（社説）安倍総裁再選 民意とのねじれを正せ

--The Asahi Shimbun, Sept. 9
EDITORIAL: Re-elected Abe must move closer to the will of the people
（社説）安倍総裁再選　民意とのねじれを正せ

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe was re-elected president of the Liberal Democratic Party on Sept. 8 without ballot. Seiko Noda, the only LDP legislator who sought to challenge Abe, failed to secure the recommendations from 20 Diet members required to run.
　自民党総裁選は、安倍首相の無投票再選で終わった。立候補をめざした野田聖子氏は、必要な２０人の推薦人を集めることができなかった。

Noda was chairwoman of the LDP’s General Council in spring 2014, when she voiced “skepticism” about the procedures Abe chose to allow Japan to exercise its right to collective self-defense. Before the Cabinet convened to endorse Abe's intent to change the government’s traditional interpretation of the Constitution, Noda organized an intraparty debate on this matter.
　野田氏は党総務会長だった昨年春、集団的自衛権の行使を認める閣議決定を前に、政府の憲法解釈変更で進めようとする首相のやり方に「違和感」を訴え、党内議論の場をつくったことがある。

At a Sept. 8 news conference where she announced her decision not to run, Noda said, “I wanted to create a situation where people would say there are diverse opinions within the LDP.”
　きのうの出馬断念の記者会見でも「自民党には多様な意見があるんだと言ってもらえる舞台を作りたかった」と述べた。

There are 400-plus LDP legislators, but not even 20 came forward in support of Noda’s wish to create such a situation. This is pathetic.
　情けないのは、４００人を超す国会議員がいるのに、こうした政策論争の場づくりを後押しする議員がたったの２０人も集まらなかったことである。

Her attempt to secure recommendations from 20 lawmakers was hindered by certain party factions and individuals close to the prime minister who did not want her bid for the presidency to negatively affect the progress of Diet deliberations on the controversial national security bills.
　野田氏の推薦人集めに対し、安全保障関連法案の審議への影響を避けたい首相周辺や派閥からの締めつけがあった。

The LDP is losing its traditional flexibility and readiness to accommodate the diverse wishes of the public from the entire political spectrum and reflect them in intraparty discussions. We are not saying we miss the old days of outright factional politics. But we are deeply apprehensive of the current LDP administration that obviously believes in rejecting any controversy to get things done smoothly.
　右から左まで多様な民意をくみ取り、党内の議論に反映させる。今の自民党はそんな姿勢を失いつつある。かつての派閥全盛時代を懐かしむわけではないが、論争を封じ込め、それでよしとする政権党のあり方には大きな危惧を抱かざるを得ない。

In successfully blocking Noda’s candidacy, the bedrock of the Abe administration appears as solid as it could get. But that is not necessarily the case.
　対立候補を封じた安倍氏の政権基盤は盤石にも見えるが、必ずしもそうではない。

From the time Abe returned to power in December 2012, his administration owed its stability and popularity to the economic upturn that raised his Cabinet’s approval ratings. But when the global economy began to falter, so did its popularity, with non-approval ratings exceeding approval ratings.
　政権復帰時から上向いた経済とそれに裏打ちされた内閣支持率の高さが安倍政権を支えてきた。だが、世界経済の先行きにかげりが見え、歩調を合わせるように支持率が不支持率を下回るようになった。

Most importantly, the Abe administration has failed to win the support of the public on crucial policies.
　なによりも、大きな政策で民意の支持が得られていない。

In an Asahi Shimbun opinion poll conducted in late August, Abe’s statement for the 70th anniversary of the end of World War II was approved by 40 percent of respondents, as opposed to 31 percent who did not approve. But in the same survey, 65 percent saw “no need” to legislate the national security bills during the current Diet session, and 49 percent considered the restart of the Sendai nuclear reactor a “bad decision.”
　８月下旬の朝日新聞社の世論調査では、戦後７０年の首相談話は「評価する」の４０％が「評価しない」の３１％を上回ったが、安保法案を今国会で成立させる「必要はない」が６５％。川内原発の再稼働も４９％が「よくなかった」と答えた。

With the national security legislation in particular, public opposition has grown in leaps and bounds as Diet deliberations continue. If Abe resorts to strength in numbers to steamroll the bills through the Diet, the gap between the administration’s intent and what the public wants will only widen further.
　とりわけ安保法案には、国会審議が進むほど民意の反対のうねりが起きている。これを数の力で抑え付ければ、政権と民意の溝は広がるばかりだ。

Abe pledged on Sept. 8 to continue to focus on economic growth. That in itself is fine, but he ought to understand that his modus operandi of relying on the robust economy to force divisive policies on the nation is nearing the end of its effectiveness.
　安倍氏はきのう、引き続き経済成長に力を尽くす決意を語った。そのことに異論はないが、経済の好調を推進力に、民意が割れる政策を強引に進める手法は限界に近づいている。

Having secured another term as party president unchallenged, Abe is poised to get the national security legislation passed by the Diet as early as next week.
　総裁選が無投票で終わったことで、安倍政権は来週にも安保法案を成立させる構えだ。

But before anything, he must do everything he can to bridge the divide between his stance and the will of the people. No matter how successful he may be in solidifying his intra-party base, ignoring the will of the people has its limits in politics.
　その前に、まずは民意とのねじれを正すことに、首相は心を砕くべきだ。どんなに党内を固めても、民意を顧みない政治はやがて行き詰まる。