日本郵政人事 核心は不祥事の経営責任だ

The Yomiuri Shimbun(Jun. 6, 2009)
The buck stops with Japan Post management
日本郵政人事　核心は不祥事の経営責任だ（6月6日付・読売社説）

Internal Affairs and Communications Minister Kunio Hatoyama has been making waves with his increasingly vocal opposition to Japan Post Holdings Co.'s

plan to reappoint Yoshifumi Nishikawa as its president.
　日本郵政の西川善文社長の再任に鳩山総務相が反対姿勢を強め、波紋を広げている。

Some are supportive of Hatoyama, saying he has every right to state his position on the issue because as internal affairs and communications minister he has approval authority over personnel affairs. Hatoyama has been upping the ante on the issue, saying he will stick to his position even at the cost of his job.
　人事の認可権を持つ総務相が判断するのは当然とする擁護論がある一方、批判も多い。総務相の発言も「閣僚を罷免されても反対を貫く」とエスカレートしている。

But the fuss serves only to derail discussion over the reappointment. If political considerations color the debate, the essential point of the discussion will be lost.
　これでは議論が拡散するばかりだ。議論に政局的な思惑が重なると事の本質を見失いかねない。

The thrust of the criticism against Hatoyama is that politicians should not interfere in decisions made by private corporations.
　総務相への批判で多いのが「民間の決定に政治が介入すべきではない」というものだ。

But Japan Post Holdings is a special case, in that all its shares are held by the government. In this regard, it would be problematic if the government were

to remain silent at a time when questions have emerged over the operation of Japan Post Holdings.
だが、日本郵政は政府が全株式を保有する特殊会社だ。業務内容に疑義があるのに何も口を挟まないようでは、かえって問題だろう。

There is also an argument that the process of postal privatization will be set back if Nishikawa, who led preparations for the establishment of the company, is ousted as its president.
But this argument is illogical. The fact is that Hatoyama has repeatedly said he wants to see Nishikawa replaced precisely because he wishes to speed up the privatization.
　「郵政民営化を後退させる」という指摘も、論理に飛躍がある。総務相は「社長交代は民営化推進のため」と繰り返している。

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Sale of inns was opaque

The main bone of contention in the wrangling over Nishikawa's reappointment is the lack of transparency in the process of Japan Post Holdings deciding to sell Kanpo no Yado inns to an Orix Group company.
　この問題の核心は、「かんぽの宿」をオリックスに売却しようとした手続きに不明朗な部分があったことだ。

An investigation by the communications ministry found a large number of irregular practices in the process of selecting the Orix real estate company, including verbal reporting of important matters. A third-party panel set up at the request of Japan Post Holdings also identified a long list of problems in connection with the sale of the Kanpo no Yado inns, including inadequate safekeeping of documents related to the bidding for the inns. The panel criticized these failings as "extremely inappropriate."
　総務省の調査で、重要事項が口頭で伝達されていたなど数多くの不備が明るみに出ている。日本郵政が設置した第三者検討委員会も文書管理の杜撰(ずさん)さなどを列挙し、「著しく不適切」と断じた。

Those who call for Nishikawa's reappointment point out that the investigations did not uncover any illegalities.
But putting to one side the question of whether there was any illegality in the process of selling the Kanpo no Yado inns, the buck stops with Nishikawa, the top manager of Japan Post.
　西川社長の再任を支持する人たちは、これらの調査で違法行為がはっきりしなかったことを理由に挙げるが、違法行為の有無とは別に、経営者としての責任は厳然として残る。

The Democratic Party of Japan and two other opposition parties have filed a criminal complaint against Nishikawa, claiming he was complicit in the sale of the Kanpo no Yado inns at knockdown prices. The Tokyo District Public Prosecutors Office has accepted the complaint. Debates over whether there is evidence of illegality in the process of deciding on the sale of the inns can wait until the prosecutors conclude their investigation.
　民主党など野党３党が「売却額が不当に廉価だった」として西川社長を刑事告発し、東京地検が受理している。違法性の有無は今後の捜査を見守ればよい。

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Firm must put house in order

In addition to the controversy over the sale of the inns, the Japan Post group has become engulfed in other scandals, including the abuse of the postal discount system for disabled people and Japan Post's delayed investigation into the nonpayment of postal life insurance when it was a public corporation.
If such scandals surfaced in an ordinary company, the top manager would be forced to resign.
　ほかにも障害者向け割引制度を悪用した不正ダイレクトメール事件や、簡易生命保険金の不払い調査を放置した問題など、不祥事が次々と発覚している。普通の企業なら、経営者は引責辞任に追い込まれているところだ。

Japan Post Holdings has not yet responded to a business improvement order issued by the communications ministry. Deciding on the reappointment of Nishikawa at such a time is mixing up business priorities. At its own initiative, Japan Post Holdings should take the logical step of putting the presidential

appointment issue on the back burner and respond quickly to the business improvement order.
　総務省の業務改善命令にも、日本郵政は回答していない。そんな段階で西川社長再任の人事案を決めたのは、手順としておかしいのではないか。人事案は自発的に白紙に戻すのが筋だろう。
　業務改善命令に対する回答を急ぐのも当然のことである。

In its response to the order, will the company answer all the questions the ministry posed? Will the response present effective ways to prevent a recurrence of similar problems? Most importantly, will the response earn the understanding and acceptance of the public, who are effectively shareholders of Japan Post Holdings?
　回答は、総務省から指摘された様々な疑問点にきちんと答えているか。実効性の上がる再発防止策が含まれているか。何より、実質株主である国民の納得を得られる内容となっているか――。

The debate over who should assume the presidency of Japan Post Holdings can start afresh after we see how Japan Post Holdings responds to the business improvement order.
　回答を見て、議論を整理し直すべきだ。　

(From The Yomiuri Shimbun, June 6, 2009)
（2009年6月6日01時38分 読売新聞）