions from members of the general public on Japan's energy policy should be regarded as only natural.
政府は、今後のエネルギー政策について国民の声を聞くための意見聴取会に関し、電力会社の社員が意見表明することを認めないよう運営方法を改めることになった。
Such hearings are important opportunities to reflect public opinion on Japan's key policies, and not venues to listen to interested parties' assertions.
意見聴取会は、国の将来を左右する重要な政策に国民の声を反映させる大切な機会であり、当事者の主張を聞く場ではない。
One cannot help but wonder why electric power industry insiders were initially allowed to attend public hearings on atomic power policy. As long as members of the public doubt whether the government is serious about listening to their opinions, the government cannot ensure fairness of its policy-making process.
運営の見直しは当然のことだ。しかし、なぜ当初からそうしなかったのか。「国民の声を本気で聞く気があるのか」と疑われるようでは、政策決定の正当性は確保できない。
Hearings are being held on three scenarios of Japan's reliance on nuclear power as of 2030: scenario 1 under which nuclear plants would be totally shutdown; scenario 2 under which the ratio of atomic power to Japan's total power supply would be 15 percent; and scenario 3 under which the ratio would be 20-25 percent.
意見聴取会は、２０３０年時点での原発の比率を０％、１５％、２０?２５％とした政府の選択肢について、それぞれを支持する国民から考えを聞くものだ。
Specifically, three members of the public who support scenario 1, three others who back scenario 2 and another three who are in favor of scenario 3 are invited to each hearing to express their opinions. The government has introduced such hearings along with deliberative polls -- which consist of public comments, debate and surveys -- as a means to reflect public opinion in its policy-making.
パブリックコメントの募集、議論とアンケートを組み合わせた「討論型世論調査」と並び、今回の政策決定に国民の意見を生かす有力な手段として取り入れられた。
The government plans to hold 11 such sessions across the country. Three sessions have already been held, and the planning manager of Tohoku Electric Power Co. and a section chief at Chubu Electric Power Co.'s nuclear power department expressed their opinions in favor of atomic power at the Sendai and Nagoya sessions, respectively.
全国１１カ所で開催するが、これまでに開かれた３回のうち、仙台市では東北電力の企画部長が、名古屋市では中部電力原子力部の課長が、いずれも原発推進の立場で意見を述べた。
The number of speakers is limited to nine at each hearing. If one of the nine is a high-ranking official of a power supplier that is promoting nuclear power, it obviously runs counter to the hearings' purpose of listening to opinions from members of the general public, and raises serious questions about the fairness of such sessions.
発言者は、１会場９人に限られる。その１人が、原発推進の当事者である電力会社の幹部では、「国民の意見を聞く」という会の趣旨に反するし、公平性も疑われる。
Questions also remain about the way such hearings are being held. Speakers express their own opinions, but nobody asks questions and no discussion is held. Since opinions expressed by speakers are not summarized by the organizer, how can they be reflected in the government's energy policy?
聴取会の仕組みそのものにも疑問がある。発言者が一方的に考えを述べ、質疑も議論もない。意見はまったく集約されないが、これをどうやって政策決定に反映させるのか。
According to an advertising agency that serves as the secretariat of the hearings, of those who have applied to express their opinions at the Nagoya hearing, nearly 70 percent support a total elimination of nuclear plants, while over 20 percent back the 20-25 percent scenario. In Sendai, about 70 percent of applicants are in favor of the abolition of all nuclear power stations. Judging from these figures, the government's decision to allow three people each in favor of the three scenarios to express their opinions at the hearings is highly questionable.
事務局を務める広告代理店によると、名古屋では応募者のうち原発比率０％支持が７割弱、２０-２５％は２割強で、仙台でも応募者の約７割が０％支持だった。こうした比率を見ると、発言者を各選択肢につき３人ずつとすることにも疑問が残る。
Moreover, three people living in the Tokyo metropolitan area were selected as speakers at the Sendai hearing and underscored the need of nuclear power. In Nagoya, four of the nine speakers were from the Kansai or Kanto regions.
さらに、仙台では首都圏在住者３人が発言者に選ばれ、原発の必要性を訴えた。名古屋でも、発言者のうち４人が関東・関西在住だった。
Such hearings have been organized across the country on the assumption that public opinion on nuclear power varies from region to region depending on the local situation, such as whether they host nuclear power stations. Therefore, such hearings should be held in a way local communities' opinions are reflected in energy policy.
全国で開催するのは、原発立地の有無などにより、地域によって見解も異なりうるという前提で、各地域の意見を聞くためだろう。より地元の声を反映させる形での運営が望ましい。
Biased opinions were expressed in some past symposia and other sessions on nuclear power policy organized by the government in a bid to manipulate public opinion, inviting public distrust. There are observations that the government is reportedly seeking to settle the issue, with an eye to adopting the 15 percent option. Behind the widespread anti-nuclear power campaigns is strong public distrust of the government's stance.
原発政策を巡っては、国主催のシンポジウムなどで「やらせ」による世論誘導がなされ、国民の不信を招いた経緯がある。今回も、政府は１５％案を軸に着地点を探っているとの見方がある。反原発運動が大きな広がりを見せている背景にも、そうした政府への強い不信感があるはずだ。
Hearings on energy policy will continue, and the government is also poised to conduct a deliberative poll on the issue. The government should make every effort to ensure fairness in the way it listens to opinions from the public on nuclear power policy in order not to invite public distrust.
意見聴取会は今後も続き、討論型世論調査も控えている。政府は国民の不信を招くことのないよう、公正性の確保に意を尽くすべきだ。
毎日新聞 2012年07月18日 02時31分
Editorial: Gov't should be fair in listening to public opinion on nuclear power
社説:原発の意見聴取会 ずさん過ぎるやり方だ
The government's decision to ban employees at electric power companies from expressing themselves during hearings of opinions from members of the general public on Japan's energy policy should be regarded as only natural.
政府は、今後のエネルギー政策について国民の声を聞くための意見聴取会に関し、電力会社の社員が意見表明することを認めないよう運営方法を改めることになった。
Such hearings are important opportunities to reflect public opinion on Japan's key policies, and not venues to listen to interested parties' assertions.
意見聴取会は、国の将来を左右する重要な政策に国民の声を反映させる大切な機会であり、当事者の主張を聞く場ではない。
One cannot help but wonder why electric power industry insiders were initially allowed to attend public hearings on atomic power policy. As long as members of the public doubt whether the government is serious about listening to their opinions, the government cannot ensure fairness of its policy-making process.
運営の見直しは当然のことだ。しかし、なぜ当初からそうしなかったのか。「国民の声を本気で聞く気があるのか」と疑われるようでは、政策決定の正当性は確保できない。
Hearings are being held on three scenarios of Japan's reliance on nuclear power as of 2030: scenario 1 under which nuclear plants would be totally shutdown; scenario 2 under which the ratio of atomic power to Japan's total power supply would be 15 percent; and scenario 3 under which the ratio would be 20-25 percent.
意見聴取会は、２０３０年時点での原発の比率を０％、１５％、２０?２５％とした政府の選択肢について、それぞれを支持する国民から考えを聞くものだ。
Specifically, three members of the public who support scenario 1, three others who back scenario 2 and another three who are in favor of scenario 3 are invited to each hearing to express their opinions. The government has introduced such hearings along with deliberative polls -- which consist of public comments, debate and surveys -- as a means to reflect public opinion in its policy-making.
パブリックコメントの募集、議論とアンケートを組み合わせた「討論型世論調査」と並び、今回の政策決定に国民の意見を生かす有力な手段として取り入れられた。
The government plans to hold 11 such sessions across the country. Three sessions have already been held, and the planning manager of Tohoku Electric Power Co. and a section chief at Chubu Electric Power Co.'s nuclear power department expressed their opinions in favor of atomic power at the Sendai and Nagoya sessions, respectively.
全国１１カ所で開催するが、これまでに開かれた３回のうち、仙台市では東北電力の企画部長が、名古屋市では中部電力原子力部の課長が、いずれも原発推進の立場で意見を述べた。
The number of speakers is limited to nine at each hearing. If one of the nine is a high-ranking official of a power supplier that is promoting nuclear power, it obviously runs counter to the hearings' purpose of listening to opinions from members of the general public, and raises serious questions about the fairness of such sessions.
発言者は、１会場９人に限られる。その１人が、原発推進の当事者である電力会社の幹部では、「国民の意見を聞く」という会の趣旨に反するし、公平性も疑われる。
Questions also remain about the way such hearings are being held. Speakers express their own opinions, but nobody asks questions and no discussion is held. Since opinions expressed by speakers are not summarized by the organizer, how can they be reflected in the government's energy policy?
聴取会の仕組みそのものにも疑問がある。発言者が一方的に考えを述べ、質疑も議論もない。意見はまったく集約されないが、これをどうやって政策決定に反映させるのか。
According to an advertising agency that serves as the secretariat of the hearings, of those who have applied to express their opinions at the Nagoya hearing, nearly 70 percent support a total elimination of nuclear plants, while over 20 percent back the 20-25 percent scenario. In Sendai, about 70 percent of applicants are in favor of the abolition of all nuclear power stations. Judging from these figures, the government's decision to allow three people each in favor of the three scenarios to express their opinions at the hearings is highly questionable.
事務局を務める広告代理店によると、名古屋では応募者のうち原発比率０％支持が７割弱、２０-２５％は２割強で、仙台でも応募者の約７割が０％支持だった。こうした比率を見ると、発言者を各選択肢につき３人ずつとすることにも疑問が残る。
Moreover, three people living in the Tokyo metropolitan area were selected as speakers at the Sendai hearing and underscored the need of nuclear power. In Nagoya, four of the nine speakers were from the Kansai or Kanto regions.
さらに、仙台では首都圏在住者３人が発言者に選ばれ、原発の必要性を訴えた。名古屋でも、発言者のうち４人が関東・関西在住だった。
Such hearings have been organized across the country on the assumption that public opinion on nuclear power varies from region to region depending on the local situation, such as whether they host nuclear power stations. Therefore, such hearings should be held in a way local communities' opinions are reflected in energy policy.
