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The Yomiuri Shimbun (Jul. 20, 2010)
Drawing up next year's budget a touchstone
財政健全化　来年度予算の編成が試金石だ（7月19日付・読売社説）

The Cabinet of Prime Minister Naoto Kan faces difficulty managing policy due to his party's debilitating defeat in the House of Councillors election. Whatever the effects of the poll, the fact that Japan faces a serious fiscal crisis remains unchanged.
　参院選での敗北で、菅内閣は難しい政策運営を迫られているが、日本が深刻な財政危機に直面する状況に変化はない。

The fiscal 2011 budget, compilation of which will start soon, must be the first step Kan takes toward putting state finances back on sound footing.
　首相は、編成作業が間もなくスタートする２０１１年度予算を、財政健全化の一歩としなければならない。

Of the 92 trillion yen in spending in the fiscal 2010 budget, a mere 37 trillion yen can be covered by tax revenue. After including nontax revenue, the 44 trillion yen shortfall must be made up for by issuing government bonds.
　歳出総額９２兆円のうち、税収で賄えるのは３７兆円だけ。税外収入をかき集めても不足する４４兆円は国債発行頼み――。これが１０年度予算の実態である。

Moreover, the combined long-term debt of the central and local governments adds up to a staggering 862 trillion yen, the worst among industrialized nations.
　加えて、国と地方を合わせた長期債務は８６２兆円と、先進国で最悪の水準だ。

Because of the concern that Japan will follow Greece on a path of fiscal meltdown, Kan called for raising the consumption tax rate and restraining government spending.
　この状況を放置すればギリシャの二の舞いになるとして、菅首相が訴えたのが消費税率引き上げであり、歳出の抑制である。

==

Spending-cut framework

The government has already established a framework for curbing spending.
　そのうち、歳出抑制については大枠が設定済みだ。

In the fiscal management strategy approved by the Cabinet last month, the government decided to cap expenditures, which consist of general-account spending and tax grants allocated to local governments, at 71 trillion yen, the figure for fiscal 2010, in the fiscal 2011 to fiscal 2013 budgets. Government bond issuance was set at no more than 44 trillion yen for fiscal 2011.
　先月閣議決定した「財政運営戦略」で、１１年度～１３年度予算では地方交付税と一般歳出を合わせた支出を、１０年度と同じ７１兆円以下にすることが決められた。また、１１年度の国債発行額は、４４兆円を上限とすることも明記された。

However, the proposed plan to cut government spending is insufficient because what was used as a reference, the fiscal 2010 budget, was a typical example of a bloated budget.
　だが、放漫財政の典型とされた１０年度予算と同じ規模では、歳出削減策として不十分だ。

The government must seriously reexamine the handout policies based on the Democratic Party of Japan's manifesto for last summer's House of Representatives election.
　昨年の衆院選で民主党が掲げた政権公約（マニフェスト）に基づくバラマキ政策を、大胆に見直すことが肝要である。

The budget for the current fiscal year includes a large portion of allocations to cover child-rearing allowances, for income compensation for farming households, and to make some expressway portions toll-free.
　１０年度予算には、子ども手当や農家への戸別所得補償、高速道路の一部無料化などに、多額の予算が計上されている。

In its campaign platform for the recent upper house poll, the DPJ pledged to maintain and expand these handout policies, raising the fear that government spending will increase further. Given the dire fiscal situation, the government cannot afford to continue such spending policies.
　民主党は参院選で、こうした政策の継続・拡大を公約しており、歳出がさらに膨らむ恐れがある。財政難のおり、こうした施策を続ける余裕はないはずだ。

With this in mind, a ceiling on budgetary requests made by government ministries and agencies becomes indispensable.
　その意味で、予算要求の段階で縛りをかける概算要求基準（シーリング）が重要となる。

===

Secure revenue sources first

In compiling the current fiscal budget, the administration of former Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama eliminated the ceiling established by the previous government formed by the Liberal Democratic Party and its coalition partner New Komeito. This led to government offices making unlimited budgetary requests and eventually to bloated government spending.
　１０年度予算では、自公政権が設定したシーリングを鳩山内閣が撤廃したため、各省庁から要求が際限なく出され、結局、削減しきれずに歳出が大きく膨らんだ。

