英字新聞
読売、毎日、朝日各社英字新聞の主として社説を学習研究します

2011/09/24
--The Asahi Shimbun, Sept. 23
EDITORIAL: Summit a starting point for rebuilding Japan-U.S. ties
日米首脳会談―外交立て直しの起点に

Japan's diplomacy is back at the starting line -- again.
　外交もまた出直しである。

During his visit to New York to address the U.N. General Assembly, Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda met with U.S. President Barack Obama.
　野田首相が国連総会出席のため、ニューヨークを訪れ、まずオバマ米大統領と会談した。

They agreed to strengthen the Japan-U.S. alliance.
　両首脳は日米同盟の深化で一致した。

Noda said proudly after the summit, "I got off to a good start in forging a personal relationship of trust (with him)."
首相は会談後、「個人的な信頼関係を築くいいスタートが切れた」と自賛した。

Good. Obama has been in office for less than three years, but he already has met four Japanese prime ministers--Taro Aso, Yukio Hatoyama, Naoto Kan and now Noda.
　それにしてもである。
　就任から３年に満たないオバマ大統領が会う日本の首相は、麻生、鳩山、菅各氏に続いて、野田氏で実に４人目である。

In this age when summits figure prominently in world affairs, such frequent changes of leadership cannot be conducive to the development of strategic diplomacy.
　首脳外交の時代に、これだけトップがころころと交代していては、戦略的な外交の展開など望むべくもない。

Nor could any true relationship of trust be forged between leaders in just one brief meeting.
　首脳間の本当の信頼関係は、たった１度の短い会談でできるはずもない。

Building mutual trust requires giving due consideration to each other's brief agenda while keeping one's word, and working together to meet various challenges.
相手の国内的な立場にも配慮しつつ、約束を誠実に履行する。

Steady collaboration, backed by constant effort, is the key.
そして、手を取り合って課題に立ち向かう。
こうした地道な連携を重ねて初めて実現する。

Noda has only just got to the starting line.
その努力は、すべてこれからだ。

The biggest obstacle in Japan-U.S. relations is the relocation issue concerning the U.S. Marine Corps Air Station Futenma in Okinawa Prefecture.
　いまの日米関係に突き刺さった最大のトゲは、沖縄県の米軍普天間飛行場の移設問題だ。

Even though Obama was meeting with Noda for the first time, he made no bones about wanting tangible results. 　大統領は初顔合わせにもかかわらず、具体的な結果を明確に求めてきた。

Noda responded that he would "do his utmost to win the understanding of the people of Okinawa" to act on the current Japan-U.S. agreement.
首相も日米合意の実現に「沖縄の理解を得るよう全力を尽くす」と応じた。

Washington's irritation with the absence of progress on the Japanese side is quite understandable.
　現行計画が一向に進まず、米国側がいらだつ事情はわかる。

But it is now obvious to anyone that "winning the understanding of the people of Okinawa," as Noda put it, is a pipe dream.
しかし、首相のいう「沖縄の理解」がもはや得られそうにないことは、誰の目にも明らかだ。

Okinawa Governor Hirokazu Nakaima recently spoke in the United States and demanded in no unclear terms that the Futenma airfield be relocated to outside his prefecture.
　つい最近も、沖縄県の仲井真弘多知事が米国で講演し、きっぱりと県外移設を求めた。

Should Tokyo and Washington forcibly implement their agreement, Nakaima warned, "There will be a vehement anti-base movement throughout the prefecture, and this could negatively impact the Japan-U.S. Security Treaty."
日米合意が強行されれば「全県的な激しい基地反対運動につながり、日米安保体制に悪影響を及ぼしかねない」と警告もした。

Nakaima's message, conveyed directly to people in the United States, carries tremendous weight.
　知事が米国社会に向けて直接発したメッセージは重い。

If the security treaty is to be maintained in a stable fashion, Tokyo and Washington have no choice but to explore workable plans.
　日米安保体制の安定的な維持のため、両国政府はともに打開策を探るしかあるまい。

The practicability and resilience of the alliance are being tested.
同盟の知恵としなやかさが試される。

In his foreign policy debut, Noda confirmed the Japan-U.S. alliance as the basis of Japanese diplomacy.
　野田外交は、基軸である日米同盟の確認からスタートした。

Noda is now required to confirm Japan's position in the multipolar world of international politics and pursue sincere but tough diplomacy.
そこから、多極化する国際政治での日本の立ち位置を確認しつつ、誠実かつしたたかに展開をしていくことが求められる。

For that, he must help create a stable order in East Asia and the Asia-Pacific region based on a strong Japan-U.S. relationship.
　そのためには、強固な日米関係を土台に、東アジア、さらにはアジア太平洋地域の安定的な秩序をつくることだ。

