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
Artificial intelligence: Use it well for a society where humans can thrive
人工知能　上手に使って住み良い社会に

The recent feat achieved by AlphaGo was a marvel of striking progress in artificial intelligence (AI) technology.
AlphaGo, an AI-based computer program developed by a British corporation under the umbrella of Google Inc. of the United States, has won against the world’s top Go player, South Korea’s Lee Se Dol, 4-1.
　人工知能の技術が目覚ましい進化を遂げていることに驚かされた。
　米グーグル傘下の英企業が開発した人工知能の「アルファ碁」が、韓国棋院の世界トップ棋士、李世●九段に４勝１敗で勝ち越した。（●＝「石」の下に「乙」）

Previously, AI programs had defeated skilled human players in the fields of chess and shogi. However, it was said that it would take 10 years to see an AI system win against human players in the world of Go.
　チェスや将棋では、人工知能が実力者を破っている。だが、囲碁で勝つには、この先１０年を要すると言われていた。

It was cited as a high hurdle that the surface of a Go board is broad, and that there are an immeasurable number of choices for moves to be made in playing a match.
盤面が広く、着手の選択肢が桁違いに多いことが、高いハードルとされた。

No wonder Japan’s top master of Go, Yuta Iyama, described AlphaGo’s victory as “shocking.”
　日本の第一人者である井山裕太棋聖が「衝撃的」と語ったのも、無理はない。

AlphaGo is able to learn on its own which are the best moves to make in playing a game. The program has read about 30 million images depicting the stages of development in games played by professional and other players. Then it has learned what kinds of patterns are preferred at which stages of development in a game, giving itself a better chance of winning. This has made AlphaGo ever more highly skilled in playing a match.
　アルファ碁は、より良い一手を自ら学ぶ能力を備えている。プロらによる対局の盤面の画像を３０００万枚も読み込み、どのようなパターンになれば勝ちやすいかを学習し、棋力を高めた。

That approach, called “deep learning,” is one of the state-of-the-art AI theories. To put its victory in a human context, AlphaGo has developed “taikyokukan” (broad-based perspective).
　「ディープ・ラーニング（深層学習）」という最新理論だ。人間で言えば、「大局観」を養ったことが勝因だろう。

AI technology has already been put to practical use, such as in image searches. It may be possible that the spread of more advanced AI technology could greatly change our day-to-day life. There also are concerns that the technology could take over clerical work carried out by humans.
　人工知能は、画像検索などで既に実用化されている。より高度な人工知能が普及することで、日常生活が大きく変化する可能性がある。事務などの仕事が取って代わられるといった懸念もある。

It is necessary to live with AI technology and make good use of it.
　人工知能と共存し、活用していくことが求められる。

Myriad potential benefits

The self-driving car system is designed to prevent accidents by perceiving vehicles and pedestrians around an autonomous car and predicting how they would move.
　車の自動運転では、周辺の車両や歩行者を察知し、動きを予測することで、事故を防ぐ。

The use of diagnostic imaging technology will increase the probability of detecting cancer cells. It will also make it possible to predict how the condition of a cancer patient would develop, thereby enabling the patient to receive appropriate treatment.
　画像診断では、がん細胞を発見する確率が高まろう。病状の進行を予測して、適切な治療に結び付けることも可能になる。

Progress is being made in developing the technology to instantly distribute to smartphones information about which route should be taken in evacuating at the time of tsunami and other disasters.
　津波などの災害時に、どのルートで避難すれば安全か、という情報を瞬時にスマートフォンへ配信するための技術開発が進む。

We hope the public and private sectors will join hands in fully tapping into the advantages of AI technology.
　官民が連携し、人工知能のメリットを最大限に引き出したい。

In the United States, Google, IBM and others are fiercely competing with each other in applying AI technology to the analysis of big data, the development of pharmaceutical products and for other purposes.
　米国では、グーグルやＩＢＭなどが、ビッグデータの解析や医薬品開発などへの応用で激しい競争を繰り広げている。

It is disturbing to see that the presence of Japanese corporations is weak in this respect. Because of budgetary constraints and other reasons, these companies have hardly been able to apply their research results to the commercialization of products. Research papers originating in Japan account for a slumping 2 percent to 3 percent of those submitted from around the world.
　これに対し、国内企業の存在感が薄いのが気がかりだ。予算の制約などで、研究成果が、ほとんど製品化につながっていない。世界の中で日本発の論文が占める割合は、２～３％と低迷している。

It is necessary to quickly nurture young researchers and engineers in this country.
　若手の研究者や技術者の育成を急ぐ必要がある。

