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2016年03月06日
安倍首相へ あなたの憲法なのか
--The Asahi Shimbun, March 4
EDITORIAL: The Constitution is not Abe’s plaything
（社説）安倍首相へ あなたの憲法なのか
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe continues to show his ardent ambition to amend Japan’s postwar Constitution.
安倍首相が、憲法改正で踏み込んだ発言を続けている。
At a recent Upper House Budget Committee session, Abe voiced his desire to bring pro-amendment forces together for the two-thirds majority in both house of the Diet required to initiate the process for constitutional amendments, which includes a national referendum. He then indicated a time frame for achieving the goal.
“I want to amend the Constitution while I am still in office,” he said.
改憲案を国民投票にかけるのに必要な３分の２以上の議席確保をめざす考えに続き、先の参院予算委員会では「私の在任中に成し遂げたいと考えている」と、期限まで示した。
Politicians are expected to talk about their policy goals.
政治家だから、自らの政治目標を語ることは一般的にはあるだろう。
But there is serious confusion of priorities in Abe’s agenda for constitutional amendments.
しかし、憲法へのの態度にはあべこべがある。
One problem is how he intends to rewrite the Constitution.
ひとつは改憲の進め方だ。
He says he will first seek to secure a two-thirds majority for pro-amendment politicians in both Diet houses. When asked which part of the Constitution he wants to change, however, he has repeatedly said that each party should make its own proposal for debate at the Commission on the Constitution of both houses.
首相はまず３分の２の勢力を集めたいという。では憲法のどこをどう変えるのかと問われると、「各党が（案を）出して、（国会の）憲法審査会で議論していくことが求められている」と繰り返す。
This is tantamount to saying he just wants to make any amendment to the Constitution, starting where there is the least resistance.
何でもいいから変えたい、やりやすいところからやりたい。こう言っているに等しい。
Abe’s approach to this policy challenge probably reflects his long-held wish to recreate the Constitution, which was “imposed” on Japan by the United States.
背景には、米国に「押しつけられた」憲法を、自らの手で制定し直したいとの思いがあるのだろう。
It is true that political discourse on the Constitution during the postwar era has been dominated by the amendment issue.
戦後の憲法論争が「変える」「変えない」を焦点にしてきたのも確かだ。
We can understand arguments to revise specific parts of the Constitution to correct perceived shortcomings.
憲法のここが不都合だから、こう正したい、そんな議論なら分かる。
But if Abe’s campaign for constitutional amendments puts priority on rewriting the document itself, then he is putting the cart before the horse.
だが、「とにかく変える」ことが何よりも先だというなら、順序が逆さまだ。
Abe’s interest in protecting the Constitution stands in sharp contrast to his solid commitment to revising it. This is another example of his misplaced priorities.
一方、首相は改憲への意欲に比べ、憲法を守ることにはこだわりがないようだ。もうひとつのあべこべである。
Abe has overturned the government’s traditional interpretation of the Constitution regarding Japan’s right to collective self-defense.
Only through discussions within his administration, Abe has thrown away the official government position, endorsed by successive Cabinets, that Japan must amend war-renouncing Article 9 if it wants to take part in collective self-defense.
憲法を改正しなければ集団的自衛権の行使はできないとの歴代内閣の解釈を、内部の議論だけで覆してしまう。
Despite repeated calls by the Supreme Court for reapportionment of Diet seats to realize equality in vote value, Abe has been trying to postpone taking necessary steps to tackle the problem.
最高裁から定数配分を見直し、投票価値の平等を実現するよう繰り返し求められても、先送りを図る。
More recently, Abe has refused to reprove communications minister Sanae Takaichi for her assertion that the government can legally shut down broadcasters that continue to air “biased political reports.”
最近は、高市総務相が放送法などをたてにテレビ局の電波停止の可能性に触れ、首相もこれを容認した。
A group of experts, including Yoichi Higuchi, professor emeritus of the Constitution at the University of Tokyo, said at a news conference in Tokyo on March 2 that it would be unconstitutional for Takaichi to take such a move based solely on the Broadcast Law’s Article 4, which requires political fairness and neutrality in broadcasting.
これには樋口陽一・東大名誉教授らが、「政治的公平」などを定めた放送法の文言だけを根拠に処分を行うのは違憲だとの見解を表明している。
“The basic principle of a free democratic society that any person cannot appoint themselves as court judges about matters they are involved in is important,” Higuchi said of Takaichi’s claim.
樋口氏は「何人（なんぴと）も自分自身が関わっている事柄について裁判官となってはならない」と批判する。
By this comment Higuchi meant politicians are not entitled to determine the definition of political fairness.
何が政治的公平かを政治家が判断することはおかしい、との指摘である。
The Constitution imposes various restraints on the government’s power to prevent violations of people’s rights, such as freedom of expression.
憲法は、表現の自由など国民の権利がおかされないよう、権力に様々な制約を課している。
But the Abe administration has shown a disturbing tendency to disregard these restraints without much hesitation.
ところが安倍政権は、こうした制約を乗り越えてしまうことに、あまりにためらいがない。
The administration’s lack of respect for the Constitution seems to be behind its anything-is-good attitude regarding its constitutional amendment agenda.
憲法を軽んじる姿勢が、中身はともかく改憲をという態度につながっているのではないか。
Abe is part of the government, whose power and authority is defined and limited by the Constitution. He must understand that the Constitution is not the possession of the person who is in power.
安倍首相は憲法によって縛られる側にいる。憲法は、権力者たるあなたのものではない。
EDITORIAL: The Constitution is not Abe’s plaything
（社説）安倍首相へ あなたの憲法なのか
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe continues to show his ardent ambition to amend Japan’s postwar Constitution.
安倍首相が、憲法改正で踏み込んだ発言を続けている。
At a recent Upper House Budget Committee session, Abe voiced his desire to bring pro-amendment forces together for the two-thirds majority in both house of the Diet required to initiate the process for constitutional amendments, which includes a national referendum. He then indicated a time frame for achieving the goal.
“I want to amend the Constitution while I am still in office,” he said.
改憲案を国民投票にかけるのに必要な３分の２以上の議席確保をめざす考えに続き、先の参院予算委員会では「私の在任中に成し遂げたいと考えている」と、期限まで示した。
Politicians are expected to talk about their policy goals.
政治家だから、自らの政治目標を語ることは一般的にはあるだろう。
But there is serious confusion of priorities in Abe’s agenda for constitutional amendments.
しかし、憲法へのの態度にはあべこべがある。
One problem is how he intends to rewrite the Constitution.
ひとつは改憲の進め方だ。
He says he will first seek to secure a two-thirds majority for pro-amendment politicians in both Diet houses. When asked which part of the Constitution he wants to change, however, he has repeatedly said that each party should make its own proposal for debate at the Commission on the Constitution of both houses.
首相はまず３分の２の勢力を集めたいという。では憲法のどこをどう変えるのかと問われると、「各党が（案を）出して、（国会の）憲法審査会で議論していくことが求められている」と繰り返す。
This is tantamount to saying he just wants to make any amendment to the Constitution, starting where there is the least resistance.
何でもいいから変えたい、やりやすいところからやりたい。こう言っているに等しい。
Abe’s approach to this policy challenge probably reflects his long-held wish to recreate the Constitution, which was “imposed” on Japan by the United States.
背景には、米国に「押しつけられた」憲法を、自らの手で制定し直したいとの思いがあるのだろう。
It is true that political discourse on the Constitution during the postwar era has been dominated by the amendment issue.
戦後の憲法論争が「変える」「変えない」を焦点にしてきたのも確かだ。
We can understand arguments to revise specific parts of the Constitution to correct perceived shortcomings.
憲法のここが不都合だから、こう正したい、そんな議論なら分かる。
But if Abe’s campaign for constitutional amendments puts priority on rewriting the document itself, then he is putting the cart before the horse.
だが、「とにかく変える」ことが何よりも先だというなら、順序が逆さまだ。
Abe’s interest in protecting the Constitution stands in sharp contrast to his solid commitment to revising it. This is another example of his misplaced priorities.
一方、首相は改憲への意欲に比べ、憲法を守ることにはこだわりがないようだ。もうひとつのあべこべである。
Abe has overturned the government’s traditional interpretation of the Constitution regarding Japan’s right to collective self-defense.
Only through discussions within his administration, Abe has thrown away the official government position, endorsed by successive Cabinets, that Japan must amend war-renouncing Article 9 if it wants to take part in collective self-defense.
憲法を改正しなければ集団的自衛権の行使はできないとの歴代内閣の解釈を、内部の議論だけで覆してしまう。
Despite repeated calls by the Supreme Court for reapportionment of Diet seats to realize equality in vote value, Abe has been trying to postpone taking necessary steps to tackle the problem.
最高裁から定数配分を見直し、投票価値の平等を実現するよう繰り返し求められても、先送りを図る。
More recently, Abe has refused to reprove communications minister Sanae Takaichi for her assertion that the government can legally shut down broadcasters that continue to air “biased political reports.”
最近は、高市総務相が放送法などをたてにテレビ局の電波停止の可能性に触れ、首相もこれを容認した。
A group of experts, including Yoichi Higuchi, professor emeritus of the Constitution at the University of Tokyo, said at a news conference in Tokyo on March 2 that it would be unconstitutional for Takaichi to take such a move based solely on the Broadcast Law’s Article 4, which requires political fairness and neutrality in broadcasting.
これには樋口陽一・東大名誉教授らが、「政治的公平」などを定めた放送法の文言だけを根拠に処分を行うのは違憲だとの見解を表明している。
“The basic principle of a free democratic society that any person cannot appoint themselves as court judges about matters they are involved in is important,” Higuchi said of Takaichi’s claim.
樋口氏は「何人（なんぴと）も自分自身が関わっている事柄について裁判官となってはならない」と批判する。
By this comment Higuchi meant politicians are not entitled to determine the definition of political fairness.
何が政治的公平かを政治家が判断することはおかしい、との指摘である。
The Constitution imposes various restraints on the government’s power to prevent violations of people’s rights, such as freedom of expression.
憲法は、表現の自由など国民の権利がおかされないよう、権力に様々な制約を課している。
But the Abe administration has shown a disturbing tendency to disregard these restraints without much hesitation.
ところが安倍政権は、こうした制約を乗り越えてしまうことに、あまりにためらいがない。
The administration’s lack of respect for the Constitution seems to be behind its anything-is-good attitude regarding its constitutional amendment agenda.
憲法を軽んじる姿勢が、中身はともかく改憲をという態度につながっているのではないか。
Abe is part of the government, whose power and authority is defined and limited by the Constitution. He must understand that the Constitution is not the possession of the person who is in power.
安倍首相は憲法によって縛られる側にいる。憲法は、権力者たるあなたのものではない。
2016年03月03日
原発強制起訴 検証の重要な機会だ
--The Asahi Shimbun, March 1
EDITORIAL: Fukushima disaster trial offers chance to reveal TEPCO's organizational woes
（社説）原発強制起訴 検証の重要な機会だ
A case concerning responsibility for the disaster at the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant will be brought to court.
甚大な被害をもたらした福島第一原発事故の責任が、司法の場で問われることになった。
Three former executives of Tokyo Electric Power Co., operator of the plant, face a trial over the nuclear crisis triggered by the Great East Japan Earthquake and tsunami in 2011.
Court-appointed lawyers serving as prosecutors filed indictments with the Tokyo District Court on Feb. 29 against the three former executives on charges of professional negligence resulting in death and injury.
東京電力の勝俣恒久元会長ら当時の幹部３人がきのう、業務上過失致死傷罪で強制起訴された。
Former TEPCO Chairman Tsunehisa Katsumata, 75, and two former vice presidents are accused of failing to implement sufficient safety measures against tsunami. A number of patients at hospitals in the vicinity of the plant died in the subsequent evacuation and workers were injured at the plant.
事前の津波対策を怠り、原発周辺の入院患者を死亡させたなどと起訴状は指摘している。
The mandatory indictments reflect public criticisms and suspicions concerning the nuclear accident.
あの事故を「想定外」で片付け、誰の責任も問わぬままでいいのか。
Many citizens have taken a dim view of the fact that nobody has been held accountable for the nuclear accident, which the company claims was “beyond expectation.” TEPCO’s profit-oriented policy is also believed to be behind the failure to take sufficient safety measures at the plant.
東電は利益優先で原発の安全対策を怠ったのではないか――。そうした市民の疑念を反映した強制起訴である。
Such huge accidents are caused by a complicated confluence of factors. There is inevitably a limit to what the trial of the former TEPCO executives can do in terms of clarifying the whole picture of the disaster. The trial will be focused on the three individuals’ criminal liability for negligence from the viewpoint of the law and evidence.
巨大事故は、さまざまな要因が複雑に絡みあって起きる。絞られた争点で元幹部ら個人の過失責任を「法と証拠」に照らして問う法廷は、全容解明の場としては、おのずと限界がある。
Still, the trial can reveal important facts about the information the former executives had before the accident and the decisions they made in responding to the information.
それでも、元幹部が事故前にどんな情報を得ていて、どんな判断をしたかは、これまで十分に明らかになっていない重要なパーツだ。
We also hope the trial will shed light on problems with the organization and corporate culture of a large utility operating many nuclear reactors so that important lessons can be gleaned.
原発を抱える電力会社の組織の在り方や企業風土にも光を当て、教訓がくみ取れる裁判になることを期待する。
After residents and citizens groups filed a criminal complaint, the Tokyo District Public Prosecutors Office decided not to indict the former executives, citing the difficulty in predicting such an accident.
この事故では告発を受けた東京地検が「今回のような規模の津波は予見できなかった」と不起訴にしたが、
But a committee for the inquest of prosecution comprising 11 citizens has twice decided that the former TEPCO executives should be prosecuted, triggering the process for forced indictment.
