政治報道の危機

(Mainichi Japan) September 25, 2008
Poor political reportage promotes poor politics and politicians
ぶら下がりの虚像

Taro Aso, who was elected prime minister on Wednesday, shares his deep feelings with a close friend: "I don't think ordinary people understand the anguish of extremely rich people."
　今日、首相に選出される麻生太郎氏は、心を許した相手には「とてつもない金持ちに生まれた人間の苦しみなんて普通の人には分からんだろうな」としんみり語る。

Even though Aso occasionally assumes a persona where he "pretends" to be a bad guy, it appears that this is actually his true nature.

The way he considers himself to be someone born to a special fate, and his confidence that he has experienced hardships that nobody else knows reveal a deep psychological condition.
How he will control the government appears likely to depend on this warped self-confidence.
　時に偽悪家ぶるところがあるが、これは率直な気持ちだろう。自分を特別な運命に生まれたと信じる自惚（うぬぼ）れと、人知れぬ苦労も積んだという負けん気は、新首相の深層心理をうかがわせて興味深い。今後の政権運営は、この屈折した自負心が左右する気がする。

I talk about such a thing because I wondered why Yasuo Fukuda, who resigned as prime minister on Wednesday, had decided to dump his government in an irresponsible manner and later acted selfishly. It all leads to the conclusion that he was not qualified to be prime minister. Many political reporters realized this fact, but did they clearly report it?
　こんな話を持ち出すのは、今日で首相を終える福田康夫氏の無責任な政権放り出しと、その後の身勝手な言動に考え込んでしまったからだ。首相の器でなかったということに尽きるが、政治記者の多くは、そのことを知っていた。でも、それをきちんと伝えたか。

After Fukuda announced his decision to resign, the Mainichi Shimbun reported that as early as April he was tired of being prime minister. Nevertheless, the Mainichi Shimbun at the same time carried other articles saying that the prime minister was enthusiastic about his work.
Even though Fukuda displayed a mixture of aggressive and feeble attitudes, I cannot help but admit that these reports were incorrect. This is because the reporters failed to get to the bottom of Fukuda's real intentions and simply believed what his aides said.
　退陣表明後、弊紙は福田氏が４月には嫌気が差していたと報じた。ところが、当時の紙面を繰ってみると、「首相は意欲満々」と何度も書いている。強気と弱気が交錯していたにせよ、誤報と認めざるを得ない。

Since Junichiro Koizumi was in office, brief interviews with the prime ministers at their office, which were limited to twice a day, had continued for seven years. This set a bad precedent for political reporters who have now come to believe that such brief interviews are enough to write articles.
Reporters were criticized for failing to ask tough questions during the news conference at which Fukuda announced his decision to resign because they were asking questions as if the news conference was just another one of the brief interviews at the prime minister's office.
People often talk about the political crisis, but it's largely because of the crisis of political news coverage. (By Tomonaga Ito, Political News Writer, Mainichi Shimbun)
　本人の実像に迫れず、秘書官らの煙幕をうのみにしたせいだ。小泉政権で昼夕２度に制限された首相への「ぶら下がり」。７年も続き、あれで済ますのが記者の悪弊になった。突っ込み不足と不評だった福田氏の退陣会見も「ぶら下がり」の延長だったからではないか。政治の危機と言うが、半分は政治報道の危機だろう。【伊藤智永】

毎日新聞　2008年9月24日　東京朝刊