In particular, he must attempt to mend relations with China, which derailed after a row over the disputed Senkaku Islands in the East China Sea last year.
とりわけ、昨年の尖閣事件で一時、冷え込んだ中国との関係を本格的に改善する必要がある。

Noda is scheduled to visit China in October, and then he will participate in multilateral diplomacy through the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum in the United States and the East Asia Summit in Indonesia, both in November.
　１０月に首相の訪中が予定され、１１月にはアジア太平洋経済協力会議や東アジアサミットといった多国間外交の舞台が控える。

We hope he will use these occasions to produce a rounded picture of Japanese diplomacy.
首相には、そうした一連の機会を通して、日本外交の全体像を紡ぎ出していってほしい。

The Yomiuri Shimbun (Sep. 23, 2011)
Establish policy-making system that gets job done
政策決定過程　機能するシステムを構築せよ（9月22日付・読売社説）

The government and the Democratic Party of Japan are broadly rethinking their policy-making process.
　政府・民主党が政策決定過程の大幅な見直しを進めている。

The administration of Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda and his ruling party should establish a policy-making framework that can function effectively, drawing on the bitter lesson learned from the turmoil experienced under the governments of his predecessors, Yukio Hatoyama and Naoto Kan.
鳩山、菅両政権での混乱を教訓に、機能性の高いシステムを構築すべきだ。

The Noda administration has created a council of representatives from the government and the ruling parties in preparation for the compilation of the next fiscal budget.
The council comprises the prime minister, relevant Cabinet members, and chief policymakers and other senior officials from the DPJ and its junior coalition partner, the People's New Party.
　野田政権は、来年度予算の編成に向けて、首相、関係閣僚と民主、国民新両党の政調会長らで構成する「予算編成に関する政府・与党会議」を新設した。

The move is intended to clearly show the government and the ruling parties are ready and willing to act as one in putting together the new budget.
政府・与党一体となって取り組む姿勢を明確にするのが狙いである。

Noda has already said government policies will be finalized only after obtaining consent from the chairman of the DPJ Policy Research Committee.
　野田首相は既に、民主党の政策調査会長の了承を政策決定の前提とする方針を示している。

He has also reinstated the DPJ Tax Research Commission, which the party scrapped when it came into power two years ago.
廃止した党税制調査会も復活させた。

In addition, the prime minister has established a six-member council that will grant final approval for major government policies.
The new organ includes the prime minister, the DPJ secretary general and other representatives from the party's top three organs.
政策の最終決定機関として、首相、幹事長ら６人による「政府・民主三役会議」も設けた。

===

Party more prominent

Taken as a whole, the ruling parties are more strongly represented in the new policy-making framework than in the past.
　総じて党の力が強まった。

This shows the DPJ has, in effect, retracted its pledge to ensure the government assumes the sole responsibility for policy-making--a promise that was trumpeted in the party's manifesto for the 2009 general election--instead of sharing that task with the ruling party.
民主党が政権公約（マニフェスト）で掲げた「政策決定の政府への一元化」を事実上転換したものだ。

The DPJ Policy Research Committee was scrapped by Hatoyama's administration, but this hampered efforts to smoothly coordinate policy, leaving many DPJ members strongly dissatisfied with their lack of involvement in the process.
　鳩山政権は、党政策調査会を廃止したが、政策調整は円滑に進まず、党側に強い不満も生じた。

Kan's government reinstated the DPJ's policy research panel, but only as an organ tasked with advancing policy proposals. Ultimately, the committee was merely used as a tool for party members to vent their frustration.
菅政権は、党政調会に提言機能を持たせたものの、実際は「ガス抜き」の場にとどまった。

It is safe to say the attempts by the Hatoyama and Kan governments to better promote policy coordination ended up as idealistic but unrealistic slogans, due to the lack of experience and ability displayed in that undertaking by senior officials of the government and the ruling coalition.
　両政権の試みは、政府・与党幹部の力量不足により、理念倒れに終わったと言えよう。

We find it reasonable for Noda to reconsider relations between the government and the DPJ, apparently hoping to avoid going the same way as Hatoyama and Kan.
　野田首相が、その二の舞いを避けようと、政府と民主党の関係を見直すのは理解できる。

The current divided Diet--the opposition-controlled House of Councillors and the ruling coalition-dominated House of Representatives--can pose a dilemma for the government. In many instances, it will be impossible to translate government policies into action unless a consensus is formed between the ruling and opposition camps through negotiations.
　衆参ねじれ国会の場合、与野党協議を経ないと政策を実現できないケースが多い。

Given this, greater policy-making power vested in the DPJ-PNP ruling coalition would benefit the parties when it comes to policy negotiations with the opposition camp.
与党の権限を強化することは、野党との協議にプラスに働くだろう。

===

Doubts remain

However, we have some misgivings about the new policy-making structure.
　しかし、懸念もある。