１１人の市民からなる検察審査会が２度にわたって「起訴相当」と議決した。
A report on the accident published by TEPCO in 2012 did not make clear who should be held responsible and what kind of lessons should be learned. The document’s descriptions were vague about many key subjects, especially issues regarding TEPCO’s entire organization, such as the company’s advance assumptions about possible tsunami, steps it had taken against the risk, and how the company handled related information during the crisis.
１２年に東電が公表した事故報告書は、事前の津波想定とその対応、事故時の情報の扱いなど、組織全体にかかる問題ほど抽象的な記述で、責任や教訓があいまいなままだ。
The Diet-appointed commission tasked with investigating the nuclear accident said the root cause dated back before the disaster.
国会の事故調査委員会（事故調）は「事故の根源的な原因は震災以前に求められる」と指摘した。
But many questions remain unanswered about how the utility dealt with the risks before the accident.
だが、東電の事前対応に関してはいまも、不明な部分が多い。
Why didn’t TEPCO take stronger measures against the risk of tsunami even though it had estimated a tsunami of up to 15.7 meters could hit the plant? What was the thinking behind this failure to take such measures?
最大１５・７メートルの津波が襲うとの試算を手にしながら、なぜ十分な備えをしなかったのか。どんな判断が働いたのか。
The government’s investigative committee has interviewed around 770 people and disclosed the testimonies of about 200, who have given their consent. But only about 20 of them are former TEPCO executives and other people linked to the utility.
政府の事故調は約７７０人から聞き取りをし、これまでに同意が得られた約２００人分の調書を公表したが、東電関係者はわずか２０人ほどにとどまる。
We do hope the trial will fill in as many information gaps as possible.
裁判が大きな空白を少しでも埋めるものになってほしい。
The trial should also provide an opportunity to take a closer look at the roles played by the investigative panels.
同時に、事故調の役割も改めて考えたい。
All panels established to look into the accident finished their work in about one year, leaving many stones unturned.
いずれの事故調も１年ほどで活動を終え、検証は不十分なままだ。
These panels should scrutinize all relevant factors, including flaws with related organizations, to prevent a recurrence of the disaster. The systems and functions of investigations into nuclear accidents should be expanded and enhanced.
再発防止を目的に関係組織の問題にまで切り込むのが事故調の本来の役割のはずだ。そうした仕組みや機能をもっと充実させるべきだ。
The damaged nuclear reactors that have spewed large amounts of radioactive materials into the environment must be continuously cooled with water. Water contaminated with radioactive substances keeps accumulating at the plant.
放射性物質をまき散らした原子炉は水で冷やし続けねばならず、汚染水が生じている。
Around 100,000 people are still living away from their homes as evacuees. The nuclear accident has still not been brought under control.
今も約１０万の人々が故郷から避難している。事故は今も続いている。
Obviously, more efforts are needed to draw crucial lessons to ensure nightmarish nuclear accidents will never happen again.
二度と繰り返さない教訓を引き出す努力がもっと必要だ。
EDITORIAL: Fukushima disaster trial offers chance to reveal TEPCO's organizational woes
（社説）原発強制起訴 検証の重要な機会だ
A case concerning responsibility for the disaster at the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant will be brought to court.
甚大な被害をもたらした福島第一原発事故の責任が、司法の場で問われることになった。
Three former executives of Tokyo Electric Power Co., operator of the plant, face a trial over the nuclear crisis triggered by the Great East Japan Earthquake and tsunami in 2011.
Court-appointed lawyers serving as prosecutors filed indictments with the Tokyo District Court on Feb. 29 against the three former executives on charges of professional negligence resulting in death and injury.
東京電力の勝俣恒久元会長ら当時の幹部３人がきのう、業務上過失致死傷罪で強制起訴された。
Former TEPCO Chairman Tsunehisa Katsumata, 75, and two former vice presidents are accused of failing to implement sufficient safety measures against tsunami. A number of patients at hospitals in the vicinity of the plant died in the subsequent evacuation and workers were injured at the plant.
事前の津波対策を怠り、原発周辺の入院患者を死亡させたなどと起訴状は指摘している。
The mandatory indictments reflect public criticisms and suspicions concerning the nuclear accident.
あの事故を「想定外」で片付け、誰の責任も問わぬままでいいのか。
Many citizens have taken a dim view of the fact that nobody has been held accountable for the nuclear accident, which the company claims was “beyond expectation.” TEPCO’s profit-oriented policy is also believed to be behind the failure to take sufficient safety measures at the plant.
東電は利益優先で原発の安全対策を怠ったのではないか――。そうした市民の疑念を反映した強制起訴である。
Such huge accidents are caused by a complicated confluence of factors. There is inevitably a limit to what the trial of the former TEPCO executives can do in terms of clarifying the whole picture of the disaster. The trial will be focused on the three individuals’ criminal liability for negligence from the viewpoint of the law and evidence.
巨大事故は、さまざまな要因が複雑に絡みあって起きる。絞られた争点で元幹部ら個人の過失責任を「法と証拠」に照らして問う法廷は、全容解明の場としては、おのずと限界がある。
Still, the trial can reveal important facts about the information the former executives had before the accident and the decisions they made in responding to the information.
それでも、元幹部が事故前にどんな情報を得ていて、どんな判断をしたかは、これまで十分に明らかになっていない重要なパーツだ。
We also hope the trial will shed light on problems with the organization and corporate culture of a large utility operating many nuclear reactors so that important lessons can be gleaned.
原発を抱える電力会社の組織の在り方や企業風土にも光を当て、教訓がくみ取れる裁判になることを期待する。
After residents and citizens groups filed a criminal complaint, the Tokyo District Public Prosecutors Office decided not to indict the former executives, citing the difficulty in predicting such an accident.
この事故では告発を受けた東京地検が「今回のような規模の津波は予見できなかった」と不起訴にしたが、
But a committee for the inquest of prosecution comprising 11 citizens has twice decided that the former TEPCO executives should be prosecuted, triggering the process for forced indictment.
１１人の市民からなる検察審査会が２度にわたって「起訴相当」と議決した。
A report on the accident published by TEPCO in 2012 did not make clear who should be held responsible and what kind of lessons should be learned. The document’s descriptions were vague about many key subjects, especially issues regarding TEPCO’s entire organization, such as the company’s advance assumptions about possible tsunami, steps it had taken against the risk, and how the company handled related information during the crisis.
１２年に東電が公表した事故報告書は、事前の津波想定とその対応、事故時の情報の扱いなど、組織全体にかかる問題ほど抽象的な記述で、責任や教訓があいまいなままだ。
The Diet-appointed commission tasked with investigating the nuclear accident said the root cause dated back before the disaster.
国会の事故調査委員会（事故調）は「事故の根源的な原因は震災以前に求められる」と指摘した。
But many questions remain unanswered about how the utility dealt with the risks before the accident.
だが、東電の事前対応に関してはいまも、不明な部分が多い。
Why didn’t TEPCO take stronger measures against the risk of tsunami even though it had estimated a tsunami of up to 15.7 meters could hit the plant? What was the thinking behind this failure to take such measures?
最大１５・７メートルの津波が襲うとの試算を手にしながら、なぜ十分な備えをしなかったのか。どんな判断が働いたのか。
The government’s investigative committee has interviewed around 770 people and disclosed the testimonies of about 200, who have given their consent. But only about 20 of them are former TEPCO executives and other people linked to the utility.
政府の事故調は約７７０人から聞き取りをし、これまでに同意が得られた約２００人分の調書を公表したが、東電関係者はわずか２０人ほどにとどまる。
We do hope the trial will fill in as many information gaps as possible.
裁判が大きな空白を少しでも埋めるものになってほしい。
The trial should also provide an opportunity to take a closer look at the roles played by the investigative panels.
同時に、事故調の役割も改めて考えたい。
All panels established to look into the accident finished their work in about one year, leaving many stones unturned.
いずれの事故調も１年ほどで活動を終え、検証は不十分なままだ。
These panels should scrutinize all relevant factors, including flaws with related organizations, to prevent a recurrence of the disaster. The systems and functions of investigations into nuclear accidents should be expanded and enhanced.
再発防止を目的に関係組織の問題にまで切り込むのが事故調の本来の役割のはずだ。そうした仕組みや機能をもっと充実させるべきだ。
The damaged nuclear reactors that have spewed large amounts of radioactive materials into the environment must be continuously cooled with water. Water contaminated with radioactive substances keeps accumulating at the plant.
放射性物質をまき散らした原子炉は水で冷やし続けねばならず、汚染水が生じている。
Around 100,000 people are still living away from their homes as evacuees. The nuclear accident has still not been brought under control.
今も約１０万の人々が故郷から避難している。事故は今も続いている。
Obviously, more efforts are needed to draw crucial lessons to ensure nightmarish nuclear accidents will never happen again.
二度と繰り返さない教訓を引き出す努力がもっと必要だ。
2016年03月01日
Ｇ２０協調 緩和依存から脱却を
--The Asahi Shimbun, Feb. 28
EDITORIAL: G-20 members need to end dependence on easy money policies
（社説）Ｇ２０協調 緩和依存から脱却を
The top finance officials of the world’s major economies met last week for the first time since global financial turbulence started early this year.
年初来の世界金融波乱のあと初めて主要国の国際金融をつかさどる責任者たちが一堂に会した。
The meeting of Group of 20 finance ministers and central bank governors, which ended Feb. 27 in Shanghai, confirmed the nations will “use all policy tools” to prevent a further rise in global financial risks.
きのうまで上海で開かれた主要２０カ国・地域（Ｇ２０）財務相・中央銀行総裁会議は、世界的な金融リスクがこれ以上高まらないように各国が政策を総動員することを確認した。
The opportunity for the G-20 members to show they are ready to work together may have helped suppress market turmoil. But the occasion may have also revealed that it is never easy for the G-20 to come up with effective, concrete measures.
Ｇ２０の協調を演出できたことは市場の動揺を抑えるのに一役買ったかもしれない。ただ、Ｇ２０が有効な具体策を打ち出すことは難しい実情もあらわになったのではないか。
A slowdown in the Chinese economy, a sharp drop in crude oil prices, and the recent interest rate hike in the United States are believed to be the primary factors behind the market anxiety.
市場不安の主な要因は（１）中国経済の減速（２）原油価格の急落（３）米国の利上げ、の三つとされる。
Instability in the world, as exemplified by the influx of refugees into Europe, rising tensions over North Korea and the chaotic situation in the Middle East, is another factor leading markets to believe the global economy could remain sluggish over the long term.
加えて欧州の難民問題、北朝鮮をめぐる緊張の高まり、泥沼化する中東情勢など、世界の不安定化が経済の長期停滞を市場に意識させている面もある。
Since the 2008 collapse of U.S. investment bank Lehman Brothers triggered a worldwide financial crisis, all major economies of the world have been reacting to similar situations with stimulus packages and monetary easing.
リーマン・ショック以来、こういう事態に主要国はこぞって財政出動や金融緩和のエンジンをふかしてきた。
But those countries have used up almost all available means, leaving little room now for additional measures.
ところが各国はほぼ手を打ち尽くし、今では追加策を打つ余地に乏しい。
Moreover, the excess of such response measures has generated investment bubbles in emerging economies and natural resources, which ended up triggering the financial turbulence we are currently in. Ironically enough, the responses to crises have engendered other crises.
しかもそうした対策の過剰が新興国バブルや資源バブルを生み、結果的にいまの金融波乱を招いてきた。危機対応が新たな危機を生む皮肉な構図である。
To end this cycle, the major economies should refrain from indulging further in stimulus spending and easy money. While awareness of that issue was not shared during the G-20 meeting, it is probably high time its member states change course.
同じ過ちを繰り返さないためにも、主要各国が財政出動と金融緩和にこれ以上のめりこむことは避けるべきだ。今回のＧ２０でそういう問題意識は共有されなかったが、軌道修正するときが来ているのではないか。
The most necessary policy measure is structural reform, designed to achieve long-term economic stability. For China, that reform would include clearing overcapacity and excessive debt and reforming state-owned enterprises; in Europe, deepening fiscal integration; and in Japan, reforming tax and social security systems and stabilizing state finance.
本当に必要な政策は長期的に経済を安定させる構造改革だ。中国なら過剰設備・過剰債務の解消や国有企業改革、欧州は財政統合の深化、日本は税と社会保障改革や財政の安定である。
Amid the shortage of effective means, there are worries that countries may rush to devalue their currencies in favor of their own export industries. The G-20 members confirmed during the latest meeting that they will refrain from “competitive devaluations.”
心配なのは、各国が有効な手が見つからないなかで自国の輸出産業を有利にする通貨安政策に走ることだ。Ｇ２０でも通貨安競争はしないことを確認した。
But the Bank of Japan’s recently introduced negative interest rate policy has devaluing effects. If Japan and Europe, which have adopted that policy, were to continue or even intensify it, that could trigger a devaluation race across the globe.
ただ、日本銀行が導入したマイナス金利政策には通貨安を促す効果がある。これを導入している日欧がこの政策を継続・強化すれば世界の通貨安競争を招きかねない。
In a worrisome development, leading candidates for the U.S. presidential election, including former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, are blaming Japan for moving to weaken the yen.
クリントン前国務長官など米大統領選の有力候補者たちが日本の円安誘導を批判しているのも気になる動きだ。
After all, the super-easy monetary policy, being continued by Japan and Europe, is nothing more than a stopgap stimulant, and it has yet to create the economic growth expected of it. Moreover, gradual erosion of market functions, a side effect of that policy, is growing more serious as the policy becomes prolonged.
そもそも日欧が続ける超金融緩和は一時的なカンフル剤にすぎず、期待された経済成長にはつながってこなかった。しかもその長期化が次第に市場機能を損なう副作用の方が深刻になってきている。
Japan and Europe should outgrow their dependence on easy money as early as possible. That is precisely what the major economies of the world should be working together for.
日欧は一刻も早くこの「緩和依存」から脱却しなければならない。そのためにこそ主要国の協調が必要ではないか。
EDITORIAL: G-20 members need to end dependence on easy money policies
（社説）Ｇ２０協調 緩和依存から脱却を
The top finance officials of the world’s major economies met last week for the first time since global financial turbulence started early this year.
