小沢元代表：政倫審出席 離党圧力で方針転換

(Mainichi Japan) December 29, 2010
Under pressure to leave DPJ, Ozawa agrees to testify over scandal -- with conditions
小沢元代表：政倫審出席　離党圧力で方針転換

Ichiro Ozawa, former secretary-general and a political kingpin of the ruling Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ), has finally agreed to testify to a Diet ethics committee over a political funding scandal after mounting pressure to leave the party if he didn't, but he has shrewdly taken advantage of the situation to seek removal of a political opponent.
On Dec. 27, Prime Minister Naoto Kan made it clear that the DPJ would ask Ozawa to leave the party if he refused to appear before the ethics committee. Kan's statement forced Ozawa, who is facing indictment as early as the beginning of next year over the scandal, to move towards testifying.
　民主党の小沢一郎元代表が衆院政治倫理審査会へ出席する意向を表明したのは、首相が２７日に小沢氏の「出処進退」に言及し、出席要請に応じない場合は離党勧告も含めて小沢氏を排除する姿勢を鮮明にしたためだ。年明けにも強制起訴を控え追い込まれた小沢氏は、出席に前向きな回答をせざるを得なくなった。

However, Ozawa took the opportunity to make a counter-attack, demanding that Kan dismiss Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshito Sengoku as a precondition for Ozawa's appearing at the committee. Kan has been under pressure from opposition parties to sack Sengoku after the opposition-controlled House of Councillors adopted a censure motion against the chief cabinet secretary.
だが一方で、野党から参院で問責決議を受けた仙谷由人官房長官の更迭を事実上条件として挙げ、政権の弱点を突いた。

The move by Ozawa takes advantage of indications by the prime minister that he would reshuffle his Cabinet -- even though that reshuffling was intended to accompany the addition of the Sunrise Party to a DPJ-led coalition administration, a deal which fell through.
首相がたちあがれ日本との連立工作に失敗しながら内閣改造を検討する姿勢を示した動きをとらえ、反撃に出た。

On the afternoon of Dec. 28, just before making the announcement that he would testify at the committee, Ozawa visited former Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama and stressed the need to sack Sengoku.
"For the Diet, the censure motion against Sengoku is the more serious problem, so the prime minister should respond properly to it," Ozawa was quoted as saying to Hatoyama, who agreed with him.
　小沢氏は出席を表明する直前の２８日昼、東京・赤坂の鳩山由紀夫前首相を訪ね、「問責決議の方が国会審議にとって大きな問題だから、首相もしっかりやってもらわないといかんな」と告げた。

Ozawa and Hatoyama, both outside of the mainstream of the party, agreed that they will demand that the prime minister replace Sengoku with a pro-Ozawa legislator, saying it will be for the benefit of party unity.
鳩山氏は同意し、非主流派の２人はまず仙谷氏を更迭させ、内閣改造で小沢氏側の人物を登用する挙党態勢を求めることを確認した。

Azuma Koshiishi, head of the DPJ's caucus in the House of Councillors and close ally of Ozawa, is in step with the two. "If the prime minister wants to restore public trust in his administration, he should reshuffle the Cabinet," he told reporters.
小沢氏に近い輿石東参院議員会長も記者団に「内閣改造を、政権に信頼を取り戻す方法として考えているならそうした方がいい」と語り、足並みをそろえた。

　政権の課題は来春の統一地方選と１１年度予算案だ。小沢氏は予算案成立と引き換えの政倫審出席もちらつかせ、証人喚問や離党勧告に進もうとする執行部をけん制した。一方で、首相が仙谷氏を更迭せず野党が審議拒否すれば、国会停滞の責任は首相にあるとして、小沢氏は政倫審に出席しない意向だ。
（この部分の英語版はありません。訳抜けです＾＾）

A point of contention is the timing of the testimony. Ozawa says he will only attend the ethics council if it is convened after the regular Diet session opens in January -- in other words, after Kan has made the decision of whether to sack Sengoku.
　小沢氏が政倫審出席の条件に「国会開会後」を挙げているのも、まずは仙谷氏を更迭してから、という意味だ。

Kan, however, fearing that if he complied it would give the public the impression that he had bowed to pressure from Ozawa, strongly demanded on Dec. 28 that Ozawa attend the ethics council before the next Diet session convenes.
しかし、小沢氏の政倫審出席前に首相が仙谷氏を更迭すれば、首相が小沢氏に屈した形になる。だからこそ首相は２８日夕、小沢氏に国会前の政倫審出席を強く求めた。

On the night of Dec. 28, pro-Ozawa legislators, including Koshiishi, former Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary Koji Matsui, and former DPJ Diet Affairs Committee Chairman Shinji Tarutoko met in Tokyo and were reportedly in agreement on using Ozawa's testimony to the ethics council as a bargaining chip to demand a reshuffling of the Cabinet. (By Takashi Sudo, Political News Department)
　小沢氏に近い輿石氏、松井孝治前官房副長官、樽床伸二前国対委員長らは２８日夜、東京都内で会合を開いた。出席者によると「小沢氏の政倫審出席が有効なカードになるよう態勢を整えるべきだ」として、執行部側に内閣改造を求めることで一致した。【須藤孝】

毎日新聞　2010年12月29日　9時17分