The ruling parties could come to hold more power than the government, leaving important government policies at the mercy of the ruling coalition.
政府を上回る権限を与党が持つ「党高政低」になり、党側の意向に重要政策が左右されかねないことだ。

The fortunes of the Noda administration depend on whether it will be able to properly deal with immediate tasks, including plans to temporarily increase taxes for post-quake reconstruction and raise the consumption tax rate to help rework the social security system.
Key issues also include whether the nation will join negotiations over the Trans-Pacific Partnership multilateral trade pact.
　復興財源の臨時増税や社会保障制度改革のための消費税率引き上げ、環太平洋経済連携協定（ＴＰＰ）参加など、当面の課題の成否に政権の浮沈がかかっている。

Efforts by Noda to tackle these challenges at his initiative should not be frustrated as a result of resistance from DPJ officials and members.
　野田首相が主導するこれらの政策が、党側の抵抗で頓挫するような事態は避けるべきだ。

The DPJ's top cadre, including party Secretary General Azuma Koshiishi and Policy Research Committee Chairman Seiji Maehara, should work together in harmony with the Cabinet to exercise sufficient leadership over their party.
　輿石幹事長、前原政調会長ら党執行部は内閣と呼吸を合わせて党側を統率する必要がある。

The top echelon will be tested over whether it can make the DPJ shed its existing image as "a ruling party that cannot make decisions."
「物事を決められない政権党」から脱皮するための指導力が問われる。

The Noda administration is also considering a plan to create an organ tentatively called the "national policy council" that will lead economic and fiscal management.
　野田政権には、経済財政運営の司令塔となる「国家戦略会議」の構想もある。

We hope the government will make clear-cut decisions about what kind of role will be played by which government organ.
何をどこで決めるか、役割分担を明確にしてほしい。

If the policy-making system used by the government and the ruling coalition is vested with greater transparency and functions properly, we believe the opposition parties will find it easier to join negotiations with the ruling camp.
　政府・与党の政策決定システムが透明性を高め、機能すれば、野党側も与党との協議に乗りやすくなるだろう。

The prime minister must strive to set up a framework that would facilitate consensus between the ruling and opposition camps over policy issues.
首相は、合意形成に向けた、与野党の枠組み作りにも努力しなければならない。

(From The Yomiuri Shimbun, Sept. 22, 2011)
（2011年9月22日01時55分 読売新聞）

The Yomiuri Shimbun (Sep. 22, 2011)
Cyber-attacks on defense contractor are 'acts of war'
サイバー攻撃　防衛産業狙った“戦争行為”だ（9月21日付・読売社説）

The recent cyber-attacks on a leading Japanese defense contactor must be taken extremely seriously.
　日本を代表する防衛産業を標的にした、深刻なサイバー攻撃である。

About 80 servers and personal computers of Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd. were found to have been infected with computer viruses after being penetrated from outside the company.
　三菱重工業のサーバーやパソコン約８０台が外部からの侵入を受け、コンピューターウイルスに感染していたことが明らかになった。

The hacked machines were at MHI's 11 key manufacturing plants across the country, including factories that produce submarines, destroyers and nuclear power plants.
　被害は全国１１拠点に及び、潜水艦や護衛艦、原子力プラントを建造する工場も含まれている。

The viruses are considered dangerous because they are designed to remotely operate infected PCs from outside to steal information.
　発見されたウイルスは、パソコンを外部から操作し、情報の流出を可能にする危険なものだ。

IHI Corp., another heavy electric machinery maker, has suffered similar cyber-attacks.
同種の攻撃はＩＨＩも受けていた。

===

A national security threat

At present, there has been no confirmation that MHI's product information has been leaked. But if defense secrets are stolen, it will have a grave impact on public safety and national security.
　現時点で製品情報の流出は確認されていないが、もし防衛機密が盗まれれば、国の治安や安全保障にも重大な影響を与える。

After being contacted by MHI, the Metropolitan Police Department has launched an investigation into the incident as a case of suspected espionage.
　三菱重工から相談を受けた警視庁は、スパイ事件の疑いがあるとみて捜査を始めた。

All-out efforts must be made to identify the perpetrator or perpetrators.
攻撃者の特定に全力を挙げてもらいたい。

There is a high possibility the attacks on MHI were launched overseas.
　今回の攻撃は海外から行われた可能性が高い。

The records of the infected servers showed they were connected with Web sites in China and Hong Kong.
感染サーバーが中国や香港などのサイトに接続された記録があった。

An analysis of the viruses showed text in Chinese appeared on a screen for a hacker to remotely control the infected PCs.
ウイルスの解析結果によると、攻撃者が操作する画面で中国語が使われていた。

When the National Police Agency Web site was inundated with a massive amount of data last September and July this year, 90 percent of the data was found to have originated in China.
　昨年９月と今年７月、警察庁のホームページに大量のデータが送り付けられた攻撃では、ともに発信元の９割が中国だった。