年初来の世界金融波乱のあと初めて主要国の国際金融をつかさどる責任者たちが一堂に会した。
The meeting of Group of 20 finance ministers and central bank governors, which ended Feb. 27 in Shanghai, confirmed the nations will “use all policy tools” to prevent a further rise in global financial risks.
きのうまで上海で開かれた主要２０カ国・地域（Ｇ２０）財務相・中央銀行総裁会議は、世界的な金融リスクがこれ以上高まらないように各国が政策を総動員することを確認した。
The opportunity for the G-20 members to show they are ready to work together may have helped suppress market turmoil. But the occasion may have also revealed that it is never easy for the G-20 to come up with effective, concrete measures.
Ｇ２０の協調を演出できたことは市場の動揺を抑えるのに一役買ったかもしれない。ただ、Ｇ２０が有効な具体策を打ち出すことは難しい実情もあらわになったのではないか。
A slowdown in the Chinese economy, a sharp drop in crude oil prices, and the recent interest rate hike in the United States are believed to be the primary factors behind the market anxiety.
市場不安の主な要因は（１）中国経済の減速（２）原油価格の急落（３）米国の利上げ、の三つとされる。
Instability in the world, as exemplified by the influx of refugees into Europe, rising tensions over North Korea and the chaotic situation in the Middle East, is another factor leading markets to believe the global economy could remain sluggish over the long term.
加えて欧州の難民問題、北朝鮮をめぐる緊張の高まり、泥沼化する中東情勢など、世界の不安定化が経済の長期停滞を市場に意識させている面もある。
Since the 2008 collapse of U.S. investment bank Lehman Brothers triggered a worldwide financial crisis, all major economies of the world have been reacting to similar situations with stimulus packages and monetary easing.
リーマン・ショック以来、こういう事態に主要国はこぞって財政出動や金融緩和のエンジンをふかしてきた。
But those countries have used up almost all available means, leaving little room now for additional measures.
ところが各国はほぼ手を打ち尽くし、今では追加策を打つ余地に乏しい。
Moreover, the excess of such response measures has generated investment bubbles in emerging economies and natural resources, which ended up triggering the financial turbulence we are currently in. Ironically enough, the responses to crises have engendered other crises.
しかもそうした対策の過剰が新興国バブルや資源バブルを生み、結果的にいまの金融波乱を招いてきた。危機対応が新たな危機を生む皮肉な構図である。
To end this cycle, the major economies should refrain from indulging further in stimulus spending and easy money. While awareness of that issue was not shared during the G-20 meeting, it is probably high time its member states change course.
同じ過ちを繰り返さないためにも、主要各国が財政出動と金融緩和にこれ以上のめりこむことは避けるべきだ。今回のＧ２０でそういう問題意識は共有されなかったが、軌道修正するときが来ているのではないか。
The most necessary policy measure is structural reform, designed to achieve long-term economic stability. For China, that reform would include clearing overcapacity and excessive debt and reforming state-owned enterprises; in Europe, deepening fiscal integration; and in Japan, reforming tax and social security systems and stabilizing state finance.
本当に必要な政策は長期的に経済を安定させる構造改革だ。中国なら過剰設備・過剰債務の解消や国有企業改革、欧州は財政統合の深化、日本は税と社会保障改革や財政の安定である。
Amid the shortage of effective means, there are worries that countries may rush to devalue their currencies in favor of their own export industries. The G-20 members confirmed during the latest meeting that they will refrain from “competitive devaluations.”
心配なのは、各国が有効な手が見つからないなかで自国の輸出産業を有利にする通貨安政策に走ることだ。Ｇ２０でも通貨安競争はしないことを確認した。
But the Bank of Japan’s recently introduced negative interest rate policy has devaluing effects. If Japan and Europe, which have adopted that policy, were to continue or even intensify it, that could trigger a devaluation race across the globe.
ただ、日本銀行が導入したマイナス金利政策には通貨安を促す効果がある。これを導入している日欧がこの政策を継続・強化すれば世界の通貨安競争を招きかねない。
In a worrisome development, leading candidates for the U.S. presidential election, including former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, are blaming Japan for moving to weaken the yen.
クリントン前国務長官など米大統領選の有力候補者たちが日本の円安誘導を批判しているのも気になる動きだ。
After all, the super-easy monetary policy, being continued by Japan and Europe, is nothing more than a stopgap stimulant, and it has yet to create the economic growth expected of it. Moreover, gradual erosion of market functions, a side effect of that policy, is growing more serious as the policy becomes prolonged.
そもそも日欧が続ける超金融緩和は一時的なカンフル剤にすぎず、期待された経済成長にはつながってこなかった。しかもその長期化が次第に市場機能を損なう副作用の方が深刻になってきている。
Japan and Europe should outgrow their dependence on easy money as early as possible. That is precisely what the major economies of the world should be working together for.
日欧は一刻も早くこの「緩和依存」から脱却しなければならない。そのためにこそ主要国の協調が必要ではないか。
2016年02月28日
高浜再稼働 後始末をどうするのか
--The Asahi Shimbun, Feb. 27
EDITORIAL: Dealing with nuclear waste a pressing concern with Takahama reactor restart
（社説）高浜再稼働 後始末をどうするのか
Kansai Electric Power Co. restarted the No. 4 reactor at its Takahama nuclear power plant in Fukui Prefecture on Feb. 26.
福井県の関西電力高浜原発４号機が再稼働した。
The 870-megawatt pressurized water reactor became the fourth to resume operations since stricter safety guidelines were introduced after the 2011 Fukushima nuclear disaster triggered by the Great East Japan Earthquake and tsunami.
The No. 1 and No. 2 reactors at Kyushu Electric Power Co.’s Sendai nuclear power plant in Kagoshima Prefecture, as well as the No. 3 reactor at the Takahama facility, had already been brought back online.
東日本大震災後、新しい規制基準のもとでは九州電力川内原発１、２号機（鹿児島県）、高浜３号機に続き４基目だ。
The No. 4 reactor at the Takahama plant, like the No. 3 reactor, uses mixed-oxide (MOX) fuel consisting of plutonium and uranium to generate electricity.
高浜４号機は３号機と同様、ウランとプルトニウムの混合酸化物（ＭＯＸ）燃料を使うプルサーマル発電が実施される。
What concerns us is whether local residents will be safely and smoothly evacuated in the event of a severe accident at the plant. The decision to resume operations is highly questionable in light of the lessons learned from the calamitous accident at the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant.
事故時に住民がスムーズに避難できるかという課題は積み残されたままだ。東京電力福島第一原発事故の教訓を踏まえた再稼働とはとうてい言えない。
Earlier this month, a small amount of radioactive water was found to have leaked near purification equipment installed in the auxiliary structure of the No. 4 reactor building during a test to send water down the primary coolant pipe connected to the reactor.
４号機では、稼働準備中に微量の放射性物質を含む水漏れが起きた。
The cause of the leak was a loose bolt in a valve, according to the utility.
配管の弁のボルトが緩んでいたという。
The triple meltdown at the Fukushima plant five years ago has made Japanese far more aware of safety concerns when it comes to nuclear power generation.
福島原発事故後、安全性への国民の視線は格段に厳しくなった。
Kansai Electric claims it has checked all other valves. Even so, the utility must realize it is assuming a heavy responsibility with regard to the overall safety of the reactor it has restarted.
関電は他の弁の点検もしたというが、動かす以上、重い責任を負うことにいま一度自覚を求めたい。
Operating a reactor inevitably produces additional spent nuclear fuel. What is needed now is a fresh, hard look at the intractable challenge of what to do with nuclear waste.
原発を動かせば使用済み核燃料が増える。再稼働を機にこの後始末の問題を直視すべきだ。
At Kansai Electric’s Takahama, Mihama and Oi nuclear plants, about 70 percent of the capacity of the spent fuel pools is already in use. If all nine reactors at these plants are brought back on stream, the storage pools will reach their capacity limit in seven to eight years.
関電の高浜、美浜、大飯原発では使用済み燃料を入れるプールがほぼ７割埋まっている。全９基の原子炉を再稼働すれば７〜８年で満杯になる計算だ。
Under the government’s nuclear fuel recycling program, spent fuel is supposed to be reprocessed at a special plant in Rokkasho, Aomori Prefecture, to separate plutonium for fresh use as fuel.
国の方針の核燃料サイクルに沿えば、使用済み燃料は青森県六ケ所村の工場で再処理され、燃料としてよみがえるはずだった。
But the completion of the reprocessing plant has been delayed repeatedly, with no prospect of actual operation.
だが工場は完成延期が続き、実現のめどは立たない。
In addition, spent MOX fuel produced by a reactor burning a mix of uranium and plutonium in plutonium-thermal (pluthermal) operations cannot be reprocessed at the Rokkasho plant.
しかも、プルサーマルで生じる使用済みＭＯＸ燃料は六ケ所の工場で再処理できない。
Since the government has made no decision with regard to the disposal of spent fuel, the utility can only store used MOX within the plant, at least for the time being.
国は方針を決めておらず、当面は原発内で保管するしかない。
The consequences of postponing a decision on how to tackle these vital problems are now making themselves felt.
これらの問題を先送りしてきたツケが、噴き出している。
Consumers, for their part, have long taken for granted that atomic energy will generate much of the electricity they consume. They should not simply foist the responsibility for dealing with the problems on the government or the utilities.
原発に頼ってきた消費者側も、国や電力会社に責任を押しつけて済む話ではない。
Society as a whole needs to show a sense of responsibility by getting involved in debate on the future of nuclear waste disposal in this country.
自分たちの問題として、社会全体で今後の方向性を議論していく必要がある。
People in the Kansai region served by the utility and Fukui Prefecture, where the reactors are located, may be in a position to take the leadership in initiating the debate.
関西と福井とでその先鞭（せんべん）をつけられないか。
Worried about the expected increase in spent nuclear fuel at the plant, the Fukui prefectural government is calling on Kansai Electric and the central government to build an interim storage facility outside the prefecture.
使用済み燃料の増加を懸念した福井県は、中間貯蔵施設を県外につくるよう関電と国に要求している。
Last November, the company promised to decide on the location of such a facility around 2020 and start operating it around 2030.
関電は昨年１１月、「２０年ごろに場所を決め、３０年ごろに操業する」と約束した。
The utility has indicated its intention to build the envisioned storage facility in the Kansai region, which consumes the electricity generated at the plant. But no local government in the region has expressed any willingness to accept such a site.
関電は「消費地の関西に」というが、受け入れに前向きな自治体はない。
This surely is an issue the communities that use the power should tackle.
だが消費地が向き合わなければならない問題だ。
Kansai Electric may as well propose talks over the issue with the Union of Kansai Governments, composed of the governors of the prefectures and the mayors of the ordinance-designated cities in the Kansai region.
関電から関西の知事、政令指定市長が加わる関西広域連合に協議を申し入れてはどうか。
If the Fukui prefectural government is also allowed to sit at the negotiating table, it will be a first step toward mending the relationship between areas where nuclear power plants are located and markets for power generated at the plants. The relationship has been strained by the Fukushima nuclear disaster.
この場に福井県も加われば、福島事故後に対立が深まった消費地と立地地域との関係を結び直す一歩にもなろう。
We realize the talks would not produce any real solution quickly. But it is no longer possible to avoid addressing the issue.
むろんすぐに答えは出まい。だが、議論からもはや逃げられない。
EDITORIAL: Dealing with nuclear waste a pressing concern with Takahama reactor restart
（社説）高浜再稼働 後始末をどうするのか
Kansai Electric Power Co. restarted the No. 4 reactor at its Takahama nuclear power plant in Fukui Prefecture on Feb. 26.
福井県の関西電力高浜原発４号機が再稼働した。
The 870-megawatt pressurized water reactor became the fourth to resume operations since stricter safety guidelines were introduced after the 2011 Fukushima nuclear disaster triggered by the Great East Japan Earthquake and tsunami.
The No. 1 and No. 2 reactors at Kyushu Electric Power Co.’s Sendai nuclear power plant in Kagoshima Prefecture, as well as the No. 3 reactor at the Takahama facility, had already been brought back online.
東日本大震災後、新しい規制基準のもとでは九州電力川内原発１、２号機（鹿児島県）、高浜３号機に続き４基目だ。
The No. 4 reactor at the Takahama plant, like the No. 3 reactor, uses mixed-oxide (MOX) fuel consisting of plutonium and uranium to generate electricity.
高浜４号機は３号機と同様、ウランとプルトニウムの混合酸化物（ＭＯＸ）燃料を使うプルサーマル発電が実施される。
What concerns us is whether local residents will be safely and smoothly evacuated in the event of a severe accident at the plant. The decision to resume operations is highly questionable in light of the lessons learned from the calamitous accident at the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant.
事故時に住民がスムーズに避難できるかという課題は積み残されたままだ。東京電力福島第一原発事故の教訓を踏まえた再稼働とはとうてい言えない。
Earlier this month, a small amount of radioactive water was found to have leaked near purification equipment installed in the auxiliary structure of the No. 4 reactor building during a test to send water down the primary coolant pipe connected to the reactor.
４号機では、稼働準備中に微量の放射性物質を含む水漏れが起きた。
The cause of the leak was a loose bolt in a valve, according to the utility.
配管の弁のボルトが緩んでいたという。
The triple meltdown at the Fukushima plant five years ago has made Japanese far more aware of safety concerns when it comes to nuclear power generation.
福島原発事故後、安全性への国民の視線は格段に厳しくなった。
Kansai Electric claims it has checked all other valves. Even so, the utility must realize it is assuming a heavy responsibility with regard to the overall safety of the reactor it has restarted.
関電は他の弁の点検もしたというが、動かす以上、重い責任を負うことにいま一度自覚を求めたい。
Operating a reactor inevitably produces additional spent nuclear fuel. What is needed now is a fresh, hard look at the intractable challenge of what to do with nuclear waste.