Reflecting on this, the Kan Cabinet was scheduled to reinstate the ceiling by approving it at a Cabinet meeting Friday.
　その反省から菅内閣はシーリングを復活させ、７月２３日にも閣議了解する予定だった。

However, discussions on the reinstatement of the ceiling have not made any headway because some Cabinet ministers raised objections. Given the deadlock, it looks less likely that the Kan administration will be able to halt the increase in government spending.
　だが、一部閣僚から一律にシーリングをかけることに異論が出るなど、議論は進んでいない。これでしっかり歯止めをかけることが出来るのだろうか。

The government's fiscal management strategy incorporates the principle that a revenue source must be secured before a new policy is implemented. Cabinet ministers must comply with this principle when making budgetary requests for fiscal 2011.
　財政運営戦略には、新政策を実施する場合は、それに見合う財源を確保してから、という原則が盛り込まれた。各閣僚は、１１年度予算の要求に当たって、この原則を順守すべきである。

(From The Yomiuri Shimbun, July 19, 2010)
（2010年7月19日01時32分 読売新聞）

昨日、団地のお隣さんが交通事故で死亡しました。このおじいさんはアルコール依存症で片時もアルコールを切り離せない。酔っ払って気が大きくなり、バイクで大通りへ乗り出した直後に大型車と接触、ヘルメットもかぶってなかったので頭部を損傷、病院で息を引き取りました。病院からそのまま村のお寺に運ばれ通夜が行われました。団地の住人はこぞって参加し、このおじいさんをしのびました。タイの役所の退職者でタイ人としてはきれいな英語もしゃべっていましたが、毎日大声で団地の住民に迷惑をかけていました。最後まで酒を断たず、迷惑をかけっぱなしのこのおじいさんですが、さびしかったですね。通夜の席でおじいさんの奥さんから、よく出席してくれましたと抱きしめられましたが涙が出そうになりました。私は１０年目にしてタイの住民に受け入れられたのを実感させられました。本日もお寺へ出向き火葬の準備とうお手伝いします。

The Yomiuri Shimbun (Jul. 19, 2010)
Sumo body must shed closed culture
大相撲改革　世間の常識が通用する協会に（7月18日付・読売社説）

Stamping out evil practices that have taken deep root in the Japan Sumo Association is the only way to rebuild the national sport, which has lost public trust due to illegal gambling by sumo wrestlers and officials on pro baseball.
　野球賭博問題で信頼が地に落ちた大相撲を立て直すには、日本相撲協会に染み付いた悪弊を排除するしかない。

We hope the "independent committee concerning improvement of governance," which was inaugurated with 11 third-party members to reform the JSA, will present a road map toward the sumo body's rebirth that can fully satisfy sumo fans.
　相撲協会を改革するため、外部のメンバー１１人で発足した「ガバナンス（統治能力）の整備に関する独立委員会」には、ファンが納得する再生の道筋を示してもらいたい。

The committee, which held its first meeting Friday, is mostly discussing ways to eliminate the involvement of organized crime syndicates, prevent the recurrence of scandals and strengthen the JSA's crisis management methods, before the panel comes up with a reform proposal. These are unavoidable and important tasks for drastically overhauling the JSA.
　１６日に初会合を開いた独立委は今後、暴力団の排除、不祥事の再発防止、危機管理の強化などについて重点的に協議し、改革案をまとめる。いずれも、相撲協会の抜本改革には避けて通れない重要な課題である。

As the committee's name suggests, there is no doubt that the JSA, which is run by former sumo wrestlers, is remarkably incapable of governing its own affairs.
　独立委の名称に表れているように、力士出身者が運営する相撲協会が著しく統治能力を欠いていたことは間違いない。

===

JSA's faulty logic at issue

The thinking that "only people in the sumo world can understand sumo" has led to the JSA's closed culture. Logic that does not hold water in the world at large has put a brake on the body's own reform efforts. This is the source of the saying, "Common sense in the sumo world equals thoughtlessness in the wider world."
　「相撲のことは角界の者にしか分からない」という意識が閉鎖的な体質につながり、一般には通用しない論理が改革にブレーキをかけてきた。「角界の常識は世間の非常識」と言われるゆえんだ。

