2011/06/30

東電株主総会 社内論理より安全守れ

昨日のFNNニュースですが、原子力保安院の代表が女性問題で更迭されたというのが放送されていました。
原発の収束には消極的ですが、こちらの方面にはみたいですね^^。
驚きました。
(スラチャイ)

(Mainichi Japan) June 29, 2011
Strengthening of nuclear safety more important than TEPCO's 'internal company logic'
社説:東電株主総会 社内論理より安全守れ

Tokyo Electric Power Co. (TEPCO), operator of the disaster-struck Fukushima No. 1 Nuclear Power Plant, held its general shareholders' meeting on June 28, attracting the largest crowd and taking the most time of any shareholders' meeting in company history.
 福島第1原発事故を起こした東京電力の株主総会が開かれ、出席者数は過去最高、開催時間も過去最長を大きく更新した。

Shareholder questions covered a lot of ground, including board members' salaries, cuts to company pensions, nuclear disaster compensation payments, and nuclear safety policy.
株主からの質問は、取締役報酬や企業年金の減額、損害賠償、原発の安全対策など極めて多岐にわたった。

Overall, the executives on stage faced a barrage of harsh inquiries about not just management's responsibility for the Fukushima crisis, but also about the very state of the nuclear power industry.
今回の事故に対する経営責任、さらには原発事業のあり方が、厳しく問われているということだ。

"If TEPCO doesn't change its basic makeup, there will be disaster after disaster," came the rising tide of criticism.
 「東電の体質を変えないと何度も事故は起きる」。

The utility's managers must take that criticism to heart.
株主の間から上がった批判を東電経営者は重く受け止めるべきだ。

Since TEPCO's Kashiwazaki Kariwa nuclear power plant in Kashiwazaki, Niigata Prefecture, was damaged in the 2007 Chuetsu Oki Earthquake, a natural plus a nuclear disaster has ceased to be a "virtually impossible hypothetical."
07年の新潟県中越沖地震で東電柏崎刈羽原発が被災して以降、原発震災はありえない「仮想事故」ではなくなった。

Furthermore, the very real danger of a major earthquake striking off Japan's northeast coast was pointed out during a Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry commission of inquiry two years ago, but TEPCO did nothing to improve safety policies.
東北沖の巨大地震の危険性についても、2年前に経済産業省の審議会で取り上げられたが、東電の安全対策には生かされなかった。

Looking back even further, in the summer of 2002 TEPCO was lambasted for lax governance on safety issues after the company was caught hiding problems at Kashiwazaki Kariwa and the Fukushima No. 1 and 2 nuclear power plants.
 02年夏に発覚した福島第1、第2原発や柏崎刈羽原発での「トラブル隠し」で、東電は安全管理に関するガバナンスの欠如を厳しく批判された。

Now, it can be said that because of the high level of technical specialization needed to get into the nuclear power industry, it has a tendency of insularity and exclusivity.
原発事業は専門性が高く、閉鎖的・排他的になりがちな分野ともいえる。

However, for that fact alone the industry must proactively release information to the public and accept an inspection regime.
それだけに、積極的に情報を公開し、社会のチェックを受け入れることが不可欠であるはずだ。

At TEPCO, however, that kind of thinking just never entered the management culture.
 しかし、東電にそうした文化は根付かなかった。

Masataka Shimizu, who stepped down as TEPCO president at the shareholders' meeting, admitted during the corporate earnings presentation that the firm had "lost sight of the good of the customer and of local areas, and there remains a tendency to make moves based solely on the company's internal logic."
今回の総会で退任した清水正孝・前社長は、5月の決算発表の席上、「(東電には)地域や顧客への目線を失い、社内論理でいってしまう傾向が残っている」と自戒した。

If that's the case, then now is the time to rebuild TEPCO corporate culture, doing away with the prioritization of parochial interests and inculcating the tools to create a thorough safety management system.
今度こそ、社内論理優先の社風を改め、安全管理を徹底する社内システムの構築を求める。

In the June 28 meeting, much attention was paid to a group of 402 stockholders who proposed a motion to gradually eliminate TEPCO's nuclear power stations.
 今回の株主総会では、402人の株主が提案した原発の段階的廃止も大きな焦点になった。

The motion was defeated by an overwhelming margin, but the very fact that an anti-nuclear power block could form is a major development.
否決はされたものの、一定の賛成を集めた意味は大きい。

Of the nine major electric companies in Japan who have nuclear plants in their generating stock, shareholders at six have proposed abandoning nuclear power.
 今年は、原発を保有する9電力会社のうち東電や、政府の要請で停止した浜岡原発(静岡県)を抱える中部電力など6社で、脱原発を求める株主提案があった。

Meanwhile, some third-party firms giving advice on shareholder voting even warned institutional investors, "The continuation of nuclear power generation by private firms carries too high a risk," and therefore utility shareholders should support motions to abandon nuclear power.
議決権行使助言会社が機関投資家に対し、「原発は民間企業が続けるにはリスクが大きすぎる」として「脱原発」提案に賛成するよう助言する動きもあった。

Certainly, obtaining a site for a nuclear power station and managing nuclear safety both cost a great deal of money.
 確かに、原発の立地や安全管理には巨額の費用がかかる。

Also, in the case of a disaster like the one now unfolding at the Fukushima plant -- where there is as yet no upper limit or reprieve from compensation payments in sight -- the financial risk for power companies is extremely high.
事故が起きた際、事実上、損害賠償額の上限も免責も認めない現行の賠償制度では、電力会社のリスクは極めて大きい。

Meanwhile, the role of the national government in the whole situation is vague, though continuing entrusting nuclear power -- which remains a central part of Japan's energy policy -- to private firms in the present fashion would seem to be impossible.
一方で、国の責任はあいまいだ。国策である原発を、このまま民間企業の電力会社に委ねることには、無理がある。

Even if Japan comes to depend less on nuclear power from here on out, we will still have a certain number of reactors in operation to fill our electricity needs.
 今後、依存度を下げていくにしても、当面一定の原発は稼働することになる。

So, what form should the strengthening of nuclear safety -- that most important of considerations -- take?
最も大切な安全性を高めるには、どんな形態が望ましいのか。

This must be the focus of deep national discussion.
これを機に、国民的な議論を深める必要がある。

毎日新聞 2011年6月29日 東京朝刊

2011/06/29

復興提言―さらなる深化が必要だ

復興に訳の分からないかけ声はいらない。
ひとつひとつ、地道な努力が必要なのだ。決して綺麗事ではない。
復興を隠れ蓑にして新たな利権を求める動きには警戒が必要。
菅首相は4月退陣が8月まで引き延ばされ、まだまだ伸びそうな気配。
小沢氏に交代しても事態は好転しそうにない。
自民党は死に体だし、行き詰まり状態。
福島は一向に復旧のめどがたたない。
なんとかならないのか!
(スラチャイ)

2011/06/28
--The Asahi Shimbun, June 26
EDITORIAL: Rebuilding plan needs more work to avoid vested-interest trap.
復興提言―さらなる深化が必要だ

The Reconstruction Design Council has submitted a proposal to Prime Minister Naoto Kan that talks about "keeping our hearts as one with the people in the areas affected by the quake and tsunami, and to light the flame of hope in those areas through national solidarity and mutual support."
 「被災地の人々と心を一つにし、全国民的な連帯と支えあいのもとで、被災地に希望のあかりをともす」。そううたった復興構想会議の提言が菅直人首相に手渡された。

The proposal puts forth such lofty principles as "the basis of reconstruction efforts should place local communities at its center," and that we should "pursue the possibilities of an economic society that would lead the way into a possible future." The proposal also includes various prescriptions for reconstruction.
 「地域・コミュニティー主体の復興を基本とする」「来るべき時代をリードする経済社会の可能性を追求する」といった原則を掲げ、復興への様々な処方箋(しょほうせん)を盛り込んだ。

Specifically, the council proposes options for rebuilding communities that reduce the risk of disasters and plans for reviving industries in the affected areas.
The options are designed to fit the actual situation in each area.
 具体策では、「減災」のためのまちづくりや産業再興について、被災地の実情に合わせた選択肢を提示している。

The plan also proposes setting "special reconstruction zones" to make best use of local communities' abilities.
市町村の能力を最大限に引き出す「復興特区」の活用も挙げた。

The idea to create locations for developing renewable energy that nurture industries of the 21st century in Fukushima Prefecture is also very good.
21世紀の産業を育てる再生可能エネルギーの拠点を福島などで展開する案もうなずける内容だ。

Some directions in this proposal overlap with areas that we have been seeking.
 提言の方向性は、私たちが求めてきたものと重なり合う。

However, more than a few points seem to require deeper thought.
 だが、踏み込み不足に思える点も少なくない。

Take the matter of land, for example.
 例えば、土地をめぐる課題だ。

The complex web of ownership rights needs to be sorted out soon, as it is obstructing reconstruction.
The proposal sidesteps this thorny problem by saying "necessary measures must be considered," and that government procurement of land is "problematic."
入り組んだ権利関係の調整といった復興の足かせになっている問題は「必要な措置を考慮しなければならない」、国などによる土地の買い上げは「難点がある」と述べるにとどめた。

The proposal includes using special zoning, but would it not have been better to offer a more specific solution for a breakthrough?
 手続きの迅速化に特区的手法を使うというが、もっと具体的な解決策を示して、事態を打開できなかったか。

Also, we cannot see how the affected local governments will be able to actually apply these proposals.
 また、被災自治体が提案を具体化する手順が見えない。

A road map that lays out which project should take priority, and what kind of preparation is necessary, is essential.
どの計画を優先的に進めるべきか、どんな段取りが必要なのか、という工程表も不可欠だ。

If not, local governments have no choice but to let central government ministries decide for them when to start a particular project or how to design a particular system. And if that happens, the principle of putting the local communities first is just an empty promise.
 そうでなければ、事業の着手や制度設計を省庁に委ねざるをえず、「地域主体」の原則が絵に描いた餅にすぎなくなる。

On the other hand, the proposal includes a plan to re-energize and revitalize the fishing industry by drawing in private sector funds.
 一方、漁業再生の手法として民間資金の導入による活力誘引策を盛り込んだ。

This resulted from strong lobbying by Yoshihiro Murai, the governor of Miyagi Prefecture. Even so, some local fishermen question the plan or are against it.
村井嘉浩・宮城県知事の強い要望を採り入れたものだが、地元の漁業者に疑問や反発の声がある。

In reality, many issues must be overcome. The Reconstruction Design Council is expected to have a say in the usual ministry-led process of coordinating the many conflicting interests of interested parties and point to a new path.
 このように、実現には越えるべき課題も多いが、従来の役所主導の利害調整に一石を投じ、新たな道筋を示すことこそ構想会議が果たすべき役割だ。

The council chairman, Makoto Iokibe, decided against delaying a final recommendation to the end of the year, as originally planned, and instead moved up the schedule to include proposals at this juncture.
 五百旗頭真議長は、当初予定していた年末の最終提言を取りやめ、前倒し的に今回の提言に盛り込んだという。

This might have been due to a sense of urgency created by Prime Minister Naoto Kan's offer to resign, for it was Kan who initiated the creation of the council.
背景には、構想会議の設立を主導した菅首相が退陣表明したことへの危機感もあろう。

It is true the Kan administration has wavered in the process of selecting the minister for reconstruction.
事実、復興担当相の人事ひとつとっても、菅政権の腰はふらついた。

The future role of the Reconstruction Design Council is also unclear.
構想会議の今後の役割も不透明だ。

Although the proposal takes into account the difficult conditions in the disaster-hit areas and opened up some hope, it needs to be deepened.
 提言は、困難な被災地の現状に向き合い、希望への道を切り開いたが、さらに深化させねばならない。

We intend to keep a sharp eye on the proceedings, lest reconstruction efforts end up falling into the trap of coordinating various vested interests.
私たちも復興の実行段階で既得権の調整に陥らぬよう、厳しく監視していきたい。

2011/06/28

男女共同参画 「30%目標」へ環境の整備を

>避難所では女性のプライバシーが確保されていないことが問題となった。
女性のプライバシーって何だ?
トイレか?
(スラチャイ)

The Yomiuri Shimbun (Jun. 27, 2011)
More effort must be made for gender-equal society
男女共同参画 「30%目標」へ環境の整備を(6月26日付・読売社説)

Utilizing women's abilities is key to boosting the vigor of Japanese society, one of the reasons why encouraging efforts toward gender equality is extremely important.
 女性の能力を活用していくことが、より一層の活力をこれからの日本社会にもたらすだろう。男女共同参画の一つの意義もそこにある。

The government established a target in 2003 of raising the proportion of women in leadership positions in key sectors of society to at least about 30 percent by 2020.
 政府は、社会のあらゆる分野で指導的地位に女性が占める割合を、2020年までに少なくとも30%程度にすることを、03年から目標に掲げている。

The current rate, however, stands at just 10 percent. The 2011 government white paper on gender equality, approved by the Cabinet on Tuesday, says women's participation in many fields is still insufficient, and calls for redoubled efforts to promote gender equality in all parts of society.
 しかし、現在の達成率は10%に過ぎない。今年の男女共同参画白書は、多くの分野で女性の参画がまだまだ不十分だとして、取り組みの強化を求めている。

The percentage of women occupying leadership positions has already reached 42 percent in the United States and 37 percent in Germany, meaning Japan has been lagging far behind the United States and European countries in terms of gender equality.
 既に米国では42%、ドイツは37%に達しており、欧米諸国との差は際だっている。

