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

The Yomiuri Shimbun (Sep. 11, 2011)
Govt must offer visible support for reconstruction
３・１１から半年　復興へ政府は目に見える支援を（9月10日付・読売社説）

Six months have passed since the Great East Japan Earthquake on March 11.
　東日本大震災から、あすで半年になる。

Recovery and reconstruction efforts have been continuing in disaster-hit areas.
　被災地では復旧・復興に向けた懸命の努力が続いている。

But the scars left by the massive earthquake and tsunami are so profound that many affected municipalities have yet to draw up blueprints to rebuild their areas.
だが震災の爪痕は深く、思うように地域再建の青写真が描けていない自治体がほとんどだ。

In areas around the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant, where evacuation orders have been issued, municipal government offices and residents were uprooted en masse. No prospect is in sight for their return home.
　避難指示が出ている福島第一原子力発電所周辺では、役場と住民がそっくり移転しており、帰郷の見通しも立っていない。

In his first news conference after taking office, Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda said recovery and reconstruction of the disaster-stricken areas and measures to end the nuclear crisis at the Fukushima plant are at the top of his administration's agenda.
　野田首相は就任の記者会見で、被災地の復旧・復興と原発事故対応が「何よりも最優先だ」と述べた。

After inspecting the crippled plant Thursday, Noda pledged to Fukushima Gov. Yuhei Sato his government's commitment to swiftly decontaminate areas affected by radioactive material released by the nuclear power plant.
８日は福島第一原発を視察した後、佐藤雄平福島県知事に、事故で放出された放射性物質の除染を早急に進めると確約した。

People in disaster-hit areas became increasingly impatient with the slow response to the disaster by the previous Kan administration.
　菅前政権の震災対応の遅れに被災地はいらだちを募らせてきた。

The current administration must provide swift, strong and visible support for recovery and reconstruction of the devastated areas.
被災地の再生へ、政府は迅速かつ強力な復旧・復興支援を、目に見える形で推進すべきだ。

===

Debris disposal key issue
　◆瓦礫処理と除染がカギ◆

Nearly 4,000 residents died or went missing in Ishinomaki, Miyagi Prefecture, which had a pre-disaster population of 160,000.
　人口１６万の宮城県石巻市は、津波被害で４０００人近くが死亡または行方不明になった。

With debris removal completed in the city center, shops have resumed business there.
　中心部の瓦礫(がれき)撤去は終わり、商店も再開し始めた。

Residential streets and principal roads have also been cleared of debris.
住宅街や主要道路の瓦礫も片づいた。

But in suburban areas, debris lies scattered on farmland and elsewhere and has been piled up in temporary storage locations.
　だが、郊外に出ると、農地などに未処理の瓦礫が散乱し、仮置き場には搬入された瓦礫が山積みになっている。

Painstaking efforts were reportedly made to eradicate the swarms of flies infesting the garbage.
大量のハエも発生、駆除に手を焼いたという。

The dismantling of wrecked houses and office buildings will add to the heaps of debris, overwhelming the capacity of temporary storage places.
　今後、倒壊した家屋や事業所の解体が進めば、仮置き場が収容能力を超えてしまう恐れがある。

Through consultations with the prefectural government, the municipal government is accelerating efforts to build a new incinerator and select a final debris disposal center.
市は県と協議し、焼却炉の新設と最終処理場の確保を急いでいる。

Disposal of the huge amount of debris hampers reconstruction.
　膨大な瓦礫の処理問題が復興の妨げになっている。

The central government must do everything it can to reduce the financial burdens of local governments.
政府は自治体の負担軽減に、最大限の努力を払う必要があろう。

The reconstruction of Fukushima Prefecture cannot be completed without ending the nuclear crisis.
　福島県では、原発事故の収束なくして復興はありえない。

Stable cooling of the reactors is under way and almost no new radioactive substances are reportedly being released.
原発は今、原子炉の安定冷却が進行中で、新たな放射性物質の放出はほとんどなくなっている。

By January without fail, the reactors must be cooled so their inner temperatures are stabilized at less than 100 C.
来年１月を目標とする「冷温停止」を確実に達成しなければならない。

Decontamination is indispensable to bring about the day when evacuated residents can return home.
　原発避難住民の帰宅に道筋をつけるには、地域の除染が不可欠だ。

Even in areas not subject to evacuation, there are places where radioactive contamination is high enough to cause health concerns among residents.
避難対象地域以外でも汚染度の高い場所があり、住民の健康への影響が心配されている。

Soil improvement must be carried out immediately at school grounds and on agricultural land.
　校庭や農地などは直ちに土壌改良に取りかかる必要がある。

Removing the surface soil up to a depth of five centimeters will reduce radioactive cesium levels to just one-tenth, experts say.
表土を５センチ撤去すれば放射性セシウムは１０分の１に減り、

By replacing this soil with untainted earth, radioactive cesium contamination will be reduced to one-hundredth, they say.
そこへ新たな土を盛れば元の１００分の１に低減できると専門家は指摘する。

The government should take the lead in promoting decontamination work without farming it out to local governments.
　政府は自治体に丸投げすることなく、率先して除染作業を進めていってほしい。

===

Disaster victims need jobs
　◆生活の安定取り戻そう◆

Although production at factories and related facilities has begun to recover, the employment situation in the disaster-hit areas remains severe.
　工場などの生産機能は回復しつつあるが、雇用環境は依然、厳しい。