The main pillar of the 5th Science and Technology Basic Plan, finalized by the government at a Cabinet meeting in January, is to realize “a supersmart society” through the use of AI technology.
　政府は、１月に閣議決定した第５期科学技術基本計画の柱に、人工知能による「超スマート社会」の実現を据えている。

If robotics technology, Japan’s field of expertise, is combined with AI, a mix of these technologies could be expected to make up for labor shortages in a society whose population is decreasing.
　日本の得意分野であるロボット技術に人工知能を組み合わせれば、人口減社会での労働力不足を補う役割も期待できるだろう。

(From The Yomiuri Shimbun, March 16, 2016)

The Yomiuri Shimbun
Plans to revive areas hit by N-disaster must cover population decline problem
福島の住民帰還　人口減に備える地域再生策を

Even though five years have passed since the disaster at Tokyo Electric Power Co.’s Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant occurred, nearly 100,000 people from Fukushima Prefecture continue to live as evacuees both in and outside the prefecture.
　東京電力福島第一原子力発電所の事故から５年を経た今も、１０万人近くの福島県民が県内外で避難生活を続けている。

The government plans to lift by March 2017 the evacuation orders for areas where residence is restricted — excluding those that are designated as difficult-to-return zones because of extremely high levels of radiation — as well as areas where preparations are being made for the lifting of evacuation orders.
　政府は、放射線量が極めて高い帰還困難区域以外の居住制限区域と避難指示解除準備区域について、２０１７年３月までの解除を目指す方針だ。

How the blueprints for regional rejuvenation should be drawn up with evacuees’ return home in mind is a major challenge facing the municipalities concerned.
　避難住民の帰還を見据え、いかに地域再生への青写真を描くか。各自治体の重い課題である。

One headache in this regard is that lifting the evacuation orders will not necessarily lead to the return of evacuees. In the case of Naraha, from which the entire population was evacuated, only 6 percent of the town’s former residents have returned their home bases since the orders were lifted last September.
　難しいのは、避難指示の解除が必ずしも住民の帰還につながらない点だ。自治体ぐるみで移転した楢葉町では、昨年９月に解除されたものの、町に生活の拠点を戻した人は６％に過ぎない。

According to a survey of the residents’ opinions conducted in January by the Reconstruction Agency and other entities, those who said they would resume living in the town totaled slightly more than 50 percent of respondents, including those who have already returned.
　復興庁などが１月に実施した住民意向調査によると、既に町に戻った人を含め、今後の帰還に前向きな回答をした町民は、５０％余りにとどまっている。

In regard to the towns of Futaba and Okuma, most of which are in difficult-to-return zones where the prospects for lifting the evacuation orders are not in sight, only around 10 percent of respondents expressed intentions to return. Those who answered “not returning” accounted for 50 percent to 60 percent.
　解除時期が見通せない帰還困難区域が大半を占める双葉、大熊両町では、帰還する意思のある人は１割程度だ。「戻らない」が５～６割を占めている。

Population declines in every municipality will be unavoidable even after the evacuation orders are lifted.
　各自治体とも、避難指示解除後も人口減は避けられない。

The percentage of those who want to return is higher among elderly people. First of all, preparations to resume operations at core hospitals must be accelerated. Four of these hospitals located in Futaba county, comprising Naraha and seven other municipalities, have had their operations suspended.
　帰還の意向は、高齢者ほど強い。まずは、拠点病院の整備を急ぎたい。楢葉町など８町村で構成される双葉郡内にあった四つの拠点病院は、休止したままだ。

Wider cooperation crucial

It is also essential to improve public transportation systems, which are needed for hospital visits and shopping.
　通院や買い物の足となる公共交通機関の整備も欠かせない。

Service continues to be partially suspended on the JR Joban Line. Bus services remain suspended on many regular routes in disaster-affected areas. It will also be necessary to restructure the traffic network connecting municipalities around the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant with other cities in the prefecture, including Fukushima, Koriyama and Iwaki.
　ＪＲ常磐線は一部区間で不通が続く。運休したままの路線バスも多い。第一原発周辺の自治体と福島、郡山、いわき各市などを結ぶ交通ネットワークを再構築する必要もあるだろう。

If regional revival is undertaken by each municipality on an individual basis, there are limits to what can be achieved. The municipalities should push ahead with reconstructing the entire region through efforts that reach beyond the boundaries of municipalities.
　自治体ごとに地域再生に取り組んでも、やれることには限界がある。自治体の枠を超え、地域全体で復興を進めるという発想が求められるのではないか。

Many disaster-affected municipalities are aiming to establish compact towns where administrative offices and commercial, medical and welfare facilities are concentrated. It may be an idea for municipalities to cooperate in working out plans on community building.
　行政機関や商業施設、医療・福祉施設を集約したコンパクトな街づくりを目指す自治体は多い。この計画の策定を各自治体が連携して進めるのも方策の一つだ。