Twenty-five years have passed since the Equal Employment Opportunity Law came into effect, and women of what was called the "equal opportunity generation" have played active roles as corporate executives and in other managerial positions.
 男女雇用機会均等法の施行から25年が過ぎ、“均等法世代”と呼ばれた女性たちの一部は、管理職や役員として活躍している。

However, the proportion of women working as section chiefs or higher in companies with at least 100 staff has remained extremely low at 6 percent.
だが、従業員100人以上の企業の課長級以上に占める女性の割合は、6%に過ぎない。

===

Promote work-life balance

The low percentage of women in managerial posts is due primarily to the fact that many women stop working when they have their first child. There is an urgent need to increase the number of child care facilities and expand systems for child care leave.
 女性管理職が少ないのは、第1子出産を機に退職する女性が多いためだ。保育施設や育児休業制度を拡充していく必要がある。

It is encouraging that in recent years some companies have set such goals as increasing the proportion of women hired for the career track to at least 30 percent of employees fresh from college, and placing high priority on fostering female executives.
 近年は、総合職新卒採用の女性比率を30%以上とすることを目標に掲げたり、女性幹部育成に力を入れたりする企業もある。

It is also important to promote the principle of work-life balance to make it possible for women to make work compatible with child rearing. No time should be wasted to provide a pleasant working environment for women.
 仕事と育児の両立ができるよう「仕事と生活の調和」(ワーク・ライフ・バランス)を図っていくことも肝要だ。女性が働きやすい職場環境の整備は急務である。

With the continued low birthrate and graying of the population, concern is growing over a decline in the working population. Currently, the number of people of working age--15 to 64--per older person stands at 2.7. Known as the old-age support ratio, this figure is predicted to drop to 1.8 in 2030.
 少子高齢化が進む中で、労働力人口の減少が懸念されている。現在は、65歳以上の高齢者1人当たりに対し、2・7人の現役世代が支えている。30年には、これを1・8人で支えなければならないとする試算もある。

The future of Japan's society can never be bright without effective use of women's working power.
 女性の労働力を抜きにして今後の日本社会は成り立たない。

To create a more comfortable and enriched living environment, it is imperative to value women's point of view more highly in all spheres of life.
 生活環境をより豊かなものにしていく上でも、女性の視点を取り入れていくことが求められる。

===

Respect for women's roles

Following the Great East Japan Earthquake, the Cabinet Office has prodded local municipalities in disaster-struck regions to set up consultation services for women, but municipalities have tended to be slow in doing so. Problems have occurred at many evacuation centers because of a failure to secure privacy for women.
 東日本大震災では、内閣府は被災地の自治体に対し女性相談窓口の設置などを働きかけたが、対応は後手に回りがちだ。避難所では女性のプライバシーが確保されていないことが問題となった。

In Tome, Miyagi Prefecture, a group of people, including female members of the city's drafting committee for a gender equality ordinance, created a support team for female victims of the disaster.
 宮城県登米(とめ)市では、男女共同参画条例策定委員の女性らが支援グループを組織した。

Based on requests from women at evacuation centers, team members have engaged in such activities as providing women's underwear and cosmetics in collaboration with companies that offered their support.
避難所の女性たちの要望を聞き取って、企業と連携しながら、下着や化粧品の配給に動いた。

Women also play an important role in providing mental care for disaster victims and improving the environment for child rearing. In the future projects for reconstruction from the March 11 disaster, women should be encouraged to give full play to their sensitive, considerate way of doing things.
 被災者の心のケアや、子育て環境の改善などにも、女性の果たす役割は大きい。今後の震災復興にも、きめ細かな女性の目を積極的に生かしていくべきだろう。

(From The Yomiuri Shimbun, June 26, 2011)
(2011年6月26日01時32分 読売新聞)

2011/06/27

駐留米軍撤収 アフガン治安を見極め慎重に

正義の戦争というものはありえない。
オバマ大統領の決断は多分計画通りのものであったと思う。
暗殺されるようなことがあれば国際社会はアメリカを見捨てるべし。
戦争で飯を食う発想が、そもそも狂っているのだから。
(スラチャイ記)

The Yomiuri Shimbun (Jun. 26, 2011)
U.S. withdrawal mustn't jeopardize Afghan security
駐留米軍撤収 アフガン治安を見極め慎重に(6月25日付・読売社説)

At long last, a path toward ending a war that has continued for nearly a decade has started to emerge.
 10年近く続いた長い戦争も、ようやく終わりへの道筋が見え始めたということだろう。

U.S. President Barack Obama has announced 10,000 troops will be withdrawn from Afghanistan by year's end, and that about 23,000 more will be pulled from the battlefield by the end of next summer.
 オバマ米大統領が、アフガニスタン駐留米軍の撤収計画を発表した。年内に1万人、来年夏までにさらに2万3000人が戦地を離れる。

The remaining 68,000 troops will be steadily brought home after that as power is transferred from U.S. forces to Afghan national security forces, Obama said in his announcement.
 残る米軍6万8000人も、アフガン治安部隊に権限を移譲するのに伴って、順次、帰国させていく方針という。

Such U.S. allies as Britain, Germany and France that have deployed troops in Afghanistan to bolster public order and security also plan to considerably reduce their personnel.
治安支援に部隊を派遣している英独仏など他の国々も本格的に引き揚げる予定だ。

The phased withdrawal of U.S. troops must, above all else, be conducted under the major premise that public security is ensured in Afghanistan.
 撤収は、何よりアフガニスタンにおける治安確保を大前提としなければならない。

We hope the withdrawal goes ahead while a close eye is kept on the realities on the ground in Afghanistan to ensure that country does not once again become a failed nation and hotbed of terrorism.
テロの温床となる破綻国家に逆戻りすることがないよう、現地の状況を見極めながら、慎重に進めてもらいたい。

Of the two wars started by the administration of his predecessor, George W. Bush, Obama criticized the Iraq war as a "wrong war," and has pulled many U.S. combat troops from Iraq.
 オバマ大統領は、ブッシュ前政権が始めた二つの戦争のうち、イラク戦争を「間違った戦争」と批判し、米軍の撤収を実行した。

However, Obama said military action against terrorists in Afghanistan is "necessary and just," and he sent additional troops to join the fighting there.
アフガニスタンでの対テロ戦争は「必要で不可欠」として、逆に米軍兵力の増強で対処してきた。

The start of the withdrawal suggests this "surge" has yielded some results.
 撤収開始は、この増派が一定の成果をあげたことによる。

===

Obama focusing on reelection

Certainly, the offensive capability of the Taliban, the former rulers of Afghanistan, has been weakened.
 確かに旧支配勢力タリバンの攻勢は弱まった。

Afghan national security forces now have nearly 300,000 personnel and been handed responsibility for ensuring security in some areas.
アフガン治安部隊も30万人近くまで増え、治安権限の移譲も一部で始まっている。

The killing of Al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden--the mastermind of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on the United States--at his hideout in Pakistan last month by U.S. special forces was a key factor in Obama's decision to start bringing troops home.
 10年前の米同時テロの首謀者で国際テロ組織アル・カーイダの指導者ウサマ・ビンラーディンを、潜伏先のパキスタンで米特殊部隊が殺害したことも、撤収への大きな要因となった。

However, concerns remain about the withdrawal plan.
 だが、今回の撤収計画には不安も残る。

The U.S. public is becoming increasingly weary of the war.
 米国内には、長引く戦争に厭戦(えんせん)気分が募っている。

There is growing dissatisfaction and anxiety over the snowballing costs of the war, the faltering U.S. economy and the stubbornly high unemployment rate.
かさむ一方の戦費、景気の低迷、高止まりする失業率への不満や不安。

Obama will focus more on domestic issues and rebuilding the United States than on other countries.
大統領自身、今後は、他国よりも米国の再建に焦点をあてる、と内向き傾向を強めている。

He also wants to avoid any deterioration of U.S. government finances as eyes begin to turn to the autumn 2012 presidential election.
 自らの再選がかかる来年秋の大統領選に向け、財政悪化を回避したいという思惑もあるだろう。

===

Make Japan aid effective

Some observers wonder if a hasty U.S. pullout could result in the Taliban regaining strength.
 米国が兵力縮小を急ぐことによって、再びタリバンが勢いづくようなことにならないか。

While maintaining military capabilities that can overwhelm Taliban forces, the United States should step up efforts to ensure public security in Afghanistan.
 タリバンを圧倒する軍事力を維持しつつ、治安確立へ努力を倍加すべきだろう。

To achieve this, Washington will need to strengthen the Afghan government and security forces, and boost cooperation with neighboring Pakistan in operations to stamp out terrorist elements.
アフガン政府とその治安部隊を強化し、隣接するパキスタンとも協力して対テロ掃討を徹底する必要がある。

Since the Democratic Party of Japan came to power in 2009, Japan's policy has been to help stabilize Afghanistan and surrounding areas through massive monetary aid, rather than contributions of personnel.
 日本は民主党政権に交代後、人的貢献の代わりに、アフガニスタンに巨額拠出することで、地域安定化へ側面支援をしてきた。

This monetary assistance, however, has produced meager results.
 だが、その効果は大して上がっていない。

The government must seriously consider how this money could be used more effectively.
今後の実効ある使い道を真剣に探るべきである。

(From The Yomiuri Shimbun, June 25, 2011)
(2011年6月25日01時07分 読売新聞)

2011/06/26

日米安保合意―同盟修復にはなったが

終戦直後、普天間基地は当時の広大な空き地に建設された。
基地を当て込んで人々が住み始めたのは、その後のことだ。
それを今更移設しろというのは筋が違うと思いますが。
普天間基地の周辺は米軍基地で成り立っている。
周辺の住民が辺野古移設を強硬に求めているというのはウソ。
辺野古に移設しないと困るのは、辺野古周辺に土地を買い占めた議員たちだけでしょう。
(スラチャイ)

--The Asahi Shimbun, June 23
EDITORIAL: More talks needed on bilateral defense alliance
日米安保合意―同盟修復にはなったが

For the first time in four years, the foreign and defense ministers of Japan and their U.S. counterparts reviewed "common strategic objectives" on June 21 and agreed on military cooperation and role-sharing.
 日米両国の外務・防衛担当閣僚が、4年ぶりに「共通戦略目標」を見直し、防衛協力や役割分担について合意した。

The first meeting of its kind since the Democratic Party of Japan came into power, it served a certain purpose as an occasion for Tokyo and Washington to compare notes on various issues, especially the East Asia situation that has grown more complex.
 民主党政権では初めてのことであり、不透明さを増す東アジア情勢などをめぐり、日米が認識や政策をすりあわせたことには一定の意義があった。

A joint statement issued after the meeting warned of "challenges posed by the increasingly uncertain security environment" in East Asia due to China's emergence, and urged China to "adhere to international norms of behavior."
 新たな戦略目標は、中国の台頭に「地域の安全保障環境を不安定にしうる」との懸念を示し、国際法の順守や責任ある役割を促した。

With regard to North Korea, the statement also spelled out a new common strategic objective, which is to "deter provocations by North Korea."
北朝鮮にも「挑発を抑止する」と強い姿勢で臨んでいる。

Another point that should be noted is that Tokyo and Washington are now calling for multilateral security cooperation with Australia, South Korea, India and others.
 オーストラリアや韓国、インドなどと多国間の安保協力を進めようという発想も目を引く。

But the main purpose of the meeting was to mend and reinforce the Japan-U.S. alliance that became shaky over the proposed relocation of Marine Corps Air Station Futenma in Ginowan, Okinawa Prefecture, since the DPJ came to power.
 ただ、今回の合意は民主党政権になって、普天間飛行場の移設問題をめぐって揺らいだ同盟関係を、修復させることに大きなウエートがおかれた。

Although the joint statement was titled "Toward a Deeper and Broader U.S.-Japan Alliance: Building on 50 Years of Partnership," we believe the partners were well aware of the need to stop the alliance from further deterioration.
 副題には「より深化し、拡大する日米同盟に向けて」とあるが、「同盟の退化を止めた」というのが実情だろう。

While the successful Japan-U.S. cooperation in aiding survivors of the Great East Japan Earthquake of March 11 helped advance the bilateral alliance, some of the new common strategic objectives the partners agreed on suggest that Tokyo bit the bullet in order to accommodate Washington's wishes.
 東日本大震災での日米協力の成功がその機運を高めたとはいえ、米側の期待に応えようとして日本側が困難を承知の上で、あえて盛り込んだと映る内容もある。

On the thorny Futenma relocation issue, for instance, Tokyo agreed to spell out the construction of a facility in the Henoko district of Nago in the prefecture even though there is still no prospect of building such a facility because of adamant local opposition.
 たとえば、懸案の普天間飛行場の移設問題では、沖縄の根強い反対で実現の見通しが立たない名護市辺野古への代替施設建設を明記した。

The agreement has not only reversed the clock to the days of the coalition government of the Liberal Democratic Party and New Komeito, but is also certain to further deepen the rift between Tokyo and Okinawa.
自公政権時代の合意に戻っただけでなく、沖縄とのミゾをさらに深めるのは確実だ。

The new agreement means Okinawa's demand for the relocation of U.S. military training facilities remains unanswered, and a dangerous military base is going to become a permanent fixture in a crowded residential zone.
 これでは、地元が求める訓練移転が進まないまま、住宅密集地の中に危険な軍用空港が固定化されてしまうことになる。

