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The Yomiuri Shimbun
Panama Papers underscore need for greater scrutiny of tax havens
パナマ文書公表　租税回避地の利用実態解明を

The publication of the Panama Papers can be used as a clue to clarifying the real situation regarding secretive tax havens.
　ベールに包まれているタックスヘイブン（租税回避地）の実態を解明する手がかりとなろう。

The International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) has made public the names of more than 210,000 corporations using tax havens in various parts of the world, along with the names of related individuals. The electronic data was leaked from a law firm in Panama, and was arranged to be listed according to country.
　国際調査報道ジャーナリスト連合（ＩＣＩＪ）が、各地のタックスヘイブンに設立された２１万余の法人と関連の個人名を公表した。パナマの法律事務所から流出した電子データを国別に整理したものだ。

In April, the ICIJ made it clear in the Panama Papers that political leaders from around the world, as well as their relatives, were using tax havens. This time, it proved that companies and wealthy people were widely making use of tax havens.
　ＩＣＩＪは先月、各国首脳や、その親族がタックスヘイブンに関わっていた実態を「パナマ文書」として明らかにした。今回、企業や富裕層などが幅広く利用していたことも裏付けられた。

It is vital to use the disclosure of the lists as a stepping stone to strengthen international cooperation to prevent tax evasion.
　リストの公表を、課税逃れに対する国際的な包囲網の強化につなげることが肝要だ。

With regard to Japan, the list contains the names of about 20 corporations, including general trading companies and telecommunications operators, and about 230 individuals, including the founders of major firms. In many cases, these individuals were listed as shareholders or board members of companies established in tax havens.
　日本関連では、総合商社や通信事業会社など約２０社や、大手企業の創業者ら約２３０人の名前が含まれている。タックスヘイブンに設立した法人の株主や役員として記載されたケースが目立つ。

A number of companies denied that they were trying to avoid paying taxes. Some repelled the publication of their names was regrettable, as they could lose social credibility.
　複数の企業は、「租税回避の目的はない」と説明する。名前が公表されたことについて、「社会的信用が落ちる恐れがあり、心外だ」と反発するところもある。

Indeed, use of a tax haven is not illegal per se.
　確かに、タックスヘイブンを使うこと自体は、違法ではない。

However, it is a fact that many companies and individuals are trying to reduce their taxes by taking advantage of the nature of tax havens — extremely low tax rates and high anonymity.
　だが、税率が著しく低く、匿名性が高いという特徴を利用して、節税を図る企業や個人が後を絶たないのも事実だ。

International cooperation vital

Even though using tax havens is lawful, public confidence over tax impartiality would be seriously affected if there are loopholes that major companies and affluent people can easily use. Since the publication of the Panama Papers, a more discerning eye has been turned toward tax havens.
　たとえ合法でも、大企業や富裕層にとって使いやすい抜け穴があれば、税の公平性に対する国民の信頼は揺らぐ。パナマ文書により、タックスヘイブンに注がれる視線は厳しさを増している。

Transferring funds to the bank account of a dummy company to intentionally conceal profits could amount to constitute tax evasion. It is reasonable for Finance Minister Taro Aso to say that if there are problematic transactions, the nation’s tax authorities would carry out a tax investigation.
　ペーパーカンパニーの口座に資金を移し、意図的に所得を隠した場合には、脱税に問われる。麻生財務相が「問題がある取引があれば、税務調査を行う」と述べたのは当然である。

The tax authorities should minutely determine how tax havens are really used. They also must keep an eye out for criminal proceeds and money laundering.
　国税当局は、利用実態を徹底的に解明すべきだ。犯罪収益の隠匿や資金洗浄についても、目を光らせねばならない。

It is difficult for a single country to cope with tax evasion beyond its national borders.
　国境を越えた税逃れに一国で対処するのは難しい。