If functions necessary to improve residents’ livelihoods are provided through the cooperation of municipalities, their fiscal burdens will be reduced. It is also important for the national and prefectural governments to coordinate measures adequately.
　自治体間で住民生活に必要な機能を補完し合えば、財政負担は軽減されよう。政府と県が適切に調整することも大切である。

To entice younger generations to return, job opportunities must be available. Government support is needed to attract businesses to the region.
　若い世代を呼び戻すために、欠かせないのが、働き口の確保だ。企業誘致には、政府の後押しが求められる。

The envisaged “Innovation Coast” — to concentrate research facilities and corporate entities related to the decommissioning of damaged reactors along the coastal area — is expected to lead to job creation and an inflow of new residents. We want to see this innovation steadily put into place with the government taking the initiative.
　廃炉作業などに関連する研究施設や企業を沿岸部に集積する「イノベーション・コースト構想」は、雇用創出や新住民の流入につながると期待される。政府主導で着実に進めてもらいたい。

(From The Yomiuri Shimbun, March 15, 2016)

--The Asahi Shimbun, March 13
EDITORIAL: Take a close look at reality before touting ‘women’s active roles’
（社説）女性の活躍　現実に目を向けてこそ

One anonymous blog has underscored the serious issue of children on waiting lists for nursery schools, along with the lack of understanding on the part of political leaders.
Titled “Hoikuen Ochita Nihon Shine!!!” (My kid was rejected by a nursery school. Go to hell, Japan!!!), the blog was posted in mid-February by a mother whose child had failed to gain admission into a nursery school.
　「保育園落ちた日本死ね！！！」と題した匿名のブログが待機児童問題の深刻さとともに、為政者の無理解を浮き彫りにする事態となっている。
　投稿があったのは先月中旬。

She used harsh language to vent her anger, saying things such as, “What about a ‘society in which all citizens are dynamically engaged?’” and "I’ll have to quit my job.”
A “society in which all citizens are dynamically engaged” is one of the key slogans of the Abe administration.
保育園の選考に落ちた母親が「一億総活躍社会じゃねーのかよ」「会社やめなくちゃならねーだろ」と、激しい言葉で怒りをぶつけた。

When an opposition lawmaker raised the subject during Diet debate, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe cited the anonymity of the posting in replying to her and said, “I have no way to confirm the story, including whether it really took place.”
　国会で野党が取り上げたところ、安倍首相は書き込みが匿名であることを理由に「実際にそれが本当かどうかも含めて、私は確かめようがない」と答弁。

Lawmakers of the ruling bloc heckled the opposition lawmaker, with one shouting, “Bring the one who wrote it!”
与党の議員からは「本人を出せ」などのヤジも飛んだ。

Members of the public who shared similar problems and anxieties reacted furiously to these verbal exchanges. They staged protests in front of the Diet building and collected signatures for a petition calling for a more extensive child-care system.
　こうしたやりとりに、同じような悩みや不安を抱える人たちが強く反発。国会前での抗議活動や、保育制度の充実を求める署名活動へ広がった。

The government and the ruling parties were taken aback by the development, and began hastily discussing new measures for reducing the number of children on waiting lists--so goes, in brief, the story to date.
政府・与党は慌てて、待機児童解消に向けた新たな対策の検討を始めたというのがあらましの経緯だ。

The response of political leaders has been particularly poor. While one ruling Liberal Democratic Party official has stated that the initial response was wrong, the story is much more than that of a “wrong” reaction. One has to say that a lack of understanding of how serious the current situation is has come to light.
　あまりにお粗末だ。自民党内には「初動ミス」との声もあるが、ミスにとどまる話ではない。深刻な現状に対する認識を欠いていることが露呈した、と言わざるを得ない。

The question of children on waiting lists is posing a serious problem for every household facing it, as mothers in some families are eager to stay in their current jobs, whereas other families need dual incomes to maintain their standards of living. The blog caught on with a broad audience, and many citizens lashed out against the administration, probably out of a strong resentment of the issue that has failed to improve over the years.
　今の仕事を何とか続けたい、共働きで働かないと生活が苦しい……。どの家庭にとっても待機児童の問題は切実だ。ブログへの共感と、政権への市民の反発がここまで広がったのは、長年の課題がいっこうに改善されない現状への強い怒りだろう。

The government and the ruling parties should take that squarely to heart.
政府・与党はそこをしっかり受け止めるべきだ。