Cyber-attacks on government organizations and businesses have occurred frequently in recent years.
　近年、各国の政府機関や企業に対するサイバー攻撃が相次いでいる。

The United States unveiled a policy in July that would allow the country to take rigorous measures against cyber-attacks, which it considers acts of war.
米国は７月、サイバー攻撃を戦争行為とみなして対処する厳しい姿勢を打ち出した。

It is urgent to build an international system for jointly investigating cyber-attacks.
　サイバー攻撃に対する国際的な捜査協力体制の構築が急務だ。

===

International cooperation network

The United States and major European nations have signed the Convention on Cybercrime to cooperate in such fields as the provision of investigative information.
　欧米の主要国は「サイバー犯罪条約」に加盟し、捜査情報の提供などで緊密に連携している。

In June, Japan at long last finished the domestic legal process needed to join the pact.
日本はようやく今年、加盟に必要な国内法の整備を終えた。
条約加盟を早急に実現させねばならない。

To deter cyber-attacks, it is crucial that affected parties share information about the damage incurred and use this data so damage can be prevented from expanding and security measures can be improved.
　サイバー攻撃の抑止には、関係者が被害情報を共有し、被害の拡大防止とセキュリティー対策の向上に生かすことも欠かせない。

Questions have been raised about why MHI did not report the virus infection to the Defense Ministry immediately after it realized in mid-August that it had been attacked.
　疑問なのは、三菱重工が８月中旬にウイルス感染を把握しながら、防衛省に報告していなかったことだ。

If information about contracts for equipment involving defense secrets is thought to have been leaked, contractors are required to inform the ministry immediately.
防衛上の重要機密に関わる装備品の契約では、情報漏えいの疑いがある場合、防衛省への速やかな報告が定められている。

How will the government offices concerned--including the Defense Ministry, the NPA and the Economy, Trade and Industry Ministry--handle this case in which companies involved in defense and advanced technologies are targeted by cyber-attacks?
　防衛や先端技術に関連する企業が攻撃された場合、防衛省、警察庁、経済産業省などの関係省庁はどう対処するのか。

Their systems for working together need to be reexamined and strengthened.
省庁間の連携強化へ体制の再点検も必要だ。

In August, the NPA and 4,000 domestic firms inaugurated a network system to share information on cyber-attacks.
　警察庁と国内企業４０００社は８月、サイバー攻撃に関する情報を共有するためのネットワークを発足させた。

The public and private sectors should bolster their cooperation in such fields as fostering personnel with the skills to combat computer viruses.
ウイルス対策に精通した人材の育成も含め、官民の協力を一層進めてほしい。

(From The Yomiuri Shimbun, Sept. 21, 2011)
（2011年9月21日01時27分 読売新聞）

2011/09/21
--The Asahi Shimbun, Sept. 20
EDITORIAL: U.S. must play role of fair mediator in the Middle East.
テロ後１０年の中東―和平と繁栄の春につなげ

Violence begets violence.
　暴力は暴力を生む。

A series of wars, conflicts and other acts of violence that have occurred during the 10 years since the Sept. 11 terror attacks against the United States in 2001 have forced all of us to confront this grim truth.
　米同時多発テロから１０年間で起きた数々の暴力を目の当たりにして、誰もがその思いを強めたことだろう。

The United States responded to the terror attacks by launching wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. During that time, the Palestinian conflict intensified while strife among religious sects in Iraq deepened.
　多発テロを受けて米国が始めたアフガニスタン戦争とイラク戦争、それに並行してパレスチナ紛争の激化、イラクの宗派間抗争。

Terrorists staged large-scale attacks in the Middle East, Europe and Asia.
中東、欧州、アジアで大規模なテロが続いた。

After the bloodshed of the past decade, the revolutions that unfolded in Tunisia and Egypt, where peaceful demonstrations by citizens toppled dictatorships, were all the more striking and amazing events.
　それだけに、チュニジアとエジプトで民衆の平和的なデモが独裁を倒した革命は、鮮烈だった。

The wave of democratization in the Middle East, which has come to be called the "Arab Spring," has brought a ray of hope to the region by showing that the cycle of destruction can now be replaced by the process of construction.
「アラブの春」と呼ばれる中東民主化の波は、破壊から建設に向かう希望の光である。

The former U.S. administration of President George W. Bush started the war in Iraq, saying it was determined to advance the cause of democratization of the Middle East.
　「中東民主化」はイラク戦争後、ブッシュ米前政権が強力に提案した。

As a result, elections went ahead in various parts of the region, including Iraq, Egypt and the Palestinian territory.
イラクやエジプト、パレスチナなど中東各地で選挙が実施された。