Japan has concluded treaties and agreements with about 100 countries and regions to exchange information on accounts. It is important to make these pacts function effectively and to bring wrongdoing to light.
　日本は１００近い国や地域と、口座情報を交換する条約や協定を結んでいる。有効に機能させ、不正を洗い出すことが大切だ。

Last year, the Group of 20 major economies and the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development compiled international rules designed to prevent tax evasion via dubious transactions that are far from reality.
　主要２０か国・地域（Ｇ２０）と経済協力開発機構（ＯＥＣＤ）は昨年、実態とかけ離れた取引を名目にした課税逃れを防ぐ国際課税ルールを策定した。

At the Ise-Shima summit meeting of the Group of Seven major powers this month, taxation measures are a major item on the agenda. We hope the summit will strengthen international cooperation to that end.
　今月の主要国首脳会議（伊勢志摩サミット）でも、課税対策は重要な議題になる。国際的な連携を強化する場としたい。

(From The Yomiuri Shimbun, May 11, 2016)

The Yomiuri Shimbun
North Korea cannot maintain regime with anachronistic idolatry of leader
北朝鮮新体制　時代錯誤の偶像化では続かぬ

The North Korean leader has made it clear that he will reign over the country with an anachronistic approach — setting himself up as an icon and maintaining his unifying power through fear of a purge.
　指導者が自らを偶像化し、粛清の恐怖で求心力を保つ。そんな時代錯誤の統治を進める意思が鮮明になった。

The ruling Workers’ Party of Korea has ended its first congress in 36 years following the decision to bestow a newly created title on the first secretary, Kim Jong Un, of “party chairman.” The chairman thus unveiled his political intention to shift his power base from the military to the party.
　３６年ぶりに開かれていた北朝鮮の朝鮮労働党大会は、金正恩第１書記が新設の「党委員長」に就任することを決め、閉幕した。金委員長は、軍から党に軸足を移す政治姿勢を打ち出した。

The change in Kim’s title is aimed at not only showing North Koreans the start of a new era, but also making them realize that the leader will follow in the dictatorial footsteps of his grandfather Kim Il Sung, who served as the chairman of the party’s Central Committee.
　肩書の変更には、新時代の到来とともに、「党中央委員長」だった祖父である金日成主席の専制政治を踏襲することを国民に印象付ける狙いがある。

For personnel affairs, the party gave important positions to Kim Jong Un’s close aides, including Hwang Pyong So, director of the General Political Bureau of the North Korean People’s Army, and Choe Ryong Hae, secretary of the party, both of whom were named to the Politburo, the country’s top leadership.
　党人事では、黄炳瑞軍総政治局長、崔竜海党書記を最高幹部の政治局常務委員に配するなど、側近を重用した。

An aging Kim Yong Nam, head of the presidium of the Supreme People’s Assembly, was kept as a standing committee member. These personnel appointments indicated the party preferred to avoid a generation shift that could destabilize the regime.
高齢の金永南最高人民会議常任委員長を常務委員にとどめた。体制が不安定になるような世代交代は避けたのだろう。

In his speech on the achievements of the party during the congress, Kim Jong Un mentioned the so-called byongjin policy of pursuing the parallel goals of building up the economy and developing nuclear weapons, declaring that the party will “maintain this permanently and strengthen nuclear weapons programs.” This cannot be overlooked.
　看過できないのは、党大会で行った事業総括報告で、核開発と経済建設の「並進路線」について、「恒久的に堅持し、核武力を強化する」と宣言したことだ。

This policy was included in the party’s platform. The young leader also announced a policy for improving the investment environment. Does this, however, not contradict his pursuit of nuclear weapons development?
　この路線は党規約に盛り込まれた。投資環境の整備も政策に掲げたが、核開発と矛盾はないか。

Dictatorial approach

The international community has not recognized North Korea’s attempt to make possessing nuclear weapons a fait accompli. It is important for the rest of the world to strictly implement sanctions to urge Pyongyang to abandon its nuclear development.
　国際社会は、北朝鮮の核保有の既成事実化を許してはいない。北朝鮮に核放棄を迫る制裁を厳格に履行することが肝要である。