More than 70,000 people are estimated to have lost their jobs in the three disaster-hit Tohoku prefectures of Miyagi, Iwate and Fukushima.
震災による失業者は東北３県で７万人以上と推定される。

Job offers have been on the rise as workers are being sought for reconstruction projects.
　復旧事業で求人は増えている。

Many people, however, cannot find work to suit the job skills they acquired before the disaster.
だが、震災前の就業経験を生かす仕事が見つからない。

As unemployment benefit payments for many of them will expire soon, it is vital to create new full-fledged jobs through a wide variety of reconstruction projects.
そろそろ失業手当も切れるころだ。多様な復興事業を本格化させ、新たな雇用を創出することが求められる。

Hospitals and nursing care facilities sustained tremendous damage in the disaster.
　病院や介護施設は甚大な被害を被った。

Even before the disaster, the affected regions have long suffered a serious shortage of doctors, and the region's residents have continued to age.
被災地はもともと医師不足が深刻な地域で、住民の高齢化も進んでいる。

Although a number of medical and nursing care professionals have provided emergency support over the past six months, this cannot continue for much longer.
この半年、医療・介護関連団体が緊急の人的支援をしてきたが、継続は難しい。

Making the best possible use of such information technologies as electronic patient files and deploying medical personnel efficiently would make medical and nursing care services more effective.
　電子カルテなどのＩＴ（情報技術）活用で連携態勢を強化し、効率的に人材を配置すれば関連施設の大胆な再編が可能になる。

The government should take speedy legislative steps and extend financial assistance to set up a medical and nursing service special zone to provide advanced services by an adequate number of medical professionals.
　政府も特区などの法整備や財政措置で後押しし、医師などの人材が集まるような医療・介護の先進モデル地域を作るべきだ。

Construction of temporary housing has made considerable progress, allowing many disaster victims to move out of evacuation centers.
　仮設住宅の建設が進み、多くの人が避難所生活から解放された。

However, it is important to provide the victims with a proper range of care after they move into temporary housing or other publicly operated housing facilities.
だが、仮設や公共住宅に移った後のケアも重要だ。

After the Great Hanshin Earthquake, many elderly persons died after being left unattended in temporary housing. 阪神大震災では仮設や「復興住宅」で高齢者の孤独死が相次いだ。

This should never be repeated.
悲劇を繰り返してはならない。

===

Preparedness essential
　◆災害への備えを教訓に◆

As of Friday, the number of deaths in the Great East Japan Earthquake stood at 15,780, while 4,122 remain missing.
　東日本大震災による死者は９日現在、１万５７８０人、行方不明者は４１２２人に上る。

We sincerely pray for the souls of those who perished in the disaster and hope that those still missing will be found as soon as possible.
　亡くなられた方のご冥福を心からお祈りする。行方不明の方が一日も早く見つかれば、と願う。

In Japan, which can be called a "disaster archipelago," Typhoon No. 12 left more than 100 people dead or missing earlier this month.
　「災害列島」日本では、今月も台風１２号で１００人を超す死者・行方不明者が出た。

We are sure many people in the past six months have felt anew the horror of natural disasters and the importance of preparing such calamities.
この半年、改めて自然災害の恐ろしさと、それへの備えの大切さを噛(か)みしめた人は多かっただろう。

On Sept. 1, Disaster Prevention Day, about 510,000 people took part in disaster drills in 35 prefectures, including Tokyo and Hokkaido.
　防災の日の１日、３５都道府県で５１万人が訓練に参加した。

Some companies and public organizations carried out such practical exercises as confirming the safety of all personnel, as well as drills conducted on the assumption that many of their personnel were unable to return home in the aftermath of a massive disaster.
社員全員の安否確認や、帰宅困難の事態を想定した現実的な訓練を実施した企業、公的機関もあった。

In its most recent opinion survey, The Yomiuri Shimbun asked people what measures they had taken after the March 11 disaster. Allowed multiple answers, many respondents cited "stockpiling of drinking water and food" and "confirmation of how family members can keep in touch with each other" in the event of a disaster.
　読売新聞の世論調査では、震災後に講じた対策として「飲料水や食料の備蓄」「家族同士の連絡方法を確認」などを挙げた人（複数回答）が多かった。

Asked what they wanted the central and local governments to do in the event of a disaster, more than 50 percent of the respondents replied--again allowed multiple answers--they wanted "safety measures taken at nuclear power plants" and "ensuring safe evacuation routes and evacuation facilities."
　国や自治体に望む取り組みでは、「原発の安全対策」「安全な避難経路や避難施設の確保」などが５割を超えている（同）。

We believe the lessons learned from the March 11 disaster should better prepare people in the future to swiftly and safely evacuate in the event of a disaster and to cooperate more closely with each other to deal with any hardships they might encounter.
　日頃の備えを怠らず、その時には的確迅速に避難する、そして支え合って災害を乗り越える――。大震災からの教訓としたい。

(From The Yomiuri Shimbun, Sept. 10, 2011)
（2011年9月10日01時28分 読売新聞）

2011/09/11
--The Asahi Shimbun, Sept. 10
EDITORIAL: U.S. should lead efforts toward global cooperation
テロ後１０年の米国―武力超え、協調の大国へ

How long will the war against terrorism, which no one is going to win, last?
　誰も勝者になれない戦争は、いつまで続くのか。

