５月末決着 首相の言葉を誰も信じない

The Yomiuri Shimbun (May. 16, 2010)
No one will believe Hatoyama's words
５月末決着　首相の言葉を誰も信じない（5月15日付・読売社説）

After breaking his promise to transfer the functions of the U.S. Marine Corps' Futenma Air Station in Okinawa Prefecture to somewhere outside the prefecture, Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama has effectively violated another promise, this one to settle the Futenma issue by the end of May.
　米軍普天間飛行場移設問題で鳩山首相が約束した「県外移設」に続き、「５月末決着」も事実上反故(ほご)になっている。

The prime minister said Thursday that if necessary, he would make efforts to settle the issue "in June and even beyond." He thereby abandoned his end of May deadline, but on the following day, he again expressed his determination to resolve the issue by the end of this month.
　首相は１３日、「６月以降も努力する」として、５月末決着の断念を表明した。それが、また１４日には、月末決着へのこだわりを示したりもしている。

Seeing Hatoyama running around in all directions, a great many people must now be unable to believe what he says. There must be practically no one in this country who believes the Futenma issue will be settled by the end of this month.
　こうした右往左往ぶりをみて、首相の言葉を信じられなくなった人も多いだろう。「５月末決着」を信じている国民は、ほとんどいるまい。

Hatoyama has maintained that "settling" the Futenma base relocation issue means reaching agreement with all the parties involved, namely the local governments and people of Okinawa Prefecture, the local governments of locations to which the Futenma base's functions would be relocated, the U.S. government and the ruling parties.
　首相は、普天間移設問題の「決着」の意味について、「沖縄、移設先の自治体、米国、与党すべての同意」を挙げてきた。

Ultimately, he failed one by one to obtain agreement from each of these parties and finally had to change the definition of settlement. This is the reality of the situation.
　結局は、それぞれの同意取り付けに、ことごとく行き詰まり、「決着」という言葉の定義を変換させざるをえなくなった、というのが実態だろう。

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Premier lacks leadership ability

The ability to find solutions to serious problems and the decisiveness to put those solutions into practice are indispensable in a government leader. Hatoyama lacks these resources.
　指導者には、こじれた問題の解を見いだす力や、それを実行に移す決断力が不可欠だ。首相にはこれらの資質が不足している。

Hatoyama had a good chance to resolve the Futenma issue in December. However, he quickly postponed the settlement after Mizuho Fukushima--leader of the Social Democratic Party, the Democratic Party of Japan's junior coalition partner--hinted the SDP would leave the coalition if the Cabinet allowed Futenma's functions to be transferred to the Henoko district of Nago in the prefecture.
　昨年１２月、首相は決断の好機を迎えながら、社民党の「連立政権離脱」カードで揺さぶられると、結論をあっさり先延ばしした。

Appointing Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirofumi Hirano to coordinate the issue, Hatoyama launched a joint government-ruling bloc study panel on the problem of U.S. bases in Okinawa Prefecture, presided over by Hirano. Yet how can the government and the DPJ reach an agreement with the SDP, whose security policy is incompatible with that of the DPJ?
　平野官房長官を仕切り役に、政府・与党の「沖縄基地問題検討委員会」を作ったが、安全保障政策で相いれない社民党との間で合意できるはずもない。

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Poor negotiation tactics

The government's handling of negotiations on the Futenma issue with local government heads in Okinawa Prefecture and Tokunoshima island in Kagoshima Prefecture stands out only because it is primitive and poor.
　沖縄県や鹿児島県・徳之島などとの話し合いの進め方も、稚拙ぶりが際立っている。

Anyone could have predicted the Futenma issue would run aground if the candidate who opposed the relocation of Futenma's functions to the city won the Nago mayoral election in January.
　今年１月の名護市長選で移設反対派が勝利すれば、問題が暗礁に乗り上げてしまうことは、誰しもが予測できたことだった。

Yet when the relocation opponent was victorious, Hirano said, "We don't have to take [the election results] into consideration," inviting the distrust of residents of the prefecture.
　あげく、反対派の市長が当選すると、平野長官は選挙結果を「斟酌(しんしゃく)する必要はない」と発言し、地元の不信を買った。

Like Hatoyama's visit to Okinawa Prefecture, Hirano's visit to Kagoshima Prefecture started from the wrong point and was never corrected. Instead of persuading those concerned with the issue, the visit only strengthened their opposition.
　首相の沖縄訪問と同様、平野長官の鹿児島入りも、初めからボタンを掛け違えたままだった。説得どころか、関係者の反発を増幅させている。

Hatoyama also failed to build up a relationship of mutual trust with U.S. President Barack Obama. Unable to have an official diplomatic meeting with the U.S. president as Japanese prime minister, there is no way for Hatoyama to make progress in bilateral negotiations.
　首相は、オバマ米大統領との信頼関係構築に失敗した。大統領とまともな会談も出来ないのでは、交渉が進捗(しんちょく)するわけがない。

Meanwhile, it is not appropriate for ministers involved with the Futenma issue to have continuously made remarks on their own.
　関係閣僚が勝手な発言をし続けたのも、いただけない。

In addition, the Hatoyama administration did not allow bureaucrats who are knowledgeable about past facts and developments regarding Futenma to be involved in the negotiations, in the name of "politics led by politicians." This too made resolving the issue difficult.
「政治主導」の名の下、過去の経緯に詳しい官僚組織を交渉から外してきたことも、解決を困難にした。

Hatoyama himself should of course be held politically responsible for inviting such a serious situation, but Hirano also played a major role. How do they intend to take responsibility?
　こうした深刻な事態を招いた首相はもちろんのこと、平野長官の政治責任も重大である。どう責任をとるつもりなのか。

The government and ruling parties will be unable to brighten their prospects on the Futenma issue if they simply continue what they are doing now.
　政府・与党が今の延長線上で作業を続けても展望は開けまい。

(From The Yomiuri Shimbun, May 15, 2010)
（2010年5月15日01時09分 読売新聞）