Kim also described North Korea as a “responsible nuclear state,” emphasizing that his country “will sincerely work to realize the denuclearization of the world.” It is ridiculous for him to promise his country’s “efforts” even though it has repeatedly ignored international agreements and resolutions from the U.N. Security Council.
　金委員長は、北朝鮮が「責任ある核保有国」として「世界の非核化に努力する」とも強調した。国際合意や国連安全保障理事会の決議を幾度も無視しておきながら、「努力」とはおこがましい。

Kim urged the United States to convert the Korean War armistice into a peace accord. While militarily confronting South Korea, Kim also called for talks to be held between the militaries of the neighbors to improve relations. There is no way Washington or Seoul would take the proposals seriously.
　米国には、朝鮮戦争の休戦協定を平和協定に転換させるよう求めた。軍事的に対峙たいじする韓国に対しても、関係改善が必要だとして、軍当局間の協議を呼びかけた。米韓が相手にするはずがない。

The congress was also made to serve as an opportunity for Kim to promote his cult of personality.
　党大会は、金委員長への個人崇拝を進める機会ともなった。

TV coverage showed senior party members hailing the young leader’s achievements, in addition to a massive parade to celebrate him.
　党幹部が業績をたたえる場面がテレビ放映され、大規模な祝賀パレードが行われた。

The party’s paper described Kim as “the great sun of the 21st century,” based on the figurative expression used to compare his grandfather to the sun.
党機関紙は、金主席の「太陽」という喩たとえを踏まえ、金委員長を「２１世紀の偉大な太陽」と形容した。

The young Kim failed to present any concrete measures to improve the economy, which is a pressing issue for North Koreans. He announced a five-year strategy to boost the economy by 2020, yet only listed issues such as “solving electricity problems.”
　金委員長は、国民にとって切実な経済分野で、具体策を示せなかった。２０２０年までの「国家経済発展５か年戦略」を発表したが、「電力問題の解決」などと課題を列挙したに過ぎない。

Kim has established his power base by executing or purging many party executives, most notably his uncle Jang Sung Taek, vice chairman of the National Defense Commission. During the congress, the leader announced the party will maintain efforts to “fight corruption,” issuing an apparent warning that he will show no mercy to anyone who challenges his authority.
　金委員長は、叔父の張成沢国防委員会副委員長ら幹部を次々に処刑・粛清し、権力基盤を確立してきた。党大会で「腐敗との闘争」の継続を表明したのは、自らの権威に盾突く者は容赦しない、という警告だろう。

(From The Yomiuri Shimbun, May 11, 2016)

May 10, 2016 (Mainichi Japan)
Obama to visit Hiroshima on May 27 as 1st sitting U.S. head of state

TOKYO (Kyodo) -- U.S. President Barack Obama will make the first visit to Hiroshima by a sitting U.S. head of state on May 27 to renew his resolve to seek a world free of nuclear weapons, both governments said Tuesday.

Officials from the Japanese and U.S. governments said the purpose of Obama's planned trip to the atomic-bombed city will be to promote a future-oriented stance on nuclear disarmament rather than for the U.S. leader to apologize for the nuclear attacks 71 years ago.

The U.S. president's visit to Hiroshima with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe will "highlight (Obama's) continued commitment to pursuing the peace and security of a world without nuclear weapons," the White House said in a statement.

Abe said he welcomes the U.S. president's visit to the Japanese city devastated by a 1945 U.S. atomic bomb in the final days of World War II "from the bottom of my heart" as a big step toward realizing a world free of nuclear weapons.

"I believe that President Obama making a trip to Hiroshima, seeing the reality of the consequences of atomic bombings and expressing his feeling to the world, will be a big force toward a world without nuclear weapons," Abe told reporters.

