２０１３回顧・日本 「五輪」「富士山」に希望がわいた

The Yomiuri Shimbun December 29, 2013
Successful Olympics bid, Mt. Fuji designation bright spots in 2013
２０１３回顧・日本　「五輪」「富士山」に希望がわいた（12月29日付・読売社説）

Apparently indicating the high hopes many people have for Olympic Games seven years ahead, readers of The Yomiuri Shimbun awarded first place on the list of “Japan’s top 10 news stories” this year to Tokyo winning the bid to host the 2020 Summer Olympics and Paralympics.
　７年後の五輪開催に希望を見いだした人が多かったのだろう。
　読売新聞の読者が選ぶ今年の「日本１０大ニュース」の１位に、「２０２０年夏季五輪・パラリンピックの開催地が東京に決定」が選ばれた。

This means 56 years will have elapsed since Tokyo hosted the Olympics in 1964.
　東京で五輪が開催されるのは１９６４年以来５６年ぶりである。

The 1964 Olympiad served as a key factor behind the nation’s high economic growth. The coming Games are expected to act as a catalyst for this country’s reinvigoration. Every possible effort should be made to ensure that the Summer Games and Paralympics are successful.
前回五輪は、日本の高度成長を加速させる契機となった。今度の五輪は、日本再生の起爆剤となり得る。ぜひとも成功させたい。

With Naoki Inose being forced to resign as governor of Tokyo over his receipt of a dubious ¥50 million loan—16th on the domestic news list—personnel affairs concerning the organizing committee of the Games and progress on relevant matters have been left up in the air. It is extremely important for all quarters concerned to carry out concerted efforts to make the 2020 Olympics and Paralympics successful.
　東京都の猪瀬直樹前知事が５０００万円受領問題（１６位）で辞職に追い込まれ、大会組織委員会の人事などに停滞がみられる。オールジャパン体制で着実に開催準備を進めることが肝要だ。

The initial design for the new National Athletic Stadium, the main venue of the Games’ competitions, is scheduled to be scaled down after the original plan came under criticism for being extravagant. It is essential to construct new facilities and refurbish existing ones for the Games without wasteful spending.
　メーン会場の新国立競技場は「巨大すぎる」との指摘で、規模が縮小される見通しだ。無駄のない施設整備も欠かせない。

Second on the list of top 10 news items was UNESCO recognition of Mt. Fuji as a cultural World Heritage site. All components of cultural heritage relating to Mt. Fuji, including the Miho no Matsubara coastline in Shizuoka Prefecture, have been certified as “treasures of the world.”
　僅差の２位は「富士山が世界文化遺産に決定」だった。当初除外される見込みだった「三保松原」を含むすべての構成資産が「世界の宝」と認定された。

The beauty of Mt. Fuji and its environs must be left intact for posterity. Regulations were tightened in summer this year on car traffic in the Mt. Fuji area and a fee was experimentally levied on people who wanted to climb the sacred peak. Further endeavors should be made for the environmental conservation of the country’s loftiest mountain and its vicinity.
　美しい姿を後世に残さねばならない。この夏は、マイカー規制が拡充され、入山料徴収が試験導入された。今後は一層、環境保全に知恵を絞る必要があろう。

Many challenges ahead

In pro baseball, Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles’ victory in the Japan Series for the first time placed fourth in the list, while the unbroken winning streak by Rakuten pitcher Masahiro Tanaka ranked eighth.
　プロ野球では、楽天の「初の日本一」が４位、「田中投手が連勝の新記録」が８位に入った。

The triumph of Rakuten gave a great deal of encouragement to victims in the Great East Japan Earthquake of March 11, 2011, as its home ground is in Sendai. Tanaka, who was the major driving force of Rakuten capturing the highest accolade in Japan’s pro baseball world, is just entering negotiations on moving to a U.S. Major League Baseball team. We hope to see Tanaka performing brilliantly in the United States.
　仙台が本拠地の楽天の優勝は、東日本大震災の被災者を大いに元気付けた。日本一の原動力となった田中将大投手は、米大リーグ球団との移籍交渉に入る。さらなる活躍を期待したい。

The news that baseball legends Shigeo Nagashima and Hideki Matsui received the People’s Honor Award from the government ranked fifth on the list.
　「長嶋茂雄氏と松井秀喜氏に国民栄誉賞」は５位に入った。

Nagashima has made great contributions to developing professional baseball into Japan’s national sport. Matsui, a former slugger for the Yomiuri Giants and the New York Yankees, thrilled baseball fans with his huge home runs.
長嶋氏はプロ野球を国民的スポーツに発展させた最大の功労者だ。松井氏の豪快なホームランには、多くのファンが熱狂した。

The scene of Nagashima and his disciple Matsui in Giants’ uniforms performing in an opening pitch ceremony in celebration of their winning of the People’s Honor Award must have engraved itself deeply in people’s memories.
　巨人のユニホームを着て始球式を行った師弟の姿は、人々の記憶に深く刻まれたに違いない。

The administration of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s success in ending the divided Diet after the Liberal Democratic Party and New Komeito garnered a majority of seats in the House of Councillors election in July placed third on the top 10 list. This achievement was conducive to increasing the Abe Cabinet’s stability.
　安倍政権は「参院選で自民、公明両党が過半数獲得、ねじれ解消」（３位）で安定度を増した。

On the other hand, Japan faces many challenges.
　一方で、課題も多い。

The decision to raise the consumption tax to 8 percent, which will be put into force in April, placed seventh. Negotiations on the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade liberalization, ranked ninth, are destined to continue next year after failing to be concluded this year.
来年４月に消費税率８％への引き上げ（７位）が実施される。越年した環太平洋経済連携協定（ＴＰＰ）の交渉（９位）も大詰めを迎える。

It is imperative for the government to ensure that the signs of business pickup thanks to the Abe administration’s Abenomics package of economic policies will lead to full-fledged recovery of the nation’s business activities. We strongly hope 2014 will prove to be a year when we can really feel the economy rejuvenating.
　経済政策「アベノミクス」で上向いた景気を本格回復につなげる必要がある。来年は、経済再生を実感できる年としたい。

A number of natural calamities occurred this year, such as mudslides on Izu-Oshima Island, sixth on the list.
　今年は、伊豆大島の土石流（６位）など、自然災害が相次いだ。

We must keep up our guard against disasters.
防災対策を怠ってはならない。

(From The Yomiuri Shimbun, Dec. 29, 2013)
（2013年12月29日01時22分  読売新聞）