八ッ場ダム 混乱と無策の果ての建設続行

｢コンクリートから人へ｣、二年前、この標語には新鮮な響きがありました。
ところが、３．１１の大地震、大津波、原発事故で事情は一変しております。
学生時代に重力式ダムの設計をしたことがありますが、施工経験がありません。
黒部の太陽に代表されるように、ダム建設は男の中の男の仕事でした。
あこがれますね＾＾。単身赴任はダメです！家庭が崩壊します。
（スラチャイ）

The Yomiuri Shimbun　(Dec. 24, 2011)
Yamba construction to restart after 2 years of meandering
八ッ場ダム　混乱と無策の果ての建設続行（12月23日付・読売社説）

After more than two years of turmoil, the government has finally settled the issue of whether to cancel or resume construction of the Yamba Dam in Gunma Prefecture.
　建設中止か続行かを巡り、２年あまり迷走したあげくの決着である。

Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism Minister Takeshi Maeda has at last decided to resume construction of the dam in Naganoharamachi. The government will earmark costs for building the main structure, funds for which had been frozen, in the fiscal 2012 budget.
　群馬県の八ッ場(やんば)ダムについて、前田国土交通相がようやく建設続行を決めた。これを受け、凍結していた本体工事の費用を２０１２年度予算案に盛り込むことになった。

The decision was based on a reexamination of the project by the ministry, in which it judged "construction of the dam is most desirable" in terms of flood control and water utilization effects as well as project costs.
　治水や利水効果、事業費などの面で「建設は最良」とする国交省の検証結果を踏まえた決定だ。

We think the decision is quite appropriate.
　極めて妥当な判断と言える。

The concept for the Yamba Dam project dates back about 60 years. It is designed to prevent floods in watershed areas of the Tonegawa river system and provide a water resource for the Kanto region. With a total construction cost of 460 billion yen, the dam will be one of largest in the country.
　約６０年前に構想が持ち上がった八ッ場ダムは、利根川流域の洪水防止と関東圏の水源としての利用が目的で、総工費４６００億円の国内最大級のダムである。

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Maehara started turmoil

Under the slogan "from concrete to people," the Democratic Party of Japan included cancellation of the Yamba Dam project in its manifesto for the 2009 House of Representatives election, which brought about the DPJ-led administration.
　民主党は「コンクリートから人へ」を掲げ、０９年衆院選の政権公約（マニフェスト）に八ッ場ダムの建設中止を盛り込んだ。

Seiji Maehara, now the DPJ's Policy Research Committee chair, became infrastructure minister after the 2009 election. Based on the manifesto's promise, he forcibly terminated the dam's construction without any consultation with local governments involved. That was the start of the turmoil.
　政権交代後、国交相に就任した民主党の前原政調会長が、マニフェストを理由に、地元との協議もなく強引に建設をストップしたのが迷走劇の発端だ。

In the face of strong opposition by residents and local governments, then Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism Minister Sumio Mabuchi in autumn 2010 effectively nullified Maehara's decision on the project. Subsequently, the ministry had been reexamining the project to decide whether the dam should be constructed.
　地元住民や関係自治体の反発を受け、１０年秋には当時の馬淵国交相が中止を事実上棚上げした。その後、国交省が建設の可否を判断する検証作業を続けていた。

The DPJ has never come up with an alternative plan. Land ministers after Maehara just put off reaching a conclusion, bowing to the "manifesto-supremacism" within the party. This is nothing but political delinquency. The government as well as the DPJ must reflect seriously on their actions.
　民主党は代替案も示さず、歴代国交相は党内のマニフェスト至上主義に配慮し、結論を先送りしてきただけだ。これでは政治の怠慢以外の何物でもない。政府・民主党は、猛省すべきである。

Maehara bears a particular heavy responsibility.
　特に前原氏の責任は重い。

Although it was crystal clear there would be enormous side effects to canceling the construction, he did not accept the results of the ministry's reexamination of the project--which concluded construction is appropriate--to the end.
　建設中止の副作用が大きいことは明白だったのに、建設が妥当と結論付けた検証結果を最後まで受け入れようとしなかった。

"If the government forces the construction costs through in the budget, the party won't approve it. I won't let the Cabinet approve it," Maehara said Thursday. This is going too far. It is unbelievable that these are statements of the policy chief of the ruling party. He should not cause further turmoil.
　前原氏が「無理やり予算に入れるなら、党としては認めない。閣議決定させない」とまで述べたのは、行き過ぎだ。政権党の政策責任者の発言とは思えない。これ以上の混乱は避けるべきだ。

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Residents made sacrifices

Years ago residents and local governments made a painful decision to accept the dam construction, and many residents moved from areas that were to be submerged under the planned dam lake. While the dam construction was up in the air, residents suffered more economic losses--a number of hot spring inns closed their doors, for example.
　地元は苦渋の決断でダム建設を受け入れ、水没予定地から大勢の住民が転居した。ダム建設が宙に浮く間、温泉旅館の休業が相次ぐなど新たな打撃も受けた。

If construction had actually been canceled, plans to revive areas around the dam as tourism spots might have been scrapped.
　このうえ建設中止となれば、ダム観光で再生を図る計画も頓挫しかねないところだった。

Already 80 percent of the total project costs have been spent on related works, such as construction of roads to replace ones that will become unusable. If the project had been axed, the government would have had to return funds to Tokyo and five other prefectures of the Tonegawa basin, which had paid out more than half of these costs.
　道路の付け替えなど関連事業に総事業費の８割がすでに投じられている。中止の場合、半分以上を支出した流域の１都５県に対し、政府が費用を返還しなければならなくなる問題もあった。

We do not think anyone in the DPJ can say the party fully took such factors into consideration while the party was creating the manifesto. The government needs to flexibly review policies if defects and misjudgments become clear. It must learn this lesson from the Yamba Dam issue.
　マニフェストを作成する段階でこうした事情を十分考慮したとは言えまい。欠陥や誤算が判明すれば、柔軟に見直す必要がある。八ッ場ダムから学ぶべき教訓だ。

(From The Yomiuri Shimbun, Dec. 23, 2011)
（2011年12月23日01時38分 読売新聞）