安保法案公聴会 国際秩序の危機を直視したい

The Yomiuri Shimbun
Look squarely at international threats when debating security legislation
安保法案公聴会　国際秩序の危機を直視したい

Amid the increasing security threats Japan faces, enhancing deterrence and buttressing the Japan-U.S. alliance must be tackled urgently. This insight and the alarm felt by experts on international politics must be taken seriously.
　日本の安全保障上の脅威が増大する中、抑止力の向上と日米同盟の強化が急務だ――。国際政治の専門家の知見と危機感を重く受け止めたい。

Testifying during a public hearing held Monday at the House of Representatives special committee on security-related legislation, former diplomat Yukio Okamoto, who was recommended for testimony by the ruling parties, said, “It’s impossible for Japan to protect the lives of Japanese people and vessels single-handedly.” Okamoto was commenting on the sea-lanes between the Middle East and Japan. As reasons for his position, he cited destabilization in the Middle East, rampant activities of radical militant organizations and pirates, and China’s expanded maritime presence.
　衆院平和安全法制特別委員会が中央公聴会を開いた。
　与党推薦の元外交官の岡本行夫氏は、中東から日本への海上交通路に関して「日本人の生命と船舶を守るのは日本単独では無理だ」と主張した。中東の不安定化、過激派組織や海賊の横行、中国の海洋進出などを理由に挙げた。

Referring to the significance of the security legislation, Okamoto said it would benefit Japan to “take part in a community to protect itself from the violence of a foreign enemy.”
　安全保障関連法案の意義について、「外敵の暴力から身を守り合うコミュニティー（共同体）に参加することだ」とも強調した。

With the progress of military technology and proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, no country can today keep peace single-handedly.
　軍事技術の進展や大量破壊兵器の拡散などで、もはやどの国も一国のみでは平和は保てない。

Japan, which relies on trade for its survival, enjoys the benefits of international peace. So it is natural for it to contribute proactively to world stability, which also leads to ensuring security for the country.
　貿易立国の日本は国際平和の恩恵を享受する。世界の安定に積極的に貢献するのは当然だ。それが日本の安全確保にもつながる。

Doshisha University President Koji Murata stressed the need for bolstering the Japan-U.S. alliance by referring to a change in the world’s power balance caused by the emergence of China and the decline of U.S. influence.
　村田晃嗣・同志社大学長は、中国の台頭と米国の影響力低下というパワーバランスの変化を踏まえて、日米同盟の強化を訴えた。

In connection with the fact that many constitutional scholars have concluded the government-proposed security bills are unconstitutional, Murata said: “Many experts on security issues will affirmatively respond to the bills. Constitutional scholars do not represent all scholars.”
　憲法学者が法案を「違憲」と決めつけていることを念頭に、「多くの安全保障専門家は肯定的回答をするのではないか。学者は憲法学者だけでない」と指摘した。

Discretion for government

Given the fluidity of international affairs, Murata said it was unavoidable for the definition of a “survival threatening situation” — a condition allowing for a limited exercise of the right of collective self-defense — to remain ambiguous.
　国際情勢の流動化に伴い、集団的自衛権を限定行使する「存立危機事態」の定義に曖昧さが残るのはやむを得ない、とも語った。

Determination of such situations is something that should be made by a sitting government while making an overall assessment of the circumstances at sites of conflict and the state of international affairs. Self-Defense Forces cannot be mobilized effectively unless a government is granted a certain degree of discretionary power.
　事態の認定は、時の政権が現場の状況や国際情勢などを総合的に勘案し、判断すべきものだ。政権に一定の裁量権がなければ、効果的な自衛隊の運用はできない。

Ryuichi Ozawa, professor at the Jikei University School of Medicine, who was recommended by the opposition camp, called for abandoning the bills, saying they are “unconstitutional.” Commenting on the right of collective self-defense, Sota Kimura, associate professor at Tokyo Metropolitan University, said, “Use of military force when an armed attack on Japan has not been launched is by definition unconstitutional.”
　野党推薦の小沢隆一・東京慈恵会医科大教授は、「違憲性がある」として安保法案の廃案を求めた。木村草太・首都大学東京准教授は集団的自衛権に関し、「日本への武力攻撃の着手がない段階での武力行使は違憲だ」と述べた。

But as for the exercise of the right of collective self-defense, strict criteria have been set, including threats that would undermine the people’s rights. Approving the exercise of the right is in line with judicial judgments and government interpretations that approve of self-defense measures to ensure the country’s survival. So it is not correct to assert the use of the right is unconstitutional.
　だが、集団的自衛権の行使には、国民の権利が覆されるなどの厳格な要件が定められている。自国の存立を全うする自衛措置を容認した司法判断や政府見解に沿っており、違憲の主張は当たらない。

Prof. Jiro Yamaguchi of Hosei University dismissed the security legislation as deviating from what is allowed under the principle of “an exclusively defensive security policy.” But use of military force in situations threatening Japan’s survival is assumed to be in line with the exclusively defensive security policy.
　山口二郎・法政大教授は、安保法案が「専守防衛を逸脱する」と断じたが、日本の存立が脅かされる事態での武力行使は、専守防衛の範囲内のはずだ。

About 110 hours have been spent on deliberations on security legislation. In a wide-ranging debate, it seems that all questionable points have been presented for discussion.
　安保法案の審議は約１１０時間に達した。広範な論点が提起され、質問は出尽くした感がある。

Now that the public hearing, a prerequisite for a vote on the bills, has ended, it can be said that lower house deliberations on the matter are entering a final stage.
　法案採決の前提となる中央公聴会を終えたことで、衆院審議は大詰めを迎えたと言えよう。

(From The Yomiuri Shimbun, July 14, 2015)