One of Obama's close aides, Deputy National Security Adviser Ben Rhodes, said the president is unlikely to comment during his visit to Hiroshima on whether the atomic bombings of Japan are justifiable.

Josh Earnest, White House press secretary, dismissed the view that Obama's visit to the city could be tantamount to an apology for the nuclear attacks.

"If people do interpret it that way, they'll be interpreting it wrongly, so I don't think that there's much risk in that," Earnest told reporters.

Survivors of the U.S. atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki and local government officials generally welcomed the announcement but some said he should have visited the atom-bombed city earlier, rather than in the final stage of his eight-year tenure. Obama leaves office in January 2017.

Obama will make the trip on the day a two-day Group of Seven summit in Japan ends.

The U.S. media have reported Obama could give a speech similar to his 2009 Prague address calling for a world without nuclear weapons if he visits Hiroshima.

Obama will visit the Peace Memorial Park near ground zero, where the arch-shaped cenotaph is located, Earnest said. A Japanese government source said the president may visit the Peace Memorial Museum, which displays artifacts of atomic bomb victims and survivors, such as a charred tricycle.

It is not yet decided whether Obama will meet with some atomic bomb survivors in Hiroshima, Earnest said.

In mid-April, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry visited memorial locations in Hiroshima such as the museum and the Atomic Bomb Dome, skeletal remains of the only major building partially left standing after the explosion. He did so on the sidelines of a G-7 foreign ministers' meeting in the city last month.

Obama, who took office in January 2009, was awarded that year's Nobel Peace Prize for his stated intention to seek a world without nuclear weapons, a commitment he made in the high-profile speech in Prague three months after inauguration.

A visit by a serving president to Hiroshima is expected to stir controversy in the United States due to concerns it could be construed as tantamount to an apology for the attacks.

There is widespread belief that the atomic bombings were necessary to make Japan surrender earlier than it would otherwise have done and save the lives of many U.S. soldiers as a result.

During his first trip to Japan as president in 2009, Obama told a press conference in Tokyo that he would be "honored" to have the opportunity to visit the cities.

The United States dropped an atomic bomb on Hiroshima on Aug. 6, 1945 and another on Nagasaki on Aug. 9. Japan surrendered on Aug. 15, bringing the war to an end.

The number of people -- most of them civilians -- who had died by the end of 1945 from the bombings is estimated at 140,000 in Hiroshima and 74,000 in Nagasaki, according to the cities.

The highest-ranking U.S. official so far to have visited Hiroshima is Nancy Pelosi, who did so in 2008 as speaker of the House of Representatives. The House chief stands behind only the vice president in the line of succession to the U.S. presidency.

In 1984, Jimmy Carter, as a former American president, visited the Peace Memorial Museum in Hiroshima.

Obama has sent U.S. ambassadors John Roos and Caroline Kennedy to the annual peace ceremonies in the atomic-bombed cities since 2010. Rose Gottemoeller, undersecretary of state for arms control and international security, also attended the ceremony in Hiroshima last year.

The Yomiuri Shimbun
China’s military base-building in South China Sea totally unlawful
南シナ海緊張　無法極まる中国の軍事拠点化

China’s lawless conduct in the South China Sea, which continues to heighten regional tensions, is hard to ignore. It is indispensable for the United States, Japan and other nations concerned to persistently point out the illegitimacy of China’s conduct to the international community.
　南シナ海の緊張を高め続ける中国の無法ぶりが目に余る。米国や日本など関係国は、不当さを国際社会に粘り強く訴えることが欠かせない。

China recently had a military aircraft landing and taking off from a runway on an artificial island it built through land reclamation of the Spratly Islands in the South China Sea. Beijing claimed that, with the aim of transporting construction workers who had suddenly been taken ill on the island, it had dispatched a maritime patrol aircraft on missions over the South China Sea.
　中国が最近、南シナ海のスプラトリー（南沙）諸島に造成した人工島の滑走路で、軍用機を離着陸させた。急病の建設作業員を搬送するため、南シナ海を巡視中の海上パトロール用の航空機を派遣したと主張している。