With regard to the proposed transfer of U.S. carrier-based aircraft to the U.S. Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni in Yamaguchi Prefecture, Tokyo agreed to consider Mageshima island in Kagoshima Prefecture as the site of the landing and takeoff training facility required by Washington.
 また米空母艦載機の岩国基地への移駐にからみ、米側が求める発着訓練の実施先として、鹿児島県の馬毛島を検討することも決めた。

The locals are resisting this vehemently, and Tokyo has certainly created a new source of strife.
地元の反発は強く、米軍再編の新たな火種になるのは避けられない。

Moreover, on the matter of export to third countries of jointly-developed ballistic missile interceptors, Tokyo agreed to Washington's proposal without coming up with any clear guidelines of its own.
 それだけではない。共同開発を進める弾道ミサイル防衛用の迎撃ミサイルの第三国移転についても、あいまいな指針で、なし崩し的に合意してしまった。

We have consistently called for serious discourse in the Diet concerning our country's three basic principles of arms export.
 私たちはかねて、武器輸出三原則に絡めた国会での本格論議を求めてきた。

We cannot possibly allow the new export agreement in the absence of any regulatory measure.
具体的な歯止めがないまま移転が進む事態は、とても見逃すことができない。

Japan is going to pay dearly for the result of the ministerial meeting in Washington.
 日本が背負う代償が大きいのに、

But Prime Minister Naoto Kan, who has already announced his intention to resign, is in no shape to handle the situation.
いったん退陣表明をした菅直人首相には、まともに向き合う余裕はない。

And U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates is stepping down at the end of this month.
米側も今月末で国防長官が交代する。

Given these irregular circumstances in which the ministerial agreement was hammered out, a fresh round of talks must be held to give the agreement any meaning and truly deepen the bilateral alliance.
 こんな、どたばたの中での合意に意義を持たせるには、改めて同盟深化を着実に進めるための仕切り直しが必要だ。

2011/06/25

量的緩和終了 米国の景気減速に警戒解けぬ

社説は内容で勝負。
毎日新聞や朝日新聞に内容で負けているのは残念。
英文は洗練されているが。
この程度の内容なら、誰も感動しないだろう。
(スラチャイ)

The Yomiuri Shimbun(Jun. 25, 2011)
U.S. economy still ailing as QE2 nears its end
量的緩和終了 米国の景気減速に警戒解けぬ(6月24日付・読売社説)

The U.S. economy is limping along and its future looks uncertain.
 米国の景気がもたつき先行きは不透明だ。

The steering of financial policy is becoming increasingly difficult.
金融政策の舵(かじ)取りは、一段と難しくなっている。

The U.S. Federal Reserve Board decided to end, as scheduled at the end of June, the second round of its quantitative easing policy, known as QE2, which has been implemented on an unprecedented scale since November.
 米連邦準備制度理事会(FRB)は、昨年11月から異例の規模で実施した量的な金融緩和策第2弾(QE2)を6月末で終了することを決めた。

The Fed's program has purchased 600 billion dollars in U.S. Treasury bonds and increased the supply of funds to the financial market.
 FRBは6000億ドル(約48兆円)もの米国債を買い入れ、市場への資金供給を増やした。

It was a last-ditch measure aimed at shoring up the economy and containing deflationary concerns at the same time.
景気下支えを狙うとともに、デフレ懸念を封じ込める苦肉の策だった。

As a result, long-term interest rates have gone down, encouraging companies to increase capital investment.
 その結果、長期金利が低下して、企業の設備投資の呼び水になった。

As U.S. stock market prices have gone up, personal spending has increased.
米株式相場の上昇に伴い、個人消費も持ち直してきた。

Deflationary concerns are subsiding.
デフレ懸念も後退している。

However, the negative side effects were significant.
 一方で、副作用も大きかった。

A huge amount of money from the United States filled markets around the world, raising crude oil and crop prices.
米国発の巨額マネーが市場にあふれ、原油や穀物などの価格を押し上げた。

Inflation has become conspicuous, especially in emerging countries.
新興国などのインフレも目立つ。

We agree with the Fed's judgment that the quantitative easing policy has fulfilled its role for the time being.
 FRBが、ひとまず、量的緩和策の役割は終わったと判断したのは妥当だろう。

===

Fed keeps zero-interest policy

The Fed has indicated its resolve to maintain a policy of virtually zero percent interest rates and to keep the federal funds rate, which is a target for short-term interest rates, at its current level.
 今回、FRBは、短期金利の誘導目標であるフェデラル・ファンド(FF)金利については、事実上のゼロ金利政策を据え置き、当面維持する方針を示した。

If the Fed hurriedly adopts an "exit policy" such as a measure to return interest rates to their levels before the global financial crisis, it will cool the business climate and harm the global economy.
 金利水準を金融危機前に戻すような「出口戦略」を急げば、景気を冷え込ませ、世界経済に悪影響を及ぼす。

The Fed should be very careful in deciding the timing of a transition to a tighter monetary policy.
金融引き締めのタイミングは慎重に見極めるべきだ。

However, one problem is that the momentum of the economic recovery is still weak.
 問題は、景気回復の勢いが弱いことである。

The U.S. real economic growth rate in the January-March quarter dropped to 1.8 percent on an annually adjusted basis from the previous quarter.
 米国の今年1~3月期の実質経済成長率は、前期比年率で1・8%に低下した。

U.S. manufacturers were forced to reduce production because the supply of parts from Japan became bogged down as a result of the Great East Japan Earthquake.
 東日本大震災の影響で、日本からの部品供給が滞り、米製造業は減産に追い込まれた。

Economic stagnation has continued in the April-June quarter.
4~6月期も景気低迷が続く。

Unemployment remains high at the 9 percent level.
失業率は9%台に高止まりしている。

If the economy slows down further, can the Fed take any additional effective measures?
 景気が一段と減速した場合、FRBが有効な追加策を打ち出せるかどうか。

Interest rates in the United States are certain to remain extremely low for a long time.
米国の超低金利の長期化は必至だろう。

===

Stop overly strong yen

However, Japan must be cautious about the fact that the yen has been growing stronger against the dollar in connection with the low U.S. interest rates.
 だが、これに関連して、円高・ドル安が進んでいることに日本は警戒しなければならない。

U.S. authorities apparently have approved the weakening of the dollar, which is an advantage in exporting U.S. products abroad.
米当局も輸出に有利なドル安を容認しているようだ。

Stricken by the March 11 earthquake and tsunami, the Japanese economy has fallen into negative growth.
 大震災に直撃された日本経済はマイナス成長に陥っている。

The earnings of Japanese automobile and other export-oriented companies will decrease if dollar-selling based on the U.S. situation leads to excessive appreciation of the yen.
米側の事情によるドル売りで、過度に円高が進めば、自動車などの輸出企業の収益が落ち込む。

It will eventually lead to serious circumstances in which efforts to repair damage from the disaster will be hindered.
震災からの復興に冷や水を浴びせる深刻な事態となろう。

When the yen's appreciation skyrocketed in mid-March, Japan, the United States and some European countries undertook a coordinated intervention and succeeded in putting a brake on the soaring yen.
 3月中旬に円が急騰した際、日米欧の協調介入で円高に歯止めをかけた。

Likewise, the government and the Bank of Japan should take decisive action to hold the market in check and prevent the yen's excessive appreciation.
政府・日銀は、市場をけん制し、円高阻止に断固とした姿勢で臨むべきである。

(From The Yomiuri Shimbun, June 24, 2011)
(2011年6月24日01時22分 読売新聞)

2011/06/24

日米安保協議 「対中」は多角的外交で

中国の胡錦濤国家主席がロシアのメドベージェフ大統領と中ソ共同宣言を世界に発信したとき、多くの日本人は多分あの共同声明に反発したと思う。
今回は、日米がtwo-plus-two会議で共同声明を世界に発信。
中国の民衆の反発を買ったかどうか定かではない。
けれども、中国政府に圧力をかけたのだけは、まぎれもない事実。
東西対決の構図は変化しつつも、本質は何ら変わっていない。
(スラチャイ)

(Mainichi Japan) June 23, 2011
Multilateral diplomacy indispensable to improve ties with China
社説:日米安保協議 「対中」は多角的外交で

Foreign and defense ministers from the U.S. and Japan have held a meeting of the Security Consultative Committee, known as two-plus-two, in Washington and issued a joint statement on their new common strategic objectives based on changes in the security environment in the Asia-Pacific region including China's military buildup.
 日米両政府は外務・防衛担当閣僚による安全保障協議委員会(2プラス2)を開き、中国の軍事的台頭などアジア太平洋地域の安全保障環境の変化を踏まえて新たな共通戦略目標をまとめ、共同文書を発表した。

The ministers encourage China to improve its military activities such as adhering to international norms of behavior.
 海洋進出など軍事行動を強める中国に対して「国際的な行動規範の順守」を要求。

They also urged the country not to pursue and acquire military capabilities that could destabilize the regional security environment even though they did not specifically name China.
さらに、名指しこそ避けたものの、中国を念頭に「地域の安全保障環境を不安定にし得る軍事上の能力を追求・獲得しないよう」求め、

The statement also underscores the need for freedom of navigation and access to space and cyberspace.
課題として「(海洋)航行の自由」や「宇宙及びサイバー空間の保護」などを挙げた。

In other words, the joint statement strongly warns China against its military expansion.
中国を強くけん制するトーンで貫かれている。

The deepening of the Japan-U.S. alliance with emphasis on bilateral security cooperation is undoubtedly effective for the stability of the Asia-Pacific region and the prevention of an unexpected situation such as the outbreak of an armed conflict.
 安全保障協力に力点を置いた日米同盟の深化が、アジア太平洋地域の安定や不測の事態回避に有効であるのは間違いない。

It is of great significance that the two countries confirmed that they will continue their cooperation in ensuring peace and stability in the region following the transfer of power.
政権交代を経た両国が引き続き協調して対応することを確認した意味は大きい。

Still, it is obvious that they need to step up their diplomacy toward Beijing as the core of their China policy.
 とはいえ、「対中国」の柱が外交の強化でなければならないのは明らかだ。

To promote the strategic, reciprocal relationship that Japan and China are pursuing, Tokyo and Beijing should mend their bilateral relations strained by a Chinese fishing boat's collision with Japan Coast Guard patrol vessels off the disputed Senkaku Islands in the East China Sea and expand exchanges and cooperation in various fields based on efforts to enhance mutual trust at the political level.
日中両国が掲げる「戦略的互恵関係」の前進を図るには、尖閣諸島沖衝突事件で損なわれた両国関係の立て直しを急ぎ、相互の政治的信頼の増進を基礎としたさまざまなレベルでの交流や協調行動の拡大が必要である。

For now, the two countries should seek to resume defense cooperation and work out specific plans for cooperation amid times of natural disasters in Asia.
当面は防衛交流の再開やアジアの災害に対する協力の具体化などが挙げられる。

Moreover, it is beneficial for Japan to improve its relations with not only the United States but also Southeast Asian countries that have strained ties with Beijing.
また、日米関係だけでなく、中国との間で課題を抱える東南アジア諸国との連携を強化することも有益である。

The promotion of such multilateral and multilayered diplomatic strategy toward China will be the basis for an improvement in bilateral ties.
こうした重層的な対中外交戦略の構築こそが両国関係を前進させる基礎となる。

The joint statement declares that the two countries have abandoned completing the relocation of U.S. Marine Corps Air Station Futenma in Okinawa Prefecture before 2014 without setting a new deadline.
 共同文書は、焦点の沖縄・米軍普天間飛行場の移設について、新たな期限を設けないまま「2014年までの移設完了」を断念する一方、

At the same time, however, it confirms the design of runways at a substitute facility to be built at an offshore area in the Henoko district of Nago, Okinawa Prefecture, and its construction method.
同県名護市辺野古に建設する滑走路の形状と工法を確定させた。

However, it should be concluded that the relocation of the base to the Henoko district has become almost impossible as the Okinawa Prefectural Government has demanded that the facility be relocated out of the prefecture and U.S. Congress is making moves based on the assumption that the relocation plan will not be feasible.
 しかし、県外移設を求め、辺野古案に反発する沖縄や、同案は実現困難と見る米議会の動きを見れば、辺野古への移設はほぼ不可能になったと考えざるを得ない。

The Mainichi Shimbun has repeatedly insisted that the Japanese and the U.S. governments should review their agreement on the relocation plan and work out specific measures to eliminate the danger that Futenma base poses to the regional community until the base can be moved elsewhere.
毎日新聞は、移設先を含めて「日米合意」を見直すとともに、移設実現までの間、普天間周辺住民の危険性を除去する具体策を検討するよう主張してきた。両政府に重ねて求める。

During the two-plus-two meeting, Tokyo and Washington agreed that the United States can export sea-based interceptor missiles, which they are jointly developing as part of their missile defense system, to third countries.
 また、会合では日米が共同開発中の海上配備型迎撃ミサイルについて、米国から第三国への輸出を認めることで合意した。

However, this is feared to undermine Japan's ban on weapons exports.
(日本の武器輸出三原則に抵触しないか)

ミサイル防衛(MD)は防御のためのシステムだが、ミサイル技術には違いない。
(この部分の英文なし、訳抜け?)