Some stablemasters opposed the appointment of Hiroyoshi Murayama, a former chief of the Tokyo High Public Prosecutors Office, to the post of acting chairman, despite the fact that the gambling scandal led to unprecedented consequences such as the dismissal of the ozeki wrestler Kotomitsuki.
　野球賭博問題では、大関琴光喜の解雇など前例のない事態を招きながらも、外部の村山弘義・元東京高検検事長が理事長代行に就くことに一部の親方は抵抗した。

What first must be eliminated is this inward-looking logic.
　まず排除しなくてはならないのは、この内向きの論理である。

Two of the current JSA directors who decide important matters for the association come from outside sumo. The JSA finally opened its doors to the outside world after the Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology Ministry requested the body appoint outsiders to its board following the 2007 case in which a teenage sumo wrestler was fatally abused by fellow wrestlers in the Tokitsukaze stable.
　相撲協会の重要事項を決定する１２人の理事のうち、外部のメンバーは２人だ。時津風部屋の暴行死事件を受け、文部科学省に外部からの登用を求められて、ようやく門戸を開いた経緯がある。

===

Reform requires outside push

However, such efforts to date have been far from satisfactory. To steadily move forward with reform at the JSA, it is necessary to increase the number of directors from outside sumo. We hope the independent committee will compile a sweeping proposal that includes increasing the number of outside JSA directors to a majority.
　だが、これでは不十分だ。改革を着実に進めるためには、外部の理事はさらに増やす必要があろう。独立委には、外部理事を全体の過半数にまで増員するなど、踏み込んだ改革案を期待したい。

The gambling scandal will not be brought to a close just because stablemasters and sumo wrestlers stopped gambling. It is said that organized crime syndicates run the gambling on pro baseball games. It is crucial and paramount that the sumo world completely cut its ties with mobsters.
　野球賭博問題は、親方や力士が賭博をやめれば一件落着というわけではない。野球賭博を仕切っているのは暴力団だとされる。大切なのは、角界が暴力団とのかかわりを完全に断つことである。

It is essential to apply stern punishment, up to and including dismissal, to stablemasters and sumo wrestlers who had relationships with organized crime syndicates.
　暴力団との付き合いを持った親方や力士には、解雇などの厳罰で臨むことが肝要だ。

The Nagoya Grand Sumo Tournament--which is being held under the extraordinary circumstances of NHK declining to broadcast live coverage of the tourney and six wrestlers in the top makuuchi division having been suspended--has entered its middle phase.
　ＮＨＫの中継中止、幕内だけで６人の力士が謹慎休場という異例の状況で開かれている名古屋場所は、中盤戦に入った。

Vacant seats are noticeable at the 15-day tourney and prize money has fallen sharply. These factors indicate the depth of the wound suffered by the JSA as a result of the recent gambling scandal.
　会場では空席が目立ち、懸賞金も激減している。今回の問題で相撲協会が負った傷がいかに深いかを物語っている。

The JSA never will be able to restore the public trust it has lost unless the body is reborn as an open organization and resolutely carries out bold reforms.
　開かれた組織へと生まれ変わり、大胆な改革を断行する――。それができなければ、相撲協会の信頼は回復しない。

(From The Yomiuri Shimbun, July 18, 2010)
（2010年7月18日01時06分 読売新聞）

The Yomiuri Shimbun (Jul. 18, 2010)
In 'guerrilla rain' fight, the key weapon is data
豪雨被害　的確な情報で早めの避難を（7月17日付・読売社説）

Torrential rains caused by a seasonal rain front have brought death and destruction to the nation, mainly in western Japan.
　西日本を中心に、梅雨前線の影響による集中豪雨の被害が相次ぐ。

A number of people have been killed or are missing. The victims were crushed in their homes by mudslides or swept away by rain-swollen rivers.
　土砂崩れで倒壊した家屋の下敷きになったり、増水した河川に流されたりして、大勢の死者・行方不明者が出ている。

In the past month, there have been over 350 reported landslides. In Matsue, a mudslide on the slope behind a private house caused two huge rocks, each measuring four meters in diameter, to strike the building, killing two residents. In Yaotsucho, Gifu Prefecture, a mudslide crushed a private house, killing three residents.
　とりわけ土砂災害は、このひと月余りで３５０件を超えた。

