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新内閣骨格人事 政権引き継ぎを円滑に進めよ

The Yomiuri Shimbun(Sep. 8, 2009)
Smooth transfer of power essential
新内閣骨格人事 政権引き継ぎを円滑に進めよ(9月8日付・読売社説)

The main lineup of the new cabinet in the administration of incoming Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama has been decided. Preparations need to be expedited so that the transfer of power can be smoothly realized in the launch of the new administration next week.
 鳩山新内閣の主要閣僚人事が固まった。来週の発足に向けて、円滑な政権引き継ぎができるよう準備を急いでほしい。

Democratic Party of Japan Acting President Naoto Kan will be appointed state strategy minister, a post to which DPJ President Yukio Hatoyama attaches the greatest importance. Party Secretary General Katsuya Okada and Hirofumi Hirano, head of the DPJ executives' secretariat, will assume the posts of foreign minister and chief cabinet secretary, respectively. DPJ Supreme Adviser Hirohisa Fujii is expected to be named finance minister.
 民主党の鳩山代表が最も重視する国家戦略相には、菅直人代表代行が決まった。外相は岡田克也幹事長、官房長官は平野博文役員室担当が就任する。財務相は藤井裕久最高顧問の起用で調整が進んでいる。

The new cabinet is expected to tackle a number of difficult problems, but the business of governing the country requires constant effort and attention. Because the new cabinet is expected to include many who have no cabinet experience, there are both expectations of and anxieties about the incoming administration.
 新内閣には多くの難題が待ち構えている。行政の停滞は許されない。新内閣は、閣僚経験のない大臣が大半を占める見通しであり、期待と不安が交錯する。

Because the sources of revenue to fund the child allowance program and other new policies still remain uncertain, how will the new government compile the fiscal 2010 budget while paying attention to economic stimulus measures? How will it deal with the U.N. General Assembly and the Group of 20 financial summit scheduled for later this month?
 子ども手当など新規政策の財源が不明確な中、景気対策に目配りしつつ、来年度予算をいかに編成するのか。今月下旬の国連総会や金融サミットにどう臨むのか。

To minimize confusion after its launch, the new cabinet needs to make effective use of the run-up period prior to the special Diet session on Sept. 16 and coordinate policies both within the party and with other parties.
 政権発足後の混乱を最小限にするには、16日の特別国会召集までの助走期間を有効活用し、党内外の政策調整を行う必要がある。

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Setting priorities

It is important to closely examine the party's election pledges and prioritize them on the basis of how urgent the need is for their implementation.
 重要なのは、政権公約の内容を精査し、早急に実行する政策の優先順位を決めることだ。

It will not be acceptable for the new government to waste time in setting up new organs, such as the national strategy bureau that will be under the direct control of the prime minister, and reviewing the rules governing the interaction between policymakers and bureaucrats, consequently delaying the undertaking of the cabinet's essential tasks.
 首相直属の国家戦略局など新機関の設置や政官関係のルール見直しに手間取り、内閣本来の業務が滞るようでは困る。

It is desirable for the new government to hold detailed discussions to the greatest extent possible not only on personnel affairs concerning high-ranking government officials but also new systems and rules before it takes office.
政府高官人事は無論、新たな制度やルールについても、政権発足前に極力詰めておくことが望ましい。

The national strategy bureau, to be headed by Kan, will assume the role of drawing up principles for drafting the budget and charting the broad outlines of foreign policy, in addition to comprehensively coordinating policies.
 菅氏がトップとなる国家戦略局は、予算編成方針や外交ビジョンの策定のほか、政策の総合調整の役割を担う。

The bureau will also act as the control tower for the new government to carry out the DPJ policy of ending the deference of the nation's political circles to bureaucrats.
民主党の掲げる「官僚依存政治からの脱却」を実現する司令塔ともなる。

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Tackling the bureaucracy

Kan dealt with problems caused by HIV-tainted blood products as health and welfare minister in the coalition government of the Liberal Democratic Party, the Social Democratic Party and New Party Sakigake (Pioneers). Subsequently, as an opposition member, he pursued various other problems, such as wasteful spending by bureaucrats and the so-called amakudari practice in which retiring high-ranking government officials take up lucrative jobs at agencies and other organizations they previously dealt with while public servants. Hatoyama decided to give the new post to Kan, apparently concluding that he is suited to reforming Kasumigaseki, the center of the country's bureaucracy.