Abe has formulated such slogans as “women’s active roles” and a “society where all women shine.” One has to ask, however, if there really is an environment for making that happen. The dearth of child-care services is not the only factor that is keeping women from playing “active roles.”
　安倍首相は「女性活躍」「すべての女性が輝く社会」を掲げている。しかし、その環境は本当に整っているだろうか。活躍を阻害しているものは、保育サービスの不足にとどまらない。

The U.N. Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women issued a recommendation earlier this month to the Japanese government.
　国連の女子差別撤廃委員会は今月、日本政府に勧告をした。

The unflattering document, which said, “The committee’s previous recommendations have not been fully implemented,” once again urged Tokyo, among other things, to develop legal measures for banning and preventing discrimination in employment and to increase the number of women in decision-making positions, such as lawmakers and corporate workers in senior management posts.
「過去の勧告が十分に実行されていない」とする厳しい内容で、雇用差別を禁じ、防止する法的措置を整えることや、国会議員や企業の管理職など指導的地位を占める女性を増やすことなどを改めて迫った。

Japan ratified the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women in 1985. The Basic Law for Gender-Equal Society took effect in 1999. More women are working, but wage gaps between men and women are continuing to widen, in part because many female workers are employed on a nonregular basis.
　日本が女子差別撤廃条約を批准したのは１９８５年。９９年には男女共同参画社会基本法が施行された。働く女性は増えているものの、非正社員が多いこともあり、男女の賃金格差はむしろ広がる傾向。

Men’s participation in child care and in nursing care for the elderly is still low, and there remains a deep-rooted perception among the public that men and women are supposed to assume different roles. The latest Gender Gap Index report of the World Economic Forum put Japan in 101st place, in the lower rung of the ranking, as usual.
男性の育児や介護への参加もいまだ低水準で、性別による役割分担の意識は根強く残る。世界経済フォーラムの最新の男女格差指数でも日本は１０１位と低迷したままだ。

Political leaders should first look squarely at reality if they are to ever talk of “women’s active roles.”
　「女性活躍」を言うのなら、まず現実を直視することから始めてほしい。

The Yomiuri Shimbun
Eurozone economic recovery based just on monetary easing will be fragile
ＥＣＢ追加緩和　金融政策頼みだけでは危うい

Monetary easing alone will not be able to eradicate concerns about deflation and realize a full economic recovery in the eurozone. Other steps will be essential, including expanding public investment and undertaking structural reforms to boost the economy’s growth potential.
　デフレ懸念の払拭と景気の本格回復を実現するには、金融緩和だけでなく、成長力を高める構造改革や公共投資の拡大などが不可欠である。

The European Central Bank has decided on a comprehensive, additional monetary-easing policy that exceeded market expectations.
　欧州中央銀行（ＥＣＢ）が、市場の予想を上回る包括的な追加金融緩和策を決定した。

The ECB will lower the rate of interest paid when private banks deposit surplus funds at the central bank from the current minus 0.3 percent to minus 0.4 percent.
　民間銀行がＥＣＢに余剰資金を預けた際に適用する金利を、今の「マイナス０・３％」から「マイナス０・４％」に引き下げる。

In addition, the ECB will expand its quantitative easing program, which pours capital into the markets. This program, which includes buying government bonds, will be boosted from €60 billion a month to €80 billion (about ¥10 trillion) a month.
　市中に資金を流し込む量的緩和策も拡充する。国債などの買い取りを現在の月６００億ユーロから８００億ユーロ（約１０兆円）に増やす。

The eurozone is on the brink of tumbling into deflation. Sluggish crude oil prices and other factors pushed the single-currency bloc’s February rate of consumer price increases into negative territory for the first time in five months.
　ユーロ圏は、デフレ転落の瀬戸際にある。原油価格の低迷などで、２月の消費者物価上昇率は５か月ぶりのマイナスになった。

Concerns are growing that the eurozone could see low economic growth over an extended period due to a decline in production and exports accompanying a slowdown in China and other emerging economies.
　中国など新興国経済の減速に伴う輸出や生産の減退で、低成長が長期化する不安もくすぶる。

The ECB’s aim of attempting to underpin the economy by launching another wave of monetary easing to dig up demand for capital among companies and individuals is appropriate.
　もう一段の金融緩和を敢行し、企業や個人の資金需要を掘り起こして、経済を下支えしようとするＥＣＢの狙いは適切である。

In the markets, the additional easing was welcomed in some quarters, which sent shares up and the euro down against the dollar. However, before long, share prices dipped and the euro strengthened again.
　ただ、市場では、いったんは追加緩和が好感され、株高・ユーロ安が進んだが、まもなく株安・ユーロ高に転じた。