Saudi Arabia held its first local assembly votes.
サウジアラビアも初の地方議会選挙をした。

But no real progress toward democracy was achieved.
　しかし、民主化は定着しなかった。

The elections resulted in increased political strength and influence of anti-America, anti-Israel groups such as the Muslim Brotherhood of Egypt and Hamas of the Palestinian Authority. After these developments, the United States stopped talking about democratization of the region.
選挙の結果、エジプトのムスリム同胞団やパレスチナ自治政府のハマスなど、反米・反イスラエルのイスラム勢力が軒並み選挙で伸び、米国は民主化を言わなくなった。

--People standing up--
■立ち上がった民衆

Autocratic governments in the Middle East took advantage of America's silence to roll back the movement toward democracy.
　米国の沈黙をいいことに、中東の民主化は後退した。

During Egypt's parliamentary elections last November, the authorities manipulated the vote to eliminate opposition forces.
昨年末のエジプト議会選挙は当局の圧力で、野党勢力は排除された。

As their authoritarian governments refused to embrace change, people in the Arab world became aware of their power to move their nations toward democracy and stood up against the dictatorships.
変わらぬ政治に、アラブ民衆は民主化の主体として目覚め、強権に向かって立ち上がった。

Libya, where protests against the regime boiled over into civil war, has started moving toward establishing an interim government.
　内戦になったリビアもやっと暫定政府に向けて動き出した。

The people are gaining political power not only in the countries where the old autocratic governments have already collapsed, but also elsewhere in the region.
すでに強権体制が倒れた国だけでなく、すべての国々で民衆の声は力を持ち始めている。

Syria has been caught up in protests for the past seven months despite a ferocious government crackdown.
　シリアでは弾圧にもかかわらず、７カ月にわたってデモが続く。

In another sign of the sea change occurring in the region, a growing number of women in Saudi Arabia are beginning to drive cars in open defiance of an official ban on female drivers. And women have been posting images and videos of themselves behind the wheel on the Internet.
女性の運転を禁じるサウジで女性たちが次々と運転し、その映像をネットで公開する動きも、同じ流れの中にある。

There are also some troubling moves.
　憂慮すべき動きもある。

In Egypt, angry protests provoked by the recent killing of Egyptian soldiers by Israeli forces led to the storming of a building housing the Israeli Embassy in Cairo.
エジプトではイスラエル軍の銃撃でエジプト人兵士が死亡した事件をきっかけにイスラエル大使館への抗議デモが始まり、ビルに押し入る過激な行動になった。

There is strong criticism among Egyptians against such violent actions.
　エジプトの国民にも過激な動きには批判が強い。

Demonstrations, when they spiral out of control, can lead to xenophobia, upsetting the balance of peace.
デモの暴走は排外主義となり、地域の平和を乱す。

The country is susceptible to disturbances partly because elections have been delayed and there is not yet a legitimate parliament or government in place.
混乱に押さえがきかないのは、選挙の実施が遅れ、正統な議会や政府が発足していないためでもある。

It is clearly necessary to quicken the process of democratization.
民主化プロセスを急ぐ必要がある。

If elections are held, it is certain that Islamic groups will sharply increase their parliamentary strength.
　選挙となれば、イスラム勢力が躍進することは確実である。

We hope these groups will transform themselves from the opposing forces that they have been until now into responsible political entities that can play constructive roles in nation-building.
これまでのような批判勢力ではなく、国造りで責任ある政治勢力として脱皮を期待したい。

Egypt is facing a raft of formidable challenges, such as administrative reform to stamp out the corruption and cronyism that infested the authoritarian government. It must also tackle serious unemployment and housing problems among young people, who account for more than half of the population.
　強権時代の腐敗や縁故主義を一掃する行政改革、人口の半分以上を占める若者の深刻な失業や住宅問題。

The Islamic groups need to grapple with these tough challenges by proposing specific plans to promote economic and social development.
難題に、経済振興や社会開発の具体的な政策を示して取り組んでほしい。

There are concerns in the United States and Europe about the implications of increased political influence and power of Islamic groups.
　イスラム化が進むことを懸念する声が米欧にはある。

But leaders in the West should regard the Arab Spring as an opportunity to promote mutual understanding and cooperation between their countries and Islamic forces.
They need to support the Arab people's efforts to establish democracy and build new nations.
　しかしアラブの春は、米欧にとっても、中東の民主化の実施や国造りを支援するなかで、イスラム勢力と理解や協力関係を深めていく契機ととらえたい。

--Despite anti-American sentiment, U.S. must serve as a fair mediator--
■嫌米甘受し、仲介を

In May, U.S. President Barack Obama declared, "It will be the policy of the United States to promote reform across the region, and to support transitions to democracy."
　オバマ大統領は５月に「中東の民主化を支持する」と明言した。

That being the case, the United States needs to brace itself for likely manifestations through elections of the antagonism and hatred toward Americans that have grown among people in the Middle East over the past 10 years.
しかし、米国はこの１０年間で中東の民衆に高まった反米・嫌米意識が、選挙を通して政治の表に出てくることへの覚悟が必要である。