The joint statement says the missile defense system must contribute to Japan's security as well as international peace and stability, and that it must not be transferred to third countries.
共同文書は、(1)日本の安全保障や国際の平和と安定に資する(2)第三国からの移転を防ぐ--との基準を提示した。

The term "international peace and stability" is too vague.
しかし、「国際の平和と安定」というのはあいまい過ぎる。

To prevent Japan's ban on weapon exports from being hollowed out, the two countries should work out stricter standards for operating the missile defense system.
武器輸出三原則をなし崩しで空洞化してはならない。厳格な基準を策定すべきである。

毎日新聞 2011年6月23日 東京朝刊

2011/06/23

福島原発◇だまされた国民の責任も問う

福島第一の場合には、やはり住民は騙されたと言うべきか。
しかしながら、住民だって原発による繁栄を望んでいたはずだ。
いったん事故ってしまうと、とりかえしのつかない大災害となる。
やはり京都大学の小出さんたちの考えの方が正しいような気がする。
どうしても造るのだったら、都心か近郊につくれば、とも思った。
(スラチャイ)

(Mainichi Japan) June 22, 2011
Sacrifices forced on rural sites of nuclear power plants do not bring true wealth
記者の目:原発を拒否した町が教えること=山下貴史(和歌山支局)

 ◇だまされた国民の責任も問う

How does the ongoing crisis at the Fukushima No. 1 Nuclear Power Plant appear to those who were once embroiled in disputes over the possible construction of a nuclear power plant in their backyard?
 福島第1原発の事故を、かつて原発誘致に翻弄(ほんろう)された人々はどんな思いで見ているだろうか。

It is predicted that a major earthquake will hit Wakayama Prefecture, where I work, in the near future.
私が勤務する和歌山は近い将来、大地震が予想されている。

Talk of constructing nuclear power plants within the prefecture has emerged numerous times in the past, but thanks to the help of researchers from Kyoto University, such facilities do not exist.
かつて和歌山でも誘致の是非をめぐっていくつもの町が揺れたが、京都大学の研究者らの助けもあり、ここに原発はない。

The reason for that is simple: we have no need for dangerous nuclear power plants.
「危険な原発はいらない」。理由は素朴であり、明快だ。

 ◇誘致が浮上し、親類も賛否二分

Most noteworthy of the cases in Wakayama were the protests against plant construction in the town of Hidaka and of Hikigawa, which has since been merged with Shirahama.
 和歌山県で特筆すべきは日高町と旧日置川町(現白浜町)の誘致拒否だろう。

In Hidaka, the issue had been festering since 1967 when the then mayor revealed his vision for the construction of a nuclear power plant.
日高町では67年、当時の町長が原発構想を表明して以来、この問題がくすぶった。

In 1988, the Kansai Electric Power Co. (KEPCO) offered the local fisheries cooperative some 700 million yen in compensation for surveys to be conducted in preparation for plant construction.
関西電力は88年、設置に向けた調査に伴う漁業補償金など約7億円を地元漁協に提示。

Family members and relatives belonging to the cooperative were divided on the appropriate response, leading to opposing sides refusing to attend weddings, funerals, and boat-launching ceremonies.
Kazumi Hama, 61, a fisherman who led anti-nuclear plant efforts said that family relationships suffered because of talk of a possible plant.
漁協内は兄弟、親戚で賛否が割れ、結婚式、葬式、漁船の進水式に出ないなど人間関係がずたずたになった。

"If nuclear power plants were safe, we wouldn't have had any infighting.
反対運動を率いた漁師、濱一己さん(61)は「原発が安全なら、こんなこと(仲間内の争い)はない。

KEPCO weighed the lives of city dwellers against ours," he said.
関電は都会と田舎のおれらの命をてんびんにかけた」と憤る。

In Hikigawa, meanwhile, even students on school buses were split into pro-plant and anti-plant sections.  旧日置川町では、児童のスクールバスの座席までも原発賛否で分かれた。

According to Tomoaki Nishio, 59, the current head of the town council who was then against the construction of the power plants, the proposed site for the nuclear power plant had been privately-owned.
反対派の西尾智朗氏(59)=現白浜町議会議長=によると、建設予定地はもともと民有地だったが

In 1973, however, the town's land development bureau bought the land, with the promise that it would "make the land into a quasi-national park and protect it from reckless development," and resold it to the municipal government.
「国定公園にして乱開発から守る」と町土地開発公社が73年に買収、町に転売した。

When town government officials signed a sales contract with KEPCO, a man who had sold his land to the development bureau committed suicide.
町が関電と売買契約を結ぶと、土地を売った一人の男性が「裏切られた」と自殺した。

"My father was ashamed that he had been conned by the town government," a 78-year-old bereaved family member said.
遺族(78)は「おやじは町にだまされたことを恥と思っていた」と悔しさをにじませる。

The question on the minds of all anti-nuclear plant residents was: "Why aren't nuclear power plants built in urban areas, where a massive amount of electricity is consumed every day?"
 反対派に一貫しているのは「電気を大量消費する都会になぜ原発を建てないか」という疑問だ。

Sharing this same line of thinking, assistant professors Hiroaki Koide, 61, and Tetsuji Imanaka, 60, of Kyoto University's Research Reactor Institute supported anti-plant protests.
京都大学原子炉実験所(大阪府熊取町)の小出裕章助教(61)や今中哲二助教(60)ら研究者たちもこの疑問を共有し、反対運動を支えた。

Koide had gone to study at Tohoku University with the belief that nuclear power was going to be the world's future power source.
 小出さんは原子力が未来のエネルギーになると信じ、東北大学に進学した。

However, he encountered the protests against the construction of Onagawa Nuclear Power Plant in Miyagi Prefecture, and switched over to an anti-nuclear power stand himself.
だが、宮城県・女川原発建設に反対する運動に直面し、反原発に転じる。

"Nuclear power plants are dangerous facilities that cities refuse to build within their own borders, which is why they are built in sparsely-populated areas despite the cost of laying down power lines," Koide said. "
「原発は都会で引き受けられない危険なもので、送電線を敷くコストをかけても過疎地に建てる。

Once you realize that, there's only one choice.
それに気付いたら選択肢は一つ。

There's no way we can allow such a thing."
そんなものは許せない」と思った。

Imanaka, too, went to graduate school at Tokyo Institute of Technology with faith in the future of nuclear power, but ended up participating in protests against the construction of the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa Nuclear Power Plant in Niigata Prefecture.
 今中さんも原子力の未来を信じて東工大大学院に進んだが、新潟県柏崎刈羽原発の反対運動に参加した。

He found the power company's claim that nuclear power plants were safe and that they helped local economies dubious.
「絶対安全で地元も潤う」という電力会社の理屈にうさん臭さを感じた。

After the Three Mile Island accident in 1979, Imanaka's doubts about nuclear safety turned into conviction about its dangers.
79年には米スリーマイル島原発事故が起き、安全性への懐疑は確信に変わった。

In a lawsuit seeking the reversal of permission given for the construction of Ikata Nuclear Power Plant in Ehime Prefecture, the two researchers served as expert witnesses for the plaintiffs' legal team.
 2人は愛媛県・伊方原発の設置許可取り消し訴訟の原告弁護団に証人として協力し、研究者の立場から反原発を支持した。

They also visited Wakayama on numerous occasions to distribute anti-plant fliers.
和歌山にも何度もビラ配りに訪れた。

Koide's argument is clear-cut: machines sometimes break, and people sometimes make mistakes.
小出さんの論は明快だ。機械は時々壊れ、人は時々誤りを犯す。

It is only natural for nuclear power plants operated by people to break down.
人の動かす原発が壊れるのは当然。

When nuclear power plants break down, they cause catastrophes.
原発は壊れると破局をもたらす--

As such, the accident in Fukushima was well within the scope of Koide's expectations.
福島の事故は小出さんにとって想定内だった。

And yet, the general public remained under the spell of the "safety myth," and arguments like his went ignored.
しかし、世論は安全神話に支配され、「私のような意見はすべて無視され続けた」という。

Koide now blames himself for not having stopped the construction of nuclear power plants, but he also says that the public is "responsible for being duped."
今は原発を止められなかった自分を責めている。だが、小出さんは国民の「だまされた責任」もあると言う。

The phrase brings to mind the 1946 essay "Senso sekininsha no mondai" (The problem of who is responsible for the war), in which film director Mansaku Itami argued that the general public were partially responsible for the war, for having been "fooled."
 この言葉に、敗戦直後の1946年に、だまされた国民にも戦争責任があると断じた映画監督、伊丹万作のエッセー「戦争責任者の問題」を思い出した。

In the essay, the same man who had penned an extremely compassionate screenplay for the film "Muhomatsu no issho" (Rickshaw man), launched a social critique that cut at the very nature of mankind:
伊丹は人情味あふれる「無法松の一生」の脚本を書く一方で、人間の本質を突く社会評論を残している。

"Those who are okay with themselves saying they were 'deceived' will probably be deceived again and again.
 「『だまされていた』といって平気でいられる国民なら、おそらく今後も何度でもだまされるだろう。

No, they are surely in the process of being taken in by new lies already."
いや、現在でもすでに別のうそによってだまされ始めているにちがいない」(ちくま学芸文庫「伊丹万作エッセイ集」所収)

It is a matter of course that the national government and power companies that went around touting the "safety myth" are criticized.
 「安全神話」を吹聴した国や電力会社が厳しく批判されるのは当然だが、

However, we must also hold the public accountable for its part in the disaster by falling for the myth.
だまされた国民の責任からも目を背けてはならないと思う。

The public, through the work of politicians, has distributed millions of yen to rural areas as compensation for the use of their land --
国民は政治を通じて、電源三法で多額の交付金を地方に配ってきた。

and it is that very distribution system and the safety myth that have forced people to live in danger, alongside nuclear power plants.
その構造と安全神話が、原発周辺住民に危険と隣り合わせの生活を強いたからだ。

 ◇地方犠牲にした豊かさが幸せか

Hama said that there was a time, during the infighting at the fisheries cooperative, that the opposing blocs cooperated to search for a colleague who had gone missing at sea.
 濱さんは賛否で割れた漁協が、海で遭難した仲間の捜索で協力したことがあったと教えてくれた。

The body was found a week later.
遺体は1週間後に見つかった。

It was these words from Hama that changed the mind of the Hidaka town mayor, who had been pushing for the construction of the nuclear power plant in their town:
この言葉で町長は誘致推進を取りやめたという。

"There's a saying that 'for fishermen, hell is one plank away.'
「漁師はな、『板の一枚下地獄』と言うんや。

Those of us who work under such dangerous conditions have to get along.
そんな所で働くもんは皆仲良くせなあかん。

Hey mayor, do you understand that?"
町長、お前にこの気持ちが分かるか」。

原発の建設候補地だった場所は海に面した緑の岬だ。岬を見渡す海岸に立ち海を望んだ。

Does forcing sacrifices upon rural residents and being dependent on nuclear power plants signify true wealth?  地方を犠牲にして原発に依存し、豊かさにひたることが幸せなのか--。

What we should be aspiring to as a society seems clear enough.
目指すべき社会の姿は、はっきりしていると思う。

(By Takashi Yamashita, Wakayama Bureau)

 ご意見をお寄せください。〒100-8051毎日新聞「記者の目」係/kishanome@mainichi.co.jp

毎日新聞 2011年6月21日 東京朝刊

2011/06/22

火論:背に腹は、の前に=玉木研二

毎日新聞の秀作。
東電の体質を世界大戦当時の状況に重ね合わせて、東電を断罪する。
(スラチャイ)

(Mainichi Japan) June 21, 2011
Gov't must stop forcing sacrifices on citizens and establish sensible policy
火論:背に腹は、の前に=玉木研二
 <ka-ron>

A report by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) on the ongoing crisis at the Fukushima No. 1 Nuclear Power Plant warns that Japan's complexity of organizations may slow its response at times of emergency.
 日本の複雑な体制や組織が緊急時の意思決定を遅らせる可能性がある、と福島第1原発事故処理をめぐり国際原子力機関(IAEA)の報告書は不信感を表したという。

We can't brush aside such a warning as mere meddling. Indeed, the country's decision-making mechanism, shouldering of responsibility, and actions are all operating separately without linking to each other.
 余計なお世話だと言えないところがつらい。意思の骨、責任の関節、実行の筋肉がつながらず、ばらばらに動く。
As such, it is only natural to suggest that this situation is the result of a structural flaw -- and not an unfortunate coincidence.
偶然そんな取り合わせになったという不運ではなく、構造的欠陥を疑うのは当然だ。

It is unlikely that malicious intent had anything to do with the delays in the government's reaction to the nuclear crisis.
 そのもたつきに「悪意」は介在していないだろう。

Rather, the delays represent a rigid structural climate that includes elusion, vertical sectionalism and exclusion, and scattered responsibility.
つかみどころのないあやふやさ。縦割りと排他、責任散在という、いわば硬直した組織風土の表れではないか。

Evasion of responsibility is often seen at times of war.
 つかみどころのない無責任は戦争にしばしば現れる。

Many of you probably have seen the film "Judgment at Nuremberg," based on the Judges' Trial of the Nuremburg war crime tribunal accusing several judges of cooperating with the Nazis.
 「ニュールンベルグ裁判」という名画を見た方は多いだろう。第二次大戦後、ナチ戦犯裁判のうちナチ協力の判事らを被告にした法廷を題材に、スタンリー・クレイマー監督がメガホンをとった米劇映画(1961年)だ。