Just a decade has passed since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks at the heart of the United States.
　米国の中枢が襲われた同時多発テロから１０年。

The war against terrorism was launched by former U.S. President George W. Bush, who urged countries to join the fight saying, "Either you are with us, or you are with the terrorists."
But the United States has suffered as much damage from the war as it did from the Vietnam War.
対テロ戦争はブッシュ前大統領が「米国と共にあるか、テロリストと一緒になるかだ」と始めたが、いまや米国はベトナム戦争に匹敵する大きな痛手を受けている。

U.S. forces have succeeded in killing Osama bin Laden, the founder of the al-Qaida terrorist group and the mastermind of the 2001 attacks, but the Americans are clearly feeling the pinch of the deteriorating economic health of their country, where jobless rates are hovering above 9 percent.
テロの首謀者オサマ・ビンラディン容疑者は殺害したものの、９％を超える失業率が続く米国には重い疲労感が漂う。

■危うい超大国の座

American people are apparently disturbed, caught between anxiety about the possibility that their country may lose the status as the leading superpower and the desperate feeling that they cannot stand any additional burden.
　「超大国の座を滑り落ちる」という不安と、「これ以上の負担に耐えられない」という悲鳴のはざまで、米国民の心も揺れている。

In a corner of the Arlington National Cemetery, a military cemetery stretched over a hill in the Washington suburbs, are rows of small signs bearing a name placed on the earth with the grass removed.
　首都ワシントン郊外の丘に広がる国立アーリントン墓地の一角。芝生を削った土の上に、名前が刻まれた目印が置かれている。

They are meant to be the graves of soldiers who have died in Afghanistan.
アフガニスタンで戦死した兵士の墓の予定地だ。

Nobody knows how many more white headstones will be laid in this corner of the cemetery.
白い墓石が今後どこまで並ぶのか、まだ誰も分からない。

Since the war on terror started, more than 6,000 U.S. military personnel have died and more than 550,000 have been injured.
　開戦以来、米兵は６千人以上が戦死した。負傷者は５５万人を超える。

One estimate has put the total cost of the war, including medical expenses for injured servicemen and women, at $4 trillion (309 trillion yen).
負傷兵の医療費などを含む戦費全体で４兆ドル（３０９兆円）に達するという試算もある。

The quagmire of the war is hurting American society like a body blow.
泥沼化する戦争は、米社会をボディーブローのようにむしばんでいる。

The U.S. economy, which for a while enjoyed a boom driven by financial bubbles, has taken a downturn since the collapse of investment bank Lehman Brothers in 2008.
　金融バブルに踊った経済も、リーマン・ショック以後は大きく傾いた。

The U.S. budget deficit for fiscal 2011, which ends on Sept. 30, is reaching $1.3 trillion. The towering budget deficit has prompted a U.S. credit rating agency to downgrade long-term federal debt, which has long been considered the safest investment, bringing humiliation to the world's largest economy.
１１会計年度の財政赤字は１兆３千億ドル（１００兆円）に達し、信用の象徴だった米国債が格下げされる屈辱も味わった。

President Barack Obama has acknowledged that the United States has been on an unsustainable spending spree. "For a decade, we have been spending more money than we take in," he recently said.
「この１０年間、われわれは歳入以上に支出してきた」とオバマ大統領も認める。

But even more lives have been lost in countries where the United States has been fighting the war.

Some 125,000 civilians in Iraq, 11,700 in Afghanistan and 35,600 in Pakistan have been killed during the war, according to estimates by the Watson Institute for International Studies at Brown University.
　米国の行動によって戦場にされた国では、もっと多くの命が失われた。米ブラウン大学ワトソン研究所の推計では、イラクの民間人は１２万５千人、アフガニスタンでは１万１７００人、パキスタンでも３万５６００人にのぼる。

In Iraq, years of failed occupation, plagued by an endless series of missteps and bad judgments, resulted in bloody nationwide sectarian strife.
　イラクでは誤算続きの占領政策の末、全土で血で血を洗う宗派争いをもたらした。

Amid continued conflict among various religious sects, Obama has promised to withdraw U.S. forces from Iraq by the end of this year. Given the chaotic state of the war-torn country, however, many observers say it will be impossible to pull out all the U.S. troops by the deadline.
各派が対立する中、オバマ大統領は「今年末までの米軍撤退」と公約したが、混乱を考えると完全な撤退は無理とみられる。

■失われた多くの命

Meanwhile in Afghanistan, 66 American soldiers were killed in August, the worst ever monthly death toll among U.S. military personnel in the country.
　アフガニスタンでも、この８月に６６人と過去最悪の米兵の犠牲者を出した。

Obama has said 33,000 U.S. troops will leave the country by next summer, but the outlook for the U.S. strategy for dealing with the situation after the withdrawal remains murky.
来夏までに３万３千人を撤退させる方針だが、その後の見通しは立たない。

Many American citizens appear to be finding it hard to come up with a good reason for continuing the fight without a clear outlook.
このまま戦闘を続ける意味を、米国民も見いだせなくなっているのではないか。

Outside the Unites States, indiscriminate terrorist attacks have also taken place in cities like Madrid and London. 　米国の外にも、マドリード、ロンドンなどに無差別テロは拡散した。