The incident came after China said it had conducted an operational test of the runway in January, using what it called “civilian aircraft.” This is the first case in which China’s use of military aircraft on the island has been made public.
　今年１月には、「民間機」を使って滑走路の運用テストを行ったと公表していたが、軍用機の利用が公になったのは初めてだ。

The top Chinese general has inspected the facilities built on some islands in the Spratly chain. Although China did not state the locations covered by his inspection, the general is believed to have visited man-made islands. Media in Vietnam, which has a territorial dispute with China, have reported on a huge radar facility constructed on one of China’s artificial islands, and accompanied its report with a photo of the equipment.
　中国軍の制服組トップは、スプラトリー諸島の施設の建設状況を視察した。場所は明示していないものの、人工島とみられる。中国と領有権を争うベトナムのメディアは、人工島の巨大なレーダー施設を写真付きで報じた。

The administration of Chinese President Xi Jinping is escalating its deceitful conduct, as illustrated by accelerated efforts to turn its artificial islands in the South China Sea into military bases, while making a far-fetched argument that its behavior does not constitute militarization.
　「軍事化には当たらない」と強弁しながら、南シナ海で軍事拠点化を加速させる習近平政権の欺瞞ぎまんがエスカレートしている。

What cannot be overlooked is that China’s forceful actions aimed at displaying its “sovereignty” have become conspicuous not only in regard to its man-made islands, but also in reefs and sea areas in the South China Sea that are not subject to extremely bitter territorial disputes.
　看過できないのは、人工島だけでなく、これまで対立が先鋭化していなかった南シナ海の岩礁や海域でも、「主権」を力ずくで誇示する動きが目立つことである。

U.S. patrols vital

Close to 100 Chinese fishing boats were recently seen sailing around reefs within Malaysia’s exclusive economic zone, accompanied by a Chinese government vessel. In an area near an Indonesian island, a Chinese government ship took possession of a fishing boat that had been detained for illegal fishing activities, after ramming an Indonesian patrol boat.
　マレーシアの排他的経済水域（ＥＥＺ）内にある岩礁の周辺には、１００隻近い漁船が公船を伴って出現した。インドネシアの島の付近では、摘発された漁船を公船が体当たりして取り返した。

The Philippines has brought a case before The Hague-based Permanent Court of Arbitration over China’s self-justified territorial claims. The court is expected to hand down a judgment disadvantageous to China this month or in June.
　フィリピンはハーグの仲裁裁判所に、中国の独善的な領有権主張を巡って提訴している。中国に不利な判断が、５～６月中にも示される見通しだ。

The Xi administration may try to ensure that its effective control over the South China Sea becomes fait accompli before that ruling.
　習政権には、その前に南シナ海の実効支配を既成事実化しようとする狙いがあるのではないか。

It is essential to make sure freedom of navigation, a principle based on international law, is realized through continued patrols by U.S. warships in areas China insists constitutes its territorial waters. This will be necessary to discourage China from acting unilaterally.
　中国の一方的な行動を抑止するには、中国が「領海」と主張する海域で米艦艇による巡視活動を継続し、国際法に基づく「航行の自由」を体現することが肝要だ。

Late this month, U.S. President Barack Obama is scheduled to visit Vietnam for the first time, with the intention of strengthening bilateral ties in the field of maritime security. Under a military pact signed between the United States and the Philippines, U.S. forces are set, in effect, to start stationing some troops in the Philippines.
　オバマ米大統領は今月下旬、ベトナムを初訪問し、海洋安全保障面で関係強化を図る方針だ。米軍もフィリピンとの軍事協定に基づき、事実上の駐留に乗り出す。