　松江市では、住宅裏の斜面が崩れて、直径４メートルの岩２個が民家を直撃、２人が死亡した。岐阜県八百津町でも民家が押しつぶされ、住人が死亡した。

===

Landslides must be studied

In recent years, experts have attributed large-scale mudslides to the so-called deep-seated landslide mechanism. Heavy rain soaks into cracks in the bedrock, which has been weakened over time, and when the bedrock collapses downhill, it takes a large volume of upper soil with it.
　近年、専門家からは、大規模な土砂崩れについて「深層崩壊」というメカニズムが指摘されている。長い間に風化した岩盤の亀裂に大雨がしみこみ、脆弱(ぜいじゃく)化した岩盤ごと大量の土砂が崩落する。

Unlike shallow landslides, which can be prevented to a certain degree through good forestry practices, there are no known measures to prevent the occurrence of deep-seated landslides. We consider it necessary to urgently study what steps could be taken.
　森林保全で一定の予防ができる表層崩壊と違い、発生を防ぐ手だては今のところないという。対応策の研究を急ぐ必要がある。

Meanwhile, the phenomenon of so-called guerrilla rain--sudden downpours into relatively narrow zones, mainly in urban areas--has attracted attention in recent years. Such rain is caused mainly by cumulonimbus clouds that form in a clash of warm and cold air. But some experts think the urban heat island phenomenon and global warming trends have a causal relationship to the sudden downpours.
　一方、都市部を中心に、狭い地域を突然襲う「ゲリラ豪雨」も近年の特徴だ。冷たい空気と暖かい空気がぶつかってできる積乱雲が主な原因だが、ヒートアイランド現象や地球温暖化との関係を指摘する専門家もいる。

Guerrilla rain is frightening in that it is difficult to predict and the damage it causes occurs all at once.
　襲来予測が難しく、被害が一気に発生するのが怖いところだ。

In the summer of 2008, five workers died in Tokyo after being washed away by a surge in sewer water while working underground. Also that summer, a swollen river killed five people, including primary school children, in Kobe.
一昨年夏には都内でマンホール内の水が急増して作業員５人が死亡。神戸市内でも川が増水して小学生ら５人が死亡した。

On July 5 this year, an intense rainfall of 107 millimeters per hour was recorded in Tokyo's Itabashi Ward.
東京・板橋では５日、１時間に１０７ミリという猛烈な雨が観測されている。

To prevent damage from heavy rain, it is essential to have highly accurate weather forecasts and to issue appropriate warnings. Such information must be adequately conveyed by local governments to residents in affected areas. It is imperative that those residents be advised to evacuate if necessary as soon as possible.
　豪雨被害の防止には、精度の高い気象予測と警報の発令、それを自治体が的確に住民に伝え、早めの避難を勧めることが大切だ。

The Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism Ministry has started introducing advanced radar systems capable of accurately measuring the strength of precipitation mainly in major cities. Such radar can also be used to predict situations in wide areas affected by heavy rain. There also are private-sector services offering guerrilla rain forecasts on mobile phone sites.
　国土交通省は大都市を中心に、雨の強さが正確に計測できる高性能レーダーの導入を進めている。集中豪雨の広範な周辺状況まで観測できる。民間でも携帯電話サイトを使ったゲリラ豪雨の予報サービスが登場している。

Since late May, the Meteorological Agency has issued warnings and advisories on heavy rain and floods in a much more detailed manner as it increased the number of forecasting areas from 375 to 1,777 to correspond to each municipality.
　気象庁は５月末から、大雨や洪水などの警報・注意報を、従来の全国３７５地域から市町村単位（１７７７地域）に細分化して発表するようにした。

===

Stay alert to stay safe

We urge each municipal government to effectively use such information to issue advisories and instructions for evacuations of local residents. It also is important that local governments regularly conduct disaster drills and establish systems to provide local residents with necessary information via community wireless services and other means in the event of an emergency.
　市町村には、これらの情報を住民避難の勧告や指示に、有効に生かしてもらいたい。日ごろから避難訓練を実施し、いざという時には防災無線などを使って必要な情報が確実に住民に届く体制作りをしておくことも重要だ。

