３・１１から半年 復興へ政府は目に見える支援を

The Yomiuri Shimbun (Sep. 11, 2011)
Govt must offer visible support for reconstruction
３・１１から半年　復興へ政府は目に見える支援を（9月10日付・読売社説）

Six months have passed since the Great East Japan Earthquake on March 11.
　東日本大震災から、あすで半年になる。

Recovery and reconstruction efforts have been continuing in disaster-hit areas.
　被災地では復旧・復興に向けた懸命の努力が続いている。

But the scars left by the massive earthquake and tsunami are so profound that many affected municipalities have yet to draw up blueprints to rebuild their areas.
だが震災の爪痕は深く、思うように地域再建の青写真が描けていない自治体がほとんどだ。

In areas around the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant, where evacuation orders have been issued, municipal government offices and residents were uprooted en masse. No prospect is in sight for their return home.
　避難指示が出ている福島第一原子力発電所周辺では、役場と住民がそっくり移転しており、帰郷の見通しも立っていない。

In his first news conference after taking office, Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda said recovery and reconstruction of the disaster-stricken areas and measures to end the nuclear crisis at the Fukushima plant are at the top of his administration's agenda.
　野田首相は就任の記者会見で、被災地の復旧・復興と原発事故対応が「何よりも最優先だ」と述べた。

After inspecting the crippled plant Thursday, Noda pledged to Fukushima Gov. Yuhei Sato his government's commitment to swiftly decontaminate areas affected by radioactive material released by the nuclear power plant.
８日は福島第一原発を視察した後、佐藤雄平福島県知事に、事故で放出された放射性物質の除染を早急に進めると確約した。

People in disaster-hit areas became increasingly impatient with the slow response to the disaster by the previous Kan administration.
　菅前政権の震災対応の遅れに被災地はいらだちを募らせてきた。

The current administration must provide swift, strong and visible support for recovery and reconstruction of the devastated areas.
被災地の再生へ、政府は迅速かつ強力な復旧・復興支援を、目に見える形で推進すべきだ。

===

Debris disposal key issue
　◆瓦礫処理と除染がカギ◆

Nearly 4,000 residents died or went missing in Ishinomaki, Miyagi Prefecture, which had a pre-disaster population of 160,000.
　人口１６万の宮城県石巻市は、津波被害で４０００人近くが死亡または行方不明になった。

With debris removal completed in the city center, shops have resumed business there.
　中心部の瓦礫(がれき)撤去は終わり、商店も再開し始めた。

Residential streets and principal roads have also been cleared of debris.
住宅街や主要道路の瓦礫も片づいた。

But in suburban areas, debris lies scattered on farmland and elsewhere and has been piled up in temporary storage locations.
　だが、郊外に出ると、農地などに未処理の瓦礫が散乱し、仮置き場には搬入された瓦礫が山積みになっている。

Painstaking efforts were reportedly made to eradicate the swarms of flies infesting the garbage.
大量のハエも発生、駆除に手を焼いたという。

The dismantling of wrecked houses and office buildings will add to the heaps of debris, overwhelming the capacity of temporary storage places.
　今後、倒壊した家屋や事業所の解体が進めば、仮置き場が収容能力を超えてしまう恐れがある。

Through consultations with the prefectural government, the municipal government is accelerating efforts to build a new incinerator and select a final debris disposal center.
市は県と協議し、焼却炉の新設と最終処理場の確保を急いでいる。

Disposal of the huge amount of debris hampers reconstruction.
　膨大な瓦礫の処理問題が復興の妨げになっている。

The central government must do everything it can to reduce the financial burdens of local governments.
政府は自治体の負担軽減に、最大限の努力を払う必要があろう。

The reconstruction of Fukushima Prefecture cannot be completed without ending the nuclear crisis.
　福島県では、原発事故の収束なくして復興はありえない。

Stable cooling of the reactors is under way and almost no new radioactive substances are reportedly being released.
原発は今、原子炉の安定冷却が進行中で、新たな放射性物質の放出はほとんどなくなっている。

By January without fail, the reactors must be cooled so their inner temperatures are stabilized at less than 100 C.
来年１月を目標とする「冷温停止」を確実に達成しなければならない。

Decontamination is indispensable to bring about the day when evacuated residents can return home.
　原発避難住民の帰宅に道筋をつけるには、地域の除染が不可欠だ。

Even in areas not subject to evacuation, there are places where radioactive contamination is high enough to cause health concerns among residents.
避難対象地域以外でも汚染度の高い場所があり、住民の健康への影響が心配されている。

Soil improvement must be carried out immediately at school grounds and on agricultural land.
　校庭や農地などは直ちに土壌改良に取りかかる必要がある。

Removing the surface soil up to a depth of five centimeters will reduce radioactive cesium levels to just one-tenth, experts say.
表土を５センチ撤去すれば放射性セシウムは１０分の１に減り、

By replacing this soil with untainted earth, radioactive cesium contamination will be reduced to one-hundredth, they say.
そこへ新たな土を盛れば元の１００分の１に低減できると専門家は指摘する。

The government should take the lead in promoting decontamination work without farming it out to local governments.
　政府は自治体に丸投げすることなく、率先して除染作業を進めていってほしい。

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Disaster victims need jobs
　◆生活の安定取り戻そう◆

