政治の１カ月 責任感がなお乏しい

(Mainichi Japan) April 12, 2011
Politicians must put aside differences, join hands to overcome disaster
社説：政治の１カ月　責任感がなお乏しい

April 11 marked one month since a massive earthquake and tsunami devastated northeastern Japan, claiming thousands of lives. The administration of Prime Minister Naoto Kan remains in a difficult position, burdened with the tasks of supporting and restoring disaster-hit areas, while trying to overcome the crisis at Tokyo Electric Power Co. (TEPCO)'s Fukushima No. 1 Nuclear Power Plant.
　東日本大震災の発生から１１日で１カ月となる。被災地の支援・復興と東京電力福島第１原発の危機回避。同時進行の対応を求められる菅直人政権にとって依然として苦しい状況が続く。

At the same time, the presence of the Diet in the crisis has been weak. Now is the time for the ruling and opposition parties to jointly exercise their wisdom and utilize the power of politics.
一方で国会の影も薄いままだ。政治の力をどう結集するか。与野党は改めて知恵を出し合う時だ。

Looking back on the month since the earthquake and tsunami, it is lamentable that the initial response to the crisis at the nuclear power plant was so slow.
　１カ月を振り返り、今さらながらに悔やまれるのは福島第１原発の「複合事故」に対する初動の遅れだ。

Why, for example, didn't officials quickly open vents to release pressure in the nuclear reactor containment vessels?
例えば原子炉格納容器の弁を開けて圧力を下げる「ベント」に、なぜもっと早く踏み切れなかったのか。

The Mainichi and other media outlets have been probing the handling of the crisis, and it seems that there was a lack of mutual understanding between the government and TEPCO. In fact there was even a degree of mistrust -- a factor that no doubt hampered the response to the disaster.
毎日新聞をはじめ既に検証を試みているが、政府と東京電力との間に意思疎通がなく、逆に不信感さえ生んで、その後の対応にも悪影響を及ぼしたのは確かだろう。

Naturally, top priority must now be given to bringing the crisis under control as soon as possible. People in Japan and across the world are closely watching the handling of the crisis, and the government must conduct its own investigation to flush out any problems.
　もちろん今は原発危機を一刻も早く回避するのが最優先だが、今回の原発事故対応には国民は当然のこと、世界中が注視している。政府自身が詳細に検証し、問題点を洗い出すのが今後の大きな課題となる。

Still, government bureaucrats have been complaining that information isn't being shared and that it is unclear where reports should be filed. These issues remain a point of concern.
　１カ月が経過するというのに、なお懸念されるのは各府省の官僚側から「情報が共有されていない」「誰に報告したらいいか分からない」などの不満が漏れていることだ。

Since the March 11 earthquake, more than 20 headquarters, councils and affiliated teams have been set up to boost the response by the Prime Minister's Office to the disaster.
　大震災後、官邸の態勢強化のため設置された「本部」や「会議」は傘下のチームも含めると２０を超える。

Administrative vice ministers from all government ministries have also joined a liaison council helping government agencies communicate on support measures for people affected by the disaster.
被災者生活支援各府省連絡会議には全府省の事務次官も集めた。

But the chain of command remains unclear -- an issue that is said to have caused confusion.
ところが指揮系統が不明確で混乱の要因となっているという。

The prime minister apparently harbors his own sense of distrust toward bureaucrats, but leadership involves putting administrative organizations to use.
　首相には官僚に対する不信感もあるようだ。だが、行政組織を使いこなすのも指導力だ。

What Kan needs to do now is clearly state: "I'll leave you to do the things that you can do, but I'll take the final responsibility."
今必要なのは「任せるところは任せる。しかし最後の責任は私が取る」という姿勢をもっと明確にすることだ。

Without such a stance he will not be able to win the public's trust.
それがなければ国民の信頼も得られない。

Opposition parties also have a big role to play.
　野党にも大きな役割が求められている。

The Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) has hinted it will not form a grand coalition government with the ruling Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ). Instead, the party says, it will aim to become a "responsible opposition party," cooperating on issues that it should combine forces on. However, this has probably left many people with the impression that the LDP is only backing away from the front lines.
自民党は連立政権に加わるのは拒否する考えを示し、協力すべき点は協力する「責任野党」を目指すというが、多くの国民には腰が引けていると映っているのではないか。

The Mainichi has called for the formation of a "recovery Cabinet" with the ruling and opposition parties working in unison to help Japan recover from the disaster. The reason for this is that we believe now is not the time for parties to spend all their efforts engaged in their longstanding political bickering.
　毎日新聞が日本の再生・復興に向け与野党が一致協力する「日本再生内閣」を樹立するよう求めているのは、与野党が昔ながらの政争に明け暮れている場合ではないと考えるからだ。

One comment that recently emerged from political circles was that Kan should have been more humble in soliciting LDP leader Sadakazu Tanigaki's cooperation when he asked Tanigaki to join the Cabinet, as this would have altered the situation.
　「菅首相が自民党の谷垣禎一総裁に入閣を求めた際、もっと謙虚に協力をお願いすべきだった。そうすれば様相は変わっていた」という声も聞く。

To look at this another way, we would like to think that there is still room for the DPJ and the LDP to come together.
裏を返せば民主党と自民党が歩み寄る素地はまだ残っていると考えたい。

At the same time, the DPJ and the LDP are not the only two players.
　民主、自民両党だけではない。

We also want the other opposition parties to serious think about how they can create an "All-Japan" disaster response team.
他の野党も「オールジャパン」体制をどう構築するか、真剣に考えてほしい。

Now is the time for Diet members to transform their mindsets.
国会議員こそ発想を大きく転換する時期である。

毎日新聞　2011年4月11日　4時00分