As the rainy season winds down across the nation, summer vacations will soon start for schoolchildren. We are entering a holiday season during which people flock to beaches, mountains and rivers. People must not forget to take precautions against rain and flood disasters wherever they go.
　列島は南から順次、梅雨が明ける。子供たちの夏休みも始まる。海・山・川がにぎわうシーズンだ。どこへ行っても雨と水への警戒を怠らないようにしたい。

(From The Yomiuri Shimbun, July 17, 2010)
（2010年7月17日01時49分 読売新聞）

The Yomiuri Shimbun (Jul. 17, 2010)
Prosecutors should keep Ozawa in sights
第１検察審議決　小沢氏不起訴にまた疑問符（7月16日付・読売社説）

A panel for the inquest of prosecution has again pointed out shortcomings in the investigations into former Democratic Party of Japan Secretary General Ichiro Ozawa over a scandal involving his political funds management organization. Prosecutors must take this situation gravely.
　民主党の小沢前幹事長に対する捜査の不十分さが、検察審査会から改めて指摘された。検察は重く受け止めるべきだ。

Public attention is focused on whether the Tokyo No. 5 Committee for the Inquest of Prosecution will recommend for the second time that Ozawa should be indicted. The Tokyo No. 1 Committee for the Inquest of Prosecution made a separate conclusion Thursday that it was "unjust" for prosecutors not to have indicted Ozawa over the funds body's alleged falsification of its 2007 political funds report.
　東京第５検察審が小沢氏の強制起訴につながる２度目の議決を出すかどうかが注目される中、これとは別に、東京第１検察審が「不起訴不当」の議決をした。

Three of Ozawa's former secretaries, including House of Representatives member Tomohiro Ishikawa, have been indicted on suspicion of making false entries into political funds reports for 2004, 2005 and 2007 to hide a shady transfer of 400 million yen the funds management body, Rikuzan-kai, used for the purchase of a plot of land in Tokyo.
　小沢氏の資金管理団体「陸山会」が都内の土地を購入する際に使った４億円を隠蔽(いんぺい)するため、２００４年、０５年、０７年分の収支報告書に虚偽記入をしたとして、石川知裕衆院議員ら小沢氏の元秘書３人が起訴された。

===

Waiting for 2nd conclusion

However, the Tokyo District Public Prosecutors Office decided not to indict Ozawa due to lack of evidence. Because civilians dissatisfied with this decision filed for a review of the case, the No. 5 panel has been reexamining whether the prosecutors' decision was appropriate regarding the false entries for 2004 and 2005, while the No. 1 panel did likewise for the 2007 report.
　しかし検察は、小沢氏については嫌疑不十分で不起訴とした。これを不服とする市民らの申し立てを受け、０４年分と０５年分の虚偽記入については第５検察審、０７年分については第１検察審が処分の妥当性を審査してきた。

The No. 5 committee in late April concluded Ozawa "merits indictment." This panel is now reviewing the case for the second time after the prosecutors office again said it would not indict Ozawa.
If the No. 5 panel again concludes Ozawa should be indicted, the ruling party bigwig will face mandatory indictment.
　第５検察審は４月末、１度目の「起訴相当」の結論を出し、検察の再度の不起訴処分を受けて２度目の審査段階にある。次に「起訴すべき」との議決が出れば、小沢氏は強制起訴される。

A DPJ presidential election is scheduled for September. As such, the timing of the No. 5 panel's second conclusion has become a focus of mounting concern, especially among politicians with a stake in the race and its outcome.
　９月には民主党代表選が予定されており、再議決の時期は政治的にも関心が高まっている。

If prosecutors decide not to indict Ozawa after their investigation despite the No. 1 committee's "unjust" decision, there will be no second review of the case by the panel.
　今回の「不起訴不当」議決に対しては、検察が再捜査で不起訴とすると、２度目の審査はない。

Nevertheless, the panel flatly stated that Ozawa's explanation to the prosecutors--that he left the entry of data into the reports entirely to his secretaries--was "unnatural" and demanded prosecutors conduct a more exhaustive investigation.
　とはいえ、第１検察審は、「秘書に任せていた」という小沢氏の弁明を「不自然である」と言い切り、検察に、これまで以上に徹底した捜査を迫っている。