全国で開催するのは、原発立地の有無などにより、地域によって見解も異なりうるという前提で、各地域の意見を聞くためだろう。より地元の声を反映させる形での運営が望ましい。
Biased opinions were expressed in some past symposia and other sessions on nuclear power policy organized by the government in a bid to manipulate public opinion, inviting public distrust. There are observations that the government is reportedly seeking to settle the issue, with an eye to adopting the 15 percent option. Behind the widespread anti-nuclear power campaigns is strong public distrust of the government's stance.
原発政策を巡っては、国主催のシンポジウムなどで「やらせ」による世論誘導がなされ、国民の不信を招いた経緯がある。今回も、政府は１５％案を軸に着地点を探っているとの見方がある。反原発運動が大きな広がりを見せている背景にも、そうした政府への強い不信感があるはずだ。
Hearings on energy policy will continue, and the government is also poised to conduct a deliberative poll on the issue. The government should make every effort to ensure fairness in the way it listens to opinions from the public on nuclear power policy in order not to invite public distrust.
意見聴取会は今後も続き、討論型世論調査も控えている。政府は国民の不信を招くことのないよう、公正性の確保に意を尽くすべきだ。
毎日新聞 2012年07月18日 02時31分
2012年07月19日
社説:厚生年金基金改革 決められる政治の出番
July 16, 2012(Mainichi Japan)
Editorial: Pension system must be drastically reformed, welfare pension funds axed
社説:厚生年金基金改革 決められる政治の出番
The alleged misappropriation of at least 100 billion yen of welfare pension funds by asset management firm AIJ Investment Advisors Co. has people worried about the survival of public pensions. Those concerns are a bit off the mark, however.
１０００億円以上もの厚生年金基金を消失させたＡＩＪ投資顧問事件で公的年金の存続を心配する人がいるが、それは違う。
Welfare pension funds are a third tier of pensions set up individually by corporations in addition to the two-tiered public pension scheme, comprised of a basic pension and an employees' pension. The ongoing scandal should not have any effect on public pensions, and any losses incurred by welfare pension funds should be dealt with by member companies.
厚生年金基金とは、基礎年金（１階）と厚生年金（２階）の上に企業が独自に設けた３階部分を指す。１、２階部分の公的年金には本来影響がなく、被害を受けた企業が自己責任で処理すべきものなのである。
The problem is that many of these funds cannot dissolve even if they want to, because they manage portions of the employees' pension on behalf of the national government. Furthermore, because many of the funds affected by the scandal are comprised of small- to mid-scale businesses in depressed industries, forcing repayment could push the companies themselves into bankruptcy. Demanding other fund members to take joint responsibility could even set off a chain of bankruptcies.
問題は、２階部分である厚生年金の一部を国から預かって代行運用しており、そこに穴が開いているため基金を解散したくてもできないことだ。もともと不況業種の中小企業が寄り集まった基金が多く、無理に返済を迫れば企業本体が倒産しかねない。共同で運用している他企業に連帯責任を求めれば連鎖倒産の恐れが出てくる。
The AIJ scandal is characterized by welfare pension funds that were lured by the sweet promise of high yields, after which they were dragged deeper and deeper into trouble. Of 578 welfare pension funds in Japan, some 40 percent now lack the cash necessary to manage a portion of employees' pensions; the total deficit comes out to over 700 billion yen.
危ない高利回りの甘言にだまされた基金がますます泥沼に引きずり込まれたのがＡＩＪ事件である。現在５７８の基金の約４割が、必要な積立金が不足する「代行割れ」の状態で、不足分の総額は７０００億円を超える。
There's no easy way out of this. As a proposal to make it easier for funds in crisis to dissolve, an expert panel to the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare suggested reducing the amount of money that pension funds must return to the government, and eliminating any joint responsibility for repayment among member companies.
妙案があるわけではない。厚生労働省の有識者会議は、危機的な基金を解散しやすくするため、国への返還金の減額や加入企業の連帯返済の廃止などを打ち出した。
How, then, would the gaps left by money that has not been recovered be filled? Reserve funds from public pensions, the panel said. But would subscribers to employee pension plans who have nothing to do with the scandal accept such an idea?
しかし、穴が開いた部分をどうするかといえば、公的年金の積立金で埋めるというのだ。まったく関係のない一般の厚生年金加入者はこれを受け入れるだろうか。
The panel was unable to reach a clear policy on reform that would lower the 5.5-percent projected rate of interest and slash the pension payments that retirees receive, by postponing topics for future deliberation or presenting them with both their pros and cons.
その一方で、予定利率（５．５％）を引き下げたり、ＯＢの年金受給額を減額したりする改革案は検討の継続か両論併記にとどまり、明確な方針は示せなかった。
This may be due in part to precedents in which reductions in pension payments have not easily been accepted, as welfare pension funds serve as a part of an employee's retirement package.
厚生年金基金には退職金の一部という面もあり、容易に減額を認めなかった判例があることも影響しているのだろう。
However, unless pensioners who are receiving the third-tier of their pension schemes at high guaranteed yields share in the pain, it will be difficult to convince employee pension subscribers who will suffer the brunt of the damage.
しかし、高い予定利率の３階建て部分を受給しているＯＢが痛みを分かち合わなければ、とばっちりを受ける厚生年金加入者の納得は得られないのではないか。
When the workforce was much larger than the pensioner population, pension management went smoothly and reserve funds just kept growing.
現役世代が年金受給世代よりはるかに多かったころは年金の運用実績も良く積立金は増えていく一方だった。
In contrast, our rapidly-aging society requires us to cut into our reserves bit by bit.
今は積立金を少しずつ取り崩しながら超高齢化を乗り切っていかねばならない。
To ensure the survival of public pension plans, we must quickly give up on funds that are unsustainable.
公的年金の持続可能性を損なわないためには、「代行割れ」の基金に早く見切りをつけることだ。
And if anyone is to decide who must endure the inevitable pain of this situation, it should be our politicians.
誰かが痛みを引き受けないといけないならば、「決められる政治」の出番ではないか。
All pension funds are suffering from a shrinking work force and a growing population of pensioners.
Unless the economic situation undergoes dramatic improvement, provision of pensions at 5.5-percent estimated yield will leave the government even more financially strapped.
現役が減りＯＢが増えているのはどの基金も同じで、経済状況がよほど改善しない限り５．５％の予定利率で支給し続ければ財政が苦しくなるのはわかりきっている。
It is time for the government to begin fundamental reforms, including the complete abolishment of welfare pension funds.
厚生年金基金制度そのものの廃止も含めて抜本的な改革に着手すべきだ。
毎日新聞 2012年07月16日 02時32分
Editorial: Pension system must be drastically reformed, welfare pension funds axed
社説:厚生年金基金改革 決められる政治の出番
The alleged misappropriation of at least 100 billion yen of welfare pension funds by asset management firm AIJ Investment Advisors Co. has people worried about the survival of public pensions. Those concerns are a bit off the mark, however.
１０００億円以上もの厚生年金基金を消失させたＡＩＪ投資顧問事件で公的年金の存続を心配する人がいるが、それは違う。
Welfare pension funds are a third tier of pensions set up individually by corporations in addition to the two-tiered public pension scheme, comprised of a basic pension and an employees' pension. The ongoing scandal should not have any effect on public pensions, and any losses incurred by welfare pension funds should be dealt with by member companies.
厚生年金基金とは、基礎年金（１階）と厚生年金（２階）の上に企業が独自に設けた３階部分を指す。１、２階部分の公的年金には本来影響がなく、被害を受けた企業が自己責任で処理すべきものなのである。
The problem is that many of these funds cannot dissolve even if they want to, because they manage portions of the employees' pension on behalf of the national government. Furthermore, because many of the funds affected by the scandal are comprised of small- to mid-scale businesses in depressed industries, forcing repayment could push the companies themselves into bankruptcy. Demanding other fund members to take joint responsibility could even set off a chain of bankruptcies.
問題は、２階部分である厚生年金の一部を国から預かって代行運用しており、そこに穴が開いているため基金を解散したくてもできないことだ。もともと不況業種の中小企業が寄り集まった基金が多く、無理に返済を迫れば企業本体が倒産しかねない。共同で運用している他企業に連帯責任を求めれば連鎖倒産の恐れが出てくる。
The AIJ scandal is characterized by welfare pension funds that were lured by the sweet promise of high yields, after which they were dragged deeper and deeper into trouble. Of 578 welfare pension funds in Japan, some 40 percent now lack the cash necessary to manage a portion of employees' pensions; the total deficit comes out to over 700 billion yen.
危ない高利回りの甘言にだまされた基金がますます泥沼に引きずり込まれたのがＡＩＪ事件である。現在５７８の基金の約４割が、必要な積立金が不足する「代行割れ」の状態で、不足分の総額は７０００億円を超える。
There's no easy way out of this. As a proposal to make it easier for funds in crisis to dissolve, an expert panel to the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare suggested reducing the amount of money that pension funds must return to the government, and eliminating any joint responsibility for repayment among member companies.
妙案があるわけではない。厚生労働省の有識者会議は、危機的な基金を解散しやすくするため、国への返還金の減額や加入企業の連帯返済の廃止などを打ち出した。
How, then, would the gaps left by money that has not been recovered be filled? Reserve funds from public pensions, the panel said. But would subscribers to employee pension plans who have nothing to do with the scandal accept such an idea?
しかし、穴が開いた部分をどうするかといえば、公的年金の積立金で埋めるというのだ。まったく関係のない一般の厚生年金加入者はこれを受け入れるだろうか。
The panel was unable to reach a clear policy on reform that would lower the 5.5-percent projected rate of interest and slash the pension payments that retirees receive, by postponing topics for future deliberation or presenting them with both their pros and cons.
その一方で、予定利率（５．５％）を引き下げたり、ＯＢの年金受給額を減額したりする改革案は検討の継続か両論併記にとどまり、明確な方針は示せなかった。
This may be due in part to precedents in which reductions in pension payments have not easily been accepted, as welfare pension funds serve as a part of an employee's retirement package.
厚生年金基金には退職金の一部という面もあり、容易に減額を認めなかった判例があることも影響しているのだろう。
However, unless pensioners who are receiving the third-tier of their pension schemes at high guaranteed yields share in the pain, it will be difficult to convince employee pension subscribers who will suffer the brunt of the damage.