The scope of targets for terrorist attacks has widened. At the end of August, for instance, a car bomb attack on the United Nations building in Nigeria killed more than 20 people.
テロの標的も広がり、８月末にはナイジェリアの国連ビルに爆弾を載せた車が突っ込んで２０人を超す犠牲者が出た。

U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon condemned the attack, saying in a grievous statement that it was "an assault on those who devote their lives to helping others."
国連の潘基文（パン・ギムン）事務総長は「人助けのために人生をささげた人々に対する襲撃だ」と悲痛な声明を出した。

In his historic speech delivered in 2009 in Cairo, Obama proposed reconciliation with the Muslim world for "a new beginning between the United States and Muslims around the world," raising renewed hope for peace.
　オバマ氏はカイロでの演説で「イスラム世界との和解」を提唱して期待を集めた。

But in countries like Yemen and Pakistan, the United States is expanding its strikes against terrorists using unmanned aerial vehicles, or drones, instead of ground troops.
だが、地上部隊にかわる無人機での攻撃はイエメンやパキスタンなどで拡大している。

The Obama administration has postponed the promised closure of the Guantanamo Bay detention camp, where abuses of detainees have been disclosed.
虐待が明らかになったグアンタナモ収容所も、閉鎖を先送りしたままだ。

The Obama administration also initially failed to express its clear support to the revolutionary waves of demonstrations and protests that have led to the collapse of dictatorial regimes in some Arab countries including Tunisia and Egypt, now known as the "Arab Spring."
　チュニジア、エジプトなどで民衆が強権政治を倒した「アラブの春」でも、米国ははじめ、運動を支持することができなかった。

That's because the administration was concerned about a possible rise of Muslim extremists and about possible negative effects on Washington's relations with the autocratic governments of its allies in the region, like Saudi Arabia.
イスラム過激派の台頭を恐れ、独裁だが友好関係にあるサウジアラビアなどに配慮したからだ。

Now that people in many Arab countries have embarked on a path to democracy by risking their lives, however, the United States should take steps to settle the dark past and build new relations with these countries.
　アラブの民衆が流血の犠牲を払って改革に踏み出したいま、米国も暗い過去を清算して、新たな関係を築かなければならない。

In particular, it is essential for Washington to tackle the Palestine issue, which is at the root of conflict in the Arab world.
とくに、アラブ世界の紛争の根源にあるパレスチナ問題に取り組むことが必須だ。

As long as the United States keeps avoiding this challenge, anti-U.S. extremists will continue to come into being.
　その困難を避ける限り、今後も反米過激派が生まれてくる。

The Americans should not forget that Osama bin Laden personified the deep antipathy aroused among Muslims by the U.S. military presence in the "holy land" of Islam.
ビンラディン容疑者も「イスラムの聖地」に米軍が駐留したことへの反感が生んだ鬼子だったことを忘れてはならない。

America's unilateralism also strained its ties with its key allies.
　米国の単独行動主義は、同盟国との関係もゆがめた。

Japan, under the government of former Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi, supported the U.S. war in Iraq and sent Self-Defense Forces troops to the country.
日本は小泉首相がイラク戦争を支持して自衛隊を送った。

But Japan's decision to support a war without cause, made under strong pressure from Washington, deeply damaged the bilateral relations.
だが大義なき戦争に同調したことは、日米関係を深いところで傷つけた。

Japanese sympathy with the United States as the leading standard-bearer for democracy wore thin, while the Japanese government's action provoked criticism among Japanese people that it was blindly following in the footsteps of the United States.
　民主主義の旗手としての米国への共感はすっかり薄れ、「米国追随」という反発を日本国内に呼んだ。

The past 10 years, in which the United States became overconfident of its power and tried to impose its values on the world, has been a decade of failure for the superpower.
　米国が力を過信し、その価値観を世界に押しつけようとした１０年は失敗に終わった。

The United States will remain a country with overwhelming power, but it still needs to find a new role for itself as a member of the global community.
米国は今後も突出した大国だが、世界の一員として新たな役割を見いださなければならない。

Sick and tired of the endless war against terrorism, some Americans are arguing that their country should now wash its hands of intervention in affairs in other parts of the world.
　対テロ戦争に疲れた米国内には、対外的な負担から手を引くべきだという声も出ている。

It would be good for the United States to respect the unique conditions in other countries and seek cooperative ties with them.
米国が各国の事情を認めて協調することは望ましい。

■重い役割変わらず

But if such a superpower becomes indifferent to stability and movements toward democracy in the outside world, the entire world may fall into serious confusion.
　だが、大国が自分の地域以外の安定や民主化を求める動きに無関心になれば、世界は混乱しかねない。

The United States should not abandon its efforts to establish a stable and peaceful world order.
安定した秩序の軸を失ってはいけない。

What the United States should do in the next decade is to seek serious dialogue with people living with different values in order to create a world without terrorism, instead of trying to stamp out terrorism with war.
　戦争で抑え込むのではなく、価値観が異なる世界に住む人々とも真剣に対話して、テロがない世界の実現を目指す。それが米国のこれからとるべき道だ。

The Yomiuri Shimbun (Sep. 10, 2011)
Unclear why pro-Pyongyang schools should be free
朝鮮学校無償化　審査再開の根拠が不明瞭だ（9月9日付・読売社説）

It is an enigmatic keepsake from former Prime Minister Naoto Kan.
　不可解な「置き土産」である。

