社説：安保転換を問う 週内採決方針 議会政治壊すつもりか

September 15, 2015 (Mainichi Japan)
Editorial: Ruling coalition wrong to put security bills to quick vote
社説：安保転換を問う　週内採決方針　議会政治壊すつもりか

"We shouldn't resort to the force of numbers to suppress opposition. We should humbly reflect on what we do, and work hard to persuade opponents to accept our proposals in an effort to form a consensus."
　こんな言葉を記したい。
　「ご支持いただけないからといって、安易に数の力で抑えこもうというようなことは、とるべき道ではない。常に自ら謙虚に反省し、額に汗しながら説得につとめ、合意を求めてまいりたい」

This is what the late former Prime Minister Masayoshi Ohira, who was a member of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), once said.
　自民党の大平正芳元首相が生前、語った言葉である。

Ohira, who called for "politics of consensus" and "politics conducted in unison with the public," also said, "Those who do not support us (the LDP) are also members of the public."
「和の政治」「国民と一体の政治」を唱え続けた大平氏は「（自民党を）支持していただけない方々も国民のみなさんであることに変わりはない」とも言っている。

This is what political leaders should respect in all eras, and is the basic principle of parliamentary democracy.
時代を超えて政治のリーダーが守るべき姿勢であり、これが議会制民主主義の基本でもあろう。

　◇首相のやじと異論排除

As 60 days have passed since the security-related bills were referred to the House of Councillors following their passage through the House of Representatives, the lower chamber can now pass the bills into law in a second vote by a two-thirds majority.
　安全保障関連法案は参院に送付されて６０日が経過し、衆院での再可決も可能な段階に入った。

Under Article 59 of the Constitution, "failure by the House of Councillors to take final action within 60 days after receipt of a bill passed by the House of Representatives, with time in recess excepted, may be determined to constitute a rejection of the bill" by the upper chamber. The same clause stipulates that a bill voted down by the upper chamber can be passed into law by the lower house in a second vote by two-thirds of members present.
与党はこの「６０日ルール」の適用もちらつかせながら、週内に成立させる方針でいる。

One cannot help but wonder how Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, who is desperate to ensure that the bills will be passed into law during the current Diet session, takes Ohira's words. It's like Abe is thinking, it would be unavoidable to enact the legislation even if it cannot win public understanding.
もはや国民に理解されなくても仕方がないとばかりに成立を急ぐ安倍晋三首相は今、大平氏の言葉をどう受け止めるだろう。

As the prime minister says, in the end, any decision is made by a majority vote in parliamentary politics. However, deliberations have clarified that the security-related bills in question should not become law. First of all, the executive branch of the government failed to provide a convincing explanation to the public in response to experts' arguments that the bills would constitute a violation of the war-renouncing Constitution. Nor did the government clearly explain why Japan needs to exercise the right to collective self-defense, which means coming to the aid of allies under armed attack even if Japan itself is not attacked. The purpose of the bills has become increasingly unclear as deliberations progressed.
　首相が言うように確かに最後は多数決で決するのが議会政治だ。だがこの法案は、むしろ審議の結果、成立させるべきでないことが明白になったというべきだ。第一に憲法違反との指摘に対し、政府は結局、納得のいく説明ができなかった。そしてなぜ集団的自衛権を行使する必要があるのか、法案の目的も審議するほど不明確になったからだ。

There are flaws in the methods of deliberating the bills as well.
　ここに至る手法にも問題がある。

In late May, shortly before the lower chamber launched deliberations on the security bills, the Mainichi Shimbun in an editorial commented that the prime minister should change his attitude in refusing to listen to opposition and calls for prudence in enacting security legislation.
　法案の衆院審議が始まる直前の５月下旬、私たちは異論や慎重論に耳を傾けない首相の姿勢をまず改めよと書いた。

However, it is regrettable that the prime minister only held black-or-white, friend-or-foe sorts of discussions during Diet deliberations on the bills.
残念ながら白か黒か、敵か味方かしかないような首相の「決めつけ議論」は変わらなかった。

Moreover, Prime Minister Abe showed his arrogance by saying things like, "Ask your questions quickly" and "Never mind such a thing," to interrupt questions by opposition legislators.
　国会の審議では首相が野党に対し「早く質問しろよ」「まあいいじゃん。そういうことは」と乱暴なやじを飛ばして議論をさえぎった。

Yosuke Isozaki, an adviser to the prime minister, also stated during a meeting in his home constituency, "Legal stability is irrelevant," suggesting that consistency between the security bills and the war-renouncing Constitution is unimportant. Numerous members of the general public interpreted his remark as revealing the government's true intentions.
　側近の礒崎陽輔首相補佐官は地元での会合で「法的安定性は関係ない」と語った。憲法との整合性など二の次だということだ。多くの国民はこれが政権の本音と受け取ったろう。

In a study session organized by junior LDP legislators, one member remarked that advertising revenue should be cut off to media outlets that are opposed to the bills. There is a growing tendency to suppress opposing opinions.
自民党の若手の勉強会では「法案に反対するマスコミを懲らしめるには広告料収入をなくせばいい」との暴言も出た。異論を封殺しようとする傾向は一段と強まっている。

