官邸の危機管理 「複合事態」克服へ司令塔作れ

The Yomiuri Shimbun (Mar. 21, 2011)
Multiple crises call for clear command structure
官邸の危機管理　「複合事態」克服へ司令塔作れ（3月20日付・読売社説）

The government's measures to deal with the disasters caused by the March 11 earthquake have lagged from the beginning. The Prime Minister's Office must rebuild its crisis management system as soon as possible.
　政府の震災対応が後手後手に回っている。首相官邸の危機管理体制の立て直しが急務だ。

Extensive physical damage is not the only characteristic of the Tohoku Pacific Offshore Earthquake. The multiple disaster situation includes a wide variety of problems, such as the nuclear plant accident, the urgent need to rescue disaster victims and support their livelihoods, paralysis of the commodity distribution system, a shortage of electricity, the yen's appreciation, and falling stock prices.
　東日本巨大地震の特徴は、被害が広域なことだけではない。原子力発電所の事故、被災者の救助と生活支援、物流、電力不足、円高・株安など、危機が多岐にわたる「複合事態」になっていることだ。

The government has to tackle these problems concurrently. Prime Minister Naoto Kan and Chief Cabinet Secretary Yukio Edano are taking all the work upon themselves, but they are too busy dealing with the nuclear accident to handle other issues and have become trapped in a vicious cycle.
　政府は、これらの課題に同時並行で取り組む必要がある。だが、菅首相や枝野官房長官が、全部の課題を抱え込みながら、原発事故対策に追われ、他の課題に手が回らない悪循環に陥っている。

The prime minister shows strong interest in measures to deal with the nuclear accident since he studied science at university and feels that he has considerable knowledge about nuclear issues. But he has not made any major achievements. Meanwhile, Edano has his hands full with press conferences, which are held very frequently, and has been failing to play his original role as a senior coordinator for measures to deal with earthquake disasters.
　菅首相は、理系出身で原子力問題に詳しいとの自負もあり、原発対策に強い関心を示すが、具体的な成果は出ていない。枝野長官も、頻繁な記者会見への対応に精いっぱいで、震災対策を総合調整する本来の役割を果たせていない。

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Govt must meet basic needs

Of course, it is very important to prevent a large-scale diffusion of nuclear material from the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant. But at the same time, the government should not neglect delivering food and medicine to disaster victims and must work to minimize the adverse effects of electricity shortages on economic and civic activities.
　原発からの放射性物質の大規模拡散を防ぐのは無論、重要だ。一方で、被災者に食料や医薬品を届け、電力不足による経済・市民活動への悪影響を抑えることも、おろそかにすべきではない。

The government's crisis management should be rebuilt as a system headed by the prime minister, with a commanding officer appointed for each problem and a clear chain of command established.
　体制を立て直すには、課題ごとに司令塔を作り、指揮系統を明確にしたうえで、首相が統括する体制を確立することが肝要だ。

Former Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshito Sengoku, now acting president of the Democratic Party of Japan, was appointed deputy chief cabinet secretary and put in charge of supporting the livelihood of disaster victims. This unusual appointment suggests that the government acknowledged flaws in its current crisis management system, though it came a bit too late.
　民主党代表代行の仙谷由人前官房長官を官房副長官に任命し、被災者の生活支援担当にした異例の人事は、遅ればせながら、体制の不備を認めたものと言える。

The Kan administration proposed a plan to appoint three additional ministers and invited Sadakazu Tanigaki, president of the opposition Liberal Democratic Party, to join its Cabinet. This aimed to create a national salvation Cabinet by forming a grand coalition with the major opposition party. We well understand this attempt because the present time of emergency is rightly considered a national crisis.
　菅政権は、閣僚を３人増員する案を示すとともに、自民党の谷垣総裁に入閣を要請した。大連立による「救国内閣」を作るのが狙いだろう。国難と言うべき非常時だけに、十分理解できる。

The LDP has taken the increase of ministers under consideration, but refused the request for Tanigaki to join the Cabinet. The party said the government made the request "too suddenly." However, we expect the LDP not to act on partisan interests but to cooperate with the government as much as possible.
　自民党は、閣僚増員には賛成する方向だが、谷垣氏の入閣は「あまりにも唐突」として拒否した。党利党略に走らず、最大限の協力をするよう求めたい。

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Involve the experts

Meanwhile, the Kan Cabinet should stop clinging to its principle of leadership by politicians, which already has come to exist in name only. Politicians and bureaucrats must unite to overcome the current crises.
　菅政権は、形ばかりの「政治主導」に固執するのもやめるべきだ。今の危機克服には政治家と官僚が一丸となることが欠かせない。

It is important for the prime minister and other ministers to listen calmly to the opinions of bureaucrats and experts first and then concentrate on bringing out the best in the gigantic bureaucratic organization. They must avoid by all means a situation in which the pretext of leadership by politicians discourages bureaucrats from taking the initiative in their work.
　首相や閣僚は、まず官僚や専門家の意見に冷静に耳を傾け、巨大な官僚組織の能力を最大限引き出すことに心を砕くことが大切だ。官僚が「政治主導」を言い訳に積極的に仕事をしない状況こそ、避けねばならない。

Kan made a high-profile visit to the head office of Tokyo Electric Power Co., operator of the troubled nuclear plant, and State Minister in Charge of Government Revitalization Renho was told to serve concurrently as state minister in charge of a campaign to save energy. But such mere performances are no longer wanted.
　首相が自ら東京電力本店に乗り込んだり、蓮舫行政刷新相に節電啓発担当を兼務させたりといったパフォーマンスはもう不要だ。

(From The Yomiuri Shimbun, March 20, 2011)
（2011年3月20日01時30分 読売新聞）