Kan told former Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology Minister Yoshiaki Takaki on Aug. 29, shortly before his resignation as prime minister, to resume screening procedures to include pro-Pyongyang high schools in the government's tuition waiver program.
　朝鮮学校への高校授業料の無償化適用について菅前首相が退任間際の先月２９日、審査手続きを再開するよう高木義明前文部科学相に指示した。

The screening procedures were suspended in the wake of North Korea's artillery shelling of a South Korean island last November. The former prime minister's administration said the situation on the Korean Peninsula was considered to have returned to conditions prior to the shelling, but we would like to ask if there are any grounds for that.
　昨年１１月の北朝鮮による韓国砲撃を受けて審査を凍結していたが、「朝鮮半島情勢が砲撃前の状態に戻った」と判断したという。だが、根拠はどこにあるのか。

It is true that talks between North and South Korean senior officials were held in July for the first time in two years and seven months. U.S.-North Korean talks also took place in the same month.
　確かに７月には、韓国と北朝鮮の高官協議が２年７か月ぶりに実現し、米朝協議も行われた。

However, the former administration did not explain in detail its assessment of the situation on the Korean Peninsula. It is still very difficult to understand why screening procedures would be resumed on what looked like last-minute instructions from the outgoing prime minister.
とはいえ、情勢判断の詳しい理由説明もなく、駆け込み指示のような審査再開は、理解に苦しむ。

===

New govt should explain

In the last Diet session, Kan was grilled over suspicious donations by his political funds management organization to a civic group closely connected with a relative of a suspect in the abduction of Japanese citizens to North Korea.
　菅前首相は、日本人拉致事件の容疑者親族と関係の深い団体への献金問題が先の国会で取り上げられた。

It is a matter of course that the main opposition Liberal Democratic Party, which has raised concerns about Kan's abrupt instruction regarding pro-Pyongyang high schools, is demanding the new administration rescind the instruction.
今回の唐突な指示を疑問視する自民党が、指示の撤回を求めたのも当然だろう。

Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda and education minister Masaharu Nakagawa, however, have indicated they will carry on with the former prime minister's directive.
The two said in their inauguration speeches that Kan seemed to have made the judgment based on such factors as the resumption of talks between North and South Korea.
　野田首相や中川正春文科相は就任会見で、「南北対話などからそう判断したのでは」と述べ、菅前首相の指示を追認する姿勢だ。

However, we think the current Cabinet cannot obtain public understanding for resumption of the procedures unless it makes a clear explanation based on its own assessment.
しかし、情勢判断に関する現内閣の明確な説明がないままでは、理解は得られまい。

The screening will take two months. If they are deemed eligible for the government's tuition waiver program, 10 pro-Pyongyang high schools around the country will receive schooling assistance grants totaling at least 200 million yen from the government to compensate them for tuition.
　審査は今後２か月かけて行われる。無償化が適用されると、全国に１０校ある朝鮮学校側に授業料分として少なくとも計約２億円の「就学支援金」が支給される。

Since the screening procedures have already started, the education ministry must scrutinize whether the schools' accounts are transparent.
　審査に入った以上、文科省は朝鮮学校の経理の透明性を厳正にチェックする必要がある。

The pro-Pyongyang schools are closely linked with the General Association of Korean Residents in Japan (Chongryon), which is under North Korea's influence.
　朝鮮学校は、北朝鮮の影響下にある在日本朝鮮人総連合会（朝鮮総連）と結びつきがある。

We are afraid the grants might be used for purposes other than waiving tuition.
就学支援金が授業料以外の目的に流用されるおそれはないのだろうか。

The education ministry is said to check documents submitted to it by the schools, but if necessary, the ministry should send officials to the schools and seek direct explanations from their administrators.
　書面審査を行うというが、必要なら学校へ赴いて調査を行い、直接説明を求めるべきだ。

===

Program needs review

Some observers say students at pro-Pyongyang schools may have been taught untruths about the abduction of Japanese nationals by North Korea and other issues.
　朝鮮学校ではこれまで、日本人拉致問題などに関して、事実と異なる教育が行われてきたのではないかとの指摘もある。

According to screening standards set by the education ministry, if problems are found in the curriculum or other elements of a school, the education minister can inform its administrator about them as points of concern.
　文科省が策定した審査基準は、教育内容などに懸念される実態があれば、文科相が学校側に「留意事項」として通知できると規定している。

If any problem is found during the screening procedures, the education minister should strongly urge school officials to improve it voluntarily.
審査で問題が見つかった場合、文科相が自主的な改善を強く促すことも求められよう。

Reviewing the government's high school tuition waiver program, which has been advocated by the Democratic Party of Japan-led governments, is also a pressing issue.
　そもそも民主党政権が掲げてきた高校無償化の見直しも、喫緊の課題である。

A joint agreement reached by the DPJ, the LDP and New Komeito includes a clause that they would discuss necessary reviews of what form the waiver program should take from next fiscal year.
　民主、自民、公明の３党合意には、来年度以降の制度の在り方について、必要な見直しを検討することが盛り込まれている。

We hope the new administration will study the effects of the program thoroughly, considering the nation's difficult fiscal condition.
厳しい財政状況の中で、政策効果を徹底検証してもらいたい。

(From The Yomiuri Shimbun, Sept. 9, 2011)
（2011年9月9日01時25分 読売新聞）

2011/09/09
--The Asahi Shimbun, Sept. 5
EDITORIAL: Transparency in access to the grid crucial for promotion of renewable energy.
再生エネ法―送電線の接続を透明に

