２０１３回顧・世界 災害への同情と中国への不安

The Yomiuri Shimbun December 30, 2014
Natural disasters, China’s behavior catch public’s attention in 2013
２０１３回顧・世界　災害への同情と中国への不安（12月30日付・読売社説）

The top 10 international news items selected by Yomiuri Shimbun readers for 2013 indicate that many people are deeply concerned about natural disasters that occurred overseas this year and feel sympathy for their victims. This stands to reason, as this nation is still struggling to rehabilitate areas devastated by the Great East Japan Earthquake in March 2011.
　東日本大震災からの復興途上にあるだけに、国民は、海外で起きた災害にも強い関心と同情を寄せているのだろう。

A powerful typhoon that struck parts of the Philippines in November took first place on the list of this year’s 10 major world news reports. Typhoon Haiyan wrecked Leyte Island and other areas, leaving about 8,000 people dead or missing.
　本紙読者が選んだ「海外１０大ニュース」の１位は、「猛烈な台風がフィリピン直撃」だった。レイテ島などで、死者・行方不明者合計約８０００人という甚大な被害を出した。

Ranked third was the meteorite that streaked across the sky above Russia’s Ural Mountains in February before fragments of the meteor fell to the ground. Video footage of the meteor’s speeding through the atmosphere was broadcast on TV, and many Yomiuri readers apparently were impressed with the ferocity of this extraordinary natural phenomenon.
　ロシアの「隕石(いんせき)落下」が３位だ。隕石の軌跡をとらえた映像がテレビで流れ、天変地異の凄(すさ)まじさが強い印象を残したようだ。

China’s rise to international prominence has been evident in the number of important news items related to that country in 2013. The past year has generated even more news reports about China than in the past.
　今年は以前にも増して中国を巡る重要ニュースが多く、その台頭ぶりを裏付けた。

Xi Jinping’s elevation to the Chinese presidency in March was awarded fourth place. Backed by its own military muscle, the Chinese leadership has been high-handed in dealing with Japan. All this contributes to the even greater distrust felt by many Japanese toward that nation.
　習近平氏の国家主席就任は、４位に入った。習政権は、日本に対して、軍事力を背景にした強圧的な姿勢を示している。日本の対中不信感は強まるばかりだ。

Today, China is confronted with a host of distortions that have accompanied its rapid economic growth, including widening disparities between the rich and the poor and deteriorating environmental conditions.
　中国は、貧富の格差や環境悪化など、急激な成長に伴うひずみに直面している。

China’s worsening air pollution due to a high density of particulate matter 2.5 (PM2.5) came in fifth place, indicating that many readers are deeply worried that China’s atmospheric pollution could affect this country.
　微小粒子状物質（ＰＭ２・５）による大気汚染の深刻化が５位になったのは、日本にも汚染の影響が及ぶのではないか、という強い不安の反映でもあろう。

December brought a stunning report that North Korean leader Kim Jong Un’s uncle, Jang Song Thaek, had been purged as vice chairman of the country’s top military body, the National Defense Commission. This was followed by the astounding news that Jang, long considered the No. 2 power in Kim’s regime, had been executed. The incident was added as an extra to the top 10 list.
　北朝鮮・金正恩政権のナンバー２と言われた張成沢・国防委員会副委員長が失脚して処刑されたという衝撃的な出来事は、１２月に報じられ、１０大ニュースの「番外」として追加された。

A purge and a prince

North Korea will remain an element of regional instability, given that the reclusive state seeks to set up an even stronger dictatorship through a reign of terror and continues to develop nuclear weapons and missiles.
　恐怖政治によって独裁体制を固め、核・ミサイルの開発を続ける北朝鮮は、来年も、地域の不安定要因であることに変わりない。

The start of U.S. President Barack Obama’s second term in January took ninth place. However, Obama has not made much administrative progress this year, as shown by the numerous difficulties he experienced in dealing with external and domestic affairs.
　米国では、オバマ大統領が２期目をスタートさせた（９位）。だが、外交、内政ともつまずきが多く順調とは言えなかった。

The disclosures by Edward Snowden, a former employee of the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency, ranked eighth. Snowden, now a suspect in intelligence leakage and other cases, exposed a wide range of wiretapping activities by U.S. intelligence services both at home and overseas. Cited by him as the target of U.S. eavesdropping, some European countries have expressed strong anger at the U.S. administration.
　米中央情報局（ＣＩＡ）の元職員エドワード・スノーデン容疑者が、国内外における米情報機関の広範囲な通信傍受を暴露した（８位）。傍受対象だとされた欧州諸国からは強い反発が起きた。

The affair has also drawn condemnation from Americans, and Obama is under pressure to reexamine the methods used by his country’s intelligence services to gather information.
　米国民からも批判の声が上がっており、大統領は、情報収集の方法の見直しを迫られている。

In early October, the U.S. government staggered into a partial shutdown due to a deadlock between the Republican-controlled House of Representatives and Democratic-controlled Senate over the federal budget, an incident that came in 13th.
　連邦予算を巡る与野党対立で、１０月初めに政府機能の一部が停止する事態も発生した（１３位）。

One of the top 10 news items warmed people’s hearts: In July, Britain’s Prince William and his wife, Kate, welcomed a son they named George. The birth of the royal couple’s first son was awarded second place.
　読者の心を和ませた出来事もあった。英国のウィリアム王子の妻キャサリン妃が、長男ジョージ王子を出産した（２位）。

In seventh place was the death of former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher in April at the age of 87. Thatcher deserves credit for her successful efforts to revitalize her country’s battered economy during her 11 years in office. In December came news of the death of former South African President Nelson Mandela, an antiapartheid icon who dedicated himself to achieving unity among all races in his country. The achievements of these two political leaders continue to inspire and influence people around the world today.
　一方、英経済を再生させた「鉄の女」サッチャー元首相の死去（７位）に続き、１２月は、南アフリカで多人種融和に尽くしたマンデラ元大統領の訃報が伝えられた。２人の指導者の業績は、今日も世界に影響を与え続けている。

(From The Yomiuri Shimbun, Dec. 30, 2013)
（2013年12月30日01時25分 読売新聞）