外資の森林買収 水源地保全のルール作り急げ

タイでは外国人の土地購入は固く禁止されています。これが当り前ではないでしょうか。
江戸時代や明治の初期、娘を借金の肩代わりとして差し出す悪しき風習がありました。
国土を外国人に売り渡すことは、これと同じようなものではないでしょうか。
法改正を望みます。

（スラチャイ）

The Yomiuri Shimbun (May. 14, 2012)
Establish rules to protect watershed areas quickly
外資の森林買収　水源地保全のルール作り急げ　（5月13日付・読売社説）

Foreign purchases of Japan's woodlands are on the rise.
　外国資本による森林の買収が拡大している。

A total of 157 hectares of forest was acquired with foreign capital in 2011, almost four times the amount from a year earlier, according to data compiled by the Forestry Agency and the Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism Ministry. The total from 2006 to 2011 reached as much as 785 hectares in seven prefectures, including Hokkaido, where nearly 90 percent of such purchases took place.
　林野庁と国土交通省がまとめた２０１１年の買収実績は１５７ヘクタールで、前年の約４倍に増加した。０６年からの累計は、７道県で７８５ヘクタールに及び、北海道が全体の９割以上を占めている。

However, a survey of prefectural governments by The Yomiuri Shimbun this spring found the total area purchased with foreign capital reached 1,100 hectares, greatly exceeding the government's figures.
　読売新聞が今春、都道府県を対象に実施した調査では、買収面積は計１１００ヘクタールに達し、政府の統計を大きく上回った。

As cases have been coming to light of Chinese companies acquiring land under the names of Japanese intermediary firms, the survey finding is probably just the tip of the iceberg.
　中国企業などが、仲介する日本企業の名義で買収する事例も表面化しており、調査結果は「氷山の一角」に過ぎないだろう。

Worrisome is the fact that many of the acquired forested areas are in watersheds on which local communities depend. There have also been acquisitions of forested areas for purposes that are not clear. Should vital watershed areas be developed without restraint, the daily lives of local people could be threatened.
　懸念されるのは、買収案件に地域の水源にかかる森林が多く含まれていることだ。利用目的がはっきりしないケースもある。水源地が乱開発される事態になれば、住民生活が脅かされかねない。

Even among those Western countries where land ownership by foreigners is permitted, a number of them restrict the ownership or development of areas near water sources.
　外国人の土地保有を認める欧米でも、水源地周辺は所有や開発を規制している国が多い。

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Keep an eagle eye on forests

The government must become more aware of land ownership and transactions, and discuss restrictions for protecting these areas.
政府は、水源地の売買や保有の実態を十分把握し、保全のために必要な規制を検討すべきである。

With its enforcement last month, the revised Forest Law makes it mandatory for transactions involving forest lots of less than one hectare to be reported to authorities upon acquisition. Previously, there was no reporting requirement for lots of that size.
　４月に施行された改正森林法は、従来は対象外だった１ヘクタール未満の森林売買についても取得後の届け出義務を課した。

Although the enforcement of the revision is a step forward, it is hardly sufficient since authorities will learn of such purchases only after the deals are made.
一歩前進ではあるが、事後に取引を把握するため、十分とは言い難い。

With their own ordinances enforced in April, the prefectural governments of Hokkaido and Saitama have made it obligatory for land transactions around the headwaters of rivers to be reported to them in advance.
　北海道と埼玉県は４月施行の条例で、水源周辺の土地取引には事前の届け出を義務付けた。

Four other prefectures, including Yamagata and Gunma, are considering the enactment of similar ordinances.
山形、群馬など４県も同様の条例制定を検討中という。

We approve of local governments proactively taking defensive measures. Upon learning of a questionable potential transaction involving land in a vital watershed, local governments may be able to take such countermeasures as acquiring the area themselves.
　自治体が独自の防衛策に乗り出したのは評価できる。事前に動きを把握できれば、自治体の買い上げなど対抗策も可能になろう。

Yet under the Japanese legal system, land dealings themselves cannot be restricted, making it unclear whether such ordinances will be effective.
　ただ、日本の法制度では、土地取引自体は規制できず、条例が有効かどうかは不透明だ。

At the same time, the role of foreign capital in revitalizing the local economy is significant. What is needed is a rule to ensure that forest land transactions the local governments cannot currently keep an eye on are brought to light, rather than one to merely inflame wariness against foreign capital to no purpose.
　一方、外資の誘致が地域経済の活性化に果たす役割は、小さくない。外資への警戒感をいたずらにあおるのではなく、行政の目が届かない山林取引を放置しないようなルール作りが必要だ。

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Controls must not go too far

Legal provisions are needed to define the lands to be protected, such as vital watershed areas, and to restrict trading in those areas specifically.
　水源林など守るべき土地を明確化し、そこでは特例的に取引を規制する法整備が求められる。

The protection of the headwaters of rivers is an important issue for national security. Compared to local governments, however, the central government has less sense of crisis. Cooperative links among relevant ministries have not been formed.
　水源林保全は国の安全保障上も重要な課題である。だが、自治体に比べ、政府の危機感は薄い。関係省庁の連携もできていない。

The ruling Democratic Party of Japan launched a working-group panel concerning land acquisition by foreigners in January last year and advocates a policy of studying the possibility of regulating foreign acquisition of areas near the headwaters of rivers or Self-Defense Forces facilities.
　民主党は、外国人による土地取得に関する作業部会を昨年１月に発足させ、水源地や自衛隊関連施設の周辺などを対象に規制を検討する方針を掲げている。

We hope the government will more clearly recognize the importance of conservation of national land and exercise political leadership to take comprehensive measures to deal with the issue.
　国土保全の重要性を認識し、政治主導で包括的な対策を講じてもらいたい。

(From The Yomiuri Shimbun, May 13, 2012)
（2012年5月13日01時44分 読売新聞）