福田首相退陣

(Sep. 3, 2008) The Yomiuri Shimbun
New govt must address challenges effectively
福田首相退陣　政策遂行へ強力な体制を作れ（9月2日付・読売社説）

The nation's top political leader has suddenly announced his intention to step down from the helm of government, the second such incident in less than a year. This is an extremely abnormal situation.
日本の最高リーダーが、またも、突然、政権の座から降りた。異常な事態である。

To minimize the chances of a political vacuum forming, the Liberal Democratic Party must waste no time in selecting a successor to Prime Minster Yasuo Fukuda and establishing a new administration.
自民党は、新たな総裁を早期に選び、後継首相の下、政治空白を最小限にとどめなければならない。

Fukuda expressed his intention to quit the top government post at a hastily arranged press conference at the Prime Minister's Office on Monday night.
福田首相が１日夜、緊急の記者会見を行い、辞任を表明した。

His announcement came despite the fact he reshuffled his Cabinet just a month ago, and stressed his desire to address Diet affairs with his new lineup in the forthcoming extraordinary session of the legislature.
首相は、１か月前に内閣改造を断行し、この体制で臨時国会に立ち向かう決意を強調していた。

However, Fukuda told the press conference Monday that he made up his mind to resign toward the end of last week, as he believed the task of materializing key policies would be better handled under a new leader and a new cabinet lineup.
首相は、先週末に辞任を決意したとし、その理由について「新しい布陣の下、政策の実現を図っていかなければならない」と語った。

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Plagued by divided Diet
◆ねじれ国会に苦慮◆

On Sept. 12, 2007, then Prime Minister Shinzo Abe abruptly announced he was to resign, citing poor health among his reasons for doing so.
１年前の９月１２日、安倍前首相が健康上の理由もあって、突如辞意を表明した。

A major factor behind Abe's decision was the fact the LDP had suffered a devastating defeat in the House of Councillor's election in the summer of 2007, giving rise to a divided Diet in which the opposition holds a majority in the upper chamber while the ruling coalition parties control the lower house.
昨年夏の参院選で自民党が惨敗し、衆参ねじれ国会が出現した。これが前首相辞任の大きな引き金になった。

Fukuda, too, struggled to implement policies in the face of delaying tactics employed by the major opposition Democratic Party of Japan during Diet deliberations.
福田首相も、今年の通常国会で民主党の審議引き延ばし戦術に苦しみ、政策遂行に難渋した。

The legislation of a set of bills to maintain provisional tax rates on gasoline was seriously hampered by the opposition's tactics, causing confusion among the public as gasoline prices fluctuated wildly over a short period of time.
揮発油税の暫定税率を維持するための税制関連法案の成立がずれ込み、ガソリン価格が短期間に乱高下するなど国民生活に混乱が生じた。

Government-proposed candidates to step into the vacant position of Bank of Japan governor were repeatedly voted down in the upper house, leading to a ridiculous situation in which the central bank had no head figure for a considerable period of time.
日本銀行総裁の人事も、政府が提案した人事案が参院で繰り返し否決され、日銀総裁が一時不在となるという失態を招いた。

The brouhaha over gasoline tax issues and the Bank of Japan governorship symbolized the dysfunctional state of current Japanese politics.
いずれも日本政治の機能不全を象徴する出来事だった。

Before Fukuda's announcement, the DPJ and other opposition parties were expecting to continue with their confrontational stand against the coalition government.
近く召集予定の臨時国会でも、引き続き、民主党などの激しい抵抗が予想されていた。

As the prospects for realizing his key political agenda have faded, Fukuda has in effect been driven into relinquishing his position.
政策実現の展望も開けず、結局、辞任に追い込まれたといえる。

Coming, as it does, ahead of the coming extraordinary sitting of the Diet, Fukuda's announcement likely was made in an attempt to minimize the negative impact of his resignation on Diet business.
召集前の辞任表明は、国会への影響を最小限にとどめるためだろう。

Stubbornly low approval ratings for his Cabinet did little to help Fukuda's cause, and reshuffling his administration in an attempt to reinvigorate his power base came to nothing.
首相は、内閣支持率の低迷にも苦しんでいた。内閣改造も政権浮揚の転機にならなかった。

The terms of lower house members expire in just over a year's time. With a dissolution of the lower house for a general election on the horizon, calls for Fukuda to be replaced have grown louder in recent weeks among members of New Komeito, the LDP's junior coalition partner, and others, spotlighting the schism within the ruling bloc.
衆院議員の任期は残り１年に迫っている。早期の衆院解散・総選挙を念頭に、公明党などからも首相の交代を促すような発言も公然と出ており、与党内にきしみが生じていた。

During Monday's press conference, Fukuda said, "I can see myself objectively."
首相は辞任会見で、「私自身、自分自身を客観的に見ることができる」と述べた。

The remark could be seen as an admission that the ruling camp would fight more effectively in the next lower house general election with a new hand on the LDP tiller.
これは、次期衆院選を自らが自民党総裁として戦うことは適切でない、との判断を示したといえよう。

However, Fukuda should be credited for certain political accomplishments, such as altering the law to allow tax revenues exclusively used for road construction and maintenance to be used for general policy purposes. His hosting of the Group of Eight countries' summit meeting held in Toyakocho, Hokkaido, also is worthy of acclaim.
首相は、道路特定財源の一般財源化や、北海道洞爺湖サミットを無難にこなすなど、一定の成果を上げた。

However, in terms of stamping his mark on the nation's political landscape with policies that reflect his thinking--such as the creation of the consumer affairs agency--he has come up short, not least because of the ephemerality of his administration.
だが、消費者庁の設置など「福田色」の政策は実現できず、政権は短命に終わった。