Directed by Stanley Kramer in 1961, the American film portrays the pitfalls of irresponsibility, self-righteousness and the ability to adapt that people can fall into, even if they are rational members of the justice system.
理性あるはずの司法界の知識人らも陥っていく無責任と独善、状況適応の落とし穴を描く。

 裁判長は諭す。

"If the defendants were all depraved perverts -- if the leaders of the Third Reich were sadistic monsters and maniacs -- these events would have no more moral significance than an earthquake or other natural catastrophes," the judge in the movie says. "
 「被告がただ邪悪な変質者で第三帝国の指導者たちが怪物だったというだけなら天災のようなもの。

But this trial has shown that under the stress of a national crisis, men -- even able and extraordinary men -- can delude themselves into the commission of crimes and atrocities so vast and heinous as to stagger the imagination.
No one who has sat through this trial can ever forget."
そうではない。忘れてはならない。普通の人も優れた人も容易にこうしたことにかかわった」

The film shows that with heightening tensions between the U.S. and the Soviet Union, there are unexpected political interventions, and fears of a military conflict.
 思わぬ政治介入の動きも出る。米ソ対立の緊張が高まったのだ。軍事衝突の恐れも生じた。

Because the U.S. military does not want to antagonize Germans, it applies pressure on the court in a roundabout way to be lenient toward the defendants.
ドイツ人の反感を買いたくない米軍は、被告に寛大な措置をするよう法廷に遠回しに圧力をかけてくる。

The circumstances in the film have the same feel as the current situation in Japan, where the government has called for the restart of nuclear reactors currently suspended out of fears that otherwise Japan's summertime electricity demand will not be met, even though there is no end in sight to the nuclear disaster at the Fukushima power plant.
 これには今政府が電力供給不安から、原発事故収束の見通しがないまま「原発再稼働」要請に踏み切るのと通じる空気が感じられる。

The line of thinking is that certain "small" things have to be sacrificed to secure "bigger" guarantees.
背に腹は、という空気である。

In order to break free from our dependence on nuclear power, society must undertake broad and tireless discussions to change the course of energy and cultivate a sensible philosophy.
 原発依存から踏み出すには、エネルギーの質転換が社会に広く根気強く語られ、地に着いた理念を醸成することが必要だ。

You could call it a shift in values.
価値転換といってもいい。

It might be out of habit that the soldiers in the film put military prowess over the pursuit of justice.
映画で軍人が「正義」追求より「軍事」を優先したのは習性だろうが、

It is rather dubious for the Japanese government to suggest that "small" things have to be sacrificed for "bigger" purposes without making thorough efforts to establish safety measures or verify what happened.
原発の安全対策や検証も徹底せぬまま「背に腹は」的空気に包まれたのでは、心もとない。

In the film, the judge presiding over the case does not hold back, and metes out a heavy sentence.
 映画ではスペンサー・トレーシー演じる裁判長は手加減せず、厳しい判決を下す。

As an aside, the great thing about this film is that it does not provide us with a simple explanation on what is right or wrong, with a clean ending denouncing all evil.
 余談だが、この作品が優れているのは正邪を明らかにして断罪し大団円、といった単純なものではないからだ。

We are even made to become skeptical of the U.S. as the embodiment of justice in World War II.
果たしてアメリカは正義の具現者かという疑念もにじむ。

Maximilian Schell won the Academy Award for Best Actor for his portrayal of the defense attorney, who brought up what the U.S. did in Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
 「広島、長崎で彼らは何をしたか」などと戦勝国の矛盾や不問の残虐行為を突き、被告の弁護人を熱演したマクシミリアン・シェルは、この作品でアカデミー賞の主演男優賞を得た。

(By Kenji Tamaki, Expert Senior Writer)
(専門編集委員)

毎日新聞 2011年6月21日 東京朝刊

2011/06/21

風知草:株価より汚染防止だ=山田孝男

毎日新聞の力作。
その通りだと思いました。
連続地中壁の施工には、様々な工法があります。
さらに地下水を封じ込めるのに、連続地中壁の高さは少なくとも50m以上となります。
早急に工法を検討して着工しないと、1年でも危ないくらいなのです。
東電の技術者が一番知っているはずです。
まさに、大本営発表。
(スラチャイ)

(Mainichi Japan) June 20, 2011
Preventing radiation contamination more important than TEPCO's stock prices
風知草:株価より汚染防止だ=山田孝男

Some people have suggested that I start to write about something other than nuclear power plants, but with the situation as it is, that's not going to happen.
 そろそろ原発以外の話題をとり上げたらどうかと心配してくださる向きもあるが、そうもいかない。

The crisis at the Fukushima No. 1 Nuclear Power Plant is still not over.
福島原発震災は収束どころか、

Far from it, there are signs that it is getting worse.
拡大の兆しが見える。

I can't stand by and look at the political situation without focusing on this serious event.
この大事と無関係に政局を展望することはできない。

One figure who has entered the public spotlight in the wake of the nuclear crisis is 61-year-old Hiroaki Koide, an assistant professor at the Kyoto University Research Reactor Institute and a controversialist in the anti-nuclear debate.
 京大原子炉実験所の小出裕章助教(61)といえば、いま最も注目されている反原発の論客の一人だ。

A specialist in nuclear power, Koide has garnered attention as a persistent researcher who has sounded the alarm over the dangers of this form of energy without seeking fame.
原発が専門だが、名利を求めず、原発に警鐘を鳴らし続けてきた不屈の研究者として脚光を浴びている。

In a TV Asahi program on June 16, Koide made the following comment:
 その小出が16日、テレビ朝日の番組に登場し、こう発言して反響がひろがった。

"As far as I can tell from the announcements made by Tokyo Electric Power Co. (TEPCO), the nuclear fuel that has melted down inside reactors at the Fukushima nuclear plant has gone through the bottom of the containers, which are like pressure cookers, and is lying on the concrete foundations, sinking into the ground below.
 「東京電力の発表を見る限り、福島原発の原子炉は、ドロドロに溶けた核燃料が、圧力鍋のような容器の底を破ってコンクリートの土台にめり込み、地下へ沈みつつある。

We have to install a barrier deep in the soil and build a subterranean dam as soon as possible to prevent groundwater contaminated with radioactive materials from leaking into the ocean."
一刻も早く周辺の土中深く壁をめぐらせて地下ダムを築き、放射性物質に汚染された地下水の海洋流出を食い止めねばならない」

His comment captured public interest and when I asked a high-ranking government official about it, the official said that construction of an underground dam was indeed being prepared.
 さっそく政府高官に聞いてみると、いかにも地下ダムの建設を準備中だという。

But when I probed further, I found that the project was in limbo due to opposition from TEPCO.
 ところが、さらに取材すると、東電の反対で計画が宙に浮いている実態がわかった。

Sumio Mabuchi, an aide to Prime Minister Naoto Kan who is dealing with nuclear power plant issues, holds the same concerns as those expressed by Koide and has sought an announcement on construction of an underground dam, but TEPCO has resisted such a move.
原発担当の馬淵澄夫首相補佐官は小出助教と同じ危機感を抱き、地下ダム建設の発表を求めたが、東電が抵抗している。

The reason is funding.
 理由は資金だ。

It would cost about 100 billion yen to build such a dam, but there is no guarantee that the government would cover the amount.
ダム建設に1000億円かかる。国が支払う保証はない。

If an announcement were made and TEPCO were seen as incurring more liabilities, then its shares would fall once again, and the company might not be able to make it through its next general shareholders' meeting.
公表して東電の債務増と受け取られれば株価がまた下がり、株主総会を乗り切れぬというのである。

In my possession, I have a copy of the guidelines that TEPCO presented to the government on how to handle press releases.
 筆者の手もとに、東電が政府に示した記者発表の対処方針と応答要領の写しがある。

The title of the document, dated June 13, is "Underground boundary' -- Regarding the press."
6月13日付で表題は「『地下バウンダリ』プレスについて」。バウンダリ(boundary)は境界壁、つまり地下ダムだ。プレスは記者発表をさしている。

It is split into five categories on how to handle the announcement of construction of an underground boundary.
 対処方針は5項目。

In essence, it says, "We are considering the issue under the guidance of prime ministerial aide Mabuchi, but we don't want to be seen as having excess liabilities, so we're keeping the details confidential."
要約すれば「馬淵補佐官ご指導の下、検討を進めているが、市場から債務超過と評価されたくないので詳細は内密に」だ。

Possibly the silliest response to envisaged questions from reporters is TEPCO's suggestion for a reply to the question, "Why hasn't construction been quickly started?"
 応答要領の中でも愚答の極みは「なぜ早く着工せぬ」という質問に対するもので、ぬけぬけとこう書いている。

The response reads: "Underground water flows at a speed of about 5 to 10 centimeters a day, so we have more than a year before it reaches the shore."
 「地下水の流速は1日5センチメートルから10センチメートルなので、沿岸に達するまで1年以上の時間的猶予があると考えている」

Initially an announcement on the underground barrier was due to be made to the press on June 14, but it was put off until after TEPCO's general shareholders meeting on June 28.
 記者発表は14日のはずだったが、東電の株主総会(28日)の後へ先送りされた。

In the meantime, the state of the nuclear power plant continues to deteriorate and radioactive materials are eerily spreading and contaminating the area around the plant.
 福島原発の崩壊は続き、放射性物質による周辺の環境汚染が不気味に広がっている。

Which is more important: upholding share prices or stopping pollution?
株価の維持と汚染防止のどちらが大切か。

The Japanese political and business world has sunk to a level where it can't even answer such a question.
その判断もつかない日本政財界の現状である。

One government official recently commented, "I think I can understand now why the leaders during the war couldn't precisely and steadily accomplish their strategies."
 政府当局者の一人がこう言った。「あの(太平洋)戦争でなぜ、指導部が的確、着実に作戦を遂行できなかったか。いまは分かる気がします」

Today, announcements from the "imperial headquarters" -- namely TEPCO's releases on its roadmap for bringing the nuclear crisis under control, which nobody believes -- are still being issued.
 誰も信じない、東電の「収束に向けた工程表」という大本営発表が続いている。

Some people have compared Kan to former Japanese Prime Minister Hideki Tojo, because he yells at his subordinates over the smallest details.
 菅直人を東条英機になぞらえる向きがある。万事に細かく部下を怒鳴るからだ。

Tojo resigned in July 1944, after the fall of Saipan, when it had become likely that Japan would lose the war.
東条はサイパン島陥落で敗戦濃厚となった1944年7月退陣。

His successor, Kuniaki Koiso, was in office for 8 1/2 months before being replaced by Kantaro Suzuki. After this, two atomic bombs were dropped on Japan and then the war ended after a decision from the Emperor.
後継首相の小磯国昭が8カ月半。さらに鈴木貫太郎に代わり、原爆を二つ落とされ、天皇の聖断を仰いで戦争は終わった。

Why wasn't an armistice quickly implemented to put an end to further wartime damage?
 なぜ、早く停戦して戦禍の拡大を防げなかったか。

It was because impossible solutions to Japan's situation in the war were flying about, common sense was lost, and the government was slow to reach a decision.
無理筋の戦局打開案が飛び交い、常識が見失われ、国の意思決定が遅れたからだ。

Yet the same sort of situation has arisen today.
今と似ている。

The most important issue now is preventing contamination from radiation.
いま最も大事な課題は放射能汚染阻止だ。

We need leaders who can focus on the core issue without being swayed by empty theory.
空論に惑わされず、核心へ集中するリーダーシップが求められている。

(By Takao Yamada, Expert Senior Writer)
(敬称略)(毎週月曜日掲載)

毎日新聞 2011年6月20日 東京朝刊

2011/06/20

香山リカのココロの万華鏡:医者の涙もけっこう /東京

psychiatrist 精神科医 (発音注意:シカイアトリスト)サイキアトリストではない。
医者だって人間ですからね。
涙することも許されるのでしょう。
(スラチャイ)

(Mainichi Japan) June 19, 2011
Kaleidoscope of the Heart: It's okay for doctors to cry, too
香山リカのココロの万華鏡:医者の涙もけっこう /東京

It's now been about 100 days since the March 11 earthquake.
 大震災から約100日。

For those within the disaster-hit areas, and even for those without, these 100 days have likely been an unparalleled time of tears.
被災地の人たちはもちろん、被災地以外の人にとっても、こんなにたくさんの涙を流した100日はなかったのではないだろうか。

We can try to cheer up people gripped by sadness by encouraging them to stop crying, but lately psychiatric medicine has been moving to the view that "crying is not a bad thing."
 悲しみに暮れている人を「もう泣くのはやめよう」と励ますこともあるが、最近は精神医学的にも「泣くのは悪いことではない」ということになりつつある。

By facing the truth squarely, accepting the emotions that appear and expressing them, people take their first steps toward recovery.
つらい現実ともきちんと向き合い、そこでわき起こる感情を認め、それを表現することが、立ち直りの第一歩だからだ。

What about crying in a psychiatrist's consultation room?
 では、診察室での涙はどうなのだろう。

For patients, of course, it is not unusual to cry while sharing emotional stories, but I'd like to talk about when the tears come from the psychiatrist.
もちろん患者さんがいろいろな話をしながら泣いてしまうことはめずらしくないが、この場合は「医者の涙」だ。

I've been told that as we age, we start to cry more easily.
 「年を取ると涙腺がゆるんで、よく泣くようになる」と言われ、

Well, it seems to be happening to me, and until recently I did all I could to avoid crying while seeing patients.
私自身もそうなりつつあり、これまで診察室では極力、涙を流さないようにしてきた。