Risks of easy money

At a press conference, ECB President Mario Draghi stated, “We don’t expect that it will be necessary to reduce rates further.” This comment was made to dash market expectations for further easing.
　ＥＣＢのドラギ総裁が記者会見で「更なる利下げは想定していない」と明言し、一層の緩和を期待する市場を失望させたためだ。

We think this symbolizes the extent to which the eurozone economy has become dependent on monetary easing.
　ユーロ圏経済が、いかに「金融緩和頼み」の状態にあるかを象徴していると言える。

If the ECB continues to push interest rates deeper into negative territory, it runs the risk of worsening side effects such as weakening banks’ earnings and causing real estate prices to soar as money freed up by the easing pours into this sector.
　マイナス金利を拡大し続ければ、銀行の収益悪化や、緩和マネーが流れ込む不動産の価格高騰など副作用が深刻化しかねない。

Germany and other nations that oppose purchasing massive volumes of government bonds may strengthen their opposition to the plan, leading to the unraveling of the unity among euro nations and heightening the risk of sparking turmoil in the markets.
　国債の大量購入に否定的なドイツなどが緩和策への反発を強め、ユーロ圏の結束が乱れて、市場を動揺させるリスクも高まろう。

A recovery of Europe’s economy that relies only on monetary policies will be fragile. As was confirmed during February’s meeting of finance ministers and central bank governors of the Group of 20 major economies, each European country should be using every policy at its disposal, such as devising growth strategies and fiscal stimulus packages.
　金融政策だけに依存する欧州経済の再生は危うい。２月の主要２０か国・地域（Ｇ２０）財務相・中央銀行総裁会議で確認したように、欧州各国は成長戦略や財政出動など他の政策も総動員すべきだ。

In southern European nations, where unemployment levels remain high, labor market reforms and other steps to improve mobility in employment will be vital.
　失業率が高止まりする南欧諸国では、雇用の流動性を高める労働市場改革などが重要となる。

We hope Germany, which has the financial wherewithal to do so, will embark on a program to increase government expenditures to stimulate the economy and pull growth along.
　財政余力のあるドイツは、景気を刺激する歳出拡大に乗り出し、成長を牽引けんいんしてもらいたい。

Another urgent task is restoring the health of the financial system by accelerating efforts by each bank in Europe to dispose of nonperforming loans.
　欧州の各銀行の不良債権処理を加速し、金融システムの健全性を取り戻すことも急務である。

While Europe and Japan continue their monetary easing, the United States is searching for an opportunity to raise interest rates again. Financial authorities in each nation must exercise great care to ensure sudden currency flows seeking to take advantage of differences in the direction of their policies do not throw the markets into confusion.
　欧州と日本が緩和を続ける一方で、米国は追加利上げの時機を探っている。政策の方向性の違いを突く急激な資金移動が市場を攪乱かくらんしないよう、各国の金融当局は細心の注意を払わねばならない。

(From The Yomiuri Shimbun, March 13, 2016)

The Yomiuri Shimbun
Giants must work toward ensuring self-discipline on part of players
巨人野球賭博　選手の規律順守を徹底したい

Pitcher Kyosuke Takagi of the Yomiuri Giants has admitted his involvement in gambling on Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) games. He is the latest Giants player to admit betting on ball games, following three other pitchers who were suspended by NPB last November for an indefinite period.
　読売巨人軍の高木京介投手が野球賭博に関与していたことを認めた。日本プロフェッショナル野球組織（ＮＰＢ）から昨年１１月に無期失格処分を受けた３投手に続く不祥事だ。

The Giants have made all-out efforts to regain confidence lost over the gambling scandal. It is extremely regrettable that the latest revelation came out shortly before the pennant race begins, betraying baseball fans again. The club’s president, Hiroshi Kubo, apologized at a news conference, saying, “I couldn’t regret this any more than I do.”
　巨人軍は、球団を挙げて信頼回復に取り組んできた。プロ野球の開幕間近に、ファンを再び裏切ることになったのは、極めて残念な事態である。巨人軍の久保博社長は記者会見で、「重ね重ね、痛恨の極みです」と謝罪した。

The club has filed a complaint against Takagi with NPB Commissioner Katsuhiko Kumazaki. Appropriate disciplinary action will be handed down following the NPB’s investigations.
　巨人軍は、高木選手をＮＰＢの熊崎勝彦コミッショナーに告発した。ＮＰＢの調査を経て、厳正な処分が下されよう。

To take the responsibility for a series of gambling scandals, Giants owner Kojiro Shiraishi, Chairman Tsunekazu Momoi and Executive Adviser Tsuneo Watanabe have resigned. Shoichi Oikawa, executive adviser of The Yomiuri Shimbun Holdings, will succeed Shiraishi as the club’s owner.
　一連の問題の責任を取り、巨人軍の白石興二郎オーナー、桃井恒和会長、渡辺恒雄最高顧問が辞任した。後任のオーナーには、老川祥一・読売新聞グループ本社最高顧問が就いた。