しかし、高い予定利率の３階建て部分を受給しているＯＢが痛みを分かち合わなければ、とばっちりを受ける厚生年金加入者の納得は得られないのではないか。
When the workforce was much larger than the pensioner population, pension management went smoothly and reserve funds just kept growing.
現役世代が年金受給世代よりはるかに多かったころは年金の運用実績も良く積立金は増えていく一方だった。
In contrast, our rapidly-aging society requires us to cut into our reserves bit by bit.
今は積立金を少しずつ取り崩しながら超高齢化を乗り切っていかねばならない。
To ensure the survival of public pension plans, we must quickly give up on funds that are unsustainable.
公的年金の持続可能性を損なわないためには、「代行割れ」の基金に早く見切りをつけることだ。
And if anyone is to decide who must endure the inevitable pain of this situation, it should be our politicians.
誰かが痛みを引き受けないといけないならば、「決められる政治」の出番ではないか。
All pension funds are suffering from a shrinking work force and a growing population of pensioners.
Unless the economic situation undergoes dramatic improvement, provision of pensions at 5.5-percent estimated yield will leave the government even more financially strapped.
現役が減りＯＢが増えているのはどの基金も同じで、経済状況がよほど改善しない限り５．５％の予定利率で支給し続ければ財政が苦しくなるのはわかりきっている。
It is time for the government to begin fundamental reforms, including the complete abolishment of welfare pension funds.
厚生年金基金制度そのものの廃止も含めて抜本的な改革に着手すべきだ。
毎日新聞 2012年07月16日 02時32分
2012年07月18日
香山リカのココロの万華鏡:調査の「ゴール」が違う ／東京
人間の本性とは所詮そのようなものなのです。
江戸時代の村八分、明治の同和問題など、この人間の性（さが）に根ざすものではないでしょうか。
タイでは王室を中心として｢to be number one｣というサークル活動がタイ全土で盛んに行われています。私も10年前に参加しています。
こちらは麻薬撲滅運動なのですが、似たようなサークル活動を全国的に展開すべきですね。野田さんなら出来るかも知れません。
（スラチャイ）
July 15, 2012(Mainichi Japan)
Kaleidoscope of the Heart: Otsu school's bullying survey missed the point
香山リカのココロの万華鏡:調査の「ゴール」が違う ／東京
Recently, it became clear that severe bullying was behind the suicide of a second year junior high school student in Otsu, Shiga Prefecture, last October.
昨年１０月、滋賀県大津市で当時、中学２年の男子生徒が自殺した問題。背景には、深刻ないじめがあったことが明らかになった。
Following the boy's death, the city board of education conducted a survey on all students at the school, to which 16 answered that bullies had "forced (the boy) to 'practice suicide,'" among other acts.
市の教育委員会がこの生徒が自殺した後に全校アンケートを実施したところ、１６人が「（死亡した生徒が）自殺のリハーサルをするように強制されたと聞いた」などと回答を寄せていたという。
However, after questioning the suspected bullies and investigating other aspects of the case, city board of education officials concluded that "although it was confirmed that bullying in fact took place, we are unable to say that it had a causal link with the suicide."
しかし、その後、市教委は加害者とされる生徒への聞き取りなどを経て、「いじめはあったが、それと自殺の因果関係は判断できない」との見解を示した。
In the past, too, the phrase, "We are unable to specify a cause-and-effect relationship," has often been used in suicide cases.
これまでも自殺をめぐる問題で、「因果関係は特定できない」というフレーズが使われてきた。
Workplace harassment, prolonged labor in severe conditions, bullying by superiors, domestic violence, and now school bullying have all been settled by saying that "the relationship between the (suggested) cause and the fatalities is unclear."
「職場でのいやがらせはあったが、それと自殺との因果関係は明らかではない」というように、「長時間の過酷な労働」「上司からのハラスメント」「夫婦間の暴力」そして今回のような「学校でのいじめ」などが、「被害者の自殺との因果関係ははっきりしない」と結論づけられてきたのだ。
The aim behind surveys such as that conducted at the school in Otsu, however, is wrong from the start.
こういった調査では、そもそものゴールが間違っている。
If the purpose of conducting the questionnaires is to find the cause of suicides, it's obvious that these attempts will end with officials saying, "We have been unable to determine the motive."
因果関係を特定するのが目的なら、それは「判断できない」という答えにたどり着くのは目に見えているのだ。
That is because the only person who can really confirm the motive is no longer alive.
それを証明できる唯一の人である本人が、もうこの世にいないからだ。
As long as there is no one to point out the exact cause, and as long as the incident was not a scientific experiment where all conditions are rigorously controlled, it is extremely difficult to prove the relationship between a single cause and its effect.
「原因はこれです」と言える人がいなければ、条件が厳密に整えられた科学の実験でもない限り、ひとつの原因とひとつの結果との関係を証明するのはきわめてむずかしい。
For example, a person who is rejected for a job may think that the failure was because they spoke too quietly at the interview, but in fact there are many other possible reasons, including the content of the talk and the person's attitude, for example.
就職試験に失敗した人が、「面接で声が小さかったからかな」と想像しても、ほかにも話の内容や態度など考えられる原因はいくつもある。
In this case, the only thing the person can do to confirm their theory is to ask the official in charge of the hiring directly whether it was their voice that prompted the rejection.
そうなると、決め手は採用者に「私を落としたのは、声の大きさに問題があったからですか」と尋ねるほかなく、
If they're unable to do so, no matter how much time they spend pondering why they were rejected, the answer is unknowable.
それができないならいくら考えても「因果関係は明らかではない」という答えしかなくなる。
In the case of the boy's suicide, too, what should've been done was not searching for the cause of his death, looking for the guilty parties, or attempting to find out the relation between causes and the suicide.
今回の問題でも、やらなければならなかったのは自殺の原因探し、犯人探しや因果関係の証明ではなかったはずだ。
What should have been done was to first admit that severe bullying had taken place, followed by concrete consideration of why the bullying happened, why it couldn't be prevented, and what measures must be taken against it from now on.
まずは「深刻ないじめがあった」という事実を認め、なぜ起きたか、なぜ防げなかったか、今後の対策は、といった具体的な検討を行うべきだ。
Still, I wonder why bullying hasn't disappeared from schools.
それにしても、学校でのいじめはなぜなくならないのだろう。
There should be some deeper reason that allows it to persist despite the establishment of measures such as "discussing the importance of life" or "enforcing severe penalties" for offenders.
I also believe that those who bully have very distorted minds and have themselves been pushed to the edge.
「命の大切さを教える」とか「厳罰化を進める」といった対策では解決できない深い問題がいまの教育の現場にはあり、いじめを行う側の心も相当、ゆがめられ追い詰められているのだと思う。
What is it that makes one want to bully others?
なぜいじめたくなるのか。
And why are those who are being bullied not seeking help?
なぜ「いじめられてる」とＳＯＳを出せないか。
This is a problem that requires further thought.
もう一度、考えてみたい。
(By Rika Kayama, psychiatrist)
毎日新聞 2012年07月10日 地方版
江戸時代の村八分、明治の同和問題など、この人間の性（さが）に根ざすものではないでしょうか。
タイでは王室を中心として｢to be number one｣というサークル活動がタイ全土で盛んに行われています。私も10年前に参加しています。
こちらは麻薬撲滅運動なのですが、似たようなサークル活動を全国的に展開すべきですね。野田さんなら出来るかも知れません。
（スラチャイ）
July 15, 2012(Mainichi Japan)
Kaleidoscope of the Heart: Otsu school's bullying survey missed the point
香山リカのココロの万華鏡:調査の「ゴール」が違う ／東京
Recently, it became clear that severe bullying was behind the suicide of a second year junior high school student in Otsu, Shiga Prefecture, last October.
昨年１０月、滋賀県大津市で当時、中学２年の男子生徒が自殺した問題。背景には、深刻ないじめがあったことが明らかになった。
Following the boy's death, the city board of education conducted a survey on all students at the school, to which 16 answered that bullies had "forced (the boy) to 'practice suicide,'" among other acts.
市の教育委員会がこの生徒が自殺した後に全校アンケートを実施したところ、１６人が「（死亡した生徒が）自殺のリハーサルをするように強制されたと聞いた」などと回答を寄せていたという。
However, after questioning the suspected bullies and investigating other aspects of the case, city board of education officials concluded that "although it was confirmed that bullying in fact took place, we are unable to say that it had a causal link with the suicide."
しかし、その後、市教委は加害者とされる生徒への聞き取りなどを経て、「いじめはあったが、それと自殺の因果関係は判断できない」との見解を示した。
In the past, too, the phrase, "We are unable to specify a cause-and-effect relationship," has often been used in suicide cases.
これまでも自殺をめぐる問題で、「因果関係は特定できない」というフレーズが使われてきた。
Workplace harassment, prolonged labor in severe conditions, bullying by superiors, domestic violence, and now school bullying have all been settled by saying that "the relationship between the (suggested) cause and the fatalities is unclear."
「職場でのいやがらせはあったが、それと自殺との因果関係は明らかではない」というように、「長時間の過酷な労働」「上司からのハラスメント」「夫婦間の暴力」そして今回のような「学校でのいじめ」などが、「被害者の自殺との因果関係ははっきりしない」と結論づけられてきたのだ。
The aim behind surveys such as that conducted at the school in Otsu, however, is wrong from the start.
こういった調査では、そもそものゴールが間違っている。
If the purpose of conducting the questionnaires is to find the cause of suicides, it's obvious that these attempts will end with officials saying, "We have been unable to determine the motive."
因果関係を特定するのが目的なら、それは「判断できない」という答えにたどり着くのは目に見えているのだ。
That is because the only person who can really confirm the motive is no longer alive.
それを証明できる唯一の人である本人が、もうこの世にいないからだ。
As long as there is no one to point out the exact cause, and as long as the incident was not a scientific experiment where all conditions are rigorously controlled, it is extremely difficult to prove the relationship between a single cause and its effect.
「原因はこれです」と言える人がいなければ、条件が厳密に整えられた科学の実験でもない限り、ひとつの原因とひとつの結果との関係を証明するのはきわめてむずかしい。
For example, a person who is rejected for a job may think that the failure was because they spoke too quietly at the interview, but in fact there are many other possible reasons, including the content of the talk and the person's attitude, for example.