Regarding false entries in the political funds reports, the panel concluded that confessions by Ishikawa and another former secretary--they claim they told Ozawa they would not enter the 400 million yen transaction into the reports and received Ozawa's approval for the omission--are credible. The panel said they could not escape the belief that the prosecutors' questioning of Ozawa "did not go far enough."
　報告書への不記載について、小沢氏に報告し、了承を得たという石川議員や別の元秘書の供述を信用できるとした上で、小沢氏に対する検察の聴取を「追及不足の印象は免れない」と批判した。

===

Unusual demands

The panel also demanded the prosecutors ask Ozawa and the former secretaries to submit pocketbooks and notes in which they recorded their activities and check them against the facts. It is quite unusual for members of the panel, who are chosen from the public, to make such demands on investigation methods to prosecutors.
　元秘書や小沢氏から、行動を記録しているはずの手帳やメモを提出させ、事実関係の裏付けをとるよう求めている。市民から選ばれた審査員が、捜査方法にまで注文を付けるのは異例のことだ。

The panel has implicitly warned the prosecutors not to simply go through the motions by deciding the outcome before even starting their investigation. We urge the prosecutors to leave no stone unturned in their investigation.
　検察が結論ありきの形式的な再捜査をすることに、クギを刺したということだろう。検察は捜査を尽くすべきである。

Ozawa appeared emboldened by the prosecutors' decision not to indict him and has refused to give any explanation about the scandal at the Diet. The possibility that Ozawa might take the stand at the House of Representatives Deliberative Council on Political Ethics has been left up in the air.
　小沢氏は、検察の不起訴処分を自らに有利に解釈し、国会でも一切の説明を拒んできた。衆院政治倫理審査会への出席も、うやむやになってしまった。

The Tokyo No. 1 panel's conclusion was a resounding "no" to Ozawa's refusal to clear up this matter. We again urge Ozawa to fulfill his responsibility to clearly explain to the public his involvement--if any--in the alleged wrongdoing.
　第１検察審の議決は、小沢氏のこうした姿勢にも「ノー」を突きつけたものだ。小沢氏に重ねて求められるのは、国民への説明責任を果たすことである。

(From The Yomiuri Shimbun, July 16, 2010)
（2010年7月16日01時17分 読売新聞）

The Yomiuri Shimbun (Jul. 16, 2010)
Arrest of ex-bank head debunks reformist mask
振興銀首脳逮捕　“改革派”の仮面がはがれた（7月15日付・読売社説）

Former Incubator Bank of Japan Chairman Takeshi Kimura, incumbent President Tatsuya Nishino and three other former and current executives have been arrested on suspicion of violating the Banking Law by obstructing an audit of the Financial Services Agency.
　日本振興銀行の木村剛前会長や西野達也社長ら５人が、銀行法違反（検査忌避）の疑いで警視庁に逮捕された。

As financial inspections by the agency loomed last year, the then executives deleted--on Kimura's orders--280 e-mails likely to have been of interest to the inspectors.
　金融庁の検査の際、見られては都合の悪い電子メール２８０通を、木村前会長の指示で削除していたという。

Suspicions of other shady behavior by the bank have since emerged. We hope the Metropolitan Police Department uncovers the whole truth of the case through an exhaustive investigation.
　振興銀をめぐっては、検査忌避以外にも様々な疑惑が浮上している。警視庁は徹底した捜査で全容を解明してほしい。

Kimura, who started his business career as a Bank of Japan official, served as a brain truster of Heizo Takenaka, who was state minister in charge of economic, fiscal and financial policy in Junichiro Koizumi's administration. Later, Kimura established the Incubator Bank of Japan with like-minded comrades at the Junior Chamber International Tokyo. The bank's motto was to support small and midsize enterprises.
　木村前会長は日銀出身で、小泉政権時代に竹中平蔵元金融相のブレーンを務めた。その後、東京青年会議所の有志らと、中小企業支援を掲げ振興銀を旗揚げした。

