震災２年・再建を誓う日 政府主導で復興を加速させよ

The Yomiuri Shimbun (Mar. 12, 2013)
Govt must lead efforts to speed up reconstruction
震災２年・再建を誓う日　政府主導で復興を加速させよ（3月11日付・読売社説）

　◆安心して生活できる地域再生を◆

Today marks the second anniversary of the Great East Japan Earthquake and tsunami that killed 15,881 people and left 2,668 others missing.
　東日本大震災から２年を迎えた。
　亡くなった人は１万５８８１人、行方不明は２６６８人に上る。

No fewer than 315,000 people have been forced to live as evacuees, and about 160,000 of them are from Fukushima Prefecture, where the nuclear crisis broke out at Tokyo Electric Power Co.'s Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant.
　避難生活を送る被災者は３１万５０００人を下らない。うち約１６万人が、東京電力福島第一原子力発電所の事故が起きた福島県の避難者である。

Let us together pray anew for the repose of the victims' souls. Reconstruction from the disaster has been delayed, and the government must take the initiative in accelerating rebuilding efforts.
　国民みんなで改めて犠牲者の冥福を祈りたい。再起に向けた歩みは遅れている。政府が主導し、復興を加速しなければならない。

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110,000 in temporary homes
　◆今も仮設住宅に１１万人

Behind the slow progress of rebuilding municipalities is the difficulty of forming a consensus among the residents concerned. Whether to locate a commercial and industrial zone on higher ground or in a coastal area is one example. Another problem is whether to build high seawalls that could effectively separate the land and the sea.
　市町村の復興計画が進んでいない背景には、住民の合意形成が難しい事情がある。例えば、商工業を営む場所を高台にするか、沿岸部にするかという問題だ。壁のような防潮堤で海と陸を遮断していいのかという問題もある。

Residents of Natori, Miyagi Prefecture, which was heavily damaged by the tsunami, wanted to rebuild where they lived rather than collectively relocate to an inland area. The municipal government plans to boost its reconstruction efforts by building a seawall and promoting changes in land use. But some residents oppose the plan.
　津波で市街の一部が壊滅した宮城県名取市の住民たちは、内陸への集団移転ではなく、現地での再建を望んだ。市は防潮堤建設や区画整理を行って支援する方針だが、反対の声も残るという。

The only way to push the plan ahead is to launch it without obtaining the full approval of some residents.
　計画を前に進めるには、住民の十分な合意がないまま、始動せざるを得ないのが実情だ。

A redevelopment plan in coastal zones was decided at an early stage of reconstruction by such fishery cities as Kamaishi, Iwate Prefecture, and Kesennuma and Ishinomaki, both in Miyagi Prefecture.
　早期に沿岸部再開発を決めたのは、岩手県釜石市や宮城県気仙沼市、石巻市などの漁業都市だ。

As a senior Ishinomaki municipal government official put it, "As long as we cannot expect reconstruction without fishery business, we cannot desert the coastal areas."
「漁業でしか再建できない以上、海辺の土地は捨てられない」（石巻市幹部）との理由からだ。

Disaster victims commute from temporary housing to fishery processing factories and other workplaces, many of them no doubt worried about the reoccurrence of tsunami.
　被災者たちは津波の再来に不安を覚えながら、仮設住宅から水産加工場などに通う。

Residents in Ishinomaki often say, "How can we strike a balance between earning income and being assured of our safety and security?" These words are compelling.
　「収入と安全安心をどう両立させればいいか」。石巻でよく聞かれる言葉は切実だ。

The mayor of one city resigned in the face of opposition to reconstruction programs from residents and the municipal assembly. The past two years saw each local government and its residents explore ways to realize revival while facing their own predicaments.
　復興策が議会や住民の反発を招き、辞職した町長もいる。それぞれの自治体と住民がジレンマに苦しみながら、「街の再生」を模索した２年だったと言えよう。

About 110,000 people still live in prefabricated temporary housing units. A matter of concern is the increase in the number of residents who complain about stress and unease caused by their inconvenient daily life. Local governments must expedite construction of housing so that the affected residents can lead a stable life as early as possible.
　被災地のプレハブの仮設住宅には、今も約１１万人が暮らす。不自由な生活にストレスや不安を訴える住民が増えていることが懸念される。安定した生活が送れる新住居に早く移れるよう、自治体は復興住宅の建設を急ぐべきだ。

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Agency bears heavy burden
　◆復興庁の責任は重大だ

The low spending rate for a tremendous amount of rehabilitation expenditures cannot be ignored. About 1.4 trillion yen earmarked for the current fiscal year by Iwate, Miyagi and Fukushima prefectures and 34 municipalities cannot be implemented before March 31 and will be carried over to the new fiscal year starting in April.
　巨額の復興費の消化率が低い実態は看過できない。岩手、宮城、福島の３県と３４市町村で、約１・４兆円が今年度中に予算執行できず、新年度に繰り越される。