就職試験に失敗した人が、「面接で声が小さかったからかな」と想像しても、ほかにも話の内容や態度など考えられる原因はいくつもある。
In this case, the only thing the person can do to confirm their theory is to ask the official in charge of the hiring directly whether it was their voice that prompted the rejection.
そうなると、決め手は採用者に「私を落としたのは、声の大きさに問題があったからですか」と尋ねるほかなく、
If they're unable to do so, no matter how much time they spend pondering why they were rejected, the answer is unknowable.
それができないならいくら考えても「因果関係は明らかではない」という答えしかなくなる。
In the case of the boy's suicide, too, what should've been done was not searching for the cause of his death, looking for the guilty parties, or attempting to find out the relation between causes and the suicide.
今回の問題でも、やらなければならなかったのは自殺の原因探し、犯人探しや因果関係の証明ではなかったはずだ。
What should have been done was to first admit that severe bullying had taken place, followed by concrete consideration of why the bullying happened, why it couldn't be prevented, and what measures must be taken against it from now on.
まずは「深刻ないじめがあった」という事実を認め、なぜ起きたか、なぜ防げなかったか、今後の対策は、といった具体的な検討を行うべきだ。
Still, I wonder why bullying hasn't disappeared from schools.
それにしても、学校でのいじめはなぜなくならないのだろう。
There should be some deeper reason that allows it to persist despite the establishment of measures such as "discussing the importance of life" or "enforcing severe penalties" for offenders.
I also believe that those who bully have very distorted minds and have themselves been pushed to the edge.
「命の大切さを教える」とか「厳罰化を進める」といった対策では解決できない深い問題がいまの教育の現場にはあり、いじめを行う側の心も相当、ゆがめられ追い詰められているのだと思う。
What is it that makes one want to bully others?
なぜいじめたくなるのか。
And why are those who are being bullied not seeking help?
なぜ「いじめられてる」とＳＯＳを出せないか。
This is a problem that requires further thought.
もう一度、考えてみたい。
(By Rika Kayama, psychiatrist)
毎日新聞 2012年07月10日 地方版
2012年07月10日
香山リカのココロの万華鏡:受給者の苦悩に配慮を ／東京
July 08, 2012(Mainichi Japan)
Kaleidoscope of the Heart: Remember there is no shame in accepting welfare
香山リカのココロの万華鏡:受給者の苦悩に配慮を ／東京
Recently, a committee for tackling illegal public assistance payouts has been launched in Kanagawa Prefecture. It appears that prefectural authorities and local law enforcers will be collaborating to establish a system to purge fraudulent public assistance recipients from the welfare rolls.
神奈川県では、生活保護をめぐる連絡会が発足、不正受給の撲滅を目指すという。行政と県警がタッグを組んで不正受給をなくすシステムを作っていくそうだ。
When I hear people saying things along the lines of, "People taking welfare unlawfully is indeed a problem, but...," I feel somewhat depressed. As a matter of fact, a number of my patients have told me they're considering taking themselves off public assistance, such as cancelling their disability pensions or their applications for injury or illness allowances.
「たしかに不正受給は問題だけどね」と、こういう話題を耳にすると気持ちがめいってしまう。実は私の診察室でもすでに何人かが、「障害年金をもらっているがやめたいと思う」「休職中だが今月は傷病手当の申請を辞退したい」などと言い出しているのだ。
One tearful patient, currently unable to work due to an illness and with a family on welfare, told me, "They are my relatives so I should be the one sending them money.
親族が生活保護を受給し、自分もいま病気で仕事につくことができないある患者さんは、「やっぱり親族ですから私が仕送りすべきですよね。本当に情けない」と涙を浮かべた。
I feel really miserable." The other patients of mine who raised similar concerns are all taking welfare assistance as a last resort, just to maintain a base-line standard of living. These folks can hardly be accused of welfare fraud.
みんなそれ以外の方法がなく、ギリギリの生活を保つために、年金や手当をもらっている人たちだ。断じて不正受給などではない。
I tell such patients that they should hold their heads high and continue receiving their allowances without feeling bad about it. But they, feeling a heavy sense of responsibility, shake their heads in disapproval.
「あなたの場合、堂々ともらっていいんですよ」などと励ましてみるが、まじめな彼らは首を横に振る。
"While the government is talking of increasing the consumption tax to improve Japan's finances, I feel extremely bad for taking public money," one patient said. "When I watch reports of illegal welfare recipients on TV, I feel as if they are pointing at me, and I feel alienated."
「だって国の財政もたいへんで消費税を上げようという中、私が公的なお金をいただくのは、申し訳なさすぎますよ。テレビで不正受給の話題が取り上げられるたび、自分が責められているようで身の置きどころがなくなります」
All welfare recipients that I know of feel similar. There are some media reports on public assistance recipients who drive foreign cars, or on criminals coercing social workers into putting them on the public assistance rolls. However, I want to ask: Where are these things actually happening?
私が知っている生活保護や障害年金の受給者は、みなこのような人たちなのだ。一部で伝えられているような、「生活保護なのに外車を乗り回している」「福祉課の職員を脅迫して申請している」といった例がいったいどこにいるのか、と言いたいくらいだ。
What will happen to people if they withdraw from welfare assistance? I find statements such as "as long as one is determined, they should be able to find all sorts of jobs," mostly come from people lucky enough to be both healthy and socially engaged.
もし、彼らが役所の窓口に行って「今月でもうけっこうです」と受け取りを辞退したら、その先はどうなるのだろう。「やる気になればどんな仕事でもあるはず」などと言うのは、健康や人間関係に恵まれている人の発想なのではないか。
What I tell my patients is: "I understand your feelings well. But you still need a little bit more time before you return to work. Until then, please protect your life by accepting welfare assistance, and concentrate on your treatment. You can repay society for its kindness after you recover." This does not, however, bring a smile to their faces.
「気持ちはよくわかりました。でも、働けるようになるまでにはもう少しだけ時間がかかります。それまでは生活保護でしっかり自分の生活を守ってください。安心して療養に専念してください。世の中への恩返しは、元気になってからでもいいじゃないですか」。社会からの支えを借りても生き続けるように、と必死に励ますが、「はあ、そうですか」と答える彼らの笑顔はどことなく力ない。
I agree that it is important to crack down on illegal welfare recipients. However, at the same time I hope another system -- one that tracks down people who need assistance but aren't getting it -- is also launched.
不正受給を取り締まるのも必要かもしれないが、本当に必要なのに社会的サービスが行きわたっていない人を見つける、というシステムも作ってほしい。
The number of people who are unable to maintain even the most basic standard of living, and who are in a constant fear of "causing trouble" to others, is greater than people imagine.
世の中には「誰の迷惑にもなりたくない」と最低限のレベルの生活さえ送れないまま生きている人が、想像よりたくさんいるのだ。
(By Rika Kayama, psychiatrist)
毎日新聞 2012年07月03日 地方版
Kaleidoscope of the Heart: Remember there is no shame in accepting welfare
香山リカのココロの万華鏡:受給者の苦悩に配慮を ／東京
Recently, a committee for tackling illegal public assistance payouts has been launched in Kanagawa Prefecture. It appears that prefectural authorities and local law enforcers will be collaborating to establish a system to purge fraudulent public assistance recipients from the welfare rolls.
神奈川県では、生活保護をめぐる連絡会が発足、不正受給の撲滅を目指すという。行政と県警がタッグを組んで不正受給をなくすシステムを作っていくそうだ。
When I hear people saying things along the lines of, "People taking welfare unlawfully is indeed a problem, but...," I feel somewhat depressed. As a matter of fact, a number of my patients have told me they're considering taking themselves off public assistance, such as cancelling their disability pensions or their applications for injury or illness allowances.
「たしかに不正受給は問題だけどね」と、こういう話題を耳にすると気持ちがめいってしまう。実は私の診察室でもすでに何人かが、「障害年金をもらっているがやめたいと思う」「休職中だが今月は傷病手当の申請を辞退したい」などと言い出しているのだ。
One tearful patient, currently unable to work due to an illness and with a family on welfare, told me, "They are my relatives so I should be the one sending them money.
親族が生活保護を受給し、自分もいま病気で仕事につくことができないある患者さんは、「やっぱり親族ですから私が仕送りすべきですよね。本当に情けない」と涙を浮かべた。
I feel really miserable." The other patients of mine who raised similar concerns are all taking welfare assistance as a last resort, just to maintain a base-line standard of living. These folks can hardly be accused of welfare fraud.
みんなそれ以外の方法がなく、ギリギリの生活を保つために、年金や手当をもらっている人たちだ。断じて不正受給などではない。
I tell such patients that they should hold their heads high and continue receiving their allowances without feeling bad about it. But they, feeling a heavy sense of responsibility, shake their heads in disapproval.
「あなたの場合、堂々ともらっていいんですよ」などと励ましてみるが、まじめな彼らは首を横に振る。
"While the government is talking of increasing the consumption tax to improve Japan's finances, I feel extremely bad for taking public money," one patient said. "When I watch reports of illegal welfare recipients on TV, I feel as if they are pointing at me, and I feel alienated."
「だって国の財政もたいへんで消費税を上げようという中、私が公的なお金をいただくのは、申し訳なさすぎますよ。テレビで不正受給の話題が取り上げられるたび、自分が責められているようで身の置きどころがなくなります」
All welfare recipients that I know of feel similar. There are some media reports on public assistance recipients who drive foreign cars, or on criminals coercing social workers into putting them on the public assistance rolls. However, I want to ask: Where are these things actually happening?
私が知っている生活保護や障害年金の受給者は、みなこのような人たちなのだ。一部で伝えられているような、「生活保護なのに外車を乗り回している」「福祉課の職員を脅迫して申請している」といった例がいったいどこにいるのか、と言いたいくらいだ。
What will happen to people if they withdraw from welfare assistance? I find statements such as "as long as one is determined, they should be able to find all sorts of jobs," mostly come from people lucky enough to be both healthy and socially engaged.
もし、彼らが役所の窓口に行って「今月でもうけっこうです」と受け取りを辞退したら、その先はどうなるのだろう。「やる気になればどんな仕事でもあるはず」などと言うのは、健康や人間関係に恵まれている人の発想なのではないか。
What I tell my patients is: "I understand your feelings well. But you still need a little bit more time before you return to work. Until then, please protect your life by accepting welfare assistance, and concentrate on your treatment. You can repay society for its kindness after you recover." This does not, however, bring a smile to their faces.