People across the Islamic world saw the Iraq War, which Washington cast as a fight for "liberalization," as an act of "invasion."
　米国が「解放」と唱えたイラク戦争を、アラブ・イスラム世界の民衆は「侵略」と見た。

While the Bush administration claimed it was fighting a "war against terrorism," many Arab people supported attacks against the United States as "jihad."
ブッシュ政権は「対テロ戦争」と主張したが、アラブ民衆の間では反米攻撃を「対米聖戦」と支持する声が強かった。

Under pro-American dictatorships in the region, anti-American feelings among people were suppressed for decades.
　これまで、親米の強権体制の下で民衆の間の反米的な世論は抑えられていた。

But such public sentiment can no longer be kept in check.
これからはそうはいかない。

It is vital for the United States to start serious efforts to build from scratch relations based on mutual trust with people in the Middle East.
The country's ties with the region have been seriously damaged through the flawed war against terror.
米国は、１０年間の対テロ戦争の迷走によって損なわれた中東の民衆との信頼関係を一から築くことが重要だ。

Washington should insist that Persian Gulf states which still maintain iron-fisted rule to start moving toward democracy.
　強権体制を今も続ける湾岸アラブ諸国に対して、米国は真剣に民主化の実施を求めなければならない。

It should also make all-out efforts to solve the Palestinian problem, which is at the heart of the caldron of violence in the Middle East.
さらに、中東の暴力の根源であるパレスチナ問題の解決に全力で取り組むべきだ。

The U.S. administration's Middle East policy will face an important test soon when the Palestine Liberation Organization submits an application for recognition of Palestinian statehood to the U.N. Security Council.
国連総会でパレスチナ解放機構（ＰＬＯ）が求める国家承認申請で米国の対応が試される。

The Obama administration has vowed to veto the request for Palestinian statehood.
　米国は拒否権を行使すると警告している。

But it must remember that Obama, in a speech delivered in September last year to the U.N. General Assembly, said, "When we come back here next year, we can have an agreement that can lead to a new member of the United Nations--an independent, sovereign state of Palestine, living in peace with Israel."
しかし、オバマ大統領が昨年の国連総会で１年以内の和平合意を目指し、「来年の総会では、パレスチナ主権国家を迎えるだろう」と語ったことを忘れてはいまい。

The Middle East peace process was disrupted mainly by Israel's move to restart settlement construction.
　中東和平交渉が中断したのはイスラエルが入植地建設を再開したことが主な原因である。

Washington could trigger a fresh wave of anti-American protests in the region if it only vetoes the Palestinian bid to become a member state of the United Nations without making any effort to urge Israel to take positive steps to revive peace talks.
イスラエルにさらに働きかけをしないで、パレスチナに対する拒否権だけでは、民衆の反米抗議につながりかねない。

The United States needs to convince people in the Middle East of its commitment to playing the role of fair peace mediator. This can only be achieved through explanations and actions.
米国は公平な仲介者として、中東の民衆を納得させる説明と行動が必要になっている。

Its role is vital for the future of the peace process.
役割は重い。

--Opening a new era in the Middle East--
■中東新時代を開く

The "Arab Spring" also requires Japan to start building new relations with those in the Middle East who have become the leading power in politics.
　「アラブの春」は私たちにとっても、政治の主役となった中東の民衆との関係構築の始まりである。

The region's efforts to seek cooperative ties with the United States, Europe and Japan and receive intellectual and technological support from these countries for their nation-building will help lay the foundations of democracy in the region.
中東が米欧や日本と協調する道を探り、国造りの知恵や技術の支援を得ることは民主化の土台づくりともなる。

We hope mutual understanding between the Middle East and the industrialized world will open up a new era of peace and prosperity in the region.
互いの理解が平和と繁栄の中東新時代を開くことを期待したい。

The Yomiuri Shimbun (Sep. 20, 2011)
Disaster proves value of neighborly ties
敬老の日　住民が見守り合う地域社会に（9月19日付・読売社説）

The Great East Japan Earthquake and ensuing tsunami hit hardest in regions where the ratio of elderly residents is relatively high compared with the national average.
　東日本大震災は、全国でも高齢者の比率が高い地域を襲った。

There are many elderly people among those who have taken shelter in temporary housing units in neighboring areas or moved to other parts of the country.
　仮設住宅や全国各地に避難している人の中にも、大勢のお年寄りがいる。

Respect-for-the-Aged Day is a time to reflect on this.
　きょうは敬老の日。

Efforts to help the disaster-affected elderly rebuild their daily lives will give important hints for improving administrative services for the elderly nationwide in the months ahead.
　被災した高齢者の生活再建をどう支援していくかは、今後の高齢者行政を充実させる上でも、大事な視点である。

Japanese society is graying year after year at an ever-accelerating pace.
　日本社会の高齢化は年々、加速している。