原発を動かせば使用済み核燃料が増える。再稼働を機にこの後始末の問題を直視すべきだ。
At Kansai Electric’s Takahama, Mihama and Oi nuclear plants, about 70 percent of the capacity of the spent fuel pools is already in use. If all nine reactors at these plants are brought back on stream, the storage pools will reach their capacity limit in seven to eight years.
関電の高浜、美浜、大飯原発では使用済み燃料を入れるプールがほぼ７割埋まっている。全９基の原子炉を再稼働すれば７〜８年で満杯になる計算だ。
Under the government’s nuclear fuel recycling program, spent fuel is supposed to be reprocessed at a special plant in Rokkasho, Aomori Prefecture, to separate plutonium for fresh use as fuel.
国の方針の核燃料サイクルに沿えば、使用済み燃料は青森県六ケ所村の工場で再処理され、燃料としてよみがえるはずだった。
But the completion of the reprocessing plant has been delayed repeatedly, with no prospect of actual operation.
だが工場は完成延期が続き、実現のめどは立たない。
In addition, spent MOX fuel produced by a reactor burning a mix of uranium and plutonium in plutonium-thermal (pluthermal) operations cannot be reprocessed at the Rokkasho plant.
しかも、プルサーマルで生じる使用済みＭＯＸ燃料は六ケ所の工場で再処理できない。
Since the government has made no decision with regard to the disposal of spent fuel, the utility can only store used MOX within the plant, at least for the time being.
国は方針を決めておらず、当面は原発内で保管するしかない。
The consequences of postponing a decision on how to tackle these vital problems are now making themselves felt.
これらの問題を先送りしてきたツケが、噴き出している。
Consumers, for their part, have long taken for granted that atomic energy will generate much of the electricity they consume. They should not simply foist the responsibility for dealing with the problems on the government or the utilities.
原発に頼ってきた消費者側も、国や電力会社に責任を押しつけて済む話ではない。
Society as a whole needs to show a sense of responsibility by getting involved in debate on the future of nuclear waste disposal in this country.
自分たちの問題として、社会全体で今後の方向性を議論していく必要がある。
People in the Kansai region served by the utility and Fukui Prefecture, where the reactors are located, may be in a position to take the leadership in initiating the debate.
関西と福井とでその先鞭（せんべん）をつけられないか。
Worried about the expected increase in spent nuclear fuel at the plant, the Fukui prefectural government is calling on Kansai Electric and the central government to build an interim storage facility outside the prefecture.
使用済み燃料の増加を懸念した福井県は、中間貯蔵施設を県外につくるよう関電と国に要求している。
Last November, the company promised to decide on the location of such a facility around 2020 and start operating it around 2030.
関電は昨年１１月、「２０年ごろに場所を決め、３０年ごろに操業する」と約束した。
The utility has indicated its intention to build the envisioned storage facility in the Kansai region, which consumes the electricity generated at the plant. But no local government in the region has expressed any willingness to accept such a site.
関電は「消費地の関西に」というが、受け入れに前向きな自治体はない。
This surely is an issue the communities that use the power should tackle.
だが消費地が向き合わなければならない問題だ。
Kansai Electric may as well propose talks over the issue with the Union of Kansai Governments, composed of the governors of the prefectures and the mayors of the ordinance-designated cities in the Kansai region.
関電から関西の知事、政令指定市長が加わる関西広域連合に協議を申し入れてはどうか。
If the Fukui prefectural government is also allowed to sit at the negotiating table, it will be a first step toward mending the relationship between areas where nuclear power plants are located and markets for power generated at the plants. The relationship has been strained by the Fukushima nuclear disaster.
この場に福井県も加われば、福島事故後に対立が深まった消費地と立地地域との関係を結び直す一歩にもなろう。
We realize the talks would not produce any real solution quickly. But it is no longer possible to avoid addressing the issue.
むろんすぐに答えは出まい。だが、議論からもはや逃げられない。
2016年02月26日
原発の延命 電力会社次第なのか
--The Asahi Shimbun, Feb. 25
EDITORIAL: Extending life of nuclear reactors should not be left solely up to utilities
（社説）原発の延命 電力会社次第なのか
Japan’s nuclear regulator has endorsed the safety of two reactors that have been in service for more than four decades.
The Nuclear Regulation Authority (NRA) announced on Feb. 24 that the No. 1 and No. 2 reactors of Kansai Electric Power Co.’s Takahama nuclear power plant in Fukui Prefecture meet the new safety standards introduced after the 2011 Fukushima nuclear disaster.
運転開始から４０年を超えた関西電力高浜原発１、２号機（福井県）について、原子力規制委員会は、安全対策が新規制基準に適合するとの判断を示した。
The NRA’s verdict has opened the door to an extension of the operating lives of the aging reactors to up to 60 years, one of Kansai Electric’s key goals for its nuclear power generation.
関電がめざす通算６０年までの運転延長に道を開くものだ。
A revision to a law following the catastrophic accident at the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant has set the legal life of nuclear reactors at 40 years. But one extension by up to 20 years is allowed with NRA approval.
東京電力福島第一原発の事故を受けた法改正で、原発の運転期間は４０年と定められた。ただし、規制委が認めれば、１回だけ最長２０年間延長できる制度となった。
To extend the operational lives of the two reactors, the operator must receive several approvals from the NRA. If the NRA decides that the reactors have fulfilled all the related criteria, this will become the first case of an extension of the legal life of reactors under the new system.
延長が認められるには、さらに規制委での許認可を得る必要がある。すべて通ればこの制度で初の運転延長となる。
The 40-year limit was introduced by the government led by the Democratic Party of Japan, which was in power when the nuclear disaster occurred, to demonstrate its commitment to weaning Japan from its dependence on atomic energy. It was aimed at ensuring a steady phasing out of nuclear power generation through the decommissioning of aging reactors.
４０年とするルールは、当時の民主党政権が脱原発への姿勢を示し、古い原発から順次退場させるために導入した。
The provision for an extension of the life span was added in response to concerns about possible power shortages due to insufficient capacity.
運転延長の規定は、需給が逼迫（ひっぱく）して停電に陥る恐れなどから盛り込まれた。
But no specific rules have been set with regard to what kind of circumstances should justify permitting extended operations.
しかし、その後、どんな状況で延長を認めるのか、特段の規定はないままとなっている。
What is vital for electric utilities is the economic viability of their nuclear power plants. Five small reactors that are not sufficiently cost-effective under the 40-year limit on operations have been set for retirement.
Of the remaining 43 reactors, 18 units have been in service for more than 30 years. Utilities will apply for permission to run aging reactors beyond the 40-year legal life span if it makes economic sense. Some applications for a longer license have already been filed with the NRA.
電力会社にとって大切なのは採算だ。４０年ルールの下、小型で採算の悪い５基は廃炉としたが、残る４３基でも運転３０年超が１８基を占める。長く使うことが採算に合えば延長を求めるし、すでに申請もしている。
If an extension of the legal life of reactors is approved one after another, the 40-year limit could become meaningless.
このまま次々と手続きが進めば、４０年ルールが形骸化しかねない。
With such decisions, we are concerned that the government’s nuclear energy policy and the energy future of this nation are being defined under the initiative of electric utilities focused on generating profits.
原発政策も、将来のエネルギー社会も、電力会社の都合で決まって良いのか。
Where is the political will that transcends the profit equations of power suppliers?
電力会社の算段を超える政治の意思はないのか。
If aging reactors are allowed to exceed the 40-year life span in rapid succession, the disturbing safety risk posed by a thick cluster of reactors in Fukui Prefecture will not be reduced.
古い原発の運転延長が次々に決まれば集中立地する福井県のリスクが低下しないことにもなる。
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has repeatedly pledged to reduce Japan’s dependence on nuclear energy as much as possible. The government should make it clear that an extension can be made as an exception.
安倍首相が「原発依存度を可能な限り低減する」と何度も公言してきたのだから、政府は延長を明確に例外と位置づけるべきだ。
Before the harrowing nuclear accident, there was no legal life for nuclear reactors. Initially, electric power companies said the operational life of their reactors was around 30 to 40 years.
事故前は運転期間の定めはなく、電力各社も当初は「寿命は３０〜４０年」と説明していた。
Later, the former nuclear regulator, which has been replaced by the NRA, introduced a system that allowed utilities to operate reactors for up to 60 years if they submit maintenance plans every 10 years after the 30th year of service. The regulator cited progress in analysis technology as the reason for extending operational licenses for reactors.
その後、旧規制当局は解析技術の向上を理由に３０年以降１０年ごとに保全計画を出せば、最長６０年の運転を認めることにした。
The previous government’s decision to replace this system with the new 40-year rule reflected its will to phase out nuclear power generation in this nation.
これを４０年ルールに切り替えたのは、脱原発への意思である。
Immediately after assuming the post, NRA Chairman Shunichi Tanaka was skeptical about extending the life of reactors, saying it was “considerably difficult.”
規制委の田中俊一委員長も就任当時は運転延長については「相当困難」と述べてもいた。
In assessing the safety measures Kansai Electric has taken for the reactors at the Takahama plant, however, the NRA has given the green light to the utility’s plan to cover electric cables with a fire-resistant sheet where it is difficult to replace them with flame-retardant cables.
しかし、高浜原発で規制委は電気ケーブルの防火対策について、難燃性ケーブルへの交換が難しい部分は防火シートで覆うとする関電の方針を認めた。
The NRA’s move has greatly encouraged utilities seeking to gain permission to run reactors past the 40-year limit because this has been a major technical obstacle to meeting the safety standards.
この問題にめどが立ったことで電力各社は勢いづいている。
In his policy speech at the beginning of the current Diet session in January, Abe made no reference to nuclear power generation. Does this indicate that the government will not do anything to stop the growing trend toward longer-term reactor operations?
安倍首相は今年の施政方針演説で原発に言及しなかった。政府はこのままやり過ごすのか。
If so, the government will act against both the past words of the prime minister concerning the issue and the wishes of many Japanese to see their nation free from nuclear energy.
それでは、首相の過去の発言にも、多くの国民が求める脱原発にも背くことになる。
EDITORIAL: Extending life of nuclear reactors should not be left solely up to utilities
（社説）原発の延命 電力会社次第なのか
Japan’s nuclear regulator has endorsed the safety of two reactors that have been in service for more than four decades.
The Nuclear Regulation Authority (NRA) announced on Feb. 24 that the No. 1 and No. 2 reactors of Kansai Electric Power Co.’s Takahama nuclear power plant in Fukui Prefecture meet the new safety standards introduced after the 2011 Fukushima nuclear disaster.
運転開始から４０年を超えた関西電力高浜原発１、２号機（福井県）について、原子力規制委員会は、安全対策が新規制基準に適合するとの判断を示した。
The NRA’s verdict has opened the door to an extension of the operating lives of the aging reactors to up to 60 years, one of Kansai Electric’s key goals for its nuclear power generation.
関電がめざす通算６０年までの運転延長に道を開くものだ。
A revision to a law following the catastrophic accident at the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant has set the legal life of nuclear reactors at 40 years. But one extension by up to 20 years is allowed with NRA approval.
東京電力福島第一原発の事故を受けた法改正で、原発の運転期間は４０年と定められた。ただし、規制委が認めれば、１回だけ最長２０年間延長できる制度となった。
To extend the operational lives of the two reactors, the operator must receive several approvals from the NRA. If the NRA decides that the reactors have fulfilled all the related criteria, this will become the first case of an extension of the legal life of reactors under the new system.
延長が認められるには、さらに規制委での許認可を得る必要がある。すべて通ればこの制度で初の運転延長となる。
The 40-year limit was introduced by the government led by the Democratic Party of Japan, which was in power when the nuclear disaster occurred, to demonstrate its commitment to weaning Japan from its dependence on atomic energy. It was aimed at ensuring a steady phasing out of nuclear power generation through the decommissioning of aging reactors.
４０年とするルールは、当時の民主党政権が脱原発への姿勢を示し、古い原発から順次退場させるために導入した。
The provision for an extension of the life span was added in response to concerns about possible power shortages due to insufficient capacity.
運転延長の規定は、需給が逼迫（ひっぱく）して停電に陥る恐れなどから盛り込まれた。
But no specific rules have been set with regard to what kind of circumstances should justify permitting extended operations.
しかし、その後、どんな状況で延長を認めるのか、特段の規定はないままとなっている。
What is vital for electric utilities is the economic viability of their nuclear power plants. Five small reactors that are not sufficiently cost-effective under the 40-year limit on operations have been set for retirement.
Of the remaining 43 reactors, 18 units have been in service for more than 30 years. Utilities will apply for permission to run aging reactors beyond the 40-year legal life span if it makes economic sense. Some applications for a longer license have already been filed with the NRA.
電力会社にとって大切なのは採算だ。４０年ルールの下、小型で採算の悪い５基は廃炉としたが、残る４３基でも運転３０年超が１８基を占める。長く使うことが採算に合えば延長を求めるし、すでに申請もしている。
If an extension of the legal life of reactors is approved one after another, the 40-year limit could become meaningless.
このまま次々と手続きが進めば、４０年ルールが形骸化しかねない。
With such decisions, we are concerned that the government’s nuclear energy policy and the energy future of this nation are being defined under the initiative of electric utilities focused on generating profits.
原発政策も、将来のエネルギー社会も、電力会社の都合で決まって良いのか。
Where is the political will that transcends the profit equations of power suppliers?
電力会社の算段を超える政治の意思はないのか。
If aging reactors are allowed to exceed the 40-year life span in rapid succession, the disturbing safety risk posed by a thick cluster of reactors in Fukui Prefecture will not be reduced.
古い原発の運転延長が次々に決まれば集中立地する福井県のリスクが低下しないことにもなる。
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has repeatedly pledged to reduce Japan’s dependence on nuclear energy as much as possible. The government should make it clear that an extension can be made as an exception.