The Diet enacted a law to expand the use of renewable energy sources during this year's regular session, which ran through August.
　自然エネルギーの拡大をめざす再生可能エネルギー特別措置法が先の通常国会で成立した。

The law contains a so-called feed-in tariff system that requires electric power companies to buy electricity generated by using renewable energy sources--wind, solar, biomass, the heat of the Earth and small-scale water power--at fixed prices for specific periods.
　風力、太陽光、バイオマス、地熱、小型の水力による電気を一定の期間、電力会社が固定価格で買い取る制度だ。

In Europe, this system has helped to sharply increase the use of renewable energy.
　欧州では、この制度で自然エネルギーを大幅に増やした。

The success of the feed-in tariff system in Japan hinges on how it will be actually operated.
日本での成功の可否は、今後の運用にかかっている。

The law says the prices at which utilities buy renewable power should be determined in a way that ensures reasonable profits for power producers.
　法律は、買い取り価格について、参入者の適正な利潤を考慮して決めることを明記した。

That means renewable electricity will be bought at various price levels, depending on the kind of energy source and the method of power generation involved.
自然エネルギーの種類や方式によって違う値段になる。

This is a reasonable approach.
この点は評価したい。

It makes sense to set prices at levels that make renewable power businesses economically viable.
ビジネスが成り立つ価格にすることが必要だ。

The costs of buying clean power will be passed onto consumers through higher electricity bills.
　買い取り費用は電気料金に上乗せされる。

The law doesn't lay down any rules concerning the expected rate increases. But the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, which regulates the power industry, has said the rate hikes will be capped at 0.5 yen per kilowatt-hour.
法律に上げ幅の規定はないが、経済産業省は「１キロワット時０．５円を上限で運用する」といってきた。

There should be no such rigid limits on rate increases to buy renewable power.
　これはやめるべきだ。

Power rates actually fluctuate more sharply due to factors like changes in oil prices.
電気料金は、原油価格などによって、もっと大きく変動している。

Placing too strict restrictions on the scope of hikes in electricity bills would hamper efforts to popularize the feed-in tariff system.
自然エネルギーを対象に料金転嫁に歯止めをかけすぎると、うまく導入が進まない。

The biggest issue is setting up a connection to the power grid.
　最大の問題は、送電線への接続だ。

While utilities are in principle obliged to allow renewable electricity to be fed into the grid, they are permitted to refuse to do so if there is any possibility of disruptions in stable power supply.
電力会社には自然エネルギーの電気を送電線につなぐ義務があるものの、「安定供給に支障がある場合」には接続しなくてもよいとされている。

This rule effectively means the current situation will remain unchanged. In Hokkaido, the Tohoku region and Kyushu, many plans to build wind farms have been dropped because the regional utilities have refused to buy electricity from the planned facilities under the pretext of "unstable supply."
　これでは、北海道や東北、九州で、多くの風力発電所の計画が「供給が不安定」という電力会社の判断で断念させられている現状と変わらない。

Hokkaido Electric Power Co. has said it will not be able to purchase more power from wind, at least for the time being, because it is already buying wind-generated electricity up to the limit of 360 megawatts.
　すでに北海道電力は、風力の受け入れ可能量３６万キロワットが満杯なので、新法施行後も当面は新たな受け入れはできないと表明している。

But wind power is the most widely used renewable energy source globally. Both China and the United States generate more than 40 gigawatts of electricity by using wind power.
　風力は世界では自然エネルギーの柱で、中国、米国では４千万キロワットを超える。

In contrast, Japan's wind power output is a puny 2.5 gigawatts.
日本は約２５０万キロワットしかない。

The outlook for wind power generation in Japan will remain bleak if utilities, citing upper limits, refuse to buy electricity produced with wind despite the small overall output.
それでも電力各社が「もう満杯」というのなら展望は開けない。

In order to inject more transparency into this program, it is necessary to build up a system in which independent experts judge the appropriateness of the ceilings utilities set for their purchases of wind-generated power.
電力会社のいう受け入れ可能量を外部の人間がチェックして透明化する態勢が必要だ。

The most crucial aspect for the success of the new system, however, is to establish integrated operations of the transmission networks of utilities.
　何より送電線の広域運用が欠かせない。

In Japan, electric power companies that enjoy a monopoly on regional power markets operate separate transmission networks independently. Basically, utilities in principle don't supply electricity to other utilities, even if their service areas are adjacent.
日本の送電網は、地域独占の電力会社ごとに分割され、隣接する会社同士でも基本的に電気を融通しない。

This tradition should be changed so that the power grids are operated in an integrated way that allows electricity generated with renewable energy sources in rural areas to be sent to large markets like Tokyo and the Kansai region. That would ensure enough demand for clean power and help avert a situation where a utility's capacity to buy such electricity reaches its limit.
　これを改め、地域に偏在する自然エネルギー電力を東京や関西の大消費地に送るように送電網の運用を変えれば、供給に見合う需要が確保され、電力会社が「もう満杯」という事態は避けられる。

Renewable energy accounts for only 1 percent of Japan's overall power production.
　日本の電力に占める自然エネルギーは１％だ。