People aged 65 or older now make up 23 percent of the total population.
総人口に占める高齢者（６５歳以上）の割合は２３％に達した。

Over the next 10 years, the ratio will rise to about 30 percent.
１０年後には約３０％になる。

About one in every six elderly people, or 4.6 million individuals, lives alone.
　高齢者の約６人に１人、４６０万人が一人暮らしだ。

This number has increased by more than 1.5 million over the past 10 years, and 10 years from now, the number is projected to reach 6.3 million.
単身高齢者は過去１０年で１５０万人以上増えた。１０年後には６３０万人を超えると見られている。

According to a Cabinet Office survey, 20 percent of elderly men living alone and nearly 10 percent of elderly women living alone said they have "no one to turn to in time of need."
　内閣府の調査で単身高齢者の男性は２割、女性は１割近くが「困った時に頼れる人がいない」と答えている。

We should foster new bonds to make up for the ever-weakening ties within regions and among blood relations.
薄れつつある地縁血縁の結びつきを補う、新しい絆を創っていかなければならない。

===

A prototype for tomorrow

In this sense, the challenge of rebuilding disaster-affected communities in ways that do not leave elderly residents feeling lonely may help us find ways to better deal with the rapid graying of society as a whole.
　そういう意味では、被災地の地域社会を、寂しい思いの高齢者を出さずに再生していくことが、直面する超高齢時代への対処法を探ることにもつながるだろう。

For instance, in disaster-affected areas, attempts are now under way to provide people with housing that harks back to life in row-house neighborhoods where residents would keep a kindly eye on each other.
　たとえば被災地では、住民同士が程よく見守り合う、「長屋づきあい」をイメージした住宅提供の試みが動き出している。

The city government of Kamaishi, Iwate Prefecture, in cooperation with the Institute of Gerontology of the University of Tokyo, has built temporary housing units designed to help residents foster neighborly contact.
　岩手県釜石市は、東京大学の高齢社会総合研究機構と協力し、近所同士の関係を醸成しやすい仮設住宅を作った。

With the entrances of the houses facing each other and a roofed wooden deck linking them, these homes were arranged so residents would be able to visit each other with ease.
　玄関を向かい合わせに配置し、住宅の間を屋根付きのウッドデッキで結んで、気軽に行き来できるようにした。

The residents are also provided with nursing care service for the elderly and play space for children. It is the sort of community where various generations of people, not only the elderly but also families with children, can help each other.
介護拠点や子どもの遊び場も併設して、高齢者だけでなく子育て世帯など、様々な世代が助け合うコミュニティーだ。

This is a concept that can be utilized not merely in temporary housing units but also for town planning in the future.
　期間限定の仮設住宅にとどまらず、今後の街づくりにも生かしていける発想である。

===

Visitors provide human touch

In Soma, Fukushima Prefecture, city workers called "shopping and lifestyle supporters" visit temporary housing units and sell food and daily goods out of a bicycle trailer.
　福島県相馬市では、市が雇用した「買い物・生活支援員」が、リヤカーに食品などを積んで仮設住宅を訪問し、販売している。

The service is primarily designed to offer everyday living support for elderly or disabled evacuees who are disadvantaged in doing their daily shopping. But the workers are also hearing how people are doing, learning what they need and watching over them.
　高齢者や障害者など“買い物弱者”の支援が目的だが、被災者の近況や要望を聞き、見守る役目も果たしている。

The program is also a welfare-oriented, job-creating measure.
福祉型の雇用創出策でもある。

Such efforts in disaster-affected areas serve as important models for measures to be taken more widely in the months ahead.
　こうした被災地での取り組みをこれからの施策に生かし、発展させることが重要だ。

Local governments that have accepted evacuees into their public housing units across the country are also making efforts to build up regular contact by making door-to-door visits, so as to avoid such tragic situations as elderly people dying unattended.
　避難者を公共住宅などで受け入れた全国の自治体も、孤独死などの悲劇を生まぬよう、個別訪問など、ふれあいに努めている。

We should use these experiences to create more communities that the elderly will find livable.
　そんな経験をうまく生かして、高齢者が暮らしやすい地域社会を広げていきたい。

(From The Yomiuri Shimbun, Sept. 19, 2011)
（2011年9月19日01時33分 読売新聞）

The Yomiuri Shimbun (Sep. 19, 2011)
Speed up installation of railway platform doors
ホームドア　転落事故防止へ着実な整備を（9月18日付・読売社説）

Little progress has been made in the installation of platform doors at railway stations to prevent passengers from falling onto the tracks.
　駅のホームから転落する事故を防ぐホームドアの整備が進まない。

Despite strong calls from people including the visually impaired to install the doors, railway operators have been slow to respond because of such hurdles as the high costs involved.
　視覚障害者などが設置を強く求めているが、高額な費用などの難点があって、対応の遅れが目立つ。