安倍首相が「原発依存度を可能な限り低減する」と何度も公言してきたのだから、政府は延長を明確に例外と位置づけるべきだ。
Before the harrowing nuclear accident, there was no legal life for nuclear reactors. Initially, electric power companies said the operational life of their reactors was around 30 to 40 years.
事故前は運転期間の定めはなく、電力各社も当初は「寿命は３０〜４０年」と説明していた。
Later, the former nuclear regulator, which has been replaced by the NRA, introduced a system that allowed utilities to operate reactors for up to 60 years if they submit maintenance plans every 10 years after the 30th year of service. The regulator cited progress in analysis technology as the reason for extending operational licenses for reactors.
その後、旧規制当局は解析技術の向上を理由に３０年以降１０年ごとに保全計画を出せば、最長６０年の運転を認めることにした。
The previous government’s decision to replace this system with the new 40-year rule reflected its will to phase out nuclear power generation in this nation.
これを４０年ルールに切り替えたのは、脱原発への意思である。
Immediately after assuming the post, NRA Chairman Shunichi Tanaka was skeptical about extending the life of reactors, saying it was “considerably difficult.”
規制委の田中俊一委員長も就任当時は運転延長については「相当困難」と述べてもいた。
In assessing the safety measures Kansai Electric has taken for the reactors at the Takahama plant, however, the NRA has given the green light to the utility’s plan to cover electric cables with a fire-resistant sheet where it is difficult to replace them with flame-retardant cables.
しかし、高浜原発で規制委は電気ケーブルの防火対策について、難燃性ケーブルへの交換が難しい部分は防火シートで覆うとする関電の方針を認めた。
The NRA’s move has greatly encouraged utilities seeking to gain permission to run reactors past the 40-year limit because this has been a major technical obstacle to meeting the safety standards.
この問題にめどが立ったことで電力各社は勢いづいている。
In his policy speech at the beginning of the current Diet session in January, Abe made no reference to nuclear power generation. Does this indicate that the government will not do anything to stop the growing trend toward longer-term reactor operations?
安倍首相は今年の施政方針演説で原発に言及しなかった。政府はこのままやり過ごすのか。
If so, the government will act against both the past words of the prime minister concerning the issue and the wishes of many Japanese to see their nation free from nuclear energy.
それでは、首相の過去の発言にも、多くの国民が求める脱原発にも背くことになる。
2016年02月21日
原発自主避難 被害に応じた賠償を
--The Asahi Shimbun, Feb. 20
EDITORIAL: Extent of suffering key to compensating Fukushima evacuees
（社説）原発自主避難 被害に応じた賠償を
An estimated 100,000 or so people are still living as evacuees as a consequence of the catastrophic accident at the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant in March 2011.
東京電力福島第一原発事故で故郷を離れて避難している人はいまも約１０万人にのぼる。
This figure comprises about 18,000 evacuees who acted on their own initiative and fled from the 23 municipalities in Fukushima Prefecture that are outside government-designated evacuation zones. They include people who lived in areas that are not covered by the government-supported compensation program.
このうち、国が避難指示などを出した区域の外側にある福島県内の２３市町村から別の場所に自主的に避難した人は、賠償対象区域の外側の人も含め、推計で約１万８千人いる。
The circumstances of their decisions to leave their hometowns are more or less similar to those of the people who fled from areas covered by the evacuation orders. Many of them were concerned about the health of their children or found it difficult to continue their businesses in the affected areas.
「子どもの健康が不安だから」「商売ができなくなった」
逃げざるを得なかった事情は避難指示区域内の住民と総じて大きくは変わらない。
But compensation paid to these “voluntary evacuees” by Tokyo Electric Power Co. (TEPCO), the operator of the crippled nuclear plant, ranging from 120,000 yen to 720,000 yen ($1,000 to $6,400) per person, was far smaller than the amounts received by residents of the evacuation areas.
だが、東電からの慰謝料は１人あたり１２万〜７２万円と、区域内の住民と比べて大きな隔たりがある。
On Feb. 18, a local court handed down a ruling that may open the door to greater relief for these evacuees.
一昨日、自主避難者の救済に道を開く司法判断が示された。
The Kyoto District Court ordered TEPCO to pay about 30 million yen to a man and his wife for mental illnesses the husband suffered following their “voluntary evacuation” from the calamitous accident. The man, who is in his 40s, together with his wife and three children, filed a lawsuit against the utility seeking 180 million yen in damages, claiming he became unable to work because of mental and physical problems caused by the effects of the nuclear disaster.
福島県から京都市に自主避難した４０代男性が、原発事故の影響で心身に不調をきたし、働けなくなったとして妻子４人とともに東電に損害賠償を求めた訴訟で、京都地裁は約３千万円を支払うよう東電に命じた。
Concerned about the possibility of his children’s exposure to radiation, the man decided to leave his home with his family. After they fled, the family stayed at hotels and lived in rented accommodation outside the prefecture.
男性は子どもの被曝（ひばく）を恐れて避難を決意し、県外のホテルや賃貸住宅を転々とした。
As he had to live in unfamiliar surroundings, the man developed insomnia and depression. The district court acknowledged that the nuclear accident was the cause of these health problems.
慣れない生活から不眠症やうつ病を発症した。地裁はこれらを原発事故が原因だと認めた。
Compensation payments to such voluntary evacuees are based on guidelines set by a central government panel addressing disputes over compensation for nuclear accidents. The guidelines say compensation payments should be based on three factors: increases in living expenses due to evacuation, mental damages and expenses incurred in fleeing and returning home.
自主避難者への賠償は、国の原子力損害賠償紛争審査会（原陪審）が決めた指針に沿って支払われている。指針は、（１）生活費の増加分（２）精神的損害（３）避難や帰宅に要した費用――を基本に算定するというものだ。
TEPCO had paid a total of 2.92 million yen to the family based on the guidelines, but the family claimed the compensation was insufficient.
男性側にも指針に基づき東電から２９２万円が支払われたが、不十分だと訴えていた。
In its ruling, the district court argued that the guidelines only show “items and scope of damages that can be classified according to type.”
判決で京都地裁は指針について「類型化が可能な損害項目や範囲を示したものに過ぎない」と指摘、
The ruling showed the view that damages with a causal link to the accident should be compensated for according to the circumstances involved. The basic principle for compensation espoused by the ruling is that the amounts of damages to be paid should be determined according to the circumstances of individual cases instead of being uniform and fixed.
事故と因果関係のある被害は事情に応じて賠償すべきだとの考え方を示した。賠償金額は個別事情に則して決定すべきで、一律な線引きは許されない、という賠償のあり方そのものを問うたといえる。
Compensation payments to victims of the nuclear disaster, such as evacuees and affected businesses, come out of a 9 trillion yen treasure chest provided by the government to TEPCO.
福島の被災者への賠償は、国が東電に９兆円を援助し、東電がこの中から避難住民や企業に賠償金を払う仕組みだ。
With its management priority placed on its own early recovery from the consequences of the accident, however, the electric utility has been trying to terminate the payments as soon as possible and keep the amounts within the framework set by the guidelines. The company’s compensation policy has been criticized for failing to make the benefit of residents a primary consideration.
だが経営再建をめざす東電は、賠償の早めの打ち切りや枠内で極力抑えようとし、救済が住民本位になっていないという批判がある。
About 10,000 evacuees are involved as plaintiffs in damages suits filed with 21 district courts and branches around the country. This points to the high level of discontent with the compensation payments that have been paid out.
避難者らが起こした集団訴訟は、全国２１地裁・支部で続いている。原告の総数は約１万人にのぼり、相当数の人が正当な賠償を受けていないという不満を抱えている。
TEPCO should respond with appropriate sincerity to the demands of victims entitled to compensation and review its compensation policy and procedures.
東電は賠償対象者に誠実に向き合い、賠償対応のあり方を見直すべきだ。
The courts that are hearing these cases should hand down rulings that give sufficient consideration to the plight of the victims.
集団訴訟を扱う裁判所も、被害者の窮状を十分にくんだ判断をしてもらいたい。
EDITORIAL: Extent of suffering key to compensating Fukushima evacuees
（社説）原発自主避難 被害に応じた賠償を
An estimated 100,000 or so people are still living as evacuees as a consequence of the catastrophic accident at the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant in March 2011.
東京電力福島第一原発事故で故郷を離れて避難している人はいまも約１０万人にのぼる。
This figure comprises about 18,000 evacuees who acted on their own initiative and fled from the 23 municipalities in Fukushima Prefecture that are outside government-designated evacuation zones. They include people who lived in areas that are not covered by the government-supported compensation program.
このうち、国が避難指示などを出した区域の外側にある福島県内の２３市町村から別の場所に自主的に避難した人は、賠償対象区域の外側の人も含め、推計で約１万８千人いる。
The circumstances of their decisions to leave their hometowns are more or less similar to those of the people who fled from areas covered by the evacuation orders. Many of them were concerned about the health of their children or found it difficult to continue their businesses in the affected areas.
「子どもの健康が不安だから」「商売ができなくなった」
逃げざるを得なかった事情は避難指示区域内の住民と総じて大きくは変わらない。
But compensation paid to these “voluntary evacuees” by Tokyo Electric Power Co. (TEPCO), the operator of the crippled nuclear plant, ranging from 120,000 yen to 720,000 yen ($1,000 to $6,400) per person, was far smaller than the amounts received by residents of the evacuation areas.
だが、東電からの慰謝料は１人あたり１２万〜７２万円と、区域内の住民と比べて大きな隔たりがある。
On Feb. 18, a local court handed down a ruling that may open the door to greater relief for these evacuees.
一昨日、自主避難者の救済に道を開く司法判断が示された。
The Kyoto District Court ordered TEPCO to pay about 30 million yen to a man and his wife for mental illnesses the husband suffered following their “voluntary evacuation” from the calamitous accident. The man, who is in his 40s, together with his wife and three children, filed a lawsuit against the utility seeking 180 million yen in damages, claiming he became unable to work because of mental and physical problems caused by the effects of the nuclear disaster.
福島県から京都市に自主避難した４０代男性が、原発事故の影響で心身に不調をきたし、働けなくなったとして妻子４人とともに東電に損害賠償を求めた訴訟で、京都地裁は約３千万円を支払うよう東電に命じた。
Concerned about the possibility of his children’s exposure to radiation, the man decided to leave his home with his family. After they fled, the family stayed at hotels and lived in rented accommodation outside the prefecture.
男性は子どもの被曝（ひばく）を恐れて避難を決意し、県外のホテルや賃貸住宅を転々とした。
As he had to live in unfamiliar surroundings, the man developed insomnia and depression. The district court acknowledged that the nuclear accident was the cause of these health problems.
慣れない生活から不眠症やうつ病を発症した。地裁はこれらを原発事故が原因だと認めた。
Compensation payments to such voluntary evacuees are based on guidelines set by a central government panel addressing disputes over compensation for nuclear accidents. The guidelines say compensation payments should be based on three factors: increases in living expenses due to evacuation, mental damages and expenses incurred in fleeing and returning home.
自主避難者への賠償は、国の原子力損害賠償紛争審査会（原陪審）が決めた指針に沿って支払われている。指針は、（１）生活費の増加分（２）精神的損害（３）避難や帰宅に要した費用――を基本に算定するというものだ。
TEPCO had paid a total of 2.92 million yen to the family based on the guidelines, but the family claimed the compensation was insufficient.
男性側にも指針に基づき東電から２９２万円が支払われたが、不十分だと訴えていた。
In its ruling, the district court argued that the guidelines only show “items and scope of damages that can be classified according to type.”
判決で京都地裁は指針について「類型化が可能な損害項目や範囲を示したものに過ぎない」と指摘、
The ruling showed the view that damages with a causal link to the accident should be compensated for according to the circumstances involved. The basic principle for compensation espoused by the ruling is that the amounts of damages to be paid should be determined according to the circumstances of individual cases instead of being uniform and fixed.
事故と因果関係のある被害は事情に応じて賠償すべきだとの考え方を示した。賠償金額は個別事情に則して決定すべきで、一律な線引きは許されない、という賠償のあり方そのものを問うたといえる。
Compensation payments to victims of the nuclear disaster, such as evacuees and affected businesses, come out of a 9 trillion yen treasure chest provided by the government to TEPCO.
福島の被災者への賠償は、国が東電に９兆円を援助し、東電がこの中から避難住民や企業に賠償金を払う仕組みだ。
With its management priority placed on its own early recovery from the consequences of the accident, however, the electric utility has been trying to terminate the payments as soon as possible and keep the amounts within the framework set by the guidelines. The company’s compensation policy has been criticized for failing to make the benefit of residents a primary consideration.
だが経営再建をめざす東電は、賠償の早めの打ち切りや枠内で極力抑えようとし、救済が住民本位になっていないという批判がある。
About 10,000 evacuees are involved as plaintiffs in damages suits filed with 21 district courts and branches around the country. This points to the high level of discontent with the compensation payments that have been paid out.
避難者らが起こした集団訴訟は、全国２１地裁・支部で続いている。原告の総数は約１万人にのぼり、相当数の人が正当な賠償を受けていないという不満を抱えている。
TEPCO should respond with appropriate sincerity to the demands of victims entitled to compensation and review its compensation policy and procedures.
東電は賠償対象者に誠実に向き合い、賠償対応のあり方を見直すべきだ。
The courts that are hearing these cases should hand down rulings that give sufficient consideration to the plight of the victims.
集団訴訟を扱う裁判所も、被害者の窮状を十分にくんだ判断をしてもらいたい。
2016年02月17日
丸川環境相 撤回しても残る「軽さ」
--The Asahi Shimbun, Feb. 16
（社説）丸川環境相 撤回しても残る「軽さ」
EDITORIAL: Marukawa’s gaffe about Fukushima heightens doubts about Cabinet's aptitude
Environment Minister Tamayo Marukawa caused a stir by claiming the government had no scientific grounds for its radiation decontamination target around the crippled Fukushima nuclear plant.