「気持ちはよくわかりました。でも、働けるようになるまでにはもう少しだけ時間がかかります。それまでは生活保護でしっかり自分の生活を守ってください。安心して療養に専念してください。世の中への恩返しは、元気になってからでもいいじゃないですか」。社会からの支えを借りても生き続けるように、と必死に励ますが、「はあ、そうですか」と答える彼らの笑顔はどことなく力ない。
I agree that it is important to crack down on illegal welfare recipients. However, at the same time I hope another system -- one that tracks down people who need assistance but aren't getting it -- is also launched.
不正受給を取り締まるのも必要かもしれないが、本当に必要なのに社会的サービスが行きわたっていない人を見つける、というシステムも作ってほしい。
The number of people who are unable to maintain even the most basic standard of living, and who are in a constant fear of "causing trouble" to others, is greater than people imagine.
世の中には「誰の迷惑にもなりたくない」と最低限のレベルの生活さえ送れないまま生きている人が、想像よりたくさんいるのだ。
(By Rika Kayama, psychiatrist)
毎日新聞 2012年07月03日 地方版
2012年07月06日
社説:電力政策の未来 国民の主体的な選択で
July 04, 2012(Mainichi Japan)
Japan's energy future must be decided by its people
社説:電力政策の未来 国民の主体的な選択で
The people of Japan must soon choose one option from among three mid- and long-term energy policy scenarios -- including levels of reliance on nuclear power ranging from zero to 25 percent -- announced recently by the government's Energy and Environment Council. The government is expected to adopt one of them by the end of August based on a national debate, and map out an "innovative energy and environment strategy" based on it.
政府のエネルギー・環境会議が、中長期のエネルギー政策に関する三つの選択肢を示した。政府は国民的議論を経て、８月末までに一つに絞り、「革新的エネルギー・環境戦略」としてまとめる。
It will be a crucial choice that will determine the future of Japan. It is necessary to hold calm discussions on the issue and draw a conclusion that will convince every member of the public. To that end, it is indispensable for the government to provide accurate information such that the Japanese people can judge each option on its merits, and to hold discussions that will reflect the popular will.
日本の将来を左右する重大な選択だ。冷静な議論を重ね、納得いく結論を得る必要がある。それには、国民の判断の基準になる正確な情報提供や、民意を公正に反映する議論の場が不可欠だ。
Under scenarios 1, 2 and 3, the ratio of atomic power to total power consumption in Japan would be lowered to 0 percent, 15 percent and 20-25 percent, respectively, by 2030. Depending on the degree of Japan's dependence on nuclear power, the council estimated how far greenhouse gas emissions could be reduced, how much electricity charges would need to be raised and how much the country's GDP would be impacted.
３０年時点での電力の原子力発電依存度は０％、１５％、２０?２５％の３通り。原発依存度に応じ、温室効果ガスの削減度合いや電気料金の上げ幅、国内総生産（ＧＤＰ）への影響なども試算している。
However, since each estimated figure has a wide range, the scenarios have not clearly shown how much effect a reduction in nuclear power would have on Japan's economy and the livelihoods of consumers, making it difficult for people to choose between the three options. We urge the council to provide more detailed and understandable information by explaining the basis for its calculations, the specific effects of a reduction in nuclear power on various fields, and other clarifications.
もっとも、そうした試算値には大きな幅があり、影響の大きさは見えにくい。これでは国民が選択するのも難しい。算定の根拠を詳しく説明したり、さまざまな分野で生じる影響を実感しやすい形で示すなど、より丁寧な情報提供を求めたい。
The government views Scenario 2 as the most realistic option because it calls for a mid-level reduction in atomic power and meshes with government policy to shut down reactors after 40 years of service. However, as the government is supposed to work out its new energy and environment policy based on national debate, it must not lead public opinion into supporting the scenario it favors.
政府は、原発依存度を１５％にする案を有力視している。三つの選択肢の中間に位置し、政府が掲げる原発の「４０年廃炉規定」をベースにしているからだ。しかし、「国民的議論」を前提とするからには、「結論ありき」で、民意を誘導することがあってはならない。
As part of national debate on Japan's future energy and environment policy, the government will hold its first so-called deliberative poll, ask members of the general public to submit their opinions and hold information sessions on the issue across Japan. In deliberative polls, randomly selected members of the public are surveyed on specific issues and invited to participate in debate sessions. Afterwards, they are queried again to see how their opinions have changed. This method, which makes it possible to tap a wide range of views from those who would not usually voice their opinions, is reportedly effective in getting a detailed view of public sentiment.
政府は、パブリックコメントの募集や全国での説明会に加え、今回初めて「討論型世論調査（ＤＰ）」を実施する。選択肢に関する世論調査を行い、回答者から討論会への参加者を募って、討論の前後で意見がどう変わったかを調査する手法だ。積極的に意見を表明しない層の意見をくみ上げられるなど、きめ細かく民意を探るのに適しているという。
In the past, many town meetings on specific policy issues and hearings on nuclear power policy have been criticized as unfair, as their organizers apparently attempted to lead public opinion with staged questions and stacked audiences. The management of the government's deliberative poll on energy and environment policy will be left to the discretion of a third-party panel to be set up shortly. The results of the survey will not win public trust unless the government ensures transparency through appointing appropriate experts to the panel and disclosing in full how the poll will operate.
これまで、民意を政策に反映させるためのタウンミーティングや原子力政策を巡る公聴会では、やらせや不公正な運営が、しばしば問題になった。ＤＰの運営は、新たに発足させる第三者委員会に委ねられる。委員の人選に意を尽くし、途中経過も公表するなど公正で透明性の高い運営を確保しなければ、結果への信頼は得られないだろう。
Questions remain as to the three scenarios themselves. Even if Scenario 2, which calls for a reduction in Japan's reliance on atomic power to 15 percent, is adopted, the ratio could be further reduced if some nuclear plants must be decommissioned for safety reasons before they hit 40 years in operation. None of the scenarios posit an energy and environmental vision for beyond 2030.
今回の選択肢そのものにも問題は残る。軸になりそうな原発依存度「１５％」は、立地条件などで耐用年数前に停止すべき原発があれば、引き下げ可能なはずだ。３０年以降の将来像も見通せない。
Regarding how to deal with spent nuclear fuel, scenarios 2 and 3 leave all possible options open, including full recycling.
また、使用済み核燃料の処理については、依存度０％の場合を除き、全量再処理を含むあらゆる可能性が残されたままだ。
This is a good opportunity for members of the general public to proactively choose their nation's policy. They should ask the government to clarify what they do not fully understand, and make a feasible choice that will guarantee Japan's energy security and protect the environment on a long-term basis.
国民にとっては、自ら主体になって選択する大切な機会だ。疑問は政府にしっかりとただし、将来に責任を持てる結論につなげたい。
Japan's energy future must be decided by its people
社説:電力政策の未来 国民の主体的な選択で
The people of Japan must soon choose one option from among three mid- and long-term energy policy scenarios -- including levels of reliance on nuclear power ranging from zero to 25 percent -- announced recently by the government's Energy and Environment Council. The government is expected to adopt one of them by the end of August based on a national debate, and map out an "innovative energy and environment strategy" based on it.
政府のエネルギー・環境会議が、中長期のエネルギー政策に関する三つの選択肢を示した。政府は国民的議論を経て、８月末までに一つに絞り、「革新的エネルギー・環境戦略」としてまとめる。
It will be a crucial choice that will determine the future of Japan. It is necessary to hold calm discussions on the issue and draw a conclusion that will convince every member of the public. To that end, it is indispensable for the government to provide accurate information such that the Japanese people can judge each option on its merits, and to hold discussions that will reflect the popular will.
日本の将来を左右する重大な選択だ。冷静な議論を重ね、納得いく結論を得る必要がある。それには、国民の判断の基準になる正確な情報提供や、民意を公正に反映する議論の場が不可欠だ。
Under scenarios 1, 2 and 3, the ratio of atomic power to total power consumption in Japan would be lowered to 0 percent, 15 percent and 20-25 percent, respectively, by 2030. Depending on the degree of Japan's dependence on nuclear power, the council estimated how far greenhouse gas emissions could be reduced, how much electricity charges would need to be raised and how much the country's GDP would be impacted.
３０年時点での電力の原子力発電依存度は０％、１５％、２０?２５％の３通り。原発依存度に応じ、温室効果ガスの削減度合いや電気料金の上げ幅、国内総生産（ＧＤＰ）への影響なども試算している。
However, since each estimated figure has a wide range, the scenarios have not clearly shown how much effect a reduction in nuclear power would have on Japan's economy and the livelihoods of consumers, making it difficult for people to choose between the three options. We urge the council to provide more detailed and understandable information by explaining the basis for its calculations, the specific effects of a reduction in nuclear power on various fields, and other clarifications.
もっとも、そうした試算値には大きな幅があり、影響の大きさは見えにくい。これでは国民が選択するのも難しい。算定の根拠を詳しく説明したり、さまざまな分野で生じる影響を実感しやすい形で示すなど、より丁寧な情報提供を求めたい。
The government views Scenario 2 as the most realistic option because it calls for a mid-level reduction in atomic power and meshes with government policy to shut down reactors after 40 years of service. However, as the government is supposed to work out its new energy and environment policy based on national debate, it must not lead public opinion into supporting the scenario it favors.
政府は、原発依存度を１５％にする案を有力視している。三つの選択肢の中間に位置し、政府が掲げる原発の「４０年廃炉規定」をベースにしているからだ。しかし、「国民的議論」を前提とするからには、「結論ありき」で、民意を誘導することがあってはならない。
As part of national debate on Japan's future energy and environment policy, the government will hold its first so-called deliberative poll, ask members of the general public to submit their opinions and hold information sessions on the issue across Japan. In deliberative polls, randomly selected members of the public are surveyed on specific issues and invited to participate in debate sessions. Afterwards, they are queried again to see how their opinions have changed. This method, which makes it possible to tap a wide range of views from those who would not usually voice their opinions, is reportedly effective in getting a detailed view of public sentiment.
