小沢民主党

(Sep. 22, 2008) The Yomiuri Shimbun
Ozawa talks big, but can he deliver?
小沢民主党　まだ見えぬ政策実行の財源（9月22日付・読売社説）

The main opposition Democratic Party of Japan under Ichiro Ozawa needs to present the public with clear and feasible policies that could offer a viable alternative for Japanese politics.
　小沢民主党に今、求められているのは、日本の政治の選択肢を、明確で実行可能な政策の形で国民に示すことである。

An easy metric for weighing the pros and cons of policies is to look at them when linked to financial resources available to bring them about. If it is not clear where the money for election pledges will come from, then these pledges cannot be seriously considered as viable alternatives.
　政策は、財源とセットで考えることで、その是非が判断できる。財源の根拠が不明確な公約では、選択肢にならない。

Ozawa's reelection to a third term as party president was formally endorsed at the party's convention on Sunday.
　民主党大会で小沢代表の３選が正式に承認された。

In his acceptance speech, Ozawa said the next House of Representatives election would be the "deciding battle" and stressed he would stake his political future to bring about a change of government. He retained all the party's current executives, including Secretary General Yukio Hatoyama, a sign Ozawa is setting the stage early for the next general election.
　小沢代表は演説で、次期衆院選を「最後の戦い」と位置づけ、自らの政治生命をかけて政権交代を目指す決意を強調した。鳩山幹事長ら全役員を留任させた。早期の総選挙に対応するためだろう。

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A question of funding

In his speech, Ozawa presented three timelines for implementing different policies under a DPJ administration: one for policies related to the fiscal 2009 budget; one for policies to be put in place within two years; and one for policies to be put in place within four years. Financing these policies, set to come to about 22 trillion yen, would be secured by boldly changing the general and special account budgetary systems.
　小沢代表は、自らの政権構想の個別政策の実施時期を「来年度予算で」「２年以内」「４年以内」に３分類すると表明した。財源は、一般会計や特別会計の予算などを「総組み替え」して捻(ねん)出(しゅつ)する。総額で２２兆円になるという。

Ozawa plans to disclose concrete policy proposals in the party's manifesto for the next general election set for release by the end of the month.
　具体的な内容は、月内に発表する次期衆院選の政権公約（マニフェスト）で示す予定だ。

Ozawa's plan for a new administration, which would put top priority on quality-of-life issues, includes fundamental proposals that carry huge budgets, such as a system to guarantee minimum pension payments funded by tax revenue, an income compensation system for each farming household and a system to eliminate expressway tolls. However, these proposals have been criticized due to the ambiguous funding spelled out for them.
　「国民の生活が第一」を掲げる小沢代表の政権構想には、最低保障年金、農家の戸別所得補償、高速道路の無料化など、多額の予算が必要な政策が並ぶ。そのための財源はあいまいで、強く批判されてきた。

With this criticism in mind, Ozawa might have been trying with his speech to clarify the timing and financial backing for his policies.
　小沢代表が政策の実施時期や財源を明示しようとするのは、その批判を踏まえたものだろう。

But it still remains unclear what Ozawa would cut from the fiscal 2009 budget, what policies he would carry out and how he would proceed with the drastic change in general and special account budgetary systems to secure these necessary financial resources. The manifesto will need to present clearer, more concrete explanations.
　だが、来年度予算では、何を削り、何を実施するのか。その後、「総組み替え」をどう進めるのか、まだ不透明なままだ。マニフェストでは、より具体的で明快な説明が求められる。

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Sticky issues remain

The DPJ has pursued questions about scandals tied to bureaucrats, including the pension record fiasco and wasteful usage of tax revenues collected exclusively for highway projects. In this way, the DPJ has appeared to be playing its role as an opposition party.
　民主党は、年金記録漏れ、道路特定財源の無駄遣いなど、官僚の不祥事を追及してきた。「野党」として、一定の役割を果たしてきたとは言えよう。

But more importantly, it needs to present to the public the policies necessary for being a ruling party.
　しかし、より重要なのは、「与党」になった場合の政策だ。

The DPJ opposes the Maritime Self-Defense Force's refueling activities in the Indian Ocean. How can Japan otherwise help the global war on terrorism? Considering the current situation in which it silences any serious discussion within the party about such counterproposals, the DPJ seems too irresponsible.
　安全保障面で民主党は、インド洋での海上自衛隊の給油活動に反対している。日本は今後、「テロとの戦い」にどう関与していくのか。現実的な対案について、党内論議さえ封印している現状は、あまりに無責任ではないか。

The DPJ and the People's New Party agreed in merger talks to drastically review the privatization of postal services. Although plans for the merger have been shelved, the DPJ intends to specify in its manifesto the need to review postal privatization, including a freeze on the sale of state-owned shares and again offering three key postal services under one roof.
　民主党は国民新党との合併協議で、郵政民営化の抜本的見直しで合意した。合併構想は白紙に戻ったが、政府保有株の売却凍結、郵政３事業の一体的サービスの提供など、民営化見直しはマニフェストに明記する方針だ。

Does this not run counter to the DPJ's administrative reform policy of basically abolishing public corporations and the special account system? The party also needs to clarify this for the public.
　特殊法人、特別会計の原則廃止を唱える民主党の行政改革路線に逆行するのではないか。この点も、詳しい説明が必要だろう。

(From The Yomiuri Shimbun, Sept. 22, 2008)
（2008年9月22日02時08分 読売新聞）