福島第一原発事故への対応で、担当閣僚である丸川環境相の発言が波紋を広げている。
Her comment came in a Feb. 7 speech on the government’s long-term goal of reducing radiation levels near the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear plant to an annual dose of 1 millisievert or less.
国が追加被曝（ひばく）線量の長期目標として示した年間１ミリシーベルトについて、７日の講演で
“There are people who worry about radiation no matter how much the levels have been lowered, people who might well be described, appropriately or not, as an ‘anti-radiation camp,’” Marukawa said. “While such people were making noise, the environment minister at that time decided (on the target) without any scientific grounds.”
「『反放射能派』と言うと変ですが、どれだけ下げても心配だという人は世の中にいる。そういう人たちが騒いだ中で、何の科学的根拠もなく時の環境大臣が決めた」などと発言した。
Her remarks were reported the following day by The Shinano Mainichi Shimbun, a local newspaper.
翌日の信濃毎日新聞が報じた。
Decontaminating areas polluted with radioactive materials and curbing additional exposure to radiation is one of the top policy priorities for Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s Cabinet.
放射性物質の除染や、追加被曝の抑制などは、安倍内閣の最重要課題の一つである。
Nearly five years since the nuclear disaster unfolded, decontamination efforts alone appear unlikely to achieve the long-term target in some areas. Residents from these areas have no hope of returning to home soon.
原発事故からまもなく５年。除染だけでは長期目標の達成が難しい地域がまだ残り、住民の帰還が進まない現状がある。
The Democratic Party of Japan-led government set the long-term decontamination goal based on recommendations of the International Commission on Radiological Protection. The panel recommended annual doses in the range of “1 to 20 millisievert” as a yardstick for recovery from the accident.
長期目標は、国際放射線防護委員会が原発事故から復旧する際の参考値とする「年１〜２０ミリシーベルト」の最も厳しい水準だ。
The government’s decision to adopt the stricter end of the recommended range for the decontamination target reflected strong demand for absolute safety and security among communities in the affected areas.
１ミリシーベルトに決まった背景には、安全や安心を求める地元福島の要望もあった。
Responding to residents’ desire to return home as soon as possible while pursuing the tough long-term goal has proved a formidable challenge.
一日も早い帰還を願う住民の思いと、長期目標をどう整合させるか。
The goal, determined after considering a complicated mix of factors, has forced the government to continue making strenuous efforts while learning from mistakes.
さまざまな複雑な要素を考慮して決められ、いまなお試行錯誤が続く難題である。
If Marukawa didn’t know this background, she should be accused of failing to do her homework. Or did she know all these facts and was simply trying to demean the previous DPJ-led government?
丸川氏がそうした経緯を知らなかったとすれば、不勉強と言われても仕方がない。それとも、経緯を知ったうえで、決定当時の民主党政権をおとしめるための発言だったのか。
Even more troubling is how she flip-flopped in replying to questions about her remark.
さらに深刻なのは発言が報じられて以降の二転三転ぶりだ。
The environment minister initially responded to questions posed at the Diet and from reporters by repeatedly saying she had “no recollection of using such wording” in the speech.
国会質問や取材に「こういう言い回しをした記憶は持っていない」などと答え続け、
On the morning of Feb. 12, however, she changed her account and admitted having made the comments. She retracted the remarks in the evening that day.
一転して「言ったと思う」と認めたのは１２日朝、発言を撤回したのはその日夕方になってからだ。
Did she really forget making the remarks? Or did she bet that people would eventually forget the matter if she kept saying she had no memory of saying such things?
本当に発言内容を忘れたのか。記憶がないと言っていれば、いずれ国民が忘れてくれると思ったのか。
In any case, Marukawa’s remarks raise serious questions about her aptitude for her job.
いずれにせよ、閣僚としての適格性が疑われる発言というほかない。
However, Marukawa is not the only Cabinet member who has made a verbal blunder indicating a disturbing carelessness in speech.
丸川氏だけではない。安倍内閣の言動の「軽さ」を印象づける場面は他にもある。
In a Feb. 9 news conference, Aiko Shimajiri, the state minister for Okinawa and Northern Territories affairs, could not read the kanji characters for the Habomai group of islets, and asked her secretary how the characters should be read. The Habomai islets are part of the Northern Territories, a chain of islands claimed by Japan but occupied by Russia.
島尻沖縄北方相は記者会見で、北方領土の一部である歯舞（はぼまい）群島の「歯舞」を読めず、秘書官に問う場面があった。
Abe himself recently made an embarrassing verbal error.
In an Internet program of his Liberal Democratic Party, Abe misnamed the 2014 Stockholm agreement in which North Korea promised a fresh investigation into the fates of Japanese citizens it had abducted decades earlier. Abe mistakenly called it the Oslo Agreement, a 1993 peace accord between Israel and the Palestine Liberation Organization.
安倍首相も、自民党のインターネット番組で、２０１４年に北朝鮮が拉致被害者らの再調査を約束した「ストックホルム合意」を、中東和平の「オスロ合意」と間違えた。
Nobody is free from slips of the tongue or misunderstandings.
確かに、言い間違いや思い違いは誰にでもある。
But the above-mentioned errors are serious because dealing with the nuclear disaster, tackling the territorial dispute with Russia and resolving the North Korea abduction issue are important challenges placed high on the Abe Cabinet’s policy agenda.
ただ、原発事故対応や北方領土、拉致問題はいずれも安倍内閣が重要課題に掲げるテーマだ。
These gaffes could call into question not only the ministers’ qualifications for their jobs but also the Cabinet’s stances toward the issues.
閣僚の資質とともに、内閣としての姿勢が問われかねない。
（社説）丸川環境相 撤回しても残る「軽さ」
EDITORIAL: Marukawa’s gaffe about Fukushima heightens doubts about Cabinet's aptitude
Environment Minister Tamayo Marukawa caused a stir by claiming the government had no scientific grounds for its radiation decontamination target around the crippled Fukushima nuclear plant.
福島第一原発事故への対応で、担当閣僚である丸川環境相の発言が波紋を広げている。
Her comment came in a Feb. 7 speech on the government’s long-term goal of reducing radiation levels near the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear plant to an annual dose of 1 millisievert or less.
国が追加被曝（ひばく）線量の長期目標として示した年間１ミリシーベルトについて、７日の講演で
“There are people who worry about radiation no matter how much the levels have been lowered, people who might well be described, appropriately or not, as an ‘anti-radiation camp,’” Marukawa said. “While such people were making noise, the environment minister at that time decided (on the target) without any scientific grounds.”
「『反放射能派』と言うと変ですが、どれだけ下げても心配だという人は世の中にいる。そういう人たちが騒いだ中で、何の科学的根拠もなく時の環境大臣が決めた」などと発言した。
Her remarks were reported the following day by The Shinano Mainichi Shimbun, a local newspaper.
翌日の信濃毎日新聞が報じた。
Decontaminating areas polluted with radioactive materials and curbing additional exposure to radiation is one of the top policy priorities for Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s Cabinet.
放射性物質の除染や、追加被曝の抑制などは、安倍内閣の最重要課題の一つである。
Nearly five years since the nuclear disaster unfolded, decontamination efforts alone appear unlikely to achieve the long-term target in some areas. Residents from these areas have no hope of returning to home soon.
原発事故からまもなく５年。除染だけでは長期目標の達成が難しい地域がまだ残り、住民の帰還が進まない現状がある。
The Democratic Party of Japan-led government set the long-term decontamination goal based on recommendations of the International Commission on Radiological Protection. The panel recommended annual doses in the range of “1 to 20 millisievert” as a yardstick for recovery from the accident.
長期目標は、国際放射線防護委員会が原発事故から復旧する際の参考値とする「年１〜２０ミリシーベルト」の最も厳しい水準だ。
The government’s decision to adopt the stricter end of the recommended range for the decontamination target reflected strong demand for absolute safety and security among communities in the affected areas.
１ミリシーベルトに決まった背景には、安全や安心を求める地元福島の要望もあった。
Responding to residents’ desire to return home as soon as possible while pursuing the tough long-term goal has proved a formidable challenge.
一日も早い帰還を願う住民の思いと、長期目標をどう整合させるか。
The goal, determined after considering a complicated mix of factors, has forced the government to continue making strenuous efforts while learning from mistakes.
さまざまな複雑な要素を考慮して決められ、いまなお試行錯誤が続く難題である。
If Marukawa didn’t know this background, she should be accused of failing to do her homework. Or did she know all these facts and was simply trying to demean the previous DPJ-led government?
丸川氏がそうした経緯を知らなかったとすれば、不勉強と言われても仕方がない。それとも、経緯を知ったうえで、決定当時の民主党政権をおとしめるための発言だったのか。
Even more troubling is how she flip-flopped in replying to questions about her remark.
さらに深刻なのは発言が報じられて以降の二転三転ぶりだ。
The environment minister initially responded to questions posed at the Diet and from reporters by repeatedly saying she had “no recollection of using such wording” in the speech.
国会質問や取材に「こういう言い回しをした記憶は持っていない」などと答え続け、
On the morning of Feb. 12, however, she changed her account and admitted having made the comments. She retracted the remarks in the evening that day.
一転して「言ったと思う」と認めたのは１２日朝、発言を撤回したのはその日夕方になってからだ。
Did she really forget making the remarks? Or did she bet that people would eventually forget the matter if she kept saying she had no memory of saying such things?
本当に発言内容を忘れたのか。記憶がないと言っていれば、いずれ国民が忘れてくれると思ったのか。
In any case, Marukawa’s remarks raise serious questions about her aptitude for her job.
いずれにせよ、閣僚としての適格性が疑われる発言というほかない。
However, Marukawa is not the only Cabinet member who has made a verbal blunder indicating a disturbing carelessness in speech.
丸川氏だけではない。安倍内閣の言動の「軽さ」を印象づける場面は他にもある。
In a Feb. 9 news conference, Aiko Shimajiri, the state minister for Okinawa and Northern Territories affairs, could not read the kanji characters for the Habomai group of islets, and asked her secretary how the characters should be read. The Habomai islets are part of the Northern Territories, a chain of islands claimed by Japan but occupied by Russia.
島尻沖縄北方相は記者会見で、北方領土の一部である歯舞（はぼまい）群島の「歯舞」を読めず、秘書官に問う場面があった。
Abe himself recently made an embarrassing verbal error.
In an Internet program of his Liberal Democratic Party, Abe misnamed the 2014 Stockholm agreement in which North Korea promised a fresh investigation into the fates of Japanese citizens it had abducted decades earlier. Abe mistakenly called it the Oslo Agreement, a 1993 peace accord between Israel and the Palestine Liberation Organization.
安倍首相も、自民党のインターネット番組で、２０１４年に北朝鮮が拉致被害者らの再調査を約束した「ストックホルム合意」を、中東和平の「オスロ合意」と間違えた。
Nobody is free from slips of the tongue or misunderstandings.
確かに、言い間違いや思い違いは誰にでもある。
But the above-mentioned errors are serious because dealing with the nuclear disaster, tackling the territorial dispute with Russia and resolving the North Korea abduction issue are important challenges placed high on the Abe Cabinet’s policy agenda.
ただ、原発事故対応や北方領土、拉致問題はいずれも安倍内閣が重要課題に掲げるテーマだ。
These gaffes could call into question not only the ministers’ qualifications for their jobs but also the Cabinet’s stances toward the issues.
閣僚の資質とともに、内閣としての姿勢が問われかねない。
2016年02月11日
長期金利低下 マイナスに潜む不安
--The Asahi Shimbun, Feb. 10
EDITORIAL: BOJ's negative interest rate policy positively ineffective
（社説）長期金利低下 マイナスに潜む不安
The benchmark 10-year Japanese government bond yield on Feb. 9 fell below zero percent on the market for the first time. Is this good news or bad? Many people probably don’t know, but they certainly must be feeling anxious.
これは良いニュースか、悪いニュースか。多くの人がそれさえ理解できないまま、おぼろげな不安だけを感じたのではないか。長期金利の指標となっている１０年物国債がきのうの市場で初めてマイナスになった。
In normal transactions, the idea of negative interest rates is absurd.
本来なら正常な取引でマイナス金利はありえない。
Just think about it: You lend money to someone and you have to pay interest to the borrower? That’s ridiculous. You are obviously better off not lending to anyone because you at least won’t lose any money.
お金を貸した者が借りる者に金利を払うくらいなら、自分でお金を抱えている方が減らないだけましだからだ。
The ridiculous situation surrounding Japanese government bonds was caused by the Bank of Japan’s negative interest rate policy announced on Jan. 29.
にもかかわらずこんな異常な金利が生じたのは、先月２９日に日本銀行が発表した「マイナス金利政策」の影響である。
BOJ Governor Haruhiko Kuroda stressed that adding this negative interest rate policy to his already substantial monetary easing policy “should make for probably the most effective framework in the history of the central bank.”
日銀の黒田東彦総裁は、これまで実施してきた大規模な量的緩和政策にマイナス金利政策を加えることで「これまでの中央銀行の歴史の中で、おそらく最も強力な枠組み」になると強調した。
In a sense, the outcome has surpassed Kuroda’s expectations. Mortgage rates, which were already historically low, have come down further, and the near-nonexistent interest rates on time deposits have shrunk even more. Financial institutions have stopped selling low-yield fund products.
その狙いはある意味で想定以上に効果を発揮した。もともと歴史的低水準にあった住宅ローン金利は一段と下がった。わずかばかりの定期預金金利もさらに圧縮された。金融機関は利回りの魅力が乏しいファンド商品の発売を取りやめた。
But will these developments improve the Japanese economy? We believe the opposite will be the case.
だが、こうした動きが日本経済を好転させるのかといえば、むしろ逆ではないか。
Even if lending rates drop further, it is unlikely that businesses will suddenly start investing more amid sluggish domestic demand. And even if banks further lower interest rates on savings and move on to negative rates, consumers probably will not start spending more so long as their future remains uncertain.