“I deeply apologize to all baseball fans,” Oikawa said. “I would like to regain the trust of the public as soon as possible.”
　老川新オーナーは、「すべての野球ファンに深くお詫わびを申し上げます。一刻も早く信頼を回復したい」と語った。

Lawyer Noboru Matsuda, who has served in such positions as chief of the special investigation squad of the Tokyo District Public Prosecutors Office, has assumed the post of acting owner. We want him to help the team strengthen its discipline.
　オーナー代行には、東京地検特捜部長などを歴任した弁護士の松田昇氏が就任した。巨人軍の綱紀粛正に力を注いでもらいたい。

Bolster instruction programs

Takagi bet on eight or nine professional baseball games from April to May in 2014 at the inducement of Shoki Kasahara, who was disqualified indefinitely. Takagi bet against a restaurateur who is an acquaintance of Kasahara. NPB investigations determined that the man habitually bets on baseball games.
　高木選手は２０１４年４～５月に、無期失格となった笠原将生元選手に誘われて、プロ野球の８～９試合を対象に賭けをした。相手は、笠原元選手の知人の飲食店経営者だ。ＮＰＢの調査で野球賭博常習者と認定されている。

Takagi’s acts obviously violate the article of the Nippon Professional Baseball Agreement that bans betting on baseball games. He bowed at a press conference, saying, “I am very sorry for betraying the confidence of the people concerned.”
　高木選手の行為は、試合を対象にした賭けを禁じた野球協約に明らかに違反する。記者会見で「関係者の皆さんを裏切ってしまい、本当に申し訳ありませんでした」と頭を下げた。

In hearings conducted by the club, questioning all Giants players, Takagi denied involvement in gambling on ball games. The restaurateur in question did not comply with the club’s request for cooperation in the investigation.
　巨人軍が全選手を対象に実施したヒアリング調査で、高木選手は野球賭博への関与を否定していた。飲食店経営者は、巨人軍の調査協力要請に応じなかった。

The probe by the club, which has no investigatory power, could have its own limits. But the fact remains that the club could not uncover Takagi’s involvement when the wrongdoing by the other three players came to light. It cannot be helped if the club is criticized, in hindsight, for failing to conduct a thorough probe.
　捜査権を持たない球団の調査には、限界があるだろう。だが、３選手の不祥事が明らかになった際、高木選手の関与をあぶり出せなかったことは事実だ。結果として、調査を尽くさなかったと批判されても、仕方あるまい。

Kazuhiro Kiyohara, who once played with the Giants, has been indicted on charges of possessing stimulant drugs.
　かつて巨人軍に在籍した清原和博元選手は、覚醒剤取締法違反（所持）で起訴された。

Children look up to pro baseball players. If they commit wrongdoing, it will have a big social impact. Fully aware of the heavy responsibility they bear, they need to exercise self-discipline throughout their careers and even after retirement.
　プロ野球選手は、子供たちのあこがれの存在だ。不祥事を起こせば、社会的影響が大きい。重い責任を背負っているという自覚を持ち、現役中はもちろん、引退後も身を律することが求められる。

The Giants must bolster instruction of their players through seminars and other programs.
　巨人軍は、研修などで選手教育を強化しなければならない。

(From The Yomiuri Shimbun, March 12, 2016)

--The Asahi Shimbun, March 11
EDITORIAL: The voices from Tohoku must be heard 5 years after the disaster
（社説）震災から５年　心は一つ、じゃない世界で

Exactly five years have passed since March 11, 2011, when Japan was struck by what has been described as the biggest postwar national crisis.
On that day, the Great East Japan Earthquake and subsequent tsunami ravaged wide areas in the northeastern Tohoku region and triggered the meltdowns at the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant.
　戦後最大の国難といわれた東日本大震災と福島第一原発の事故が起きた「３・１１」から、５年がたつ。

Reconstruction work is continuing in coastal areas of Miyagi and Iwate prefectures. Many residents are still struggling to rebuild their shattered livelihoods.
　宮城県や岩手県の海沿いでは工事の音が鳴り響く。だが、暮らしの再建はこれからだ。

Around 170,000 people, mainly residents in Fukushima Prefecture, are living away from their homes as evacuees.
福島県をはじめ、約１７万人が避難先での生活を強いられている。

People in the affected areas are still reeling from the aftermath and fallout of the devastating natural disasters and the harrowing nuclear accident.
　震災と原発事故は、今もなお続いている。

