参院問責決議 防衛相の資質には疑義がある

The Yomiuri Shimbun (Dec. 11, 2011)
Defense minister's competence questionable
参院問責決議　防衛相の資質には疑義がある（12月10日付・読売社説）

Questions have been raised about Defense Minister Yasuo Ichikawa's competence.
　一川防衛相の資質には疑義が生じている。

It probably will be unavoidable at some stage to replace him.
いずれかの時点で交代させるのは、やむを得まい。

The House of Councillors passed censure motions against Ichikawa and Kenji Yamaoka, state minister for consumer affairs, at a plenary session Friday with majority support from the Liberal Democratic Party, New Komeito and other opposition parties.
　一川防衛相と山岡消費者相に対する問責決議が参院本会議で、自民、公明など野党の賛成多数で可決された。

Unlike a no-confidence motion in the House of Representatives, an upper house censure motion is not legally binding.
　問責決議は、衆院の不信任決議と異なり、法的拘束力がない。

It is problematic that for their own interests opposition parties repeatedly present censure motions or refuse to attend Diet deliberations when censured ministers are present. They should refrain from adopting such strategies.
　野党が党利党略から、問責決議を乱発したり、問責された閣僚らの出席する国会審議への出席拒否戦術を取ったりすることは問題があり、本来、慎むべきだ。

Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda and Democratic Party of Japan Secretary General Azuma Koshiishi both made clear they want to keep the two ministers in their posts.
　野田首相や民主党の輿石幹事長は防衛相らを続投させる方針を表明している。

They presumably concluded it would be undesirable to allow opposition parties to effectively hold absolute powers over cabinet ministers by passing censure motions against them in the upper house given the current divided Diet.
衆参ねじれ国会の下、参院の問責決議によって、野党が閣僚の生殺与奪権を事実上握るのはよくない、との判断もあるのだろう。

That is fully understandable.
十分に理解できる。

The Defense Ministry faces a number of important issues, such as selection of the next-generation fighter aircraft, an environment impact assessment report for the relocation of the U.S. Marine Corps' Futenma Air Station in Okinawa Prefecture and the dispatch of a Ground Self-Defense Force unit to South Sudan on a U.N. peacekeeping mission.
　防衛省は多くの重要案件を抱えている。次期戦闘機の選定、米軍普天間飛行場移設の環境影響評価書、南スーダンへの部隊派遣などだ。
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Govt wants to avoid fallout

Therefore, the government and the DPJ apparently want to avoid any fallout that could occur by replacing the defense minister at this stage.
現時点での閣僚交代による悪影響を避けたい事情もあろう。

But we wonder whether Ichikawa is aware of his responsibility.
　しかし、一川氏には、その自覚があるのか。

Upon appointment to the post in September, Ichikawa said he was an "amateur" on security issues.
　就任時に「安全保障は素人」と述べ、

Last month, he skipped a state banquet at the Imperial Palace to attend a fund-raising party for a DPJ lawmaker, saying, "I thought this was more important."
宮中行事を欠席して参加した民主党議員のパーティーで「こちらの方が大事」と語った。

Ichikawa has supervisory responsibility over the highly controversial comments made by a former chief of the ministry's Okinawa Defense Bureau in connection with the Futenma relocation issue.
　普天間移設をめぐる前沖縄防衛局長の暴言の監督責任に加え、

The defense minister himself provoked strong resentment from Okinawa Prefecture residents for saying in the Diet that he did not know the details about the 1995 rape of a 12-year-old girl by three U.S. servicemen in the prefecture.
１９９５年の沖縄女児暴行事件に関する「詳細には知らない」との発言は、沖縄の強い反発を招いた。

He lacks competence and is unsuitable to be in charge of national defense.
　国防の責任者としての能力と適性を欠いており、

It will also be difficult for him to restore a relationship of trust with Okinawa Prefecture.
沖縄との信頼関係の回復も難しい。

Meanwhile, it came to light that Yamaoka had received political donations from and had cozy ties with companies involved in a pyramid scheme before assuming his current post.
　山岡消費者相は、就任前のことながら、マルチ商法業界からの献金や親密な関係が判明している。

In this regard, it makes sense for the opposition bloc to argue that Yamaoka is unsuited for the consumer affairs post.
消費者相としてふさわしくないとの野党の主張には一理ある。

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All-out confrontation seen

If the prime minister does not replace the two ministers, the ordinary Diet session next year will almost certainly see an all-out confrontation between ruling and opposition parties from its outset.
　首相が両閣僚を交代させない場合、来年の通常国会は、冒頭から与野党の全面対決となるのが確実だ。

In that event, it will be difficult for the ruling and opposition parties to start negotiations on the consumption tax hike, which the prime minister has expressed his "unwavering resolve" to carry through.
首相が「不退転の決意」を示す消費税率引き上げに関する与野党協議も、開催が困難になる。

Without the cooperation of the opposition parties, it will be impossible to pass bills through the Diet.
　野党の協力なしでは法案は成立しない。

The situation surrounding the Noda administration is growing increasingly tough.
野田政権を取り巻く環境は、厳しさを増している。

The extraordinary Diet session that ended Friday failed to produce tangible results.
　９日閉会した臨時国会も、成果に乏しかった。

It managed to pass a supplementary budget and bills related to reconstruction of areas affected by the March 11 disaster.
補正予算と復興関連法は成立したが、

But as the Diet session was not extended, deliberations on such important bills as those to cut central government officials' salaries, reform postal services and revise the worker dispatch law have been put off.
会期延長さえなく、国家公務員給与削減、郵政改革、労働者派遣法改正などの重要法案や、

The Diet also postponed a decision to rectify the disparity in the value of votes in lower house elections.
衆院選の「１票の格差」是正が軒並み先送りされた。

Diet management by the government and the ruling parties is primarily to blame for the poor progress.
　一義的には政府・与党の国会対策に問題があるにせよ、

However, the opposition parties also bear heavy responsibility in the divided Diet.
ねじれ国会では野党の責任も大きい。

It is time for the ruling and opposition parties to seriously discuss how to put an end to the political imbroglio.
政治の機能不全をどう脱するか、与野党は真剣に話し合うべきだ。

(From The Yomiuri Shimbun, Dec. 10, 2011)
（2011年12月10日01時28分 読売新聞）