貸出金利が一段と下がったとしても、国内需要が盛り上がりを欠く中で、企業が急に投資意欲を増すとは考えにくい。銀行が預金金利をゼロに近づけ、さらにマイナス金利にしたとしても、先行きへの不安が解消しないのに人々が急に消費に走るわけでもなかろう。
Switzerland and Sweden have already implemented negative interest rate policies, but their economy-pumping effects have been marginal at best. In fact, there are growing fears of “side effects,” such as people keeping their money under the proverbial mattress and banks losing their earnings.
マイナス金利政策で先行するスイスやスウェーデンなどでも景気浮揚効果はほとんどなかった。むしろタンス預金の増加や銀行の収益悪化といった副作用のほうが心配されている。
It will soon be three years since Kuroda went ahead with a “new phase” of quantitative and qualitative monetary easing in keeping with Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s “Abenomics” theory that drastic monetary easing should jump-start the anemic economy.
強力な金融緩和が経済を押し上げるというアベノミクス路線に乗って走り出した黒田日銀の異次元緩和も開始からまもなく３年になる。
Although Abenomics has raised stock prices and devalued the yen against the dollar, it has brought no significant changes to the nation’s economic growth rate and consumer prices. Because of this disappointing outcome, the Bank of Japan adopted the negative interest rate policy last month.
円安と株高はもたらしたものの、経済成長率や物価はほぼ横ばいで目立った効果はうかがえなかった。その手詰まり感からマイナス金利政策にも手を広げることになった。
On Feb. 9, the Nikkei 225 index fell by more than 900 points, and the yen-dollar exchange rate closed in the lower 114-yen level for the first time in 15 months. These market reactions were the opposite of what all past monetary easing policies brought, and the central bank obviously did not expect this highly irregular outcome.
きのうの日経平均株価は９００円超下げ、円は一時１年３カ月ぶりの円高ドル安の１ドル＝１１４円台前半をつけた。これまでの緩和策への反応とは逆である。これは日銀にとっても想定外の異常事態ではないのか。
If this situation continues, the Japanese economy may well become trapped in a vicious cycle of having to rely on further extreme monetary easing, with no relief in sight. An urgent review of the central bank policy is called for.
このままでは超金融緩和を続けないと回らない経済へと、はまっていきかねない。出口はますます遠くなるばかりだ。早急に政策の見直しが必要だ。
EDITORIAL: BOJ's negative interest rate policy positively ineffective
（社説）長期金利低下 マイナスに潜む不安
The benchmark 10-year Japanese government bond yield on Feb. 9 fell below zero percent on the market for the first time. Is this good news or bad? Many people probably don’t know, but they certainly must be feeling anxious.
これは良いニュースか、悪いニュースか。多くの人がそれさえ理解できないまま、おぼろげな不安だけを感じたのではないか。長期金利の指標となっている１０年物国債がきのうの市場で初めてマイナスになった。
In normal transactions, the idea of negative interest rates is absurd.
本来なら正常な取引でマイナス金利はありえない。
Just think about it: You lend money to someone and you have to pay interest to the borrower? That’s ridiculous. You are obviously better off not lending to anyone because you at least won’t lose any money.
お金を貸した者が借りる者に金利を払うくらいなら、自分でお金を抱えている方が減らないだけましだからだ。
The ridiculous situation surrounding Japanese government bonds was caused by the Bank of Japan’s negative interest rate policy announced on Jan. 29.
にもかかわらずこんな異常な金利が生じたのは、先月２９日に日本銀行が発表した「マイナス金利政策」の影響である。
BOJ Governor Haruhiko Kuroda stressed that adding this negative interest rate policy to his already substantial monetary easing policy “should make for probably the most effective framework in the history of the central bank.”
日銀の黒田東彦総裁は、これまで実施してきた大規模な量的緩和政策にマイナス金利政策を加えることで「これまでの中央銀行の歴史の中で、おそらく最も強力な枠組み」になると強調した。
In a sense, the outcome has surpassed Kuroda’s expectations. Mortgage rates, which were already historically low, have come down further, and the near-nonexistent interest rates on time deposits have shrunk even more. Financial institutions have stopped selling low-yield fund products.
その狙いはある意味で想定以上に効果を発揮した。もともと歴史的低水準にあった住宅ローン金利は一段と下がった。わずかばかりの定期預金金利もさらに圧縮された。金融機関は利回りの魅力が乏しいファンド商品の発売を取りやめた。
But will these developments improve the Japanese economy? We believe the opposite will be the case.
だが、こうした動きが日本経済を好転させるのかといえば、むしろ逆ではないか。
Even if lending rates drop further, it is unlikely that businesses will suddenly start investing more amid sluggish domestic demand. And even if banks further lower interest rates on savings and move on to negative rates, consumers probably will not start spending more so long as their future remains uncertain.
貸出金利が一段と下がったとしても、国内需要が盛り上がりを欠く中で、企業が急に投資意欲を増すとは考えにくい。銀行が預金金利をゼロに近づけ、さらにマイナス金利にしたとしても、先行きへの不安が解消しないのに人々が急に消費に走るわけでもなかろう。
Switzerland and Sweden have already implemented negative interest rate policies, but their economy-pumping effects have been marginal at best. In fact, there are growing fears of “side effects,” such as people keeping their money under the proverbial mattress and banks losing their earnings.
マイナス金利政策で先行するスイスやスウェーデンなどでも景気浮揚効果はほとんどなかった。むしろタンス預金の増加や銀行の収益悪化といった副作用のほうが心配されている。
It will soon be three years since Kuroda went ahead with a “new phase” of quantitative and qualitative monetary easing in keeping with Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s “Abenomics” theory that drastic monetary easing should jump-start the anemic economy.
強力な金融緩和が経済を押し上げるというアベノミクス路線に乗って走り出した黒田日銀の異次元緩和も開始からまもなく３年になる。
Although Abenomics has raised stock prices and devalued the yen against the dollar, it has brought no significant changes to the nation’s economic growth rate and consumer prices. Because of this disappointing outcome, the Bank of Japan adopted the negative interest rate policy last month.
円安と株高はもたらしたものの、経済成長率や物価はほぼ横ばいで目立った効果はうかがえなかった。その手詰まり感からマイナス金利政策にも手を広げることになった。
On Feb. 9, the Nikkei 225 index fell by more than 900 points, and the yen-dollar exchange rate closed in the lower 114-yen level for the first time in 15 months. These market reactions were the opposite of what all past monetary easing policies brought, and the central bank obviously did not expect this highly irregular outcome.
きのうの日経平均株価は９００円超下げ、円は一時１年３カ月ぶりの円高ドル安の１ドル＝１１４円台前半をつけた。これまでの緩和策への反応とは逆である。これは日銀にとっても想定外の異常事態ではないのか。
If this situation continues, the Japanese economy may well become trapped in a vicious cycle of having to rely on further extreme monetary easing, with no relief in sight. An urgent review of the central bank policy is called for.
このままでは超金融緩和を続けないと回らない経済へと、はまっていきかねない。出口はますます遠くなるばかりだ。早急に政策の見直しが必要だ。
2016年02月07日
首相の改憲論 あまりの倒錯に驚く
--The Asahi Shimbun, Feb. 6
EDITORIAL: Abe’s perverse argument for rewriting Constitution
（社説）首相の改憲論 あまりの倒錯に驚く
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has been aggressively signaling his eagerness to rewrite the Constitution, which potentially includes the revision of its war-renouncing Article 9.
安倍首相が、９条も視野に入れた憲法改正への意欲を積極的に発信している。
He is apparently hoping to pave the way for realizing his long-cherished dream ahead of the Upper House election to be held in summer. His reasoning, however, is strikingly perverse.
夏の参院選を控え、悲願の実現に向けた地ならしをする狙いがあるようだ。だが、その論法はあまりにも倒錯している。
Seventy percent of constitutional scholars have judged that, in light of the interpretation of Article 9, the very presence of the Self-Defense Forces may violate the Constitution, the prime minister told a session of the Lower House Budget Committee. “There is a prevailing belief that this situation must be eliminated.”
首相は衆院予算委員会で「憲法学者の７割が、９条の解釈からすれば自衛隊の存在自体が憲法違反のおそれがあると判断している」「この状況をなくすべきではないかという考え方もある」と述べた。
He made the remark in reply to a question from his close aide Tomomi Inada, chairwoman of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party’s Policy Research Council, who said, “Constitutionalism is being emasculated somewhat by leaving Paragraph 2 of Article 9, which no longer fits reality, intact.”
首相に近い自民党の稲田政調会長が「現実に合わない９条２項をこのままにしておくことこそ、立憲主義を空洞化する」と聞いたのに答えたものだ。
In an Asahi Shimbun survey of constitutional scholars last year, 63 percent of the respondents said they believed the presence of SDF troops either “violates” or “may violate” the Constitution. But at the same time, 98 percent of the respondents also pointed out that bills for new security legislation, which the Abe administration had submitted to the Diet after reinterpreting the Constitution to lift Japan’s self-imposed ban on the right to exercise collective self-defense, either “violate” or “may violate” the Constitution.
確かに朝日新聞の昨年の憲法学者へのアンケートでは、６３％が自衛隊の存在は「憲法違反」「憲法違反の可能性がある」と答えている。同時に、安倍政権が集団的自衛権の行使を認める憲法解釈変更をへて国会に提出した安全保障関連法案については、９８％が「違憲」「違憲の可能性」を指摘している。
Abe’s Cabinet overrode the opposition of a majority of constitutional scholars and of the public by overturning the constitutional interpretation of successive Cabinets, which long held the view that Japan was not allowed to exercise the right to collective self-defense.
多数の憲法学者と国民の反対を押し切り、集団的自衛権は行使できないとの歴代内閣の憲法解釈を、閣議決定だけで変えてしまったのは安倍内閣である。
The right course for Abe would be to retract the security legislation if he takes issue with the disagreement between the existence of SDF troops and the views of scholars. He should also engage in serious soul-searching if he finds fault with constitutionalism being “emasculated.”
自衛隊の存在と学者の見解とのへだたりを問題にするのであれば、安保法制を撤回するのが筋ではないか。「立憲主義の空洞化」を批判するなら、まずは我が身を省みるべきだろう。
“Believing that even a finger should not be laid on the Constitution amounts to abandoning thought,” Abe told a lawmaker of the opposition Democratic Party of Japan, who called Abe’s Diet responses into question, during a separate Diet session. “Instead of doing so, the LDP has presented a draft for amendments,” said the prime minister, who challenged the DPJ to present its own.
首相は国会で、一連の答弁を疑問視する民主党議員に対し、「憲法に指一本触れてはならないと考えることで思考停止になる」「自民党はそうではなく、改正草案を示している」と語り、民主党にも草案を「出してみて下さいよ」と挑発した。
Abe simply steamrolled his reinterpretation of the Constitution in circumventing the process of amending it when he had his Cabinet lift the ban on the right to exercise collective self-defense. But he now proudly says his party has “presented a draft for amendments.” How can he be so opportunistic?
集団的自衛権の行使容認では憲法改正の手続きを避け、解釈変更を押し通しながら、いまになって「改正案を示している」と胸を張る。ずいぶんと都合のいい話ではないか。
The LDP’s draft for an amended Article 9, which explicitly spells out Japan’s self-defense rights, calls for Japan to possess “Defense Forces,” an upgrade from the SDF.
自民党の９条改正案は自衛権を明記し、「国防軍の保持」をうたう。
Abe acknowledged, in the meantime, that amending Article 9 has yet to win the support of the public. Asked which part, then, of the Constitution he wants to see amended and exactly how, the prime minister only answered, “Discussions in the Diet and among the public will find a gradual convergence.”
一方で首相は、９条改正が国民の支持を得ている状況にないと認めている。それでは憲法のどこをどう改正するのかと問われれば、「国会や国民的な議論の中でだんだんと収斂（しゅうれん）していく」と答えるのみだ。
The Constitution is the supreme law to protect the rights of individuals, defend peace and prescribe the status of power and authority. So yes, let the Diet and the public discuss it, including whether it should be amended at all.
憲法は、一人ひとりの人権と平和を守り、権力のあり方を規定する最高法規である。国会でも、国民的にも、改正の是非を含め論じ合えばいい。
But we never embrace an argument for rewriting the Constitution, wherein amendment has become an end in itself instead of what that amendment actually is.
ただし、中身ではなく改正そのものが目的化した改憲論には与（くみ）することはできない。
EDITORIAL: Abe’s perverse argument for rewriting Constitution
（社説）首相の改憲論 あまりの倒錯に驚く
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has been aggressively signaling his eagerness to rewrite the Constitution, which potentially includes the revision of its war-renouncing Article 9.
安倍首相が、９条も視野に入れた憲法改正への意欲を積極的に発信している。
He is apparently hoping to pave the way for realizing his long-cherished dream ahead of the Upper House election to be held in summer. His reasoning, however, is strikingly perverse.
夏の参院選を控え、悲願の実現に向けた地ならしをする狙いがあるようだ。だが、その論法はあまりにも倒錯している。
Seventy percent of constitutional scholars have judged that, in light of the interpretation of Article 9, the very presence of the Self-Defense Forces may violate the Constitution, the prime minister told a session of the Lower House Budget Committee. “There is a prevailing belief that this situation must be eliminated.”
首相は衆院予算委員会で「憲法学者の７割が、９条の解釈からすれば自衛隊の存在自体が憲法違反のおそれがあると判断している」「この状況をなくすべきではないかという考え方もある」と述べた。
He made the remark in reply to a question from his close aide Tomomi Inada, chairwoman of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party’s Policy Research Council, who said, “Constitutionalism is being emasculated somewhat by leaving Paragraph 2 of Article 9, which no longer fits reality, intact.”
