石原都知事辞任 国政復帰に何が期待できるか

The Yomiuri Shimbun (Oct. 27, 2012)
Ishihara's dramatic move: What does it portend?
石原都知事辞任　国政復帰に何が期待できるか（10月26日付・読売社説）

Tokyo Gov. Shintaro Ishihara announced at a hastily arranged press conference Thursday that he would resign as governor.
　東京都の石原慎太郎知事が急きょ記者会見し、辞任を表明した。

He also said he would form a new political party and run in the next House of Representatives election.
　新党を結成し、次期衆院選に出馬するという。

Five members of both houses of the Diet from the Sunrise Party of Japan will join his new party.
新党には、たちあがれ日本に所属する衆参両院議員の５人らが参加する。

While denying his party plans to cooperation with Ichiro Ozawa, leader of the People's Life First party, Ishihara indicated his intention of joining hands with other political forces, such as Nippon Ishin no Kai (Japan Restoration Party), led by Osaka Mayor Toru Hashimoto.
　石原氏は、国民の生活が第一の小沢一郎代表との連携は否定し、橋下徹大阪市長の率いる日本維新の会などと連携していく考えを示した。

With a new party, Ishihara aims to create a third major political force to unite conservatives, drawing a line between his party and the Liberal Democratic Party and the Democratic Party of Japan.
自民、民主両党とは一線を画し、保守勢力の結集による「第３極」を狙っている。

Will Ishihara's action, which he calls his "last service to the country," jolt national politics out of the smothering sense of helplessness brought on by unproductive conflict between the ruling and opposition parties?
　「最後のご奉公」という石原氏の行動が、与野党の不毛な対立で閉塞感の漂う国政に一石を投じることになるだろうか。

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Factors behind his decision

Regarding the scheme of forming a new party, something he had reportedly decided not to do in the past, Ishihara said in April that he would "start it all over." His turnabout in forming a new party is believed to have much to do with the fact that the issue of the purchase of part of the Senkaku Islands in Okinawa Prefecture, which he had sought persistently as governor, was settled with the recent purchase by the national government.
　今回の新党構想について、石原氏は４月、「白紙に戻す」と語っていた。一転して新党結成へ動いたのは、執念を見せていた尖閣諸島の購入問題が国有化で決着したからだと見られている。

Ishihara's decision may also have been influenced by the defeat of his eldest son, former LDP secretary general Nobuteru Ishihara, in the LDP's recent presidential election, which removes a major obstacle to Ishihara's forming a new party that would compete with the LDP.
　自民党総裁選で長男の石原伸晃前幹事長が敗北したため、自民党と対抗する新党の結成に支障がなくなったとの判断もあろう。

Yet it isn't entirely clear what Ishihara, now 80, intends to achieve by returning to the national political fray, especially at an age when he should be concerned about his health.
　８０歳の石原氏が健康面も気遣いながら、国政で何を実現したいのかは、必ずしも明確ではない。

At the press conference, Ishihara fiercely criticized the way the nation's bureaucratic system operates, saying, "We must change the rigid system controlled by bureaucrats of the central government."
　石原氏は記者会見で、「硬直した中央官僚の支配する制度を変えなければ駄目だ」と官僚制度の在り方を激しく批判した。

He also emphasized the need to amend the Constitution, his cherished idea, and to work out measures to reinforce the nation's control of the Senkaku Islands.
持論の憲法改正や沖縄県・尖閣諸島の実効支配の強化策なども力説した。

We can agree, to a certain extent, on his awareness of problems concerning the current situation of national politics.
　国政の現状に対する問題意識には、うなずける点もある。

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Clearer vision needed

However, we want Ishihara to spell out his policies in more concrete detail and lay out his strategies to realize them. As Ishihara, who assumed the governorship following 25-plus years of service as a Diet member, quit his job without completing his fourth term--to which he was elected just last year--to return to national politics, we would like to know more about his thinking.
　ただ、かつて２５年余も国会議員を務めた石原氏が、昨年４選を果たした知事を途中で辞め、国政復帰を目指すと言う以上、もっと具体的な政策と、それを実現する戦略を語ってもらいたい。

Takeo Hiranuma, leader of the Sunrise Party, apparently hopes to see a new wind start blowing in politics with "the two leading figures" of "Hashimoto from western Japan and Ishihara from eastern Japan." But things won't be so simple.
　たちあがれ日本の平沼代表は「西は橋下、東は石原」の“二枚看板”で風を起こしたいようだが、そう簡単な話ではない。

While Hashimoto said he has many policies that are in accord with those of Ishihara, he has also said some of Ishihara's statements on nuclear power and energy policies are out of line with his own. Clearly, it is vital to reconcile their policies.
　橋下氏は、石原氏と一致する政策が多いとしながらも原発・エネルギー政策などで「軸がずれている」との見解を示した。やはり、政策のすりあわせが不可欠だ。

A new party led by a popular head of a local government, such as Ishihara or Hashimoto, is drawing a certain amount of expectation from the public.
　石原、橋下両氏ら人気の高い首長をトップに据える新党が、国民から一定の期待を集めている。

This is made possible by the people's strong distrust and discontent with the existing political parties, which have been mired in "politics incapable of making decisions."
　これは、「決められない政治」に陥っている既成政党に対する不信や不満が強いことの裏返しでもあろう。

Within the DPJ, there is a sense of danger that Ishihara's new party may prompt more members to leave the party. And in the LDP, there is concern that conservative voters may become divided.
民主党内には、石原新党がさらに離党を誘発することに警戒感がある。自民党にも、保守票の分散への懸念があるという。

We would like to see what sort of ripples of "political reorganization" Ishihara's new party will set in motion.
　石原新党が今後仕掛ける「政界再編」が、果たしてどんな波紋を広げるか見定めたい。

(From The Yomiuri Shimbun, Oct. 26, 2012)
（2012年10月26日01時41分 読売新聞）