It is necessary that the United States build a framework in order to exert constant pressure on China through increased cooperation with Vietnam, the Philippines and other pertinent nations.
　米国には、ベトナムやフィリピンなど関係国と連携を深め、中国への圧力を恒常的に維持する体制の構築が求められよう。

Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida has told Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) member countries that Japan will fully cooperate with them to ensure that the rule of law prevails in the South China Sea. Japan must share its anxiety over China with these nations while also affirming the importance of preserving maritime order.
　南シナ海で「法の支配」を徹底させるため、岸田外相も東南アジア諸国連合（ＡＳＥＡＮ）に全面的に協力する考えを伝えている。日本は、中国への懸念を各国と共有し、海洋秩序維持の重要性を確認せねばならない。

(From The Yomiuri Shimbun, May 9, 2016)

The Yomiuri Shimbun
Can new Japan-Russia approach break deadlock on northern territories issue?
日露首脳会談　「新アプローチ」で打開可能か

Can the latest talks between the Japanese and Russian leaders serve as the first step to a breakthrough in negotiations over the northern territories off Hokkaido, which have remained deadlocked over the decades?
　長年、膠着こうちゃく状態が続く領土問題を打開する一歩となるのだろうか。

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe held talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Sochi, southern Russia, and the two leaders agreed that they will vigorously proceed with negotiations on the issue using “an approach based on a new concept.”
　安倍首相がロシア南部のソチで、プーチン大統領と会談した。北方領土問題について、「新たな発想に基づくアプローチ」で交渉を精力的に進めることで合意した。

“I got the sense that we can achieve a breakthrough in the stagnated situation,” Abe told reporters following the talks.
　首相は会談後、「停滞を打破し、突破口を開く手応えを得ることができた」と記者団に語った。

Even though details are unclear, the new approach is described as taking into consideration a global perspective — not just bilateral relations — and holding negotiations from a future-oriented standpoint.
　新たなアプローチの詳細は不明だが、「２国間だけでなく、グローバルな視点を考慮し、未来志向で交渉する」考え方とされる。

It is not easy for Japan and Russia to make concessions on the territorial issue, as it concerns the sovereignty of each country. It is understandable that Tokyo and Moscow will look for compromises on this issue as they develop deeper cooperation on security, economic and many other issues based on a broader perspective.
　国家主権に関わる領土問題は本来、日露双方とも簡単に譲歩できない。より大きな視野を持ち、安全保障、経済など様々な分野で協力を深める中で、歩み寄りを模索することは、理解できる。

The two leaders also agreed that they will have another meeting when Abe visits Vladivostok, Russia, in September. The two countries are said to further examine the timing of Putin’s visit to Japan.
　会談では、首相が９月にウラジオストクを訪問し、プーチン氏と再会談することで一致した。その後のプーチン氏の来日時期に関しては、さらに検討するという。

It is extraordinary for a Japanese prime minister to make successive visits to Russia, which suggests how resolved Abe is over the territorial issue.
　首相がロシアを何度も連続して訪れるのは異例である。領土問題に対する強い熱意がにじむ。

Political decision needed

Abe apparently believes that the issue cannot be solved unless he urges Putin, the most powerful figure in Russia, to make a political decision. Holding more bilateral talks with the president, including those to be organized on the sidelines of international conferences, is important in itself.
　最高権力者のプーチン氏に政治決断を迫らなくては、問題は解決しない、と考えているのだろう。国際会議の機会を含め、会談を重ねること自体は重要である。

During the latest talks, Abe presented a plan comprising eight areas of cooperation, including energy development and building infrastructure in Russia’s Far Eastern region.
　安倍首相は今回、エネルギー開発、ロシア極東のインフラ整備など８項目の協力計画を示した。

The Russian economy has remained sluggish mostly because of the fall in oil prices and the weaker ruble. Putin has put priority on promoting investment from and technical cooperation with Japan, in addition to the development of the Far East. Abe apparently aims to use his plan to pave the way to move the territorial issue forward.
　原油・ルーブル安などでロシア経済は低迷が続く。プーチン氏は日本の投資や技術協力、極東開発を優先課題に掲げている。首相には、領土問題を動かす呼び水にしたい、との思惑があろう。