The new legislation should be used to raise the low status of renewable energy in this country while promoting efforts to reduce nuclear power generation, reform the power supply system and develop next-generation storage battery technology.
新法をテコに、原発の削減や電力体制の改革、蓄電池などの研究開発も進めながら、「自然エネルギー後進国」から早く脱却しよう。

2011/09/08
--The Asahi Shimbun, Sept. 7
EDITORIAL: Fresh approach to financing can help disaster-stricken areas.
被災企業支援―連帯の金融を広げよう

A fresh approach to financing is needed to rebuild areas that have seen their economic bases wiped out by the March 11 disaster.
　経済基盤を根こそぎ奪われた被災地域の再生へ、金融にも新たな発想が求められている。

The so-called double loan problem poses a major challenge to financial reconstruction. This is because the government has decided to establish an agency in each disaster-stricken prefecture that will buy up loans companies took out before the catastrophe.
　金融復興の焦点である二重ローン問題では、政府が旧債権の買い取り機関を被災各県に設けることになった。

But as we feared, a stalemate may set in over purchase prices.
　だが案の定、買い取り価格をめぐって袋小路に陥る懸念が出ている。

Creditor financial institutions would naturally want to sell off the loans at high prices to minimize anticipated losses, while purchasing agencies would make lower offers.
債権者の金融機関は高く売り、見込まれる損失を転嫁したい。逆に買い取り機関側は安く抑えたい、という構図だ。

This is hardly the time for such a stalemate.
　にらみ合いで時間を費やしている場合ではない。

A decision must be made by taking various factors into account, such the degree of contribution made by each financial institution to help disaster-affected businesses rebuild themselves.
被災企業の再建に向けた金融機関側の貢献度合いなどを加味して総合的に決断するほかない。

All parties concerned must remember that speedy recovery should be their shared goal.
関係者は復興を加速するという大局に立ってほしい。

The problem, though, is that even if such businesses can be sure of having their old debts taken care of, they still have to deal with a lack of capital.
　ただ、被災企業にとっては旧債務の処理にメドがついても、資本の欠乏という壁がある。

Cases abound in the disaster-stricken prefectures of businesses that remain in a fix because they have no collateral against which to borrow funds to purchase equipment.
借金して設備を買おうにも担保がない、といった八方ふさがりの話が被災地にはあふれている。

One solution lies in getting private citizens to make direct investments in such businesses.
　注目したいのは、被災企業と個人マネーを直接結ぶ取り組みだ。

A new flow of money from individuals who want to support the post-disaster reconstruction effort, even at their own risk, may result in a synergy with bank lending.
「損失も覚悟のうえで復興を支援する」という新たなお金の流れを作り、金融機関の融資との相乗効果を生み出したい。

In fact, programs are already in place for consumers to help pig farms and seafood processing factories by paying for their products in advance.
　すでに、商品の購入を先払いすることで養豚場や水産加工場の再建を助ける動きがある。

A growing number of people are signing up for similar deals where they become owners who run oyster farming businesses, for example.
カキ養殖などのオーナー制度も広がっている。

Tokyo-based Music Securities Inc., which is known for its music CD fund, is helping to raise money for disaster-affected businesses by establishing a fund for each business.
　被災企業ごとにファンドを設け、資金集めを支援しているのは、音楽ＣＤファンドで実績のあるミュージックセキュリティーズ（東京）だ。

Donations start at 10,000 yen, half of which is invested in the business of the donor's choice. The donor receives products from the business as a dividend.
１口１万円で、出資金と寄付金を５千円ずつ出してもらい、被災企業の自慢の製品などで配当する。

Discovering promising entrepreneurs who help promote local resources and matching them up with private investors around the nation for long-term "partnerships" should provide a strong motivation for businesses to recover from the disaster.
　被災地の資源を生かす魅力的な企業家を発掘し、全国の人々からの投資という形で息の長い連帯関係を結ぶ。これは事業者の復興への強い動機付けにもなる。

Such an arrangement can also help strengthen the operational base for disaster-affected businesses that are handicapped in distribution and financing.
販路や資金面でハンディを負う被災企業の基盤を強化する可能性も秘める。

We hope many individuals and groups, including nongovernmental organs, will work hard to discover promising businesses.
　ＮＰＯを含む多様な担い手が知恵を絞り、埋もれた企業を掘り起こしてほしい。

We would also like to see closer collaboration between those individuals/groups and existing financial institutions and administrative entities.
　既存の金融機関や行政との連携も深めたい。

Policy-wise, it should be well worth giving tax breaks and other incentives to such investors.
投資家への税制優遇など、政策面で後押しする価値は大きいはずだ。

In the meantime, investment scams passing for disaster relief drives are on the rise.
　一方、復興支援を語る投資詐欺が増えている。

This is outrageous, but it is also up to investors to be discerning.
実に腹立たしいが、投資する側は「本物」を見極める目を鍛えたい。

And here is a checklist in case of doubt.
Is the party soliciting your investment able to give you specific information about the disaster damage suffered by the business in question?
　被災の情報は具体的か。

Will you be given a chance to speak directly with a representative of the business in which you are investing, or pay that person a visit to see the situation for yourself?
投資先の事業者と対話したり、現地を訪ねたりして実態を把握する機会はあるか。

Are you fully apprised of your risks?
リスクの説明は十分か。

Do you feel you are being pressed to make a much larger investment than what you are comfortable with?
無理に大口の投資を勧めていないか――。

We hope a "finance system of empathy and partnership" will take root.
こうした点をしっかりチェックしつつ、共感と連帯の金融を広げたい。