It was my feeling that a professional psychiatrist mustn't be caught up in patients' emotions.
患者さんの感情に巻き込まれてしまうのは、心の医療のプロとしてやってはいけないことと思っていたからだ。

However, that feeling is vanishing.
 ところが、その原則も崩れつつある。

Now, when I hear patients talk about being with family members at their death, or about being abused as children, I find my own eyes tearing up as I try to comfort them.
家族を見送った人の話、子ども時代に虐待を受けたという人の話などを聞いていると、「そうだったんですか」と言いながら目がうるんでしまう。

It's not only sad stories that bring tears.
悲しいときばかりではない。

The other day, a patient told me that they were taking care of a pet that was found wandering in the disaster area.
先日は、患者さんから「実は被災地で迷子になったペットを預かっている」という話を聞かされ、

I was deeply moved by this patient who, despite having an illness, had taken on the animal.
「自分も体調が悪いのにすごい!」と感動の涙を流してしまった。

When a doctor cries in front of a patient, I'm sure the patient is both surprised and unsure of how to respond.  医者が涙を浮かべると、もちろん患者さんはビックリし、戸惑うはずだ。

Some people would put a halt to their story out of consideration for the doctor, but such a result is not good for treatment.
中には気をつかって、これ以上、話をするのをやめようとする人もいる。そうなると治療的にはあまり好ましくない。

However, I have come to think that, as long as a doctor is not completely swallowed by emotion, he or she needn't completely refuse to cry.
 ただ、思わず涙がこみ上げてきた場合は、感情の嵐にのみ込まれない範囲でなら、それをあえて否定しなくてもいいのではないか、とも思うようになってきた。

After taking a brief moment to collect oneself, the doctor can then encourage the patient: "Please, continue." As long as a doctor can do that, I think tears can be forgiven.
「ごめんなさい。でも、あまりにひどい話なんでつい……」と目頭を押さえ、「さあ、先を続けて」と話を促す。そうできるなら「医者の涙」も許されるのではないか。

After coming back from the disaster areas, some doctors have told me that they couldn't help but shed tears after encountering the overwhelming tragedy there.
 被災地に支援に行った医師や歯科医から、「あまりの悲惨な現実に泣いてしまった。

They asked me whether I thought that was unfitting behaviour for medical professionals.
これって医療関係者として失格?」と尋ねられたこともある。

Had it been the me of 10 years ago, I may have answered that I thought it wasn't good for them to have cried.
10年前の私なら「泣くのはよくないですね」と答えたかもしれないが、

But now, I would say that as long as it doesn't interfere with your work as a professional, there is no problem with showing either tears or laughter.
いまは違う。プロとしての仕事に支障を来さないなら、涙も笑いもおおいにけっこう。そう思うのだ。

(By Rika Kayama, psychiatrist)
毎日新聞 2011年6月14日 地方版

2011/06/19

社説:原発工程表 課題は山積したままだ

10年以上かかるのではないでしょうか。
腰を据えてかかる必要があります。
放射性物質の処理技術、処理施設は大規模で開発・誘致すればよいです。
新エネルギー開発プロジェクトの推進と同時に実行すれば、
失業問題だけは一気に解決するでしょう。
(スラチャイ)

(Mainichi Japan) June 18, 2011
Mountain of problems still remains before Fukushima plant brought under control
社説:原発工程表 課題は山積したままだ

One cannot help but wonder how far efforts being made by the national government and Tokyo Electric Power Co. (TEPCO) to bring the Fukushima No. 1 Nuclear Power Plant under control have progressed.
 福島第1原発は事故収束に向け、いったい何合目付近にいるのか。

Two months have passed since TEPCO first unveiled a roadmap for bringing the crippled plant under control, but various problems that have occurred since then show the roadmap was overly optimistic.
東京電力の工程表が示されてから2カ月。当初の見通しの甘さが次々と明らかになり、先の見えない状況が続いている。

Uncertainty over the current state of the power plant and when it could be brought under control continues to disrupt the lives of locals.
 原発の現状把握と収束の見通しの不透明さは、周辺の人々の暮らしも揺さぶり続けている。

Many people probably wonder whether the wisdom and power of Japan and the rest of the world are effectively being brought together and applied in the ongoing efforts at the plant.
日本の総力、世界の知恵が現場に結集されているのか、不安に思う人も多いだろう。

The government and TEPCO recently announced updated roadmaps on bringing the Fukushima plant under control and supporting people affected by it, and they talked about how far measures in the roadmaps have been implemented.
 政府や東電は工程表の改定と進捗(しんちょく)状況を公表したが、

However, they should also give a more general overview of the current situation of the nuclear power station and the outlook for stabilization of the plant, not just talk about specific measures.
個別の対策だけでなく、現状と見通しの全体像を示してほしい。

It would also be good to give an updated assessment of the level of risk involving the plant.
現在の原発のリスクがどの程度なのかも、改めて示すべきではないか。

At the Fukushima plant, of great concern now is how to treat radioactive water collected in the reactor and turbine buildings.
 現時点の大きな懸念材料は、原子炉建屋やタービン建屋にたまっている放射性物質で汚染された水の処理だ。

The massive volume of the water, which is estimated to be at over 100,000 cubic meters, is obstructing work at the plant, and if removal of the contaminated water is delayed, it could leak into the ground around the structures or into the sea.
総量は10万立方メートルを超すとみられ、現場での作業を阻む。処理が遅れると、汚染水が建屋周辺や海に漏れ出してしまう恐れがある。

TEPCO has been setting up a system that includes parts from French and U.S. makers to decontaminate the radioactive water and return it to the reactors, which would allow cooling of the nuclear fuel without bringing in water from the outside, which could leak and increase the amount of trapped radioactive water.
 東電は汚染水を浄化して原子炉に戻す「循環注水冷却システム」の構築をフランスや米国の装置を組み合わせながら進めてきた。
汚染水を増やさずに核燃料を冷却する苦肉の策だが、

However, running of the system has been delayed after a water leak and other problems.
装置の水漏れなどで稼働が遅れ続けた。

Further delay-causing problems could occur if TEPCO does not first ferret out and correct their root causes.
 たび重なるトラブルの根本的な原因がどこにあるのか。きちんと解明した上でこの先の冷却システムの構築を進めないと、さらに作業が遅れる恐れがある。

Furthermore, although the water circulation system has started now, how long should it be run?
 循環注水冷却システムが稼働しても、それをいつまで続ければいいのか。

It is also not clear what officials mean when they refer to stability of the plant, when we have not only a meltdown in the inner containment vessels, but the possibility of melted fuel having made its way to the outer containment vessels.
メルトダウンどころか、溶融燃料が格納容器にまで漏れ出している可能性がある中で、「原発の安定」が何を意味するのかも、もうひとつはっきりしない。

Dealing with the highly radioactive waste sludge that will be left after cleansing the radioactive water is another problem, and since Japan is encountering this and other issues with the nuclear disaster for the first time, work has had to start from the research and development phase.
 汚染水処理の後に残る高濃度の汚泥の処理も難題だ。初めての経験だけに研究開発から始めなくてはならない。

According to the roadmap, TEPCO will aim to store the radioactive sludge and will evaluate the construction of shielding walls to keep radioactive water from contaminating nearby groundwater and nearby sea in mid-July or later, but the utility and the government should take quicker action.
工程表は、汚泥の保管・管理や、地下水による海の汚染を防ぐ遮蔽(しゃへい)壁の検討を7月中旬以降の課題と位置づけたが、もっと早い対応が必要ではないか。

Measures to minimize nuclear plant workers' exposure to radiation and improve their medical care have been incorporated into the updated roadmap and are important steps needed to support workers at the plant for the years to come.
 今回、新たに工程表に盛り込まれた作業員の放射線管理と医療体制の改善は、今後、何年にもわたる作業を続けるための要でもある。

Workers who had internal exposure to high levels of radiation were recently revealed, but it was months after their exposure.
今ごろになって高い内部被ばくが明らかになってきているが、

The government and TEPCO need to speed up full measurements of workers' exposures to radiation and efforts to minimize their exposure.
もっと迅速に全身測定と被ばく管理を進めるべきだ。

Another problem is that the evacuation of residents near the power plant is still confused.
 周辺住民の避難対策も混乱が続いている。

Although it is important to take care of residents near "hot spots" -- areas of relatively high levels of radiation including ones far from the plant -- the government also needs to give clear guidance to residents in areas that fall under designated evacuation zones while only having had low levels of radiation detected.
避難区域以外でも局所的に線量の高いホットスポット地域の対策は重要だが、一方で、緊急時避難準備区域に指定されながら線量の低い地域の対策も急がれる。

The central government and TEPCO may not have changed the time frames for their roadmaps, but the fact is that a massive number of issues remain to be addressed before the Fukushima No. 1 Nuclear Power Plant is brought under control.
 政府も東電も工程表の目標達成時期を変えていないが、課題は山積したままだ。

毎日新聞 2011年6月18日 2時32分

2011/06/18

震災復興特区―1国2制度の意気で

宮沢賢治の農民芸術概論が参考になるかも。
震災と津波で生じた跡地利用が鍵になるでしょう。
陰湿で閉鎖的かつ排他的な漁業協同組合の体質は改めた方がよい。
まず漁業権を民間企業に解放する。
跡地に大規模なソーラーパネルの製造工場を誘致する。
跡地に大規模な馬鈴薯畑をつくり、バイオ燃料の基地とする。
居住区は、やはり高台に移転する。
中国のような経済特区をつくるのも効果的。
(スラチャイ)

2011/06/17
-- The Asahi Shimbun, June 16, 2011
EDITORIAL: Government must support prefectures' redevelopment plans
震災復興特区―1国2制度の意気で

More than three months since the Great East Japan Earthquake, local governments in affected areas are beginning to come up with plans for reconstruction while still working overtime to deal with the aftermath of the calamity.
 東日本大震災から3カ月余り。被災した自治体は復旧作業に追われつつ、復興への構想をまとめ始めた。

Miyagi and Iwate prefectures have presented their plans to create special zones for regional redevelopment to the central government's council on post-disaster reconstruction.
 宮城、岩手両県は、それぞれ復興特区構想を政府の復興構想会議に示した。

The two prefectures envision special zones to relocate devastated communities to areas on high ground, promote local industries, develop local transportation networks and build new medical, welfare and education facilities. The local governments are calling on the state to support these plans by providing special subsidies and unifying and simplifying the related administrative procedures that are cumbersome and highly bureaucratic.
高台への移住を核とするまちづくりや産業再興、交通網や医療・福祉、教育の整備などで、国からの補助金を手厚くしたり、省庁の縦割りに伴う様々な手続きを一本化・簡素化したりすることを求めている。

The central government has a duty to respond positively to these requests.
要望に応えていくことは国の責任だろう。

Notable about the two prefecture's special zone proposals is that they include ideas that could lead to solutions to some key policy challenges facing the entire nation.
 両県の特区構想で注目したいのは、日本全体が抱える課題への突破口になりうる案が含まれていることだ。

Miyagi Prefecture, for instance, has come up with a plan to establish a special zone for rebuilding the battered local fisheries industry by allowing private-sector companies to enter the business of off-shore fishing, which is now effectively monopolized by local fishery cooperatives.
 宮城県は水産業復興特区として、漁協がほぼ独占している沿岸漁業への民間企業の参入を打ち出した。

The plan is aimed at tapping the financial and intellectual resources of the private sector to revitalize the fisheries sector, which is struggling with the familiar problems of an aging workforce and a shortage of young fishermen.
後継者がいないまま高齢化が進む地元漁業に、民間の資金や知恵を呼び込むのが狙いだ。

While the local fishery cooperatives are opposed to the proposal, Miyagi Governor Yoshihiro Murai is strongly committed to the idea.
漁協は反発しているが、村井嘉浩知事は強い意欲を示している。

In contrast to the deregulation zone plan for the fishery industry, the prefecture's special zone proposal to rebuild local agriculture and farming villages calls for tighter regulation.
 農業・農村モデル創出特区では、漁業とは逆に規制強化を訴える。

It would restrict the use of farmland by the landowners and tenants and put the land under municipal control for a certain period of time for the development of agricultural infrastructure and distribution of the land by the local governments.
農地の所有者や借地人の土地利用を制限し、市町村などが一定期間管理して基盤整備し、土地を配分するという案だ。

The proposal is aimed at promoting larger-scale and more efficient agriculture.
大規模で効率的な農業を目指す考えが土台にある。

Iwate Prefecture has proposed a "Tohoku international science and technology research special zone."
 岩手県は「TOHOKU国際科学技術研究特区」を掲げる。

It would create a special zone for cutting-edge research in the three areas of ocean, disaster prevention and energy.
海洋、防災、エネルギーの3分野で先端研究ゾーンを造ろうと、

The prefecture is pressing the central government to ease the regulations concerning housing, education and residence status to make it easier to invite foreign researchers to work in the special zone.
海外の研究者を呼び込むために住まいや教育、在留資格などで規制緩和を求めている。

To help realize these proposals, it is vital for the state to give the local governments both the powers and revenue sources needed.
 構想を実現するには、自治体に権限と財源をセットで確保することが欠かせない。

In Japan, the first major special zone program was launched by the administration of Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi to promote his structural reform initiative.
 特区では、小泉内閣が始めた構造改革特区が知られる。

The program is still alive with the continuing designation of areas as new special deregulation zones.
特区の認定は今も続いており、