Of course, economic cooperation alone cannot immediately achieve a breakthrough on the issue. We instead believe that the key will be for Japan to create a situation in which Russia puts real effort into boosting bilateral relations with Japan as Russia faces Chinese influences.
　無論、経済協力だけで、直ちに領土問題が進展することはない。むしろ、ロシアが中国との対抗上、日本との関係強化に本腰を入れる状況を作り出せるかどうかが、一つのカギではないか。

Putin is said to have become more concerned that China has been encouraging a large number of companies to start businesses in the Far East while expanding its military presence there.
　中国が極東に多数の企業を進出させ、軍事面でも存在感を高めていることに、プーチン氏は警戒感を強めているとされる。

During his talks with Abe, Putin expressed his hope for security cooperation between the two countries. It is of not small significance for Japan to improve cooperation with Russia to hold China and North Korea in check.
　プーチン氏は会談で、日露安保協力に期待を示した。日本も、中国や北朝鮮を牽制けんせいするため、協力を進める意義は小さくない。

Concerning the conflicts in Ukraine and Syria, it is appropriate that Abe urged Putin to play a constructive role by exercising his influence in maintaining ceasefires in those countries.
　ウクライナ、シリア情勢を巡って、首相がプーチン氏に対し、両国内の停戦維持に影響力を行使し、建設的な役割を果たすよう求めたのは適切である。

Abe will host the Ise-Shima summit meeting of the Group of Seven major powers on May 26-27. It will be important for the prime minister to elaborate his policy on pushing Japan-Russia relations forward without disrupting cooperation among the G-7 countries.
　首相は２６、２７日の主要国首脳会議（伊勢志摩サミット）で、先進７か国（Ｇ７）の足並みを乱さずに、日露関係を前進させる方針を丁寧に説明することが大切だ。

(From The Yomiuri Shimbun, May 8, 2016)

--The Asahi Shimbun, May 2
EDITORIAL: NHK must not serve simply as the government’s mouthpiece
（社説）ＮＨＫの使命　政府の広報ではない

Japan Broadcasting Corp. (NHK) is not the government’s public relations agency.
　ＮＨＫは、政府の広報機関ではない。

It cannot accomplish its mission as a news medium if it only reports the government’s announcements as its sole source.
当局の発表をただ伝えるだけでは、報道機関の使命は果たせない。

This is the most basic of the basics of broadcast journalism. But NHK President Katsuto Momii still doesn’t understand the core mission of the organization he has been heading for two years and three months now if his recent remarks are any indication.
　それは放送人としての「イロハのイ」だ。しかし、籾井勝人会長は就任から２年３カ月になるが、今もその使命を理解していないとしか思えない。

During an April 20 meeting of senior officials at NHK, Momii said the public broadcaster’s reporting on the recent destructive earthquakes in Kumamoto Prefecture and surrounding areas and the disaster’s possible effects on nuclear power generation should be “based on authorities’ official announcements,” according to informed sources.
NHK should focus on airing the official views announced by authorities, he reportedly said.
“If various assessments by experts were broadcast, it would only end up unnecessarily raising concerns among the public,” he was quoted as saying.
　籾井氏は、先月の熊本地震に関する局内会議で、原発に関する報道は「公式発表をベースに」と発言した。「当局の発表の公式見解を伝えるべきだ。いろいろある専門家の見解を伝えても、いたずらに不安をかき立てる」などとも指示した。

Momii expounded on his comments in response to a question about them during an April 26 session of the Lower House Committee of Internal Affairs and Communications.
　２６日の衆院総務委員会で籾井氏は、こう答弁している。

Momii said the official announcements he was referring to were information released by the Meteorological Agency, the Nuclear Regulation Authority and Kyushu Electric Power Co.
　「公式発表」とは「気象庁、原子力規制委員会、九州電力」の情報のこと。