The bills were drafted based on the Abe Cabinet's decision in July 2014 to reverse the government's longstanding interpretation of the Constitution in a limited way to open the way for Japan to exercise the right to collective self-defense. However, Prime Minister Abe declared during the campaign for the December 2014 lower house race that his decision to postpone the planned consumption tax hike was the key point of contention. With regard to the security bills, the LDP only stated in the last half of its some 300 campaign pledge topics that security legislation would be swiftly developed to ensure seamless responses to contingencies.
　この法案は昨夏、歴代内閣が長年保ってきた憲法解釈を覆し、限定的とはいえ集団的自衛権の行使を認める閣議決定をしたことに始まる。しかし、昨年末の衆院選で首相は「消費増税先送りの是非」を最大の争点に掲げ、安保法案は自民党の公約に羅列した約３００項目の政策の後半に「切れ目のない対応を可能とする安全保障法制を速やかに整備」などと記されたに過ぎない。

In his policy speech at the outset of the current Diet session in February this year, the prime minister only briefly said the government would aim to be able to ensure a seamless response to any situation. On the other hand, Abe pledged in his speech before U.S. Congress in late April that Japan would enact security legislation by summer. At the time, the government had not even submitted the bills to the Diet.
　今国会が始まった今年２月の施政方針演説でも首相は「あらゆる事態に切れ目のない対応を可能とする」などと述べただけだ。一方で首相はまだ法案が国会に提出されていない４月末、米議会での演説で「夏までに必ず実現する」と宣言したのだ。

What Abe has done shows that he makes light of the Diet, elections and the general public. He would be extremely self-righteous if he were to believe that the public has given him carte blanche by giving the LDP a majority in the lower chamber.
　国会軽視、選挙軽視、国民軽視の極みである。衆院選で勝てば、すべてが白紙委任されたと首相が考えているとしたらあまりにも独善的だ。

　◇独走抑えるのが国会だ

Prime Minister Abe cited the amendment made to the Japan-U.S. Security Treaty in 1960 when his grandfather Nobusuke Kishi was prime minister to justify the security legislation. "At the time, the revisions were criticized as Japan could be dragged into war, but history has proved that the amendment wasn't wrong," Abe said. He has repeated similar remarks.
　首相は祖父の岸信介氏が首相だった１９６０年の日米安保条約改定を例に挙げ、「あの時も戦争に巻き込まれると批判されたが、改定が間違っていなかったのは歴史が証明している」と繰り返す。

LDP Vice President Masahiko Komura said, "Japan couldn't have set up the Self-Defense Forces (SDF), revised the Japan-U.S. Security Treaty or enacted the Act on Cooperation with United Nations Peacekeeping Operations and Other Operations if Japan had relied on public opinion of the moment."
自民党の高村正彦副総裁も「刹那（せつな）的な世論だけに頼っていたら自衛隊も日米安保改定も国連平和維持活動（ＰＫＯ）協力法もできなかった」と言う。

Demonstrations protesting against the bills, mainly those around the Diet building, have been expanding regardless of participants' affiliation with political parties and other organizations. Many participants are apparently wary of not only the contents of the bills but also the Abe government's high-handed political method, and are dissatisfied with the Diet's failure to stop the prime minister's reckless move. Opinion polls conducted by various news organizations show that a majority of members of the general public are opposed to the bills. Komura's remark suggesting that he regards such public opinion as momentary apparently demonstrates that the LDP has lost its humility.
　今回の法案に対し、党派や組織を超えて国会周辺を中心に反対デモが広がっている。法案の中身だけではない。多くの参加者は安倍政権の強引な手法に不安や危うさを感じるとともに、首相らの独走を抑えられない国会にも不満を感じているから行動を起こしているのではないだろうか。世論調査でも依然、反対意見が優勢だ。それを刹那的だと語ること自体が、おごりの表れだろう。

The security policy as well as the social security policy is something that should not drastically change whenever the government changes. Therefore, it is necessary to form a broad consensus on these policies.
　安保政策や社会保障政策は本来、政権が交代するたびに激変していいものではない。だから与野党の幅広い合意が必要なのである。

The government submitted the first bill aimed at deploying SDF personnel overseas to the Diet in 1990, but the LDP decided to scrap it after officials failed to explain how it could conform with the Constitution. At the same time, the LDP agreed with its now ruling coalition partner Komeito and the now defunct Democratic Socialist Party to consider opening the way for Japan to dispatch SDF troops exclusively for the purpose of participating in U.N. peacekeeping operations. The move paved the way for the enactment of the United Nations Peacekeeping Operations law.
　日本が初めて自衛隊の海外派遣を検討した９０年の国連平和協力法案は憲法との整合性などを説明できず、自民党自ら廃案を決断した。同時に自民党はＰＫＯに限定して自衛隊が参加する検討を始めることを公明党と旧民社党との間で合意し、後に３回にわたる国会審議を経てＰＫＯ法を成立させるきっかけを作った。

There are some points in the security bills over which the ruling coalition could have compromised with the largest opposition Democratic Party of Japan and other opposition parties, except for clauses on the right to collective self-defense. Nevertheless, Prime Minister Abe only urged opposition parties to choose between voting for and against all the bills, and failed to try to form a broad consensus.
　今回も集団的自衛権の関連などを除けば、民主党も含め歩み寄りが可能な点はあったはずだ。だが、首相らはすべてに賛成するのか、しないのかの選択を迫るのみで幅広い合意を形成しようという姿勢はついぞ見られなかった。

If the current situation is to continue, it would shake the foundations of Japan's parliamentary politics. The government should abandon passing the bills into law during the ongoing session and start over from scratch.
　このままでは議会政治の根幹が崩れてしまう。成立を断念して出直すよう重ねて強く求める。

毎日新聞　2015年09月15日　東京朝刊