The number of such special zones has surpassed 1,100.
1100を超えた。

But this program brings the benefits of deregulation only to specific industries and businesses, as symbolized by the "doburoku (raw sake) special zone."
しかし、「どぶろく特区」に象徴される通り、規制緩和の効果は個別の分野・事業に限られる。

These special zones are all very small in both scale and scope.
いかにも小粒だ。

The two main factors behind this are the system for designation that requires negotiations with the ministries and agencies regulating the industries and businesses involved and the lack of fiscal and tax incentives.
権限を持つ省庁と交渉してから認定する仕組みになっていることと、財政・税制の優遇措置を欠いたことが原因だ。

The special zone proposals put forward by Miyagi and Iwate prefectures require effective coordination among the multiple ministries and agencies involved.
 宮城、岩手両県の特区構想は複数の省庁にまたがる。

And effective fiscal and tax incentives are also needed to support their efforts.
財政・税制上の後押しも必要だろう。

The proposals should prompt the central government to make a comprehensive review of the related laws and regulations.
構想を出発点に、一括して規制や法律を見直すことだ。

One key step would be to scrap the current state subsidies for specific local government expenditures based on the rigid division of powers and responsibilities among ministries and agencies and introduce instead a new program to provide prefectures and municipalities with state funds they can use freely over several years.
省庁縦割りの補助金から、使い道を自由に決められ、数年度にわたって支出できる一括交付金に切り替える。

The special zones in disaster areas should be supported by more powerful measures than simple incentives for investment, such as exempting companies operating in these zones from corporate taxation for a certain period of time.
特区内の企業は法人税を一定期間免除するなど、

These zones should be put under a different set of regulations according to a sort of "one country, two systems" approach.
投資優遇を超えた「1国2制度」的な措置に踏み込めないか。

Localities should be allowed and encouraged to take the initiative in the efforts to shape a new future for the nation.
 地方が主導権を握りつつ、あすの日本を切り開く。

The ideas for reconstruction in disaster-hit areas proposed by local governments in the areas should be fully respected.
現場発の構想を大切にしたい。

2011/06/17

木語:原発事故政局を疑う=金子秀敏

最近、毎日新聞がおもしろい。
火論、水説、木語と毎日を連続で掲載。
結構、面白い。良く書けていると思う。
読売や朝日も大切な情報源なので毎日かかさず読んでいる。
つまるところ、新聞記事というのは、いわば記者の魂。
読売や朝日の記事は、一人の記者ではなくて、社説グループで書いているのではないのか。
だから、あんまり面白くない。
それでも、各新聞社には感謝している。
大切な情報源なのだから。
(スラチャイ)

(Mainichi Japan) June 16, 2011
Game of chicken over Kan resignation threatens chaos during Japan's time of crisis
木語:原発事故政局を疑う=金子秀敏
 <moku-go>

The push to oust Prime Minister Naoto Kan has made me distinctly uncomfortable lately.
 昨今の菅降ろしが、どうも腑(ふ)に落ちない。

The opposition parties have been calling on Kan to step down -- and soon -- for his failure to handle the Fukushima nuclear crisis.
 菅直人首相では原発事故の処理ができないと野党が退陣を要求している。

Top figures in the ruling Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ) such as Secretary-General Katsuya Okada and Chief Cabinet Secretary Yukio Edano have also spoken openly of Kan stepping down.
政権与党の岡田克也幹事長や枝野幸男官房長官まで任命権者である党代表・首相の退陣を口にする。

DPJ Acting President Yoshito Sengoku has even said Kan would be gone within the month while he was reportedly sharing his personal opinions with opposition party executives over who could be the next prime minister.
 仙谷由人官房副長官などは「月内退陣」を公言し、野党幹部と次の首相を私議したという。まさに乱世だ。

These are indeed troubled times -- but not just troubled.

Something about this whole situation is strange.
 だが変だ。

I have to ask: When and how did Naoto Kan fail to deal with the nuclear disaster?
菅首相はいつ、どのように事故処理に失敗したのか。

What measures could any other prime minister have implemented?
だれが首相なら、どのような対策ができるか。

No-one has yet to say anything on these questions.
だれも言わない。

For a short while, critics fixed on the alleged prime ministerial order to halt cooling operations at the crippled Fukushima No. 1 Nuclear Power Plant in the turbulent hours after the March 11 earthquake and tsunami.
一時、海水注入を中断させたと騒がれたが、

It turned out that there was never such an order.
事実ではなかった。

The only thing both the opposition and ruling parties are talking about is when: when Kan will vacate the prime minister's residence.
 与野党が論じているのはもっぱら退陣の時期である。

Even Kan himself, trying to fend off calls for an early exit, has sought to muddy the timetable for his exit by saying he would stay on "until a certain point in resolving the crisis has been reached."
菅首相も、事故処理に「一定のめどがつくまで」と、退陣時期をぼかして防戦している。

Perhaps the real reason for the attempts to oust Kan has nothing to do with how he dealt with the nuclear crisis.  菅降ろしの理由は、ほんとうは原発事故対応の失敗ではないのではないか。

Let's have a look back to before the disaster, at the March 4 House of Councillors Budget Committee meeting, and the March 11 accounting committee meeting of the same chamber.
3月11日の東日本大震災の前に戻ってみる。

At the March 4 committee, then Foreign Minister Seiji Maehara, Finance Minister Yoshihiko Noda, and Government Revitalization Minister Renho were assailed by members of the largest opposition Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) over alleged donations from a suspect in a tax evasion case.
3月4日の参院予算委、11日の参院決算委員会だ。
 予算委では自民党議員が、前原誠司外相、野田佳彦財務相、蓮舫行政刷新担当相を脱税事件の容疑者から献金を受けたとして攻めた。

Maehara was also attacked for taking a donation from a foreign resident, and resigned from his portfolio two days later.
前原氏は在日外国人からの献金も突かれ、2日後に外相を辞任した。

At the March 11 accounting meeting, before the shaking of the Great East Japan Earthquake started, suspicion was also cast on Kan for taking donations from a foreign national -- forbidden under Japan's political funding laws.
 決算委では菅首相が外国人献金疑惑を追及された。

Kan opponents were beginning to craft a knock-out punch in the upper house that week, with dodgy political donations as its driving force.
参院で菅政権打倒の「献金政局」が始まった--

And then the earthquake came, freezing speculation and suspicion in its tracks.
そのとたん大震災で疑惑追及は止まった。

During the June 3 upper house budget committee meeting, however, the LDP revived accusations of illicit donations to the prime minister, finance minister and revitalization minister.
 6月3日、自民党は参院予算委で首相、財務相、行政刷新相の献金追及を再開した。

The opposition apparently intends to pry deeper before the end of the session on June 22, including calling on witnesses to testify in the chamber.
22日の会期末まで、参考人招致などで菅首相らを追及するらしい。

So, perhaps it is all this that really crippled the Kan Cabinet, not the nuclear crisis.
とすれば菅政権が追いつめられているのはこの問題ではないか。

If the LDP can confirm the illicit donations to the ministers, then a number of bills including a vital special law on public debt will not pass the upper house.
 自民党は、献金を認めなければ公債特例法案などを参院で通さない。

If the upper house votes to censure the ministers, then parliamentary business will grind to a halt.
問責決議なら国会は止まる。

Furthermore, if the prime minister admits to taking donations from a foreigner, he will be pushed to resign from the Diet entirely.
首相が献金を認めれば議員辞職を迫る。

Years ago, when a postal reform bill was rejected by the upper house while Junichiro Koizumi was prime minister, Koizumi dissolved the House of Representatives and held an election.
 かつて小泉純一郎首相は参院で郵政改革法案を否決されて衆院を解散した。

Dissolution of the Diet was his trump card, but one that's impossible to play now.
解散は切り札だ。

Northeast Japan remains a disaster zone and is incapable of carrying out an election.
だがいまは東北地方で選挙ができない。

If the Diet was dissolved today, Japan would descend into chaos.
解散したら日本は大混乱だ。

However, even with such terrible repercussions possible, if Kan and the LDP continue their game of chicken, dissolution is possible.
 しかし、そんなことはかまわずに自民党と菅首相がチキンゲームを続けるなら解散の可能性はある。

Both ruling and opposition party members of the lower house find the idea frightening.
衆院議員は与野党とも解散が怖い。

If the donations issue came to dominate the political situation, then Kan would have nowhere to run.
献金政局を表に出すと首相は逃げ場を失うので、

So, perhaps to avoid the dangers of Diet dissolution, the nuclear crisis is being used to give Kan the chance of an "honorable resignation."
原発処理を口実に辞任する「名誉ある撤退」でおさめようとしているのではないか。

However, Kan refuses to give up the game of chicken.
 ところが首相はチキンゲームをやめない。

Containing the leak of radioactive material from the Fukushima plant is priority No. 1, and no-one in Japan is applauding the LDP's muckraking over alleged illicit political donations in this time of national crisis.
原発から漏れる放射能を封じ込めるのが最優先の、こんな非常時に献金疑惑の追及をする自民党に国民は拍手しない。

Maybe that's what Kan is thinking as well as he clings to his post.
そう首相は考えているのかもしれない。

If this were indeed the case, I would feel more at ease.
 こう読めば腑に落ちる。

(By Hidetoshi Kaneko, Expert Senior Writer)
(専門編集委員)

毎日新聞 2011年6月16日 東京朝刊

2011/06/16

水説:ウサギ狩りの効率=潮田道夫

I would like to go for a car with a solar-powered engine.
私だったらソーラーパワーエンジン搭載車に乗ります^^。

現状ではまだ高価なソーラーパネルですが、日本の技術の粋を集めて大量生産ができれば、解決します。
日本のお家芸ICメモリーボードの制作技術に習えばよいのです。
CPUではアメリカのインテル社に完全に出し抜かれてはいますが、メモリーボードでは日本が世界一です。
ソーラーパネルだって、世界一の座を狙えるはずだし、また、そうすべきだと考えます。
ソフトバンクの孫社長がソーラーパネル業界への進出を狙っているようですね。
(スラチャイ)

(Mainichi Japan) June 15, 2011
Japan's renewable energy plans: Chasing rabbits using solar power?
水説:ウサギ狩りの効率=潮田道夫
 <sui-setsu>

Some readers may have heard of the "rabbit limit," a term coined by Swedish environmental researcher Folke Guenther that relates to energy use. We can explain it as follows:
 「ウサギの限界則」というのをご存じ? フォルケ・ギュンターというスウェーデンの環境学者の造語である。

Suppose there were only humans and rabbits in the world, and people had to rely on rabbits as a food source.
 この世に人間とウサギしかいないとする。あなたはウサギを食料とするほかない。

If a person spent all their energy chasing rabbits, when they caught one they may not get enough energy from the meat to survive.
だが、追いかけ回して疲労困憊(こんぱい)したのでは、ウサギを捕まえても、その肉から得られるカロリーでは栄養が足りず命をつないでいけない。

The energy spent chasing the rabbits would have to be lower than the amount of energy obtained from eating them for a person to keep living.
 ウサギ捕りに投資するエネルギーは、ウサギを食って得られるエネルギー未満でないといけない。それが生死を分ける。

This "rabbit limit" teaches us the importance of energy return on investment.
エネルギーの回収効率の重要性を教えている。

However, humans have found a way around the rabbit limit, Guenther says.
 しかし、ウラ技があるのですね。

If a person used a petrol-powered buggy, they could catch rabbits more easily and have energy to spare, thanks to the energy provided by fossil fuels.
石油を燃料にバギーカーでウサギを追えば、楽に捕獲できる。自分の体力を消耗せずに済み、エネルギーの損得でおつりがくる。

The reason modern civilization has thrived is that is has a large amount of surplus energy.
 現代の文明がここまで栄えているのは、その「おつり」が大きいからだ。

On this point, one would think that nuclear power would far surpass petroleum, but as we have seen with the nuclear crisis in Fukushima, far from having a surplus, we have been left with a shortage of energy.
原子力が石油を上回るかに見えたが、おつりどころか借金の山を作ったのはご存じのとおり。

In terms of quality of energy, nothing surpasses fossil fuels such as petroleum.
石油などの化石燃料ほどエネルギーの質が高いものはない。

Yoshinori Ishii, an emeritus professor at the University of Tokyo, says that quality is everything when it comes to energy.
 石井吉徳東大名誉教授によれば「エネルギーは質がすべて」だ。

There is a large amount of uranium in the sea, for example, but it is widely dispersed and cannot be used.
海水中には莫大(ばくだい)なウラニウムが存在するが拡散しており利用できない。

In other words, poor quality energy is the same as no energy at all.
つまり「質が悪い」エネルギーは存在しないも同然なのだ。

To get to the point, Japanese Prime Minister Naoto Kan is pushing for the use of solar power, and using solar panels on any roof that can have them.
 話を急ごう。菅直人首相が太陽光発電に熱心で、屋根という屋根に可能なかぎり太陽光パネルを載せたいという。
In doing so he is attempting to cover the energy that has become difficult to provide through nuclear power.
これで発電の難しくなった原発を補おうというわけだ。

Does solar power provide good quality energy?
 太陽光発電のエネルギーとしての質はどうか。

The energy profit ratio (EPR) gives us one basis for judgment.
エネルギー収支比(EPR)という数字で判定する。

If one unit of energy can be used to produce three equivalent units, then the EPR is 3.
1単位のエネルギーで3単位のエネルギーが得られればEPRは3。

If the EPR is below 1, then, as the rabbit limit shows us, it is not worthwhile to produce that form of energy.
1以下だとウサギの限界則で分かるようにやるだけムダ。

It has been said that the EPR of solar power is about 5, but that the quality of energy is not that great.
 太陽光発電のEPRは5ぐらいで質はさほどでないといわれてきたが、

However, proponents of this form of energy say the latest forms of solar power have EPRs as high as 10 or 20.
推進派は最新型は10とか20に向上しているという。

The problem is, we don't know which figures are correct.
どれが正しいのか分からないので困惑する。

What we do know is that without subsidies, solar power will not find a strong footing in Japan.
 しかし、はっきりしているのは、現状では補助金なしでは立ちゆかないエネルギーであるということだ。

Considering this, we have to say it is of "poorer quality" than natural gas or coal.
それを考えれば天然ガスや石炭に比べ「質の悪いエネルギー」と言わざるをえない。

With the decline of nuclear power, power fees may rise in Japan and many factories may have to shift overseas.  原発の比重低下で電力料金が上がり、工場が大挙海外移転しかねない情勢だ。

For this reason, Kan is promoting renewable energy.
だから再生可能エネルギーを増やそうと言う。

That is indeed a plan in its own right, but it is incomprehensible for the "quality" of energy to be left out of the picture.
それも一案だが、エネルギーの「質」が軽視されているのが解せない。

Fossil energy must play the main role of filling the gap left by the absence of nuclear power.
原発の穴埋めは化石エネルギーが主役たらざるをえない。

Just think about it.
 考えてもごらんなさい。

Could you catch rabbits using a solar-powered buggy?
太陽光エネルギーのバギーカーでウサギが捕れますか? 