This delay was partly caused by difficulty in purchasing plots of land needed for such projects as building houses for disaster victims. Another problem was that bidding for related public works has failed to attract businesses because they see little profitability in such projects.
　復興住宅などの事業用地買収が難航したり、利益の薄い工事を業者が敬遠して入札が不調だったりしているためだという。

In coastal areas of Iwate and Miyagi prefectures, removal of debris has progressed. But in many areas, work to elevate plots of land sunken by the tsunami or to construct seawalls has not even started.
　岩手、宮城両県の沿岸部では、がれきの撤去は進んだものの、津波で地盤沈下した土地のかさ上げや防潮堤建設などの工事に着手できていない地域が多い。

Wasting more time will only further delay reconstruction of the disaster-stricken areas.
　この上、時間を浪費すれば、被災地の再生は遅れるばかりだ。

The Reconstruction Agency, which is tasked with functioning as a control tower for reconstruction projects, has a heavy responsibility. It must reinforce its cooperation with local governments and take the leadership in implementing measures for the affected areas.
　司令塔機能を発揮すべき復興庁の責任は重い。各自治体との連携を一層強化し、被災地対策を主導する必要がある。

The agency has recently expanded the scope of how the reconstruction grants should be spent, making it possible to use them for such works as elevating the site where a fishery community once stood. Such a step is reasonable.
　復興庁が最近、復興交付金の使途を広げ、漁業集落の跡地のかさ上げなどにも使えるようにしたのは妥当だ。

The agency must clear away the bottleneck in work and speed up the pace of spending reconstruction budgets.
工事の停滞を解消し、復興予算執行のスピードを上げなければならない。

As there are many sparsely populated communities in the affected areas, it is not easy to revitalize these communities anytime soon.
　被災地には、過疎の市町村が多く、その場所にすぐに活気を取り戻すのは容易ではない。

On Okushiri Island in Hokkaido, which was hit in July 1993 by a major earthquake and tsunami, a large sum of reconstruction funds was spent on relocating communities to higher ground. But the population of the communities has been steadily declining.
　かつて大地震と津波で被災した北海道奥尻島では、住民の高台移転などで多額の復興費が投じられた。しかし、その後は人口の減少に直面している。

The disaster-hit areas in the Tohoku region may need to learn lessons from this experience.
　東北の被災地も、奥尻の教訓を生かす必要があろう。

Some local municipal governments, including Aomori and Toyama, have been carrying out projects designed to concentrate residential houses in certain districts, which are provided with such infrastructure as hospitals, schools and post offices, thus improving convenience. These projects are being implemented under a "compact city" concept.
　青森市、富山市などでは、住民を一つの地域に集め、病院や学校、郵便局も整備して利便性を高める事業を進めている。「コンパクトシティー」と呼ばれる。

Applying such a concept to measures dealing with the depopulation of the disaster-affected areas could be worth discussing.
　被災地の過疎対策への応用も検討に値するのではないか。

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has said: "Reconstruction [from the earthquake disaster] is the top priority, together with the revitalization of the Japanese economy. I want to win the people's trust in my administration by bringing about [tangible] results as soon as possible."
　安倍首相は、「復興は日本経済再生と並ぶ最重要課題だ。一日も早く結果を出すことで信頼を得たい」と強調している。

As Abe has put it, without reconstruction, a "robust economy" cannot be realized.
復興なくして、首相が掲げる「強い経済」は実現できないだろう。

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Solid results essential
　◆問われる具体的成果

On Wednesday, the government made major changes in the membership of a panel of experts tasked with scrutinizing the reconstruction measures and recommending remedial steps to Abe. The panel is expected to compile an interim report by June.
　政府は今月６日、復興策を点検し、首相に改善を提言する有識者会議「復興推進委員会」のメンバーを大幅に入れ替えた。６月をめどに中間報告をまとめる。

In the central government's present reconstruction programs, which were worked out under the Democratic Party of Japan-led administration, many things may require review when the reality of disaster-stricken areas is taken into consideration.
　民主党政権が策定した現行の国の復興計画には、被災地の実情に照らすと、見直すべき点が多々あるだろう。

Why have the reconstruction projects been delayed? What kinds of new measures are needed? We hope the panel comes up with proposals that will lead to the rejuvenation of the affected area in Tohoku.
復興の遅れは何が原因か。新たにどのような施策が必要か。東北の再生につながる提言をまとめてもらいたい。

Now that two years have passed since the disaster, concrete actions with tangible results in the coming year are essential.
　大震災から３年目に入り、求められているのは、具体的な行動と成果である。

Just as Abe has expressed his determination to realize reconstruction, it is the government's mission to accelerate the pace of reconstruction.
　首相の決意通り、復興を加速させることが政府の使命だ。

(From The Yomiuri Shimbun, March 11, 2013)
（2013年3月11日01時18分  読売新聞）