政府は、パブリックコメントの募集や全国での説明会に加え、今回初めて「討論型世論調査（ＤＰ）」を実施する。選択肢に関する世論調査を行い、回答者から討論会への参加者を募って、討論の前後で意見がどう変わったかを調査する手法だ。積極的に意見を表明しない層の意見をくみ上げられるなど、きめ細かく民意を探るのに適しているという。
In the past, many town meetings on specific policy issues and hearings on nuclear power policy have been criticized as unfair, as their organizers apparently attempted to lead public opinion with staged questions and stacked audiences. The management of the government's deliberative poll on energy and environment policy will be left to the discretion of a third-party panel to be set up shortly. The results of the survey will not win public trust unless the government ensures transparency through appointing appropriate experts to the panel and disclosing in full how the poll will operate.
これまで、民意を政策に反映させるためのタウンミーティングや原子力政策を巡る公聴会では、やらせや不公正な運営が、しばしば問題になった。ＤＰの運営は、新たに発足させる第三者委員会に委ねられる。委員の人選に意を尽くし、途中経過も公表するなど公正で透明性の高い運営を確保しなければ、結果への信頼は得られないだろう。
Questions remain as to the three scenarios themselves. Even if Scenario 2, which calls for a reduction in Japan's reliance on atomic power to 15 percent, is adopted, the ratio could be further reduced if some nuclear plants must be decommissioned for safety reasons before they hit 40 years in operation. None of the scenarios posit an energy and environmental vision for beyond 2030.
今回の選択肢そのものにも問題は残る。軸になりそうな原発依存度「１５％」は、立地条件などで耐用年数前に停止すべき原発があれば、引き下げ可能なはずだ。３０年以降の将来像も見通せない。
Regarding how to deal with spent nuclear fuel, scenarios 2 and 3 leave all possible options open, including full recycling.
また、使用済み核燃料の処理については、依存度０％の場合を除き、全量再処理を含むあらゆる可能性が残されたままだ。
This is a good opportunity for members of the general public to proactively choose their nation's policy. They should ask the government to clarify what they do not fully understand, and make a feasible choice that will guarantee Japan's energy security and protect the environment on a long-term basis.
国民にとっては、自ら主体になって選択する大切な機会だ。疑問は政府にしっかりとただし、将来に責任を持てる結論につなげたい。
2012年05月14日
社説:プーチン新体制 関係深めて突破口探れ
May 11, 2012(Mainichi Japan)
Editorial: Japan should work with Russia to solve territorial dispute as Putin becomes president
社説:プーチン新体制 関係深めて突破口探れ
Japan should seek a breakthrough in its deadlocked territorial dispute with Russia by strengthening its relations with the new administration of Russian President Vladimir Putin.
（プーチン新政権との関係強化で行き詰まっている北方領土問題も解決して欲しい trans. by srachai ）
Putin, former prime minister, has been sworn in as president again and appointed his predecessor Dmitry Medvedev as prime minister, whose role is to handle domestic affairs.
ロシアでプーチン前首相が４年ぶりに大統領に復帰し、メドベージェフ前大統領はその下で内政を取り仕切る首相に就任した。
In other words, the two swapped their positions, and Putin, who had been the second-in-command in the Russian government under the Constitution, has become the top leader again and is expected to show his strong leadership in governing the country.
２人が役どころをかえた形だが、これまで憲法上は「ナンバー２」だったプーチン氏が名実ともに国家指導者の座に返り咲き、ロシアの一層の国力強化に向けて強い主導権を発揮していくことになるだろう。
However, the second Putin administration, which follows his first administration from 2000 to 2008, faces a thorny path.
だが、００〜０８年に続く「第２次プーチン政権」の船出は波乱含みだ。
More than 20,000 citizens gathered for a demonstration in Moscow on May 6 to express their opposition to Putin's return to the presidency, and some of them clashed with police, leading to the arrests of over 400 people.
大統領就任式を前に６日、プーチン氏の復帰に反対するモスクワの抗議デモに２万人以上が集まり、一部が警官隊と衝突して４００人以上が拘束された。
Massive demonstrations against Putin, which had continued since a lower house election in December last year, did not cause major confusion.
昨年１２月の下院選後、今年３月の大統領選をはさんで続いてきた政権への大規模な抗議行動は、これまで大きな混乱はなかった。
This time, however, some participants went off the designated course during their demonstration march and security authorities suppressed them.
新体制の船出としては異例の事態といえる。
It is certain that such confusion and disturbance will continue to occur frequently unless the government changes its autocratic nature, which is represented by its lack of a system to respond to the public's dissatisfaction.
今回はデモ隊の一部が既定のコースを外れ、当局が力で抑え込みにかかった。
国民の不満をくみ上げる政治システムに欠ける強権的な政権の体質が変わらなければ、こうした混乱が今後も頻発するのは確実だ。
One cannot help but wonder whether Putin is serious about strengthening Russia's democracy as he pledged in his inaugural address.
プーチン氏は、就任あいさつで約束した「ロシアの民主主義の強化」に真剣に取り組むつもりなのか。
He should be aware that the international community as a whole is worried about Russia's democracy.
国際社会に懸念があることを自覚してもらいたい。
On the diplomatic front, concerns have been voiced over whether Putin will revive the hard line that he had adopted when he was president from 2000 and 2008.
外交政策でも、プーチン氏が前回の大統領時代にとった強硬路線の復活を懸念する声がある。
He has so far shown no sign of responding to U.S. President Barack Obama's proposal to launch negotiations toward further arms reductions.
オバマ米大統領からの一層の核軍縮へ向けた交渉開始の呼びかけには、今のところ応じる気配は見せておらず、
Moreover, he reportedly has no intention of attending the Group of Eight summit meeting to be held in the United States in May.
５月に米国で開かれる主要８カ国（Ｇ８）首脳会議にも出席しないという。
Putin is highly likely to make his diplomatic debut since he assumed the presidency again at a summit meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO).
大統領復帰の「外交デビュー」は６月初めに北京で開かれる上海協力機構の首脳会議になる可能性が高い。
In September, he will host a summit meeting of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum to be held in Vladivostok, which will be the first such conference to be held in Russia.
９月には極東ウラジオストクで、ロシアで初めてのアジア太平洋経済協力会議（ＡＰＥＣ）首脳会議を主催する。
These show that Putin places priority on strengthening Russia's relations with Asian countries.
当面はプーチン氏がアジアとの関係強化を優先課題と考えていることの表れといえる。
In the first presidential decree he issued following his inauguration, Putin cited the promotion of reciprocal cooperation with Japan as one of his key policies.
就任にあたって発出した大統領令の中では、日本との「互恵協力の発展」を基本路線の一つに掲げた。
However, Putin's inauguration as president has drawn mixed reactions in Japan, with some placing high expectations on his policy of attaching importance to Russia's ties with Asian countries and others warning against optimism because Moscow's demand for compromise from Japan over the bilateral territorial dispute remains unchanged.
日本では、プーチン氏のアジア重視路線に期待する声と、北方領土問題で日本に譲歩を迫る姿勢は変わらないとして期待を戒める声がある。
These two views appear to conflict with each other, but both are right.
この二つは一見矛盾するようだが、いずれも正しい。
Behind Putin's policy of attaching importance to Russia's ties with Asia is his hard-headed strategy of using Asia's economic dynamism, including Japan's advanced technology, to develop the country's Far Eastern region and modernize the country's economy.
日本の高度な技術力などアジアの経済活力を取り込み、シベリア・極東地域の発展と国家経済の近代化につなげたいプーチン氏の冷徹な国家戦略がアジア重視の背景にある。
Japan should position its diplomacy toward Russia, including its economic cooperation, as a pillar of its overall national strategy and deepen its relations with Russia's new administration in an effort to seek a breakthrough in the territorial dispute.
日本も、エネルギーなどの経済協力も含めた対露外交を大局的な国家戦略の中に位置づけ、ロシア新政権との関係を深める中から領土問題解決の突破口を探るべきだ。
毎日新聞 2012年05月11日 02時30分
Editorial: Japan should work with Russia to solve territorial dispute as Putin becomes president
社説:プーチン新体制 関係深めて突破口探れ
Japan should seek a breakthrough in its deadlocked territorial dispute with Russia by strengthening its relations with the new administration of Russian President Vladimir Putin.
（プーチン新政権との関係強化で行き詰まっている北方領土問題も解決して欲しい trans. by srachai ）
Putin, former prime minister, has been sworn in as president again and appointed his predecessor Dmitry Medvedev as prime minister, whose role is to handle domestic affairs.
ロシアでプーチン前首相が４年ぶりに大統領に復帰し、メドベージェフ前大統領はその下で内政を取り仕切る首相に就任した。
In other words, the two swapped their positions, and Putin, who had been the second-in-command in the Russian government under the Constitution, has become the top leader again and is expected to show his strong leadership in governing the country.
２人が役どころをかえた形だが、これまで憲法上は「ナンバー２」だったプーチン氏が名実ともに国家指導者の座に返り咲き、ロシアの一層の国力強化に向けて強い主導権を発揮していくことになるだろう。
However, the second Putin administration, which follows his first administration from 2000 to 2008, faces a thorny path.
だが、００〜０８年に続く「第２次プーチン政権」の船出は波乱含みだ。
More than 20,000 citizens gathered for a demonstration in Moscow on May 6 to express their opposition to Putin's return to the presidency, and some of them clashed with police, leading to the arrests of over 400 people.
大統領就任式を前に６日、プーチン氏の復帰に反対するモスクワの抗議デモに２万人以上が集まり、一部が警官隊と衝突して４００人以上が拘束された。
Massive demonstrations against Putin, which had continued since a lower house election in December last year, did not cause major confusion.
昨年１２月の下院選後、今年３月の大統領選をはさんで続いてきた政権への大規模な抗議行動は、これまで大きな混乱はなかった。
This time, however, some participants went off the designated course during their demonstration march and security authorities suppressed them.
新体制の船出としては異例の事態といえる。
It is certain that such confusion and disturbance will continue to occur frequently unless the government changes its autocratic nature, which is represented by its lack of a system to respond to the public's dissatisfaction.