I would go for a car with a diesel engine.
私はディーゼルエンジン搭載車に乗る。

(By Michio Ushioda, Expert Senior Writer)
(専門編集委員)

毎日新聞 2011年6月15日 東京朝刊

2011/06/15

火論:踏み絵になっては=玉木研二

新聞記者としてはイモーショナルに傾きすぎているように感じるが、論説の内容はこの通りだと思った。
玉木氏の母親は敬虔なクリスチャンであったことから、韓国との関係も理解できる。
韓国は国民の70%がクリスチャンで占められる妙な国なのだから。
多分、日本の植民地政策が原因ではないのでしょうか。(大東亜共栄圏)
カフェ友が玉木氏を嫌っている訳が理解できました。
(スラチャイ記)

(Mainichi Japan) June 14, 2011
Mandating singing of national anthem will dampen spirits of those who want to sing from heart
火論:踏み絵になっては=玉木研二
 <ka-ron>

Osaka Prefecture recently enacted an ordinance to make it mandatory for public school teachers and other education officials to stand and sing Japan's national anthem at school ceremonies.
 大阪府の公立学校で行事で教職員に君が代の起立斉唱を義務づける条例が成立した。

I wonder how teachers who have until now sung "Kimigayo" from their own free will feel about the ordinance.
胸中やいかにと思う。自らの意志で歌ってきた先生たちの胸中である。

Isn't it sad for them to now sing it because they are obliged to do so under an ordinance?
 条例で義務づけられているから歌うと思われてはせつないのではないか。

I have stood and sung the anthem without hesitation at events.
私は行事で気構えなく起立し、歌ってきた。

I would not be happy if someone mistakenly thought I was standing and singing against my will.
だから、心ならずも立っていると誤解されるようなことになったら不本意だ。

Of course, I am not saying this to criticize teachers who do not share my views.
 もちろん、そう感じない、そう考えない先生を否定するために言うのではない。

How people perceive the Hinomaru and Kimigayo, considered the national flag and national anthem, differs from person to person.
 国旗・国歌とされる日の丸も君が代もどう受け止めるかは、つまるところ個人の内面により、そこに踏み込んで一様一色にはできない。

But the national flag and anthem have been used in events and ceremonies, and I think it is only natural that people show them respect.
だが行事・式典にこれが用いられ、敬意を表する形をとるのは自然のことと私は思う。

Among some of my favorite scenes of the flag and anthem are the he Tokyo Olympics and boxer "Fighting" Harada's world title fights.
 その心象風景みたいなものは--。
 東京オリンピック、ファイティング原田のボクシング世界戦などなど、

Young people today might cite soccer's World Cup finals, and I apologize for raising such old images, but I was deeply moved by the wind-whipped Hinomaru and the singing of Kimigayo at these events.
今の若い人ならサッカーのワールドカップを挙げるようなところを古い記憶映像を持ち出して恐縮だが、はためく日の丸と流れる君が代は深く染みた。

This is a personal matter (it would be difficult to write about this theme without delving into my personal affairs), but my late mother was a devoted Christian from even before World War II.
 私事ながら(私事にわたらねばこのテーマは書きにくい)戦前からの熱心なクリスチャンであった亡母は

She had no relatives or neighbors who shared her religious beliefs, and she of course felt no connection with the non-Christian festivals at local shrines.
親類にも近所にも信心を同じくする家なく、神社の祭りにももちろん縁なく、

But on national holidays, she erected a bamboo pole to hoist a huge Hinomaru flag that may have seemed out of place flying over our poor house.
しかし、国の祝日には小さな貧乏家には不釣り合いなほど大きな日の丸を竹のポールで立てた。

A pastor I know was apprehended during the war for refusing to convert his religion, but even he hoisted the Hinomaru on national holidays after the war.
 牧師は戦時中転向せぬために拘留されたという人であったが、戦後も教会には祝日の日の丸は掲げられた。

The flag may have been a symbol of a peaceful nation that transcended the political power of the time.
時の権力を超えた「平和な国の表徴」であったかもしれない。

I vividly remember one Hinomaru flag in the course of my reporting career.
 取材で目に焼き付いた日の丸がある。

It was 26 years ago when I climbed to a deep mountain village in Kumamoto Prefecture to a branch of a local school with 13 teachers and pupils.
26年前、熊本の奥深い山村で先生と子供合わせて13人の分校に登って行った時だ。

The eldest child led the group to school in the morning by jingling a bell to scare off bears.
通学は集団でクマよけの鈴を鳴らし、年長の子が率いる。

Deer cried out at night.
夜はシカが鳴く。

The village was so inconvenient that it was exempted from compulsory education during the Taisho era.
 あまりの不便さに大正時代までここは「義務教育免除地」とされた。

Until the branch school opened, parents had gathered their meager funds to bring in people from faraway towns who could teach their children reading, writing and calculating with an abacus.
分校ができるまで、貧しい中で父母たちは私費を寄せ合い、読み書きソロバンを教えてくれる人間を遠い町から呼んだ。

High up on a wall in the classroom of the dilapidated school was a small, old Hinomaru flag.
 老朽校舎の教室の壁の高い所に、黄ばんだ小さな日の丸が張ってあった。

It was as if that flag symbolized the history and pride of this school along a mountain stream, and when I saw it tears welled up in my eyes.
この谷川沿いの分校の歴史と誇りをその一枚が象徴しているようで、わけもなく涙がわいた。

I am becoming sentimental.
 センチメンタルに傾いてしまった。

But I am sure many people's feelings toward the Hinomaru and Kimigayo are inseparably linked with their memories and spiritual experiences.
だが、個々人の日の丸・君が代のありようは、それぞれ心の中にある思い出や精神経験と分かちがたく結びついているに違いない。

If it dampens the spirits of those who want to sing and look at the flag from their own heart, I personally wonder what the point of the ordinance is.
 そんな思いの上に歌い、見守る心にも水を差すとしたら、一体何のための条例化かと私は思う。(専門編集委員)

(By Kenji Tamaki, Expert Senior Writer)
毎日新聞 2011年6月14日 東京朝刊

2011/06/14

節電の夏 発想の転換で危機乗り切ろう

いまさらながら、原発の発電力の威力を感じました。
原発はやはり、悪魔の贈り物なのかもしれませんね。
(スラチャイ)

The Yomiuri Shimbun (Jun. 14, 2011)
Overcome power shortages with a new perspective
節電の夏 発想の転換で危機乗り切ろう(6月12日付・読売社説)

It is feared that power shortages could occur in many parts of the nation this summer.
 今夏は全国で電力不足が懸念される。

We hope every company and household will find ways to save electricity and deal with the summer heat.
企業や家庭で節電を工夫し、暑い夏を乗り切りたい。

Starting July 1, the government is set to impose power-use restrictions in areas serviced by Tokyo Electric Power Co. and Tohoku Electric Power Co.
 政府は、東京電力と東北電力の管内で、7月1日から大規模な工場やビルなどを対象に電力制限を実施する。

The scheme will target such facilities as large factories and buildings, all of which will be required to reduce their power consumption by 15 percent from last summer's peak levels.
電力使用量を昨夏のピーク時より15%削減しなければならない。

Similar action will be taken by Kansai Electric Power Co., which will ask private-sector companies and ordinary households to cut their electricity consumption by 15 percent.
 関西電力も企業や家庭に15%節電を要請する。

This is because the utility remains unsure about when--and if, for that matter--it will be able to restart operations at reactors closed for regular inspections.
定期検査中の原発の再稼働が見通せないためだ。

Other power companies could follow suit, asking consumers to save electricity.
 他の電力会社にも、同じ動きが広がる可能性がある。

These moves may well be regarded as inevitable, given the need to prevent a shortage of power this summer.
電力不足を避けるためにはやむを得ない。

One challenge facing corporations will be to efficiently use a limited amount of electricity, a task essential to minimize the impact of power-saving efforts on their business operations.
 企業は、限られた電力をいかに効率的に使い、経営への影響を最小限に抑えるかが問われよう。

===

Firms already taking action

It is reassuring to know that some companies have already come out with power-saving measures.
 早くも節電対策が打ち出されているのは心強い。

Automobile and electronics manufacturers, for example, have decided to suspend operations at their plants on weekdays instead of weekends.
自動車や電機メーカーなどは、工場の休業日を平日に変更する。

Power-saving steps adopted by these companies include replacing their lighting with light-emitting diode devices that require less electricity.
 電力消費の少ない発光ダイオード(LED)照明への切り替え、

They will also lengthen summer vacations and utilize daylight saving time, a measure to move up the time employees start work.
夏休みの長期化、社員の就業時間を早めるサマータイムの導入など様々な取り組みがみられる。

Admittedly, reductions in power consumption will place most of the burden on the corporate sector.
 節電は企業に負担を強いるが、

Put another way, however, saving electricity could lead to an increase in companies' operational efficiency. 発想を転換すれば、効率経営を進めるきっかけになりうる。

Changes in the way company employees work could eventually reduce their working hours and improve the efficiency of their employers' business operations.
就業形態の見直しは、労働時間の短縮や業務の効率化などにつながる。

Power-saving efforts could also provide new business opportunities.
 新たなビジネスチャンスとしても期待できるだろう。

This has been demonstrated by the rapid rise in sales of LED lamps and energy-saving air conditioners in recent weeks, for example.
LED電球や省エネ型エアコンなどの売り上げが急増し、

Also, the food service and hotel industries are offering various new services for employees whose companies will try to reduce power use through such measures as letting them leave work earlier than before.
退社時間の早まる会社員らを狙った外食やホテルなどの新サービスも相次いでいる。

We hope the economy will be revitalized as a result of new types of consumption that are generated by products and services catering to demand created by power-saving efforts.
 節電特需を取り込んだ商品やサービスで新たな消費を掘り起こし、経済を活性化させたい。


===

Everyone must pitch in

It is disturbing to see that the anticipated power shortages will affect a wide area, meaning households, companies and others in nearly all parts of the nation will have to implement power-saving measures.
 気がかりなのは、電力不足が広域に及ぶため、ほぼ全国で節電対策を迫られそうなことだ。

For instance, corporations with manufacturing bases in Tokyo and adjacent areas are likely to reconsider their initial plans to shift their production activities to western parts of the country.
 首都圏などに拠点のある企業が当初検討していた西日本への生産移転は、見直すことになろう。

These companies should think about what kind of production system would best suit them, keeping in mind the estimate for this summer's power supply and demand.
電力需給を踏まえ、最適な生産体制を検討すべきだ。

It is also indispensable for households to cooperate in saving electricity, given that they account for 30 percent of this nation's total power consumption.
 電力消費の3割を占める家庭の協力も欠かせない。

Households in the areas serviced by the Tokyo and Tohoku electric power companies should take this to heart. They are not obligated to reduce electric consumption, but we hope these consumers will raise their awareness of the need to cut wasteful power consumption as much as possible.
 東電、東北電管内でも、家庭は節電を義務付けられていないが、極力無駄な電力を使わない節電意識を高めてもらいたい。

There are various ways for them to easily save electricity--for example, raising air conditioners' preset temperatures and turning off the master power switches for electrical appliances.
エアコンの設定温度を上げたり、家電の主電源を切ったりするなど簡単にできることは多いはずだ。

TEPCO is planning to shore up its "denki yoho" system, through which the utility releases such information as the daily balance between power supply and demand, and the forecasted demand.
 東電は、日々の需給状況や見通しなどを示す「でんき予報」を拡充する。

The system is certain to help companies and households save electricity efficiently.
企業や家庭が効率的に節電するのに役立つだろう。

TEPCO and all other utilities need to keep providing power consumers with detailed information about the status of its electric power supply.
電力各社は、きめ細かい情報発信を続ける必要がある。

(From The Yomiuri Shimbun, June 12, 2011)
(2011年6月12日00時57分 読売新聞)