党首討論 肝心な政策論議が足りない

The Yomiuri Shimbun(May. 28, 2009)
Aso, Hatoyama must openly debate policies
党首討論　肝心な政策論議が足りない（5月28日付・読売社説）

Prime Minister Taro Aso and Democratic Party of Japan President Yukio Hatoyama finally faced off in the Diet in a head-to-head debate as ruling and main opposition party leaders Wednesday. However, the first battle between the leaders produced somewhat disappointing results. Future contests should promote in-depth debate, focusing on policy matters.
　党首討論がようやく実現した。だが、麻生首相と民主党の鳩山代表との初対決は今一つ食い足りない議論で終わった。
　両党首は、もっと政策課題を中心に、掘り下げた論争を展開すべきだ。

Wednesday's debate was a prelude to the House of Representatives election that must be held by early September. With the next lower house election apparently firmly in mind, Hatoyama harshly criticized the fiscal 2009 supplementary budget as a waste of money, saying it was "of bureaucrats, by bureaucrats and for bureaucrats."
　２７日の党首討論は、次の衆院選を控えての前哨戦だった。
　鳩山代表が２００９年度補正予算は「無駄遣い」が多く、「官僚の官僚による官僚のための予算」と酷評したのも、選挙を意識したものだろう。

In response, Aso, president of the Liberal Democratic Party, pressed Hatoyama by saying that former DPJ President Ichiro Ozawa failed to give a full account of the situation regarding illegal donations his secretary allegedly received from Nishimatsu Construction Co.
　これに対して首相は、西松建設からの違法献金事件で、民主党の小沢前代表が「説明責任」を十分に果たしていないと追及した。

Deriding the DPJ's stated plan to ban donations from companies and other organizations, Aso said, "If the party blames the system for its violations of the law, it's just switching the focus of the argument." The two leaders' debate on the matter was conducted at cross-purposes.
　民主党の企業・団体献金の禁止案については、「法律違反をして『制度が悪い』というのは論理のすり替えだ」と反論し、議論はすれ違ったままだった。

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Fraternity vs reality

At the beginning of the debate, Hatoyama spoke about building a fraternal society--his central policy plank--beginning with the original policy in an apparent attempt to dispel any perception he is Ozawa's puppet.
　討論の冒頭、鳩山代表が持論の「友愛社会」を持ち出したのは、「小沢氏の傀儡(かいらい)」との見方を払拭(ふっしょく)し新味を出す狙いからだろう。

Aso retorted that the most important task facing the administration was to deal with the "reality" the country faces, including the economic crisis, rather than being preoccupied with "abstract theory." As the head of the nation's administration, Aso's comment was understandable and right.
　首相は、抽象論ではなく、経済危機などの「現実」にどう対応するかが最も重要だ、と切り返したが、政権を担当する身として当然のことといえよう。

As Aso pointed out, if Hatoyama wants to win public support for his notion of a fraternal society he needs to spell out what he means, and how it fits with the rest of his policy platform.
　鳩山氏が「友愛」について国民の理解を得ようとするなら、首相の指摘通り、具体的な政策に即してこれを語る必要がある。

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Funding social security reform

Steering the debate toward which party was best able to hold the reins of government, Aso pointed to problems he said beset the DPJ's social security and national security policies, claiming they would result in "extreme insecurity" in society.
　首相は、「どちらの政党に政権担当能力があるか」などとして、民主党の社会保障と安全保障政策が「極めて不安」と指摘した。

However, Aso did not delve further into the issue of how the DPJ would raise funds to implement its policies, such as providing income guarantees for farming households and increased child benefits, which the DPJ has said can be paid for by eliminating wasteful spending.
　しかし、農家の戸別所得補償や子ども手当などの財源は「歳出の無駄の排除」などで捻出(ねんしゅつ)するとしている民主党の財源問題には踏み込まなかった。

Presently, the public are chiefly concerned about social security issues such as the public pension, and health and nursing care.
　国民が現在、最大の関心を抱いているのは、年金や医療、介護などの社会保障問題だ。

Time given over to debate was limited, but still, it is simply inexplicable that neither leader brought up the issue of raising the consumption tax rate to fund the social security system.
時間的制約があったとはいえ、その財源としての消費税率引き上げ問題を論じなかったのはどうしたことか。

Meanwhile, Hatoyama stressed that a change of government is necessary to put an end to bureaucrat-led politics, but he presented no concrete measures.
　一方、鳩山代表も、官僚主導政治を転換させるためには、政権交代が必要だと強調したものの、そのための具体的方策を聞くことはできなかった。

Overall, the debate lacked detailed policy discussion, which, afterall, should be the basis of debate.
　この日の党首討論は、結局、肝心の政策論争が不足していた。

The next lower house election should be fought on policies and vision for this country.
　次の衆院選で争われるべきは、各政党の基本政策や国の将来ビジョンである。

The current Diet session is expected to be extended. We hope the leaders of the two parties will clarify points of contention regarding their policies as the next lower house election approaches by holding regular one-on-one debates in the Diet, and conducting thorough discussions on policies regarding social security reform, diplomacy and national security.
　今国会は、会期が延長される見通しだ。両党首は、ルール通りに党首討論を重ね、社会保障政策や外交・安保政策についても、大いに論じ合い、選挙の政策争点を明らかにしてもらいたい。

(From The Yomiuri Shimbun, May 28, 2009)
（2009年5月28日01時30分 読売新聞）