But how many people in other parts of the nation far from the stricken areas truly understand the harsh realities in communities battered by the disasters?
被災地から離れた全国で、その現実感を保つ人はどれだけいるだろう。

GAP WIDENS BETWEEN AFFECTED AREAS, OUTSIDE WORLD
　■深まる「外」との分断

Immediately after the disasters occurred, everybody’s heart went out to people in the affected areas. Many Japanese talked about “mutual support” and the “ties” that bound them with the victims. The kanji for “kizuna,” meaning “human bonds,” was chosen as the Chinese character that most powerfully symbolized the year.
　直後は、だれもが被災地のことを思い、「支え合い」「つながろう」の言葉を口にした。年の世相を表す「今年の漢字」に、「絆」が選ばれもした。

But we now wonder if all of the sympathetic feelings expressed back then were genuine. In the disaster-stricken areas, many people are lamenting the growing psychological distance with the rest of Japan.
Various emotionally charged issues have divided communities in the affected areas.
　あの意識ははたして本物だったろうか。被災地の間ではむしろ、距離が開いていく「分断」を憂える声が聞こえてくる。

They include forcing residents to leave the places where they have lived for a long time, and constructing levees that separate the land from the sea, which has supported their livelihoods.
　住み慣れた土地を離れる住宅移転。生活の場である海と陸とを隔てる防潮堤。

Debates over whether to preserve or remove remnants of buildings destroyed by the disasters have raised complicated feelings: a desire to forget what happened mixed with a determination to never forget.
「忘れたい」と「忘れまい」が同居する震災遺構。それぞれの問題をめぐり地元の意見は割れてきた。

Such divisions threaten to destroy harmony among community members. The problem is most acutely felt in Fukushima Prefecture.
　人間と地域の和が壊れる。その痛みがもっとも深刻なのは、福島県だ。

Disputes over the effects of radiation have shaken residents’ values and judgments. The problem has been compounded by the fact that Tokyo Electric Power Co., operator of the Fukushima No. 1 plant, paid different amounts of compensation to victims based on radiation levels in their areas.
Families and communities have been split into opposing groups.
　放射線の影響をめぐり、住民の価値観や判断は揺れた。線量による区域割りで東京電力からの賠償額が違ったことも絡み、家族や地域は切り刻まれた。

Some residents are working hard to repair the severed ties, and a variety of efforts are under way to heal wounded communities. They include a program to guide visitors to deserted towns and a project to provide information about Fukushima to people who voluntarily fled their communities in the prefecture.
　ささくれだつ空気の中で、修復を求めて奔走する人たちはいた。無人の町を訪問者に案内したり、自主避難者向けに福島からの情報発信を始めたり。さまざまな活動が生まれた。

Sachiko Bamba, a resident of Minami-Soma city, has worked with doctors to organize more than 80 study sessions to help citizens learn about radiation.
　南相馬市の番場さち子さんもその一人だ。医師と一緒に放射線についての市民向け勉強会を８０回以上重ねた。

Her project is driven by the belief that acquiring accurate knowledge about radiation helps people make educated decisions about their futures and assume a positive attitude toward life.
まずは正しい知識を得る。それが今後の生活の方針を納得して選び、前向きになる支えになると考えた。

Bamba and other like-minded people are concerned that residents’ struggles to overcome the huge challenges over the past five years remain largely unknown to people in other parts of the nation, creating widening perception gaps.
　番場さんらがいま懸念するのは、５年にわたる苦悩と克服の歩みが、被災地の「外」に伝わらず、認識のギャップが広がっていることだ。

They still receive questions from people outside Fukushima Prefecture on whether local residents must wear masks when they go out or whether rice produced in Fukushima Prefecture is safe for eating.
　「福島県では外出時にマスクは必要か」「福島産の米は食べられるのか」。県外から、そんな質問が今も続く。

The safety of various farm products from Fukushima Prefecture has been confirmed through constant measurements of airborne radiation and human exposure doses as well as continuous efforts to decontaminate polluted areas and check radiation in all foodstuffs.
　空間線量や体内の被曝（ひばく）の継続的な測定、食材の全量検査、除染作業などさまざまな努力を重ねた結果、安全が確かめられたものは少なくない。

But people outside the prefecture are not receiving much information about such improvements and progress.
だが、そうした正常化された部分は、県外になかなか伝わらない。

Last year, a man outside Fukushima Prefecture who called himself an anti-nuclear activist criticized a mother for remaining in Koriyama and supposedly exposing her child to health risks. She was deeply disheartened by the simple, inconsiderate and ill-founded argument against living in Fukushima that was based on his opposition to nuclear power.
　郡山市に住む母親は昨年、県外の反原発活動家を名乗る男性から「子供が病気になる」と非難された。原発への否定を無頓着に福島への忌避に重ねる口調に落胆した。

