英字新聞

The Yomiuri Shimbun 9:52 pm, April 09, 2014
7-party bill on constitutional revision procedure a step forward
国民投票法改正　７党合意の提案は確かな一歩

Seven ruling and opposition parties have jointly submitted a bill to revise the National Referendum Law,

which stipulates procedures to amend the Constitution, to the House of Representatives.
　自民、公明、民主など与野党７党が、憲法改正の手続きを定めた国民投票法改正案を衆院に共同提出した。

Members of the seven parties, including the ruling Liberal Democratic Party and New Komeito as well as

the opposition Democratic Party of Japan, account for more than 90 percent of the lawmakers in both

houses of the Diet. The bill is expected to be enacted during the current Diet session.
　所属議員は、衆参両院の９割超を占めている。今国会で成立する見通しだ。

The seven parties spent many days in intensive and careful discussions before reaching an agreement

on the bill for joint submission. We wish to express great praise for their efforts.
　与野党が協議を重ね、共同提案に至るまで丁寧に合意を形成したことを前向きに評価したい。

“This is a step forward in preparing an environment for amending the Constitution,” said Hajime

Funada, chairman of the LDP’s Headquarters for the Promotion of Revision to the Constitution. A revision

of the Constitution by the Diet’s initiation requires the approval of at least two-thirds of the members of

each house prior to a special referendum. We ask the parties not to squander this cooperative

momentum.
　自民党の船田元憲法改正推進本部長は「憲法改正に向けて環境作りが一歩前進した」と指摘した。国会による憲法

改正の発議は、衆参各院の３分の２以上の賛成が必要となる。今回の連携の機運を大事にしていかねばならない。

The bill stipulates that the voting age for national referendums will be set at 20 or older, but the age

will be lowered to 18 or older four years after the enforcement of the bill.
　改正案は、国民投票の投票年齢について、当面は「２０歳以上」とし、改正法施行の４年後、自動的に「１８歳以上」に

なるとした。

In line with the move, the seven parties and another opposition party also plan to lower the voting age

stipulated under the Public Offices Election Law to 18 within two years. The eight parties have agreed to

establish a project team on the issue. We would like to encourage them to maintain their schedule in

achieving that goal.
　公職選挙法の選挙権年齢に関しても、２年以内に国民投票に合わせて「１８歳以上」へ引き下げることを目指す。与野

党は、そのためのプロジェクトチームを設置することで合意した。期限内に実現してもらいたい。

There is also some question as to whether the legal age of adulthood should be lowered to 18 from 20,

as currently stipulated in the Civil Code. The eight parties said they would discuss this issue as well in

the project team, but they avoided setting a specific date for such a change. They should not be faulted

for this decision because discussions on the issue have not progressed in the Diet, and also because the

impact of lowering the adulthood age on society would likely be enormous.
　もう一つの懸案である民法の成人年齢を１８歳に引き下げる問題もこのチームで検討するというが、期限は明示していな

い。国会で議論が進まず、社会への影響も大きい以上、やむを得まい。

Clarify public workers’ role

When the ruling camp compiled a draft for the bill on revising the referendum law, it initially included a

clause banning government employees from participating in organized campaigning soliciting people to

vote, conducting signature-collecting campaigns and holding demonstrations.
　公務員の国民投票運動について、与党案には当初、組織的な勧誘や署名、示威運動を禁止する規定が盛り込まれ

ていた。

However, to the disappointment of many, this clause was omitted due to opposition from the DPJ, a

party backed by labor unions such as the All-Japan Prefectural and Municipal Workers’ Union and by the

Japan Teachers’ Union. Instead, a supplementary provision was added to the bill, which said the ban on

group activities would be an issue subject to further discussions.
　自治労や日教組の支持を受ける民主党が強く反対したために、これが削除され、法案の付則で検討課題とされたのは

残念だ。

The political activity of public employees is limited under the National Civil Service Law and the Local

Civil Service Law, in order to preserve political neutrality and secure equity in the execution of public

services.
　公務員は、政治的中立性や公務の公平性確保の観点から、国家公務員法と地方公務員法などで政治活動が規制

されている。

If their political activities are permitted unconditionally just because such referendums make crucial

decisions concerning amendments to the Constitution, it will inevitably create a variety of problems. The

ruling and opposition parties must come up with a plan to impose some manner of limitations on the

political activities of government employees before a referendum is carried out.
　憲法改正に関する重要な国民投票だからといって、公務員の政治活動を無制限に認めれば様々な問題が生じよう。与

野党は国民投票の実施前までに一定の歯止めをかける方策を考える必要がある。

Another issue left undecided is whether to introduce a preliminary national referendum system for

matters presumably subject to constitutional amendments. The ruling and opposition parties decided to

shelve the issue, saying it will be discussed periodically in the commissions on the Constitution in both

houses of the Diet.
　憲法改正の「対象となり得る問題」について、予備的な国民投票制度を設けるかどうかも、宿題の一つとされていた。与

野党は、衆参の憲法審査会で定期的に議論するとして、先送りした。

We are afraid that once the scope of the national referendum expands to issues other than the direct

constitutional amendments, it could muddle national politics. We urge the parties to discuss the issue

carefully.
　国民投票を憲法改正以外にも拡大すると、国政に混乱をもたらさないか。慎重に検討すべきだ。

Despite the fact that problems have been left unsolved, the process for revising the Constitution will

become tangible with the passage of the bill on revising the National Referendum Law.
　課題はなお残るとはいえ、憲法改正の手続きは、今回の改正案が成立すれば道筋がつく。

We now need to shift to the content of the constitutional amendments. Discussions on the issue have

long been stalled. The next issue to consider is how to propel the stalled discussions forward.
　停滞している憲法改正の中身の議論をどう動かすか、考えねばならない次のテーマである。

(From The Yomiuri Shimbun, April 9, 2014)