３党幹事長会談 いつまで条件闘争をするのか

The Yomiuri Shimbun (Oct. 17, 2012)
When will 3 parties stop squabbling over Diet session?
３党幹事長会談　いつまで条件闘争をするのか（10月16日付・読売社説）

Talks between the Democratic Party of Japan, the Liberal Democratic Party and New Komeito over the next extraordinary Diet session are a mess.
　臨時国会を巡る民主、自民、公明３党の話し合いが難航している。

How long will they continue to put their party interests before everything else?
　一体いつまで党利党略の駆け引きに明け暮れるつもりなのか。

DPJ Secretary General Azuma Koshiishi said he wanted to convene an extraordinary Diet session late this month when he held talks Monday with his LDP counterpart Shigeru Ishiba and Komeito counterpart Yoshihisa Inoue. The secretaries general will meet again Thursday, and a meeting between the leaders of the three parties will likely be held by the end of this week.
　民主党の輿石幹事長は自民党・石破、公明党・井上の両幹事長との会談で、臨時国会を月末にも開く考えを示した。１８日に再度会談した上で、週内にも３党首会談を行うという。

Such a sluggish approach to the talks is appalling. In particular, the DPJ has a heavy responsibility for delaying the convening of an extraordinary Diet session. Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda should announce the policies of his reshuffled Cabinet at this session.
　スローテンポにはあきれるばかりだ。特に、これまで臨時国会の召集を先送りしてきた民主党の責任は重い。野田首相は、臨時国会で、改造内閣の所信を表明しなければならない。

A mountain of problems, including the confrontation between Japan and China over the Senkaku Islands, and energy issues, await action. Lawmakers of the ruling and opposition parties are failing to fulfill their responsibilities by not debating these issues in the Diet.
　尖閣諸島を巡る日中対立やエネルギー問題など課題は山積している。与野党議員は国会論戦もせず、職責を果たしていない。

The qualifications of Justice Minister Keishu Tanaka also must be taken up. It was recently revealed that the justice minister, who is at the center of a scandal over donations from a foreign national, had ties with an organized crime syndicate. There is no doubt these entanglements are inappropriate for a justice minister.
　田中法相の資質をただす必要もある。外国人献金問題を抱える法相には、暴力団との過去の交際も発覚した。法相として不適切であるのは、間違いない。

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Resolve vote disparity

One issue the DPJ, the LDP and Komeito should immediately resolve is the vote-value disparity in House of Representatives elections.
　民自公３党間で直ちに解決すべき課題の一つは、衆院選の「１票の格差」是正である。

On an NHK program Sunday, Koshiishi hinted at the possibility the DPJ may accept a plan to first reduce the number of lower house single-seat constituencies by five. However, he also told reporters that "unanimity among all opposition parties" is a condition to carrying out the plan.
　輿石氏は１４日のＮＨＫ番組で、小選挙区の「０増５減」先行実施に応じる可能性を示唆した。だが、記者団には「全野党の一致」を条件とする意向も示している。

The DPJ's adherence to its plan to simultaneously correct the vote-value disparity by cutting the number of lower house single-seat constituencies by five and reduce the number of lower house seats complicates the issue and has delayed correcting the vote-value disparity. If the DPJ sets this new condition now, we cannot help but wonder if the party is serious about tackling the issue.
　民主党が「０増５減」と定数削減の同時実施に固執してきたことで問題がこじれ、是正が遅れている。ここに及んで民主党が新たな条件をつけるようでは、格差是正に本気で取り組む考えがあるのか、疑わざるを得ない。

Enactment of a bill to allow the government to issue deficit-covering bonds is also a pressing issue.
　赤字国債発行を認める特例公債法案の成立も喫緊の課題だ。

During the meeting of secretaries general Monday, the LDP and Komeito demanded that Noda promise to dissolve the lower house for a general election by the end of this year. "If [the prime minister] is so insincere, there will be no meeting of leaders [of the three parties]," Ishiba was quoted as saying.
　自公両党は会談で、年内の衆院解散・総選挙を首相が明示するよう求めた。石破氏は、首相が「あまりに不誠実なら党首会談が開かれることはない」とも述べた。

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Financial resources at risk

If the current stalemate continues, the passage of the bill to issue deficit-covering government bonds will be delayed and, as a result, the government's financial resources in the fiscal 2012 budget will be exhausted. The DPJ, LDP and Komeito should quickly reach a compromise on the issue so people's livelihoods will not be adversely affected.
　このまま膠着(こうちゃく)状態が続けば、法案の成立がずれ込み、今年度予算の財源が底をつく。民自公３党は、国民生活に悪影響を及ぼすことのないよう妥協を急ぐべきだ。

The LDP has called for a delay in the establishment of a national council to revamp the social security system--which the three parties already have agreed on--until after the lower house election. We urge the three parties to come to terms on this issue.
　３党がすでに合意している社会保障制度改革国民会議の設置について、自民党は衆院選後への先送りを唱えている。この点でも折り合いをつけてもらいたい。

The opposition-controlled House of Councillors passed a censure motion against the prime minister during the last ordinary Diet session. If the opposition parties plan to stall the Diet session for this reason, there is no point in convening an extraordinary Diet session. This will only increase public distrust in political parties.
　参院は先の通常国会で首相問責決議を可決した。これを理由に国会を空転させるのなら、臨時国会を開く意味がない。既成政党への国民の不信感が高まるだけだ。

The ruling and opposition parties should agree not to carry over the censure motion into the next Diet session and make it a general rule of the divided Diet not to do this in future.
　与野党は、衆参ねじれ国会の新たなルールとして、問責決議を次の国会にまで引きずらないことで合意すべきである。

(From The Yomiuri Shimbun, Oct. 16, 2012)
（2012年10月16日01時29分 読売新聞）