英字新聞

May 12, 2013(Mainichi Japan)
Kaleidoscope of the Heart: Waiting on benefits from 'Abenomics' can bring stress
香山リカのココロの万華鏡:「待ち疲れ」ならぬように　／東京

Major tour companies announced before this past "Golden Week" holiday period that the number of Japanese expected to travel during the period was a record high. Experts said this is because the economic mood in Japan has been recovering thanks to Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's policies, known as "Abenomics." I think the point here is that Japan's economy, or people's incomes, aren't actually improving, but rather their "mood" about the economy is gaining a lift.
　旅行会社が大型連休前に発表したところでは、この休みの期間中の旅行者は過去最高なのだとか。理由は「安倍政権の経済政策『アベノミクス』で景況感が改善しているから」と分析されていた。ここでポイントになるのは、実際に景気が良くなり現実にお金がたくさんあるのではなく、あくまで景気の状態に対する印象の「景況感」が改善しているだけ、ということだろう。

Meanwhile, weekly magazines are saying only some people are becoming richer under the Abenomics scheme and the economic bubble will burst before most people can benefit from it. They warn that people's lives may become even more difficult. If that is true, we can't be too optimistic that our salaries will increase just because stock prices are on the rise.
　一方、週刊誌のコラムなどには、「もうかるのは一部のお金持ちだけ。大半の人たちは恩恵を受ける前にバブルがはじけ、生活がより苦しくなる危険も」とも。もしそうなら、「株価が上がったから、そのうち私の給料も上がるはず」などと浮かれてもいられない。

So far I haven't heard any of my patients claiming they are making a fortune because of Abenomics. Instead, I am hearing the usual negative stories such as "I can't make ends meet with my pay from my part-time job," "I was laid off" and "I have to let go of my house because I can't pay the mortgage."
　診察室で会う人からは、まだ「アベノミクスで大もうけです」といった言葉は聞こえてこない。相変わらず「このバイト代では生活できない」「パートの仕事を打ち切られた」「ローンが払えないので家を手放す」など“景気の悪い話”ばかりだ。

Although the media is reporting that large firms are making profits, I suspect most of us are just waiting, half excited and half worried, to see how Abenomics will affect our lives.
誰もが「大手企業の業績が好転」というニュースを横目に「その効果は私まで回ってくるのか」と期待半分、不安半分で待っているというところだろう。

Of course, it's better than not having any hope at all, but there is a limit to "just waiting." There was an old Japanese song that portrayed a mother waiting for her son to come home from a battle field for 10 years. However, that is a rare case. For how long in general do we have to wait? Just waiting alone can cause stress. It can cause even greater stress when there is a possibility of not receiving any benefits from Abenomics.
　もちろん、不安一色よりはいいのかもしれないが、それでも「ただ待つ」のには限界がある。歌謡曲「岸壁の母」の母親は、戦地から帰らぬ息子を待ち続け１０年間、港に通い続けるという設定だが、これは特殊なケースだろう。一般的にどれくらい待てばよいのか。期間も示されずにただ待つということ自体、私たちには大きなストレスになる。しかも、待ったあげく「あなたへの恩恵はありませんでした」と、外れる場合もあるとなれば、ストレスはさらに倍増。

Those who are waiting with hope of getting a raise in their pay at their part-time job, just like stock prices, will be disappointed when they realize that their lives are not getting any easier. Then they may gradually become psychologically unstable due to stress caused by waiting. By the time they give up on waiting, many in society may have fallen into a crisis.
　「株価がどんどん上がっている。私は株を持っていないが、今にきっとバイト代も上がるはず」と、楽しみに待っている人も「あれ？　まだ生活が苦しいままだぞ」と疑問を抱くようになり、「いつまで待てばいいのか」と、次第に待つストレスから気持ちが不安定になっていく。そのうち、「待ってもダメみたい」とあきらめが生じる頃には社会全体がパニックになるかもしれない。

Because people's expectations of Abenomics have been growing, I think it is time for the government to indicate just how long people will have to wait until their salaries and lives will improve and tell them what they should work on until then. I don't want to see people lining up at my clinic because they got depressed waiting.
　アベノミクスへの期待が膨らむ一方の今だからこそ、政権には一般の人たちにも、「いつ頃まで待てば給料や生活にこういう改善があります。それまでにこんな努力をしてくださいね」というロードマップを示してほしいと思う。そのうち診察室に「待ち疲れうつ」の人があふれることだけは避けたいものだ。

(Rika Kayama, psychiatrist)
毎日新聞　2013年05月06日　地方版