A study panel of the Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism Ministry recently proposed that railway companies preferentially install the doors at stations used by at least 100,000 passengers a day. This proposal should be used as a springboard for encouraging installation of platform doors, also known as platform gates.
　国土交通省の検討会が、１日の利用客が１０万人以上の駅に優先的に整備するよう提言した。ホームドア設置促進の契機としたい。

For train users, safety at railway stations is a major concern. Railway operators must prioritize passenger safety over concerns about delaying train schedules. Every railway company must steadily boost efforts to install platform doors at as many stations as possible.
　利用客にとって、駅の安全性は大きな関心事である。利便性を追求するあまり、安全確保をなおざりにしてはならない。鉄道各社は着実に整備してもらいたい。

===

Mere 5% have doors

The government and municipalities have been subsidizing part of the costs for installing the doors. Such subsidies should be increased to encourage more stations to equip platforms with the systems.
　政府や自治体は、設置費を一部助成しているが、さらに拡充して普及を後押しすべきだ。

A platform door is a barrier, usually about 1.2 meters high, between passengers and the train and tracks. The doors are designed to open and close automatically in sync with the train doors.
　ホームドアは、線路とホームの間を仕切る高さ１・２メートルほどの柵だ。停車した電車のドアと同じ位置に、自動的に開閉するドアが付いている。

Railway companies are obliged to install platform doors when they build new stations, but their installation at existing stations has been left up to the companies' discretion as a nonbinding goal. Only 500 of the nation's approximately 9,500 railway stations, or 5 percent, are equipped with platform doors.
　設置は、新設駅には義務付けられているが、既存の駅については鉄道会社の努力目標にとどまっている。全国９５００駅のうち、ホームドアが設置されているのは約５００駅だけで、全体の５％程度に過ぎない。

Although the ministry's study panel has called for priority installation of the doors at the 239 stations with 100,000 or more passengers a day, only 26 of the stations now have them.
　今回、整備対象とされた利用者１０万人以上の２３９駅を見ても、２６駅しか設置されていない。

Installation of the doors can cost several billions of yen per station if complete renovation of platforms is necessary.
　ホーム全体の改修が必要な場合、設置には１駅で数十億円の費用がかかるという。

In addition, there are a number of lines on which the locations and numbers of train doors differ depending on trains, such as limited expresses, commuter expresses and local trains, making it hard for railway firms to install platform doors that fit all doors of every kind of train.
特急や快速、普通など列車ごとにドアの数と位置が異なり、すべての車両に対応できるホームドアを取り付けるのが難しい路線もある。

There were 1,253 accidents across the country from 2002 to 2009 involving falls of passengers from platforms and passenger contact with trains.
　だが、転落や列車との接触など駅ホームでの事故は２００２～０９年に１２５３件にのぼる。

In January this year, a blind man was killed in Tokyo when he fell off a platform at Mejiro Station on JR East's Yamanote Line, and another blind man was killed in July after falling off a platform at Tsukushino Station on the Tokyu Denentoshi Line in western Tokyo. A brush with death on railway platforms can happen to people with various degrees of visual impairments, not only those who are blind.
　今年１月にはＪＲ山手線の目白駅で、７月には東急田園都市線つくし野駅で、いずれも全盲の男性がホームから転落して死亡した。ホームは、視覚障害者にとって「死と隣り合わせの場所」とさえ言われている。

But there have been almost no accidental falls at railway stations equipped with platform doors.
　一方で、ホームドア設置駅の転落事故数は、ほぼゼロだ。

===

Users set to bear cost

JR East has been installing the doors at all stations on the Yamanote Line with a budget of 50 billion yen, probably because the railway operator concluded the doors are highly effective in preventing platform accidents.
　ＪＲ東日本が総額５００億円をかけ、山手線全駅で設置計画を進めているのも、その効果が大きいと判断したからだろう。

In a questionnaire given to train users recently by the transport ministry, about 60 percent of the respondents replied it is inevitable the public will have to bear part of the installation costs of platform doors in such forms as higher fares and taxes. A majority of people want railway station's safety enhanced even if it increases their financial burdens.
　国交省が駅利用者を対象に実施したアンケートでは、設置費の一部を料金値上げや税金で負担するのは「やむを得ない」とした回答が全体の６割を占めた。
　多少の負担があっても、駅の安全性を高めてほしいと願う人が多いことを物語っている。

To prevent the misery of railway accidents, it is very important not only to improve railway station facilities but also for railway firms and related organizations to make such day-to-day efforts as calling for disabled people to be heedful of possible dangers at railway stations.
　悲惨な事故を防ぐには、施設の整備に加え、障害者への声かけなど日常的な取り組みも大切だ。

(From The Yomiuri Shimbun, Sept. 18, 2011)
（2011年9月18日01時11分 読売新聞）