Although production at factories and related facilities has begun to recover, the employment situation in the disaster-hit areas remains severe.
　工場などの生産機能は回復しつつあるが、雇用環境は依然、厳しい。

More than 70,000 people are estimated to have lost their jobs in the three disaster-hit Tohoku prefectures of Miyagi, Iwate and Fukushima.
震災による失業者は東北３県で７万人以上と推定される。

Job offers have been on the rise as workers are being sought for reconstruction projects.
　復旧事業で求人は増えている。

Many people, however, cannot find work to suit the job skills they acquired before the disaster.
だが、震災前の就業経験を生かす仕事が見つからない。

As unemployment benefit payments for many of them will expire soon, it is vital to create new full-fledged jobs through a wide variety of reconstruction projects.
そろそろ失業手当も切れるころだ。多様な復興事業を本格化させ、新たな雇用を創出することが求められる。

Hospitals and nursing care facilities sustained tremendous damage in the disaster.
　病院や介護施設は甚大な被害を被った。

Even before the disaster, the affected regions have long suffered a serious shortage of doctors, and the region's residents have continued to age.
被災地はもともと医師不足が深刻な地域で、住民の高齢化も進んでいる。

Although a number of medical and nursing care professionals have provided emergency support over the past six months, this cannot continue for much longer.
この半年、医療・介護関連団体が緊急の人的支援をしてきたが、継続は難しい。

Making the best possible use of such information technologies as electronic patient files and deploying medical personnel efficiently would make medical and nursing care services more effective.
　電子カルテなどのＩＴ（情報技術）活用で連携態勢を強化し、効率的に人材を配置すれば関連施設の大胆な再編が可能になる。

The government should take speedy legislative steps and extend financial assistance to set up a medical and nursing service special zone to provide advanced services by an adequate number of medical professionals.
　政府も特区などの法整備や財政措置で後押しし、医師などの人材が集まるような医療・介護の先進モデル地域を作るべきだ。

Construction of temporary housing has made considerable progress, allowing many disaster victims to move out of evacuation centers.
　仮設住宅の建設が進み、多くの人が避難所生活から解放された。

However, it is important to provide the victims with a proper range of care after they move into temporary housing or other publicly operated housing facilities.
だが、仮設や公共住宅に移った後のケアも重要だ。

After the Great Hanshin Earthquake, many elderly persons died after being left unattended in temporary housing. 阪神大震災では仮設や「復興住宅」で高齢者の孤独死が相次いだ。

This should never be repeated.
悲劇を繰り返してはならない。

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Preparedness essential
　◆災害への備えを教訓に◆

As of Friday, the number of deaths in the Great East Japan Earthquake stood at 15,780, while 4,122 remain missing.
　東日本大震災による死者は９日現在、１万５７８０人、行方不明者は４１２２人に上る。

We sincerely pray for the souls of those who perished in the disaster and hope that those still missing will be found as soon as possible.
　亡くなられた方のご冥福を心からお祈りする。行方不明の方が一日も早く見つかれば、と願う。

In Japan, which can be called a "disaster archipelago," Typhoon No. 12 left more than 100 people dead or missing earlier this month.
　「災害列島」日本では、今月も台風１２号で１００人を超す死者・行方不明者が出た。

We are sure many people in the past six months have felt anew the horror of natural disasters and the importance of preparing such calamities.
この半年、改めて自然災害の恐ろしさと、それへの備えの大切さを噛(か)みしめた人は多かっただろう。

On Sept. 1, Disaster Prevention Day, about 510,000 people took part in disaster drills in 35 prefectures, including Tokyo and Hokkaido.
　防災の日の１日、３５都道府県で５１万人が訓練に参加した。

Some companies and public organizations carried out such practical exercises as confirming the safety of all personnel, as well as drills conducted on the assumption that many of their personnel were unable to return home in the aftermath of a massive disaster.
社員全員の安否確認や、帰宅困難の事態を想定した現実的な訓練を実施した企業、公的機関もあった。

In its most recent opinion survey, The Yomiuri Shimbun asked people what measures they had taken after the March 11 disaster. Allowed multiple answers, many respondents cited "stockpiling of drinking water and food" and "confirmation of how family members can keep in touch with each other" in the event of a disaster.
　読売新聞の世論調査では、震災後に講じた対策として「飲料水や食料の備蓄」「家族同士の連絡方法を確認」などを挙げた人（複数回答）が多かった。

Asked what they wanted the central and local governments to do in the event of a disaster, more than 50 percent of the respondents replied--again allowed multiple answers--they wanted "safety measures taken at nuclear power plants" and "ensuring safe evacuation routes and evacuation facilities."
　国や自治体に望む取り組みでは、「原発の安全対策」「安全な避難経路や避難施設の確保」などが５割を超えている（同）。

We believe the lessons learned from the March 11 disaster should better prepare people in the future to swiftly and safely evacuate in the event of a disaster and to cooperate more closely with each other to deal with any hardships they might encounter.
　日頃の備えを怠らず、その時には的確迅速に避難する、そして支え合って災害を乗り越える――。大震災からの教訓としたい。

(From The Yomiuri Shimbun, Sept. 10, 2011)
（2011年9月10日01時28分 読売新聞）