The LDP has decided to make an official announcement of the party's presidential election next Wednesday and hold its vote and vote-counting on Sept. 22.
(自民党は来週の水曜日に党総裁選を行うことを公式に発表する。総裁選は１０月22日に行われる。 translated by srachai)

LDP Secretary General Taro Aso, who has been deemed Fukuda's most likely successor, expressed his intention Tuesday to run in the party election.
（自民党の麻生幹事長は福田首相の最も有力な後継者と目されているが、彼は総裁選に出馬することを火曜日発表した。translated by srachai）

In last year's post-Abe party presidential election, Aso fought one-on-one with Fukuda, garnering almost as many ballots as him in terms of votes cast by party members, but excepting LDP lawmakers.
（昨年の安部内閣のときの総裁選では、麻生氏は福田首相と選挙で対決姿勢を示し、多くの支持票をとりつけたが…excepting ? わかりません srachai）

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Fair, transparent LDP election
◆オープンな総裁選を◆

In this sense there are great expectations for Aso, as a figure who can attract public support. However, the public is still uninformed as to the kind of policies he would pursue if he takes up the reins of government.
福田首相の後任としては、自民党の麻生幹事長が最有力候補とされてきた。

麻生氏は、昨年の「ポスト安倍」の自民党総裁選で、福田首相と一騎打ちを展開し、党員投票の得票では首相に迫った。麻生氏には、その意味で「選挙の顔」としての期待が高い。

Does he favor the retention of structural reform measures initiated by former Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi, or will he place priority--at least for the time being--on shoring up the faltering national economy?
ただ、麻生氏の政策については、国民には十分に知られていない。いわゆる小泉構造改革を続けるのか、当面の景気浮揚を優先するのか。

What ideas does he have to pave the way for an increase in the consumption tax rate?
消費税率の引き上げの道筋をどうつけるのか。

These matters doubtless will be among the major issues in the coming debate for the LDP presidential race.
今回の総裁選では、これらが大きな論点となろう。

The leadership battle should be staged in a fair and transparent manner. The public must be able to see if the country's next leader is competent enough to tackle key policy issues effectively.
自民党は、国民の前で堂々とオープンな総裁選を展開し、次のリーダーを選出、重要政策の遂行にあたらなければなるまい。

Presently, Japan is faced with a number of political and economic challenges--both domestically and in the international arena.
日本を取り巻く環境は、内外とも、政治、経済両面で「多事多難」である。

Most of these challenges cannot be met by Japan alone, such as problems relating to the U.S. subprime mortgage crisis and soaring oil prices.
それも、サブプライム問題や原油高など日本一国では対応できない難問ばかりだ。

As Fukuda has himself acknowledged, imbroglios in the divided Diet have caused numerous headaches for the government vis-a-vis decision making, especially with regard to the length of time it took to reach consensus on important issues such as the task of extending Japan's refueling mission in support of U.S.-led antiterrorism operations in the Indian Ocean.
We believe this is the very minimum required of this country if it is to play a beneficial role in the international community's fight against terrorism.
福田首相自身が認めるように、ねじれ国会の下、日本の政治は、何も決められない、決めるまでに相当な時間を要する、という状況が続いている。
特に、海上自衛隊によるインド洋での給油活動を継続することは、本来、日本が国際社会による「テロとの戦い」の一翼を担うための最低限の責務である。

During last year's extraordinary Diet session, the legislation of a new Antiterrorism Law was delayed due to objections from the DPJ--the largest party in the upper house--obliging the government to temporarily suspend the refueling activities.
昨年の臨時国会では、参院第１党の民主党の反対で、新テロ対策特別措置法の成立が遅れ、給油活動の中断を余儀なくされた。

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Rebuild LDP-New Komeito ties
◆自公連携の再構築◆

New Komeito is currently wary about enacting the refueling mission extension bill through a second vote by employing a two-thirds ruling camp majority in the lower house to override the bill's rejection by the upper chamber.
今年は、公明党が衆院で３分の２以上の多数による再可決に慎重姿勢を示し、新テロ特措法改正案の成立自体が危ぶまれている。

There is thus no way to know whether the bill will be passed into law.
Fukuda's successor should, first of all, settle relations between the LDP and New Komeito to ensure the passage of the refueling bill through the Diet.
後継政権は、ギクシャクしている自公関係を立て直し、改正案の成立を期すべきだ。

Further, it has been confirmed that the domestic economy is in a deceleratory phase. To cope with this situation, the government and ruling coalition parties have decided on an emergency economic stimulus policy package worth more than 11 trillion yen, in addition to the compilation of a supplementary budget that incorporates 1.8 trillion yen in government disbursements.
日本の景気は後退局面入りが確実視されている。政府・与党は、事業規模１１兆円超の総合経済政策をまとめ、補正予算で１兆８０００億円の歳出を決定している。

The government's most pressing task is to ensure measures aimed at stimulating business produce tangible positive results.
この経済政策の実効を上げることが、喫緊の課題である。

Also high on the agenda during the coming extraordinary Diet session will be a number of bills pertaining to the social security system, which failed to secure Diet approval in the previous session.
臨時国会ではさらに、先の国会で積み残した社会保障の関連法案などの処理も予定されている。

We believe it is imperative for the post-Fukuda administration to establish a solid and potent Cabinet lineup to swiftly and flexibly tackle the pile of outstanding policy issues.
「ポスト福田」の新内閣は、一連の政策課題を迅速かつ機動的に遂行できるよう、強力な布陣を敷くことが何より肝要である。

(From the latest edition ofThe Yomiuri Shimbun, Sept. 2, 2008)
（2008年9月2日02時26分 読売新聞）