民主党新執行部 「小沢支配」脱し開かれた党に

The Yomiuri Shimbun (Jun. 9, 2010)
DPJ must eliminate Ozawa's influence
民主党新執行部　「小沢支配」脱し開かれた党に（6月8日付・読売社説）

The Democratic Party of Japan must completely change its culture, which has allegedly been controlled by former Secretary General Ichiro Ozawa, to regain the public confidence lost under the regime of Ozawa and former Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama.
　鳩山首相―小沢幹事長の「小鳩」体制で失った民主党の信頼を回復するには、「小沢支配」と言われる党の体質を根本から改める必要がある。

New DPJ President and Prime Minister Naoto Kan has chosen his party's new leadership, appointing Yukio Edano, former state minister in charge of government revitalization, to the powerful post of secretary general. Edano has worked with Kan since the days when they both belonged to the now-defunct New Party Sakigake.
　菅・新首相は、党執行部人事を決定した。
　幹事長には、新党さきがけ時代から行動を共にしてきた枝野幸男行政刷新相を起用した。

Kan also appointed Jun Azumi, chairman of the House of Representatives Security Committee, as head of the party's Election Campaign Committee. Like Edano, Azumi has been critical of Ozawa.
　選挙対策委員長には、枝野氏同様、小沢氏に批判的だった安住淳衆院安全保障委員長を充てた。

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Return power to the govt

These appointments seem to indicate that Kan is trying to personally direct election campaign measures and Diet affairs through Edano and Azumi, areas that were controlled by Ozawa.
　小沢氏が掌握してきた選挙と国会対策を、枝野、安住両氏を通じて自ら指揮するためだろう。

Many DPJ members have kept silent about the money-and-politics scandal involving the former secretary general because Ozawa had too much authority in selecting the party's official candidates and distributing election campaign funds.
　小沢氏の「政治とカネ」の問題に多くの民主党議員が沈黙し続けた背景には、公認候補の選定や選挙資金の分配などの権限が小沢氏に集中していたことがある。

"I'll drastically increase the transparency of party management," Edano said after being named DPJ secretary general. He will be expected to eliminate Ozawa's influence and get the party back into shape for the House of Councillors election to be held this summer.
　枝野幹事長は「党運営の徹底した透明化を進める」と表明した。小沢氏の影響力を排除しつつ、参院選に向けて党を立て直すことが求められる。

Kan resurrected the party's Policy Research Committee, which had been disbanded at Ozawa's initiative, and appointed Koichiro Gemba, chairman of the lower house Financial Affairs Committee, as its chairman. Gemba also has kept his distance from Ozawa.
　菅新首相は、小沢氏主導で廃止された政策調査会の会長ポストを復活させ、小沢氏に距離を置いてきた玄葉光一郎衆院財務金融委員長を起用した。

Gemba also was named state minister in charge of civil service reform. This unconventional appointment aims at making Gemba a bridge between the Cabinet and the DPJ and at mending relations between them, which apparently became strained during the Hatoyama administration.
　玄葉氏は公務員改革相も兼務するという。この異例の人事は、玄葉氏を内閣と党の橋渡し役とし、鳩山政権で目立った内閣と与党のギクシャクした関係を再構築する狙いがある。

Ozawa dissolved the party's Policy Research Committee and made the secretary general's office the sole window for policy petitions from regions and industries.
　小沢氏は、政調を廃止する一方で、地方や業界からの政策陳情の窓口を幹事長室に一本化した。

Ozawa's voice of authority made the government withdraw its plans to abolish provisionally higher gasoline and other tax rates during the compilation of this fiscal year's budget. The DPJ also reversed the policy decided on by the government concerning revision of expressway toll discounts.
　今年度予算編成では、ガソリン税などの暫定税率廃止の撤回が、小沢氏の鶴の一声で決まった。高速道路料金の割引制度見直しでは、政府が決めた方針を党が覆す事態も起きた。

This abnormal situation where the DPJ has more power than the government must be corrected.
　異常な「党高政低」を是正することが重要だ。

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Stop high-handed approach

Shinji Tarutoko, chairman of the lower house Environment Committee and Kan's sole challenger in Friday's DPJ presidential election, was tapped to be chief of the party's Diet Affairs Committee.
　国会対策委員長には、民主党代表選を争った樽床伸二衆院環境委員長を充てた。

On the surface, this appointment may look like a gesture of respect to Tarutoko, who won a certain amount of votes in the presidential election. Its real aim, however, is said to be removing Kenji Yamaoka, who is directly connected to Ozawa, from the post of Diet affairs chief.
代表選で一定の票を獲得した樽床氏を遇した格好だが、実際の狙いは、小沢氏直系の山岡賢次氏を国対委員長から外すことにあるとみられている。

Ozawa's high-handed approach to Diet affairs management was also criticized strongly.
　国会運営でも、小沢氏の強引な手法に対する批判は強かった。

The DPJ has been neglecting repeated demands by opposition parties to summon Ozawa and others embroiled in the money-and-politics scandal to testify before the Diet. It also refused to hold intensive Diet deliberations on the relocation of the U.S. Marine Corps' Futenma Air Station in Okinawa Prefecture, although the opposition parties requested them.
　民主党は、「政治とカネ」の問題について、小沢氏ら関係者の国会招致を野党から重ねて要求されながら、無視してきた。
　野党が求める米軍普天間飛行場移設問題などの集中審議にも、応じてこなかった。

The DPJ must revise its way of managing Diet affairs, which currently relies on the force of numbers and slights deliberations.
　「数の力」に頼り、審議を軽視するような国会運営のあり方も見直す必要がある。

(From The Yomiuri Shimbun, June 8, 2010)
（2010年6月8日01時18分 読売新聞）