“How long will this kind of nonsense continue?” she uttered to herself.
「まだこんなことが続くのか」

STUDENTS SEEKING WORDS FOR COMMUNICATION
　■「言葉」を探す高校生

It is probably inevitable that differences in perceptions will appear over time between people in the disaster areas and those in the rest of the nation.
　時がたてば、被災地とほかとの間に意識の違いが生じるのは仕方のないことでもある。

To make our society less vulnerable to disasters, however, it is vital to constantly narrow such perception gaps. The positions of people currently struggling with hardships and those who are not may be reversed at any time.
　だが、災害に強い社会を築くには、その溝を埋める不断の努力が欠かせない。いま苦境と闘う人と、そうでない人とは、いつ立場が変わるかも知れない。

People in Fukushima Prefecture want to share their experiences over the past five years with the outside world. They believe the facts about the divisions caused by the nuclear disaster and their efforts to overcome them should be part of the lessons learned by the entire nation.
　福島の人びとが「この５年」を外に知ってほしいと思うのは、原発事故がもたらす分断の実相と克服の努力を全国の教訓として共有すべきだと考えるからでもある。

People in the prefecture are continuing their quest to find ways to achieve this goal.
　模索は続いている。

At Futaba Future School, a prefectural high school that opened last spring in the town of Hirono, Fukushima Prefecture, theater is a required course.
　福島県広野町に昨春開校した県立ふたば未来学園高校では必修科目に演劇を組み入れる。

The course is taught by reputed playwright Oriza Hirata, who has instructed his students to “express as they are the discrepancies in feelings due to different positions and unsolvable issues.”
　指導する劇作家の平田オリザ氏が生徒たちに課したのは、「立場の違いによるすれ違いや解決できない課題をそのまま表現する」こと。

At the outset of the course, Hirata told the students: “Let me tell you something. Nobody in the world understands things about Fukushima and you.”
　授業の冒頭、平田氏は言う。「言っとくけど、福島や君たちのことなんて世界の誰も理解なんてしてないからね」

The challenge facing the students is how to communicate their feelings to indifferent people. Tackling this challenge requires them to ask themselves whether they can really imagine the feelings of others.
　関心のない人に、どうやったら自分の思いが伝わるか。それは同時に、自分が他者の思いを想像できているかを自問することにもなる。

Bamba of Minami-Soma has also set up a study group to learn from TEPCO executives. She decided to stay in contact with the operator of the crippled nuclear plant to learn more about the company, which is responsible for rebuilding the devastated communities in the prefecture.
　番場さんは、福島担当の東電役員を招いた勉強会も始めた。事故を起こした東電とあえて交流するのは、最後まで福島の再生に努める責任を負っている相手のことを知るためだ。

In this world, people’s hearts are not one. History is littered with many examples of painful divisions among people, including the cases of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the only cities to suffer a nuclear attack, communities afflicted by pollution-caused diseases like Minamata disease, and Okinawa Prefecture, which has been forced to bear an excessive burden of hosting U.S. military bases.
　この世は、「心は一つ」ではない。歴史をみれば、分断はいくつも存在した。原爆に苦しんだ広島と長崎、水俣病など公害に侵された町、過大な米軍基地を押しつけられた沖縄――。

Various areas around this nation have been suffering on their own and fighting the pain caused by misunderstandings and perception gaps. Exchanges are growing between Fukushima Prefecture and other areas grappling with these problems.
　重い痛みを背負い、他者との意識差に傷つき悩みながら闘ってきた全国の地域がある。いま、そうした地域と福島とで交流する催しが増えている。

START WITH THINGS THAT CANNOT BE EASILY SHARED
　■伝わらないことから

If people living in different places and thinking about different issues want to connect with each other, they need to start talking about things that they both do not understand and continue their dialogue.
　住む場所も考える問題も違う人間同士が「つながる」ためには、「互いにわからない」ことから出発し、対話を重ねていくしかない。

“A desire to communicate is only born out of an experience of being unable to communicate,” Hirata says. “From this point of view, children in the stricken areas who have experienced the disaster, the mutual help and the divisions have the potential to play leading roles in reconstruction efforts and open up a new future for our society.”
　「伝えたい気持ちは、伝わらない経験があって初めて生まれる。その点で、震災と助け合いと分断とを経験した被災地の子どもたちには、復興を担い、世の中を切りひらく潜在的な力がある」と平田氏は言う。

Every Japanese should pay fresh and serious attention--and respond--to the messages people in the affected areas are sending out.
　被災地からの発信を一人ひとりが受け止め、返していくことから、もう一度始めたい。