今回はデモ隊の一部が既定のコースを外れ、当局が力で抑え込みにかかった。
国民の不満をくみ上げる政治システムに欠ける強権的な政権の体質が変わらなければ、こうした混乱が今後も頻発するのは確実だ。
One cannot help but wonder whether Putin is serious about strengthening Russia's democracy as he pledged in his inaugural address.
プーチン氏は、就任あいさつで約束した「ロシアの民主主義の強化」に真剣に取り組むつもりなのか。
He should be aware that the international community as a whole is worried about Russia's democracy.
国際社会に懸念があることを自覚してもらいたい。
On the diplomatic front, concerns have been voiced over whether Putin will revive the hard line that he had adopted when he was president from 2000 and 2008.
外交政策でも、プーチン氏が前回の大統領時代にとった強硬路線の復活を懸念する声がある。
He has so far shown no sign of responding to U.S. President Barack Obama's proposal to launch negotiations toward further arms reductions.
オバマ米大統領からの一層の核軍縮へ向けた交渉開始の呼びかけには、今のところ応じる気配は見せておらず、
Moreover, he reportedly has no intention of attending the Group of Eight summit meeting to be held in the United States in May.
５月に米国で開かれる主要８カ国（Ｇ８）首脳会議にも出席しないという。
Putin is highly likely to make his diplomatic debut since he assumed the presidency again at a summit meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO).
大統領復帰の「外交デビュー」は６月初めに北京で開かれる上海協力機構の首脳会議になる可能性が高い。
In September, he will host a summit meeting of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum to be held in Vladivostok, which will be the first such conference to be held in Russia.
９月には極東ウラジオストクで、ロシアで初めてのアジア太平洋経済協力会議（ＡＰＥＣ）首脳会議を主催する。
These show that Putin places priority on strengthening Russia's relations with Asian countries.
当面はプーチン氏がアジアとの関係強化を優先課題と考えていることの表れといえる。
In the first presidential decree he issued following his inauguration, Putin cited the promotion of reciprocal cooperation with Japan as one of his key policies.
就任にあたって発出した大統領令の中では、日本との「互恵協力の発展」を基本路線の一つに掲げた。
However, Putin's inauguration as president has drawn mixed reactions in Japan, with some placing high expectations on his policy of attaching importance to Russia's ties with Asian countries and others warning against optimism because Moscow's demand for compromise from Japan over the bilateral territorial dispute remains unchanged.
日本では、プーチン氏のアジア重視路線に期待する声と、北方領土問題で日本に譲歩を迫る姿勢は変わらないとして期待を戒める声がある。
These two views appear to conflict with each other, but both are right.
この二つは一見矛盾するようだが、いずれも正しい。
Behind Putin's policy of attaching importance to Russia's ties with Asia is his hard-headed strategy of using Asia's economic dynamism, including Japan's advanced technology, to develop the country's Far Eastern region and modernize the country's economy.
日本の高度な技術力などアジアの経済活力を取り込み、シベリア・極東地域の発展と国家経済の近代化につなげたいプーチン氏の冷徹な国家戦略がアジア重視の背景にある。
Japan should position its diplomacy toward Russia, including its economic cooperation, as a pillar of its overall national strategy and deepen its relations with Russia's new administration in an effort to seek a breakthrough in the territorial dispute.
日本も、エネルギーなどの経済協力も含めた対露外交を大局的な国家戦略の中に位置づけ、ロシア新政権との関係を深める中から領土問題解決の突破口を探るべきだ。
毎日新聞 2012年05月11日 02時30分
2012年05月10日
社説:超高齢社会 「肩車型」の常識を疑え
May 05, 2012(Mainichi Japan)
Editorial: Aging society does not necessarily spell doom
社説:超高齢社会 「肩車型」の常識を疑え
Longevity is something to be celebrated, but when it comes to the aging of Japanese society, it is often discussed in a pessimistic tone.
長寿はおめでたいことなのに、高齢化となると悲観論をもって語られることが多い。
One reason for this is the continuing decline in people of working age. Learning that our society is shifting from one in which four working people financially support one senior citizen, to another in which each working person must support one senior citizen -- a so-called "piggyback" setup -- would make anyone anxious. And indeed, that is exactly what is happening.
現役世代の人口が減り続けているせいでもある。現役４人が高齢者１人を背負う「騎馬戦型」から、現役１人が高齢者１人を背負う「肩車型」になると言われたら誰しも不安になるだろう。たしかに人口比率はそのようになる。
This unfolding state of affairs has prompted calls to raise Japan's tax and insurance rates, which are some of the lowest among all industrialized nations around the world. But perhaps because Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda and other officials lack the rhetoric to persuade the public of the validity of their policy, the push to establish a full-fledged piggyback arrangement appears to be undermining confidence in the country's social security system.
だからこそ先進国最低レベルの国民負担率（税と保険の負担）をもう少し引き上げるべきだという文脈で「肩車型」説は登場したはずだったが、野田佳彦首相らの言い方がまずいのだろうか、逆に社会保障制度の信頼性を揺るがせているようにも思える。
It would be ironic if the number of people signing up with the national pension or health insurance plans were to shrink as a result.
そのせいで年金や保険の未加入者が増えているのだとしたらあまりに皮肉だ。
So let us take a closer look at why piggyback systems spur pessimism.
現役の負担は増えない ここは世の「肩車型＝悲観論」の常識を疑ってみようではないか。
Accepting the premise that the ratio of working-age citizens (people aged 15 to 64) to senior citizens (those aged 65 and over) will eventually become one to one, the important thing when evaluating the stability of the social security system is the ratio between those in the work force earning money, and those who are being supported.
現役（１５〜６４歳）と高齢者（６５歳以上）の人口比がいずれ１対１になるのは間違いないとして、社会保障の安定性を考える上で大事なのは働いて所得を得ている層と「支えられる側」の比率であることを忘れてはならない。
It's not just senior citizens that the working population supports.
「支えられる側」にいるのは高齢者だけではない。
It was common for families to have and therefore provide for many children in the era immediately after World War II, but the number of children per household has been in decline more recently.
戦後間もないころの親は大勢の子供たちを育てていたが、今は子供の数が減り続けている。
Those who required financial support in the past also included housewives, the disabled, and those who were ill, but today, there are more two-income households than single-income households, and the employment of the disabled is on the rise.
また、以前の「支えられる側」には専業主婦、障害者、病気の人も含まれていたが、今は専業主婦世帯よりも共働き世帯の方が増え、障害者の雇用率も上がっている。
Moreover, there are far more people working past the age of 65 today than there were before.
また、６５歳を過ぎても働いている高齢者は以前と比べものにならないほど多くなった。
Shut-ins and NEETs (people "not in education, employment, or training") undoubtedly do exist, but even taking such populations into account, the ratio between those who do the supporting and those who receive support has barely changed over the past few decades.
ひきこもりやニートなど現役世代で働いていない人もいるが、これらのデータを含めて総合的に見ると、「支える側」と「支えられる側」の比率はこの数十年ほとんど変化がない。
If senior citizens and housewives continue to work outside the home, thereby expanding the population providing for those who need support, the burden on the working population should not increase.
今後も高齢者や主婦が働いて「支える側」が厚くなれば、高齢化率の伸びほどには現役世代の負担は増えないだろう。
The theory that social security costs will surge at a rate of 1 trillion yen per year as Japanese society continues to age, widening intergenerational economic gaps, also calls for closer analysis.
もう一つ、悲観論の根拠である「高齢化に伴って社会保障費が毎年１兆円ずつ増え、世代間格差が広がる」という説も考えてみよう。
During a time when it was common for three generations of families to live together, caring for elderly parents and children was considered the work of the wife, while the husband was expected to earn money for all household expenses.
３世代同居が当たり前だった時代は、老いた両親の介護や子供の保育はもっぱら妻の役割とされ、その妻を含めた大家族全員の生活費を現役世代の夫が一人で支えていた。
As nuclear families and single-person households become the norm and the number of children drops, the burden of caring for elderly family members and bringing up children becomes relatively light.
ところが、核家族やひとり暮らしが当たり前になり、子供の数も減ってくると、親の介護や保育の負担は相対的に軽くなる。
If elderly parents are able to live on social security and personal savings, the financial burden on the working generation is alleviated.
老いた親も年金や預金で生活できるようになれば、現役世代の経済的負担は少なくなる。
Of course, there are many senior citizens who receive a low level of social security benefits or none at all, and there is no end to the number of people who leave their jobs to focus on caring for their aging parents.
もちろん、無年金や低年金の高齢者は多く、親の介護のために離職する人も後を絶たないが、
However, compared to a time when neither social security nor nursing care insurance was available, the burden on working citizens has not become categorically worse.
年金も介護保険もなかったころに比べれば、今の現役世代の負担は一概に重くなったとは言えない。
Rather, inheritance per capita has risen, and people generally have more opportunities and funds to receive an education.
むしろ１人当たりの相続財産は以前より多く、教育を受ける機会や費用も増えている。
In other words, the impression people commonly have of the piggyback arrangement, and the actual generational gap in burdens are very different.
「肩車型」のイメージと世代間格差の実相はかなり違うと考えるべきだ。
Rising social security costs may pose great pressure on government finances, but if the increased costs are translated into better nursing care and childcare services, it could lighten the load on families in the working generation.
国家財政レベルでは社会保障費の増加は圧迫要因かもしれないが、増加分が介護や保育サービスの充実に回れば、現役世代の家族内の負担は軽減されていく。
One of the intended functions of the social security system is to collect a larger proportion of taxes and insurance premiums from high-income workers, and redistribute it to those with lower incomes.
もともと社会保障は所得の多い人から税や保険料を多く集め、所得の少ない人に回す再分配の機能を持つ。
What's important is not just whether the costs are expanding, but whether the funds are being redistributed effectively.
費用の膨張だけでなく、再分配が有効に機能しているかどうかが問題なのである。
There is a group, sometimes called the "platinum generation," whose age makes them "senior citizens" but are actually a part of the population that give the piggyback rides.
プラチナ世代に注目 「支える側」で特に注目すべきなのは元気な高齢層だ。
年齢区分では「高齢者」とされるが、実は肩車の下側で支えている。
Among those who turned 65 this year are pro-baseball team Rakuten Eagles' manager Senichi Hoshino and the comedian and film director Takeshi Kitano.
