原発住民投票―都民の関心、示すとき

--The Asahi Shimbun, Jan. 22
EDITORIAL: Tokyo voters should sign up for nuclear referendum
原発住民投票―都民の関心、示すとき

A signature-collecting campaign is under way to hold a referendum in Tokyo to allow citizens to express their views on nuclear power generation.
　原発に、イエスかノーか。
　東京で住民投票をしよう。

But the campaign, organized by a citizens group set up to achieve referendums, is struggling to attract the attention of voters.
　この署名活動が、いまひとつ盛り上がらない。

The group is trying to collect the required number of signatures to make a direct claim under the local autonomy law to the Tokyo metropolitan government and the Osaka municipal government for the adoption of an ordinance to hold such a referendum.
　呼びかけているのは、市民グループ「みんなで決めよう『原発』国民投票」。

The Tokyo metropolitan government is a leading shareholder in Tokyo Electric Power Co., which runs the wrecked Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant, while the government of Osaka has a stake in Kansai Electric Power Co., which also operates nuclear plants.
東京電力の大株主の東京都と、関西電力株を持つ大阪市に、住民投票を実施するための条例づくりを直接請求しようという活動だ。

In Osaka, the group collected more than 60,000 signatures, exceeding the 2 percent of eligible voters required to make the claim, during the one-month campaign period. The local election administration commission is now examining the signature list to determine its validity.
　すでに１カ月間の署名期間を終えた大阪市では、請求に必要な「有権者の２％」を上回る、６万人あまりを集め、選管の審査を待っている。

In Tokyo, the group needs over 210,000 signatures. But with two-thirds of the two-month campaign period already passed, the group has collected less than half the required number.
　だが、東京では期間２カ月の３分の２が過ぎても、まだ必要な２１万余の半分に届かない。

Why is the campaign receiving such a lukewarm response in Tokyo?
　この少なさは、どうしたことなのか。

This is neither an “anti-nuke” nor a “pro-nuke” campaign.
　署名の趣旨は「原発反対」でも「推進」でもない。

The group is only seeking a referendum that will allow citizens to decide on their own whether this nation should continue to use nuclear power as part of energy sources to generate electricity.
　原発の是非を自分たちで決めるために、住民投票をしようというのだ。

In other words, the number of signatures collected is an indicator of how much interest people have in the issue.
　つまり署名の数は、関心の強さをはかる物差しになる。

Before the Fukushima nuclear disaster, nearly 30 percent of the electricity supplied to the Tokyo metropolitan area was generated at the Fukushima No. 1 plant and TEPCO’s other nuclear plants outside Tokyo.
　首都圏の電力は原発事故前、３割近くが原子力で賄われていた。

If voters in Tokyo show so little interest in the question as to make it difficult to collect signatures from 2 percent of them, how would people in Fukushima Prefecture and other areas that host these facilities feel?
その消費者の都民が、わずか２％の関心すら示せなかったら、福島県をはじめ原発の地元住民はどう思うだろう。

Many people in Tokyo seem interested in such a referendum but are clueless as to where they can sign for the campaign.
　一方では、関心はあるのに、どこで署名できるのかがわからないという人も多いようだ。

Tokyo has more than 10 million eligible voters.
　東京の有権者は１千万人を超える。

There are permanent sites where they can sign petitions, including one in front of Shinjuku Station, but there are not enough to offer easy access to residents in all areas.
新宿駅前などに常設の署名場所があるが、隅々までは行き届かない。

In addition, the people leading a signature campaign are allowed to collect signatures only from voters in the cities, wards, towns and villages where they live.
　しかも、署名集めを担う「受任者」は、自分の住む市区町村の有権者からしか署名を集められない。

Clearly, this provision in the local autonomy law constitutes a major obstacle to the campaign.
こんな地方自治法の規定も、活動の壁になっているのは確かだ。

Another major factor behind the different reactions from voters in the Tokyo metropolitan government and Osaka city is the different attitudes toward the issue by the local government chiefs.
　リーダーの発信ぶりの違いも大きい。

Osaka Mayor Toru Hashimoto promised to reduce the city’s dependence on nuclear power during his election campaign in November although he is skeptical about the idea of holding a referendum on this issue.
　大阪の橋下徹市長は、住民投票そのものには懐疑的だが、市長選で「脱原発依存」を掲げていた。

Hashimoto’s remarks have probably spurred interest in the issue among the public.
それで関心を持った市民も多かったろう。

In contrast, Tokyo Governor Shintaro Ishihara has given the cold shoulder to moves toward a referendum, criticizing it as a “sentimental and hysteric” reaction.
Ishihara has pointed out that there is “not even a blueprint to secure an energy supply” at this stage.
　これに対して、東京の石原慎太郎都知事は「エネルギーをどうやって補給するかの設計図もない時点で、センチメンタルともヒステリックとも思える」と突き放すだけだ。

But a referendum on the issue would prompt citizens to see the development of such a blueprint as their own concern and start thinking about it.
　だが、住民投票こそが、この「設計図」を市民がみずからの問題としてとらえ、考えていくきっかけになるはずだ。

More signatures are needed for a referendum on the future of nuclear power generation in this country?which should be determined through broad public debate.
　原発の行く末をみんなで考える。そのための住民投票をするには、もっと署名が要る。

Now that the nuclear disaster has raised some fundamental questions about the energy policy, it is important for people in Tokyo, as consumers of electricity, to express their views and opinions about nuclear power generation.
　大震災を機に、エネルギー政策が根幹から問い直されているいまこそ、都民は消費者としてもの申そう。

Let us achieve a referendum in Tokyo to have an opportunity to do so.
そのために、首都で住民投票を実現させよう。