2011/09/07
--The Asahi Shimbun, Sept. 6
EDITORIAL: Japan needs to open its doors wider for foreign workers.
外国人看護師―「人の開国」を大胆に

With its population aging rapidly, Japan will see an increased need for more nursing and health care professionals in the years ahead.
　高齢化が進む日本社会では看護や介護の人材が一層必要になる。

Japan could find itself in serious trouble if it erects barriers too high for foreign workers wishing to work here.
外国人受け入れに高すぎる壁を設けては、むしろ日本が困ることにならないだろうか。

Japan and Vietnam are now holding talks to establish a system that will allow young Vietnamese to work as nurses and nursing care workers in Japan.
　ベトナムの若者が日本で看護師や介護福祉士になる枠組みを作る交渉が本格化している。

The negotiations are based on a bilateral economic partnership agreement.
日越間の経済連携協定（ＥＰＡ）に基づくものだ。

Japan already has programs to accept such health care workers from Indonesia and the Philippines under bilateral economic partnership agreements with these countries.
But these programs have turned out to be riddled with problems.
　先例となるインドネシア、フィリピンとのＥＰＡ協定で多くの問題点が浮き彫りになった。

These problems need to be fixed if Japan is to establish a better program with Vietnam.
ベトナムとの枠組み作りではそこの是正がかかせない。

Under existing programs, trainees receive about half a year of training before coming to Japan and then work for three years at Japanese hospitals as they prepare for state examinations to qualify as a health care professional. 　半年程度の入国前研修の後、看護師候補として３年間、各地の病院で働きながら国家資格の取得をめざす――。

Nearly 600 candidates from Indonesia and the Philippines have taken part in the programs since fiscal 2008.
こうした制度の下で０８年度以降、インドネシアとフィリピン両国から６００人近くが来日した。

Of the 254 foreign trainees who took the nursing license exam last year, however, only three were successful.
　ところが、昨年の看護師国家試験の受験者２５４人のうち合格したのは３人だけ。

The number of successful applicants for the exam held in March this year was larger at 16, but the pass rate was still as low as 4 percent.
今年３月の試験の合格者は１６人に増えたが合格率は４％だった。

In order to prevent the unsuccessful candidates from returning home en masse, the government decided to allow the first group of Indonesian trainees to stay in Japan for one more year.
But many of the young Indonesians who failed to qualify have given up on working in Japan and have returned home.
　試験に落ちた若者の大量帰国を避けようと政府は、第一陣で来たインドネシア人候補者の滞在期限を１年延長したが、多くの若者が日本に見切りをつけて帰ってしまった。

The government should not allow a similar situation where the young Vietnamese who come to Japan with hopes of working here return home disappointed.
　ベトナムから夢を抱いて来日する若者を、同じように失意のまま帰国させるようなことにしてはならない。

The biggest factor behind the low ratios of successful applicants is clearly the language barrier.
　合格率が低い一番の理由は日本語の壁だ。

It is apparently an overwhelming challenge for these trainees to learn enough Japanese while working.
働きながらの勉強には限界がある。

In addition, the need to learn many technical terms further increases the difficulty of passing the license examination. As a result, trainees whose work was rated highly by the hospitals did not necessarily pass the exam.
しかも専門用語が出る国家試験のハードルは高く、病院から高い評価を受けた人材が必ずしも合格しない結果となっている。

In its current state, the system appears as if it was designed to reject rather than accept foreign nationals wishing to work as health care professionals in Japan.
　これでは、職業人として日本に残るのを拒む制度と受け止められても仕方あるまい。

It is necessary to give the trainees one year or so of Japanese language training so that they can acquire at least sufficient skills for everyday conversation.
　来日前の日本語研修を１年程度行い、少なくとも日常会話に困らない程度の能力をつけて来てもらうことが必要だ。

The state license exam also needs to be improved.
国家試験の改善もさらに図りたい。

Under the economic partnership agreements with Indonesia and the Philippines, two or three years of experience in the profession are required to be eligible for the programs. But it is doubtful whether such lengthy experience is really necessary.
　これまでのＥＰＡ協定では本国で２、３年の実務経験を条件にしたが、それほどの年数が必要だろうか。

Some Japanese experts say it is easier for younger trainees to get acclimated to the working practices and conditions at Japanese medical institutions.
日本の医療慣行に慣れてもらうためにはより若い方がいいという声も聞く。

Since the Great East Japan Earthquake, many Indonesian and Philippine trainees remained at hospitals and facilities in affected areas to help victims. The ways they contributed to disaster relief efforts were reported and much talked about back in their home countries.
　東日本大震災では、被災地の病院や施設に残って救援を続けたインドネシア人やフィリピン人の姿が母国で報じられ、話題となった。

We should value young foreigners who have come to have affection for Japan.
日本に愛着を持つようになった外国人の若者の存在は貴重だ。

Competition for human resources in Asia is getting stronger.
　アジアの人材獲得競争は激しさを増している。

Japan needs to create an open and attractive system to get more qualified and talented foreign workers.
優れた人材を確保するために開放的で魅力ある仕組みを作る必要がある。

The new administration of Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda should reconsider the government's policy of accepting foreign workers so as to open the nation's door wider to human resources from around the world.
　野田政権は外国人受け入れ政策を見直し、人の開国を大胆に進めるべきだ。