たとえば、今年６５歳になった人を見ると、プロ野球の星野仙一楽天監督、タレントで映画監督の北野武氏をはじめそうそうたる人物が各界で名を連ねる。
They're full of life and are highly unlikely to go into retirement anytime soon.
そう簡単に隠居などしそうにない、ピカピカの現役である。
Readers must also know many people who are 65 or older who one wouldn't think to describe as "elderly."
「お年寄り」と呼ぶのもはばかられる６５歳以上はあなたの身近にも多いはずだ。
In a story on post-war Japanese medicine and insurance last year, the British medical journal The Lancet wrote about the "platinum generation" -- called so because while its members technically fit into the "silver generation," they are shiny and bright instead of dull like oxidized silver.
Japan must recognize not only that our people are living long lives, but also that our country has produced a large population of energetic seniors.
年齢的にはシルバーだが、いぶし銀のような地味さはなく色あせずに輝き続けるという意味で「プラチナ世代」と呼ばれたりする。
戦後の日本の医療や保険の成果について昨年、英医学誌「ランセット」が特集したが、単に長寿だというだけでなく元気な高齢世代を大量に出現させた功績も見逃してはならない。
It is not rare to see former businessmen and researchers in the sciences finding success in areas such as social welfare and farming after retiring from their original jobs. ビジネスマンや理系研究者が定年後、福祉や農業などの分野に転身し成功している例は今や珍しくない。
We would like senior citizens to break bravely into uncharted fields, making use of the abundant knowledge and experience they've accumulated over the years.
未知の分野に果敢に飛び込み、長年培ってきた豊富な知識や経験を生かしてほしい。
It is at the intersection of various values that we can hope to find clues that will pave the way to a new era.
多様な価値観がぶつかり合うところに新しい時代を切り開くヒントが生まれるはずだ。
Editorial: Aging society does not necessarily spell doom
社説:超高齢社会 「肩車型」の常識を疑え
Longevity is something to be celebrated, but when it comes to the aging of Japanese society, it is often discussed in a pessimistic tone.
長寿はおめでたいことなのに、高齢化となると悲観論をもって語られることが多い。
One reason for this is the continuing decline in people of working age. Learning that our society is shifting from one in which four working people financially support one senior citizen, to another in which each working person must support one senior citizen -- a so-called "piggyback" setup -- would make anyone anxious. And indeed, that is exactly what is happening.
現役世代の人口が減り続けているせいでもある。現役４人が高齢者１人を背負う「騎馬戦型」から、現役１人が高齢者１人を背負う「肩車型」になると言われたら誰しも不安になるだろう。たしかに人口比率はそのようになる。
This unfolding state of affairs has prompted calls to raise Japan's tax and insurance rates, which are some of the lowest among all industrialized nations around the world. But perhaps because Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda and other officials lack the rhetoric to persuade the public of the validity of their policy, the push to establish a full-fledged piggyback arrangement appears to be undermining confidence in the country's social security system.
だからこそ先進国最低レベルの国民負担率（税と保険の負担）をもう少し引き上げるべきだという文脈で「肩車型」説は登場したはずだったが、野田佳彦首相らの言い方がまずいのだろうか、逆に社会保障制度の信頼性を揺るがせているようにも思える。
It would be ironic if the number of people signing up with the national pension or health insurance plans were to shrink as a result.
そのせいで年金や保険の未加入者が増えているのだとしたらあまりに皮肉だ。
So let us take a closer look at why piggyback systems spur pessimism.
現役の負担は増えない ここは世の「肩車型＝悲観論」の常識を疑ってみようではないか。
Accepting the premise that the ratio of working-age citizens (people aged 15 to 64) to senior citizens (those aged 65 and over) will eventually become one to one, the important thing when evaluating the stability of the social security system is the ratio between those in the work force earning money, and those who are being supported.
現役（１５〜６４歳）と高齢者（６５歳以上）の人口比がいずれ１対１になるのは間違いないとして、社会保障の安定性を考える上で大事なのは働いて所得を得ている層と「支えられる側」の比率であることを忘れてはならない。
It's not just senior citizens that the working population supports.
「支えられる側」にいるのは高齢者だけではない。
It was common for families to have and therefore provide for many children in the era immediately after World War II, but the number of children per household has been in decline more recently.
戦後間もないころの親は大勢の子供たちを育てていたが、今は子供の数が減り続けている。
Those who required financial support in the past also included housewives, the disabled, and those who were ill, but today, there are more two-income households than single-income households, and the employment of the disabled is on the rise.
また、以前の「支えられる側」には専業主婦、障害者、病気の人も含まれていたが、今は専業主婦世帯よりも共働き世帯の方が増え、障害者の雇用率も上がっている。
Moreover, there are far more people working past the age of 65 today than there were before.
また、６５歳を過ぎても働いている高齢者は以前と比べものにならないほど多くなった。
Shut-ins and NEETs (people "not in education, employment, or training") undoubtedly do exist, but even taking such populations into account, the ratio between those who do the supporting and those who receive support has barely changed over the past few decades.
ひきこもりやニートなど現役世代で働いていない人もいるが、これらのデータを含めて総合的に見ると、「支える側」と「支えられる側」の比率はこの数十年ほとんど変化がない。
If senior citizens and housewives continue to work outside the home, thereby expanding the population providing for those who need support, the burden on the working population should not increase.
今後も高齢者や主婦が働いて「支える側」が厚くなれば、高齢化率の伸びほどには現役世代の負担は増えないだろう。
The theory that social security costs will surge at a rate of 1 trillion yen per year as Japanese society continues to age, widening intergenerational economic gaps, also calls for closer analysis.
もう一つ、悲観論の根拠である「高齢化に伴って社会保障費が毎年１兆円ずつ増え、世代間格差が広がる」という説も考えてみよう。
During a time when it was common for three generations of families to live together, caring for elderly parents and children was considered the work of the wife, while the husband was expected to earn money for all household expenses.
３世代同居が当たり前だった時代は、老いた両親の介護や子供の保育はもっぱら妻の役割とされ、その妻を含めた大家族全員の生活費を現役世代の夫が一人で支えていた。
As nuclear families and single-person households become the norm and the number of children drops, the burden of caring for elderly family members and bringing up children becomes relatively light.
ところが、核家族やひとり暮らしが当たり前になり、子供の数も減ってくると、親の介護や保育の負担は相対的に軽くなる。
If elderly parents are able to live on social security and personal savings, the financial burden on the working generation is alleviated.
老いた親も年金や預金で生活できるようになれば、現役世代の経済的負担は少なくなる。
Of course, there are many senior citizens who receive a low level of social security benefits or none at all, and there is no end to the number of people who leave their jobs to focus on caring for their aging parents.
もちろん、無年金や低年金の高齢者は多く、親の介護のために離職する人も後を絶たないが、
However, compared to a time when neither social security nor nursing care insurance was available, the burden on working citizens has not become categorically worse.
年金も介護保険もなかったころに比べれば、今の現役世代の負担は一概に重くなったとは言えない。
Rather, inheritance per capita has risen, and people generally have more opportunities and funds to receive an education.
むしろ１人当たりの相続財産は以前より多く、教育を受ける機会や費用も増えている。
In other words, the impression people commonly have of the piggyback arrangement, and the actual generational gap in burdens are very different.
「肩車型」のイメージと世代間格差の実相はかなり違うと考えるべきだ。
Rising social security costs may pose great pressure on government finances, but if the increased costs are translated into better nursing care and childcare services, it could lighten the load on families in the working generation.
国家財政レベルでは社会保障費の増加は圧迫要因かもしれないが、増加分が介護や保育サービスの充実に回れば、現役世代の家族内の負担は軽減されていく。
One of the intended functions of the social security system is to collect a larger proportion of taxes and insurance premiums from high-income workers, and redistribute it to those with lower incomes.
もともと社会保障は所得の多い人から税や保険料を多く集め、所得の少ない人に回す再分配の機能を持つ。
What's important is not just whether the costs are expanding, but whether the funds are being redistributed effectively.
費用の膨張だけでなく、再分配が有効に機能しているかどうかが問題なのである。
There is a group, sometimes called the "platinum generation," whose age makes them "senior citizens" but are actually a part of the population that give the piggyback rides.
プラチナ世代に注目 「支える側」で特に注目すべきなのは元気な高齢層だ。
年齢区分では「高齢者」とされるが、実は肩車の下側で支えている。
Among those who turned 65 this year are pro-baseball team Rakuten Eagles' manager Senichi Hoshino and the comedian and film director Takeshi Kitano.
たとえば、今年６５歳になった人を見ると、プロ野球の星野仙一楽天監督、タレントで映画監督の北野武氏をはじめそうそうたる人物が各界で名を連ねる。
They're full of life and are highly unlikely to go into retirement anytime soon.
そう簡単に隠居などしそうにない、ピカピカの現役である。
Readers must also know many people who are 65 or older who one wouldn't think to describe as "elderly."
「お年寄り」と呼ぶのもはばかられる６５歳以上はあなたの身近にも多いはずだ。
In a story on post-war Japanese medicine and insurance last year, the British medical journal The Lancet wrote about the "platinum generation" -- called so because while its members technically fit into the "silver generation," they are shiny and bright instead of dull like oxidized silver.
Japan must recognize not only that our people are living long lives, but also that our country has produced a large population of energetic seniors.
年齢的にはシルバーだが、いぶし銀のような地味さはなく色あせずに輝き続けるという意味で「プラチナ世代」と呼ばれたりする。
戦後の日本の医療や保険の成果について昨年、英医学誌「ランセット」が特集したが、単に長寿だというだけでなく元気な高齢世代を大量に出現させた功績も見逃してはならない。
It is not rare to see former businessmen and researchers in the sciences finding success in areas such as social welfare and farming after retiring from their original jobs. ビジネスマンや理系研究者が定年後、福祉や農業などの分野に転身し成功している例は今や珍しくない。
We would like senior citizens to break bravely into uncharted fields, making use of the abundant knowledge and experience they've accumulated over the years.
未知の分野に果敢に飛び込み、長年培ってきた豊富な知識や経験を生かしてほしい。
It is at the intersection of various values that we can hope to find clues that will pave the way to a new era.
多様な価値観がぶつかり合うところに新しい時代を切り開くヒントが生まれるはずだ。