Against the backdrop of structural reform pushed by Koizumi's administration, market fundamentalism and the "profit-comes-first" principle based on the law-of-the-jungle philosophy had many strong followers among young entrepreneurs.
　小泉政権時代、構造改革路線を背景に、市場原理主義や弱肉強食の利益最優先の風潮が若手起業家らの間に強まった。

This excessive worship of money was exemplified by the window-dressing case that battered Livedoor Co., including its former president, Takafumi Horie, and insider trading committed by the so-called Murakami Fund, whose president was Yoshiaki Murakami.
　その中で、堀江貴文・ライブドア元社長の粉飾決算や、村上世彰元代表のファンドによるインサイダー取引など拝金主義を象徴する事件が起きた。

===

Unjustifiable actions

During this period, Kimura prided himself as being a standard-bearer of financial reform. In the end, however, he betrayed himself--just like Horie and Murakami did.
　同時期に金融改革の旗手を自任した木村前会長も、結局、彼らと同様に馬脚をあらわした。

Despite once being deeply involved in financial administration, Kimura now is a suspect in a criminal case. His alleged actions cannot be justified.
金融行政に深く関与した経験がありながら、自ら事件を起こすとは、言語道断と言わざるを得ない。

Writer Go Egami, who was one of the bank's outside directors, has been appointed as the bank's new president.
　逮捕された西野社長の後任には振興銀の社外取締役を務める作家の江上剛氏が就く。

Egami has written about his days as a banker at the defunct Dai-Ichi Kangyo Bank. In one memorable episode, he pressed the Dai-Ichi Kangyo management to terminate its ties with sokaiya corporate racketeers.
The management environment at Incubator Bank is severe. As president, Egami must tread a thorny path.
　旧第一勧業銀行の行員時代、総会屋との決別を経営陣に迫った逸話は有名だが、振興銀の経営環境は極めて厳しく、江上新社長は茨(いばら)の道を歩むことになろう。

It has become apparent that the bank put profit-making before all else, while projecting itself as "the friend of small and midsize enterprises."
　中小企業の味方という振興銀の看板の裏には、利益のためなら手段を選ばぬ実態があった。

The bank allegedly charged a hefty commission when asking major moneylender SFCG Co. to buy back loan claims. This, in effect, was the equivalent of imposing an illegally high interest rate of about 46 percent, far above the upper limit stipulated in the Investment Deposit and Interest Rate Law, according to investigation sources. SFCG, which earned an unsavory reputation for its strong-arm loan collection methods, is undergoing bankruptcy procedures. The bank disguised the transactions as legitimate trades of loan claims. However, a healthy bank would not make such moves that took away proceeds from a loan shark facing difficulties raising funds.
　強引な取り立てで問題になった商工ローン「ＳＦＣＧ」（破産手続き中）に、出資法の上限を上回る年４６％の暴利で融資した。表向きは適法な債権売買を装い、資金繰りに窮した高利貸しの上前をはねる取引と言える。

===

More suspicions remain

Incubator Bank also allegedly recommended a person affiliated with the bank be appointed as an executive to a company that had applied for a loan, and pressed the applicant firm to accept the plan. The person consequently took control of the firm's management. The bank thus had shades of a corporate raider.
　融資を頼んできた会社に、振興銀の息のかかった人物を役員に推薦して受け入れを強要し、経営の主導権を奪うなど、乗っ取りまがいの行為もあった。

The FSA inspections that began last year exposed the bank's illegal activities. But we wonder if the agency could have detected the bank's true nature--and penchant for breaking the rules--much earlier.
　金融庁は昨年からの検査で違法行為を暴いたが、ルール無視に染まった銀行の実態を、もっと早くつかめなかったのか。

Investigators will try to trace the inner workings of a group of the bank's client companies, a network established under Kimura's presidency. The bank extended loans to these member firms, which in turn accepted requests to boost the bank's capital.
　木村前会長を中心に、取引先の中小企業で結成したグループの実態解明も焦点だ。振興銀が会員企業に融資する一方で、会員企業は振興銀の増資に応じていた。

We wonder whether such loans and capital increases were legal. The MPD should get to the bottom of this matter, too.
　融資や増資は適正だったのか、警視庁はこうした点についても真相を明らかにすべきだ。

(From The Yomiuri Shimbun, July 15, 2010)
（2010年7月15日01時01分 読売新聞）