西川社長続投 理解得られぬ甘い「けじめ」

The Yomiuri Shimbun(Jun. 24, 2009)
Public won't accept Nishikawa reappointment
西川社長続投　理解得られぬ甘い「けじめ」（6月24日付・読売社説）

A settlement has been reached, but it will not satisfy most of the public.
　こんな決着で、国民の多くは果たして納得するだろうか。

It has effectively been decided that Japan Post Holdings Co. President Yoshifumi Nishikawa will stay in his post.
　日本郵政の西川善文社長の続投が、事実上、決まった。

Internal Affairs and Communications Minister Tsutomu Sato said Monday he had decided to authorize the proposed reappointment of Nishikawa after the president informed him that Japan Post's five executives, including himself, would take self-disciplinary pay cuts.
Sato also said Prime Minister Taro Aso had approved the decision.
　佐藤総務相が２２日、西川社長から本人を含む役員５人の報酬を自主返上する社内処分の報告を受けて続投を認め、麻生首相も総務相の判断を了承したという。

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Questions remain unanswered

The biggest issue now facing Japan Post are questions revolving around the attempted sale of its Kampo no Yado nationwide network of resort hotels.
　日本郵政をめぐる最大の疑問は「かんぽの宿」の売却問題だ。

Why did Japan Post attempt to sell 70 resort facilities developed at the hefty cost of 240 billion yen for a mere 10.9 billion yen?
　２４００億円もかけて整備した７０施設を日本郵政はなぜ１０９億円の安値で売ろうとしたのか。

The process behind Japan Post's sloppy procedures for the attempted sale of the facilities, which went unchallenged, must be fully explained. The firm even admitted a lack of records concerning the process of selecting a buyer, which is unthinkable for a private company.
売却先を選ぶ過程の記録が欠落するなど、民間では考えられない杜撰(ずさん)な手続きがまかり通った経緯も詳しく知りたい。

The ministry issued Japan Post with a business improvement order in April, asking it to explain these points. However, Sato endorsed Nishikawa's reappointment after only being given a brief explanation of what occurred. Japan Post was scheduled to submit its final report on the matter Wednesday.
　総務省は業務改善命令でこうした疑問への説明を求め、２４日にも日本郵政が最終報告する予定だった。しかし、総務相は概要の説明を聞いただけで続投を認めた。

Many questions remain unresolved. The impression cannot be easily dismissed that Sato, having judged that prolonged confusion is damaging, rushed to draw a line under the issue.
　数々の疑問は、まだ解消されていない。混乱の長期化は得策ではないとみて、幕引きを急いだ印象がぬぐえない。

Many problems also remain in terms of Japan Post's disciplinary action against its top management.
　経営陣に対する社内処分にも問題が多い。

Nishikawa promised Sato he would immediately dismiss executives he had recruited from Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp. where he once served as president. But Nishikawa himself will do no more than give up 30 percent of his pay over the next three months. This is too lenient.
　西川社長は、自身が頭取を務めた三井住友銀行から連れてきた幹部たちを「速やかに辞めさせる」と総務相に約束した。一方で、社長自らは報酬の３０％を３か月間、自主返上するだけで済ませるというのでは、甘過ぎるだろう。

Questions were raised over the disciplinary measures proposed by Nishikawa, even from within the Liberal Democratic Party, with LDP General Council Chairman Takashi Sasagawa saying, "Resignation is his best option if he's admitted responsibility [by taking a pay cut]."
Criticism of Nishikawa is growing within the opposition parties, who are demanding a thorough debate of the matter.
　自民党からも、笹川総務会長が「（報酬返上で）自分の責任を認めたのなら辞めた方がよい」と述べるなど、疑問を呈する声が出ている。野党各党もこの問題の集中審議を要求するなど、批判は強まる一方だ。

After all that has occurred, only one outcome would be satisfactory--Nishikawa should voluntarily resign.
　やはり西川社長は、自発的に辞任するのが筋だろう。

The business improvement measures presented so far by Japan Post also are questionable in terms of their likely effectiveness.
　日本郵政が示した改善策も、実効性に疑問がある。

Japan Post said that to strengthen supervision of its management it will establish the post of chairman, above the post of president. The chairman also would concurrently chair a newly set up management advisory council.
　経営への監視を強めるため、西川社長の上に会長を置き、新設する経営諮問会議の議長を兼任させるという。

However, Japan Post plans to appoint the chairman from the ranks of its outside directors. Can this cosy system, formed of the firm's unchanged current top management lineup, be sure to strengthen oversight of the company?
だが、会長は現在の社外取締役から充てる案だ。顔ぶれが変わらぬ「内輪同士」で、チェック機能は強まるだろうか。

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Responsibility rests with PM

The final responsibility for approving Nishikawa's reappointment rests with Aso.
　西川社長の続投を決めた最終責任者は麻生首相である。

The prime minister dismissed former Internal Affairs and Communications Minister Kunio Hatoyama earlier this month for having confused matters regarding the reappointment of Nishikawa--a decision that lacked any sense of balance.
　一方で首相は、鳩山邦夫・前総務相を「事態を混乱させた」として更迭した。著しくバランスを欠く対応だ。

With a view to replacing Nishikawa, Aso several months ago handed Hatoyama a list of candidates to succeed the president. Hasn't the confusion been caused by Aso's about-face rather than actions of Hatoyama?
首相は数か月前、社長交代を前提に後継候補のリストを鳩山氏に渡していた。事態を混乱させたのは、心変わりした首相自身ではないのか。

It appears inevitable that Aso will face growing criticism over his role in this affair.
　首相に対する批判が高まるのは避けられないだろう。

(From The Yomiuri Shimbun, June 24, 2009)
（2009年6月24日01時36分 読売新聞）