As for Kyushu Electric Power’s Sendai nuclear plant in Kagoshima Prefecture, which is immediately south of Kumamoto Prefecture, Momii said he believed his organization should broadcast, without any additional reporting, announced information such as data provided by the radiation monitoring posts installed for issuing evacuation orders around the Sendai plant.
“If the NRA believes that the nuclear plant is safe or can remain in operation, we will just report it like that,” Momii told the committee.
鹿児島県にある川内（せんだい）原発については「（放射線量を監視する）モニタリングポストの数値などをコメントを加味せず伝える。規制委が、安全である、（稼働を）続けていいといえば、それを伝えていく」と考えているという。

During natural disasters, news media should, of course, strive to provide the public with accurate information as quickly and carefully as possible.
　災害の時、正確な情報を速く丁寧に伝えるよう努めるのは、報道機関として当然だ。

Announcements made by the central and local governments and various companies are, needless to say, important elements of news reports on such events.
自治体や政府、企業などの発表は言うまでもなく、ニュースの大事な要素である。

At the same time, however, it is also a vital role of the news media to examine and fact-check such announcements and report them along with views based on expert knowledge and responses from citizens.
　同時に、発表内容を必要に応じて点検し、専門知識に裏付けられた多様な見方や、市民の受け止めなどを併せて伝えるのも報道機関の不可欠な役割だ。

Momii’s instructions to senior NHK editors can be interpreted as a demand that only official announcements should be treated as facts.
　しかし籾井氏の指示は「公式発表」のみを事実として扱うことを求めているように受け取れる。

What he said is tantamount to an order that NHK should stop performing its most basic function, which is examining things from various angles and reporting facts from multiple viewpoints.
ものごとを様々な角度から見つめ、事実を多面的に伝えるという報道の基本を放棄せよと言っているに等しい。

Momii’s rationale for demanding that reports on these topics should be based on official views and announcements seems to be the necessity to reassure local residents.
　「住民に安心感を与える」ためというのが籾井氏の言い分のようだ。

If so, he is underestimating viewers’ ability to understand and assess news and information.
だが、それは視聴者の理解する力を見くびっている。

In a survey conducted last year by the NHK Broadcasting Culture Research Institute, 85 percent of the respondents said they wanted to select the information that suits their needs on their own. Moreover, 61 percent of the people surveyed said they were confident about their ability to grasp reliable data from a sea of information.
　ＮＨＫ放送文化研究所の昨年の調査では、８５％が「必要な情報は自分で選びたい」とし、６１％が「多くの情報の中から信頼できるものをより分けることができるほうだ」と回答した。

The survey shows that many viewers want not only information officially provided by the government and companies, but also multifaceted reports on various topics so that they can make their own evaluations and judgments.
　多くの視聴者は、政府や企業などが公式に与える情報だけでなく、多角的な報道を自分で吟味したいと考えているのだ。

Momii has a history of making comments that raise serious questions about his editorial stance and journalistic ethics.
In his inaugural press conference in 2014, Momii said, “We cannot say left when the government says right.”
　籾井氏は一昨年の就任会見で「政府が右ということを左というわけにはいかない」と発言。

Last year, when he was asked whether NHK would deal with the “comfort women" issue in its reports on the 70th anniversary of the end of World War II, he replied, “The government’s policy is the key.”
昨年は戦後７０年で「慰安婦問題」を扱うか問われ、「政府の方針がポイント」と語った。

Each time the NHK chief made remarks indicating loyal support for the government, he faced bitter criticism. But he is showing no signs of mending his ways.
　政府に寄り添うような発言はその都度批判されてきたが、一向に改まらない。

The very credibility of NHK’s entire news reporting could be destroyed unless Momii stops damaging it.
このままでは、ＮＨＫの報道全体への信頼が下がりかねない。