首相に近い自民党の稲田政調会長が「現実に合わない９条２項をこのままにしておくことこそ、立憲主義を空洞化する」と聞いたのに答えたものだ。
In an Asahi Shimbun survey of constitutional scholars last year, 63 percent of the respondents said they believed the presence of SDF troops either “violates” or “may violate” the Constitution. But at the same time, 98 percent of the respondents also pointed out that bills for new security legislation, which the Abe administration had submitted to the Diet after reinterpreting the Constitution to lift Japan’s self-imposed ban on the right to exercise collective self-defense, either “violate” or “may violate” the Constitution.
確かに朝日新聞の昨年の憲法学者へのアンケートでは、６３％が自衛隊の存在は「憲法違反」「憲法違反の可能性がある」と答えている。同時に、安倍政権が集団的自衛権の行使を認める憲法解釈変更をへて国会に提出した安全保障関連法案については、９８％が「違憲」「違憲の可能性」を指摘している。
Abe’s Cabinet overrode the opposition of a majority of constitutional scholars and of the public by overturning the constitutional interpretation of successive Cabinets, which long held the view that Japan was not allowed to exercise the right to collective self-defense.
多数の憲法学者と国民の反対を押し切り、集団的自衛権は行使できないとの歴代内閣の憲法解釈を、閣議決定だけで変えてしまったのは安倍内閣である。
The right course for Abe would be to retract the security legislation if he takes issue with the disagreement between the existence of SDF troops and the views of scholars. He should also engage in serious soul-searching if he finds fault with constitutionalism being “emasculated.”
自衛隊の存在と学者の見解とのへだたりを問題にするのであれば、安保法制を撤回するのが筋ではないか。「立憲主義の空洞化」を批判するなら、まずは我が身を省みるべきだろう。
“Believing that even a finger should not be laid on the Constitution amounts to abandoning thought,” Abe told a lawmaker of the opposition Democratic Party of Japan, who called Abe’s Diet responses into question, during a separate Diet session. “Instead of doing so, the LDP has presented a draft for amendments,” said the prime minister, who challenged the DPJ to present its own.
首相は国会で、一連の答弁を疑問視する民主党議員に対し、「憲法に指一本触れてはならないと考えることで思考停止になる」「自民党はそうではなく、改正草案を示している」と語り、民主党にも草案を「出してみて下さいよ」と挑発した。
Abe simply steamrolled his reinterpretation of the Constitution in circumventing the process of amending it when he had his Cabinet lift the ban on the right to exercise collective self-defense. But he now proudly says his party has “presented a draft for amendments.” How can he be so opportunistic?
集団的自衛権の行使容認では憲法改正の手続きを避け、解釈変更を押し通しながら、いまになって「改正案を示している」と胸を張る。ずいぶんと都合のいい話ではないか。
The LDP’s draft for an amended Article 9, which explicitly spells out Japan’s self-defense rights, calls for Japan to possess “Defense Forces,” an upgrade from the SDF.
自民党の９条改正案は自衛権を明記し、「国防軍の保持」をうたう。
Abe acknowledged, in the meantime, that amending Article 9 has yet to win the support of the public. Asked which part, then, of the Constitution he wants to see amended and exactly how, the prime minister only answered, “Discussions in the Diet and among the public will find a gradual convergence.”
一方で首相は、９条改正が国民の支持を得ている状況にないと認めている。それでは憲法のどこをどう改正するのかと問われれば、「国会や国民的な議論の中でだんだんと収斂（しゅうれん）していく」と答えるのみだ。
The Constitution is the supreme law to protect the rights of individuals, defend peace and prescribe the status of power and authority. So yes, let the Diet and the public discuss it, including whether it should be amended at all.
憲法は、一人ひとりの人権と平和を守り、権力のあり方を規定する最高法規である。国会でも、国民的にも、改正の是非を含め論じ合えばいい。
But we never embrace an argument for rewriting the Constitution, wherein amendment has become an end in itself instead of what that amendment actually is.
ただし、中身ではなく改正そのものが目的化した改憲論には与（くみ）することはできない。
2016年01月28日
代表質問 不平等克服へ政策競え
--The Asahi Shimbun, Jan. 27
EDITORIAL: Parties should focus on correcting social disparities, not election
（社説）代表質問 不平等克服へ政策競え
How can we overcome social disparities that have become too commonplace today?
私たちの社会で日常化している不平等を、どう克服していくべきか。
This was one of the urgent questions posed to Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in the Diet on Jan. 26, the first day of this year’s questioning session by lawmakers representing their parties.
きのう始まった国会の代表質問では、この喫緊の課題に向けた質疑も交わされた。
The Diet has a host of other crucial issues to address, such as the economy, diplomacy and national security, as well as the money scandal embroiling Akira Amari, the minister in charge of economic revitalization.
経済成長や外交・安全保障政策、そして甘利経済再生相の金銭授受疑惑の解明――。いずれも、いま国会が取り組むべき重要な課題である。
But the growing disparities around the nation between regular and part-time employees, men and women, the big cities and the provinces and so on, are in special need of prompt attention.
ただ、正社員と非正社員、男と女、都市と地方など日本社会で拡大しつつある様々な格差、すなわち不平等の解消は、とりわけ対応が急がれる。
Democratic Party of Japan leader Katsuya Okada said, “We would like to propose specific measures for correcting the disparities and ensuring a fair distribution of benefits.”
民主党の岡田代表は「格差是正、公正な分配のための具体策について提案したい」と語り、
One of the initiatives he proposed was to increase the per-child amount of child-care benefits, and to raise the upper age limit for eligible children. To secure funding, Okada suggested increasing tax on financial incomes and reinforcing the progressivity of income and inheritance taxes.
児童手当の１人あたり支給額や児童扶養手当の支給対象年齢の引き上げなどを挙げ、財源として金融課税や所得税・相続税の累進強化を示した。
Prime Minister Abe promised in his policy speech to take further steps to realize his “equal pay for equal work” concept. Okada asked if Abe’s objective matches the DPJ’s demand for “equal treatment” of regular and part-time employees.
また、安倍首相が施政方針演説で「実現に踏み込む」とした同一労働同一賃金について、もともと民主党が訴えているような正規と非正規雇用の「均等待遇」をめざすのかとただした。
Japan Innovation Party leader Yorihisa Matsuno referred to the number of people who are not paying into the national pension program and demanded swift action.
維新の党の松野代表も、国民年金保険料を払っていない人などの数字をあげて、早急な対応を求めた。
According to the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare, the relative poverty rate in Japan was 16.1 percent in 2012, which represented a gradual year-on-year growth. Limited to younger households consisting of members under 30 years old, the rate was 27.8 percent, and a much higher 54.6 percent for single-parent households.
厚生労働省の調査によれば、日本の相対的貧困率は２０１２年で１６・１％。年々少しずつ増加している。３０歳未満の若年世帯では２７・８％、１人親世帯では５４・６％にも達している。
Acknowledging this reality, Abe replied, “We will continue to review and improve matters related to employment and social security to prevent the disparities from becoming permanent.”
首相もこうした現状を踏まえ、「格差が固定化しないよう雇用環境の改善や社会保障環境の改善の見直しを行っていく」と応じた。
But the prime minister’s response to Okada’s proposals was somewhat too abstract to be satisfactory.
ただ、岡田氏の提案への首相の答弁はやや抽象的で、物足りなさが残った。
In his policy speech on Jan. 22, Abe attacked opposition parties and said, “An attitude of spending all one’s time simply criticizing, without putting forward any counterproposals, and expecting that everything will ‘all work out somehow’ is truly irresponsible towards the public.”
Abe then addressed the opposition camp, saying, “Instead, shall we not pit concrete policies against each other and hold constructive discussions?”
首相はさきの施政方針演説で、「批判だけに明け暮れ、対案を示さず、後は『どうにかなる』。そういう態度は、国民に対して誠に無責任だ」と野党を批判し、「具体的な政策をぶつけあい、建設的な議論を行おう」と呼びかけた。
When he said that, he must have been thinking of the attitude of the DPJ and other parties toward the national security legislation and constitutional amendment. But surely, it is anything but “irresponsible” to resist any policy that goes against the Constitution. And it is only natural to be alarmed by the prime minister’s resolve to change the Constitution at all costs.
首相の念頭には、安保関連法制や憲法改正への民主党などの対応があるのだろう。だが、憲法を逸脱する政策に反対を貫くことが無責任とは言えないし、内容より改憲ありきの首相の姿勢を警戒するのは当然だ。
In fact, it is the prime minister himself who needs to live up to his responsibility of responding “concretely and constructively” to questions and proposals put forth by the opposition camp.
むしろ首相の方こそ、野党の疑問や提案に対して、「具体的に、建設的に」答える責任を果たしてもらいたい。
With the Upper House election coming up this summer, the current Diet session is expected to be a “short-term battle.” But there are numerous issues that need to be discussed, and the money scandal must be probed to everyone’s satisfaction.
夏に参院選を控えたこの国会は短期戦とも言われる。一方、論ずべき課題は山積みであり、疑惑の解明も必須だ。
The session must not be allowed to become an ugly sparring contest, fought only with the upcoming election in mind.
選挙を意識した批判合戦に終わらせてはならない。
EDITORIAL: Parties should focus on correcting social disparities, not election
（社説）代表質問 不平等克服へ政策競え
How can we overcome social disparities that have become too commonplace today?
私たちの社会で日常化している不平等を、どう克服していくべきか。
This was one of the urgent questions posed to Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in the Diet on Jan. 26, the first day of this year’s questioning session by lawmakers representing their parties.
きのう始まった国会の代表質問では、この喫緊の課題に向けた質疑も交わされた。
The Diet has a host of other crucial issues to address, such as the economy, diplomacy and national security, as well as the money scandal embroiling Akira Amari, the minister in charge of economic revitalization.
経済成長や外交・安全保障政策、そして甘利経済再生相の金銭授受疑惑の解明――。いずれも、いま国会が取り組むべき重要な課題である。
But the growing disparities around the nation between regular and part-time employees, men and women, the big cities and the provinces and so on, are in special need of prompt attention.
ただ、正社員と非正社員、男と女、都市と地方など日本社会で拡大しつつある様々な格差、すなわち不平等の解消は、とりわけ対応が急がれる。
Democratic Party of Japan leader Katsuya Okada said, “We would like to propose specific measures for correcting the disparities and ensuring a fair distribution of benefits.”
民主党の岡田代表は「格差是正、公正な分配のための具体策について提案したい」と語り、
One of the initiatives he proposed was to increase the per-child amount of child-care benefits, and to raise the upper age limit for eligible children. To secure funding, Okada suggested increasing tax on financial incomes and reinforcing the progressivity of income and inheritance taxes.
児童手当の１人あたり支給額や児童扶養手当の支給対象年齢の引き上げなどを挙げ、財源として金融課税や所得税・相続税の累進強化を示した。
Prime Minister Abe promised in his policy speech to take further steps to realize his “equal pay for equal work” concept. Okada asked if Abe’s objective matches the DPJ’s demand for “equal treatment” of regular and part-time employees.
また、安倍首相が施政方針演説で「実現に踏み込む」とした同一労働同一賃金について、もともと民主党が訴えているような正規と非正規雇用の「均等待遇」をめざすのかとただした。
Japan Innovation Party leader Yorihisa Matsuno referred to the number of people who are not paying into the national pension program and demanded swift action.
維新の党の松野代表も、国民年金保険料を払っていない人などの数字をあげて、早急な対応を求めた。
According to the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare, the relative poverty rate in Japan was 16.1 percent in 2012, which represented a gradual year-on-year growth. Limited to younger households consisting of members under 30 years old, the rate was 27.8 percent, and a much higher 54.6 percent for single-parent households.
厚生労働省の調査によれば、日本の相対的貧困率は２０１２年で１６・１％。年々少しずつ増加している。３０歳未満の若年世帯では２７・８％、１人親世帯では５４・６％にも達している。
Acknowledging this reality, Abe replied, “We will continue to review and improve matters related to employment and social security to prevent the disparities from becoming permanent.”
首相もこうした現状を踏まえ、「格差が固定化しないよう雇用環境の改善や社会保障環境の改善の見直しを行っていく」と応じた。
But the prime minister’s response to Okada’s proposals was somewhat too abstract to be satisfactory.
ただ、岡田氏の提案への首相の答弁はやや抽象的で、物足りなさが残った。
In his policy speech on Jan. 22, Abe attacked opposition parties and said, “An attitude of spending all one’s time simply criticizing, without putting forward any counterproposals, and expecting that everything will ‘all work out somehow’ is truly irresponsible towards the public.”
Abe then addressed the opposition camp, saying, “Instead, shall we not pit concrete policies against each other and hold constructive discussions?”
首相はさきの施政方針演説で、「批判だけに明け暮れ、対案を示さず、後は『どうにかなる』。そういう態度は、国民に対して誠に無責任だ」と野党を批判し、「具体的な政策をぶつけあい、建設的な議論を行おう」と呼びかけた。
When he said that, he must have been thinking of the attitude of the DPJ and other parties toward the national security legislation and constitutional amendment. But surely, it is anything but “irresponsible” to resist any policy that goes against the Constitution. And it is only natural to be alarmed by the prime minister’s resolve to change the Constitution at all costs.
首相の念頭には、安保関連法制や憲法改正への民主党などの対応があるのだろう。だが、憲法を逸脱する政策に反対を貫くことが無責任とは言えないし、内容より改憲ありきの首相の姿勢を警戒するのは当然だ。
In fact, it is the prime minister himself who needs to live up to his responsibility of responding “concretely and constructively” to questions and proposals put forth by the opposition camp.
むしろ首相の方こそ、野党の疑問や提案に対して、「具体的に、建設的に」答える責任を果たしてもらいたい。
With the Upper House election coming up this summer, the current Diet session is expected to be a “short-term battle.” But there are numerous issues that need to be discussed, and the money scandal must be probed to everyone’s satisfaction.
夏に参院選を控えたこの国会は短期戦とも言われる。一方、論ずべき課題は山積みであり、疑惑の解明も必須だ。
The session must not be allowed to become an ugly sparring contest, fought only with the upcoming election in mind.
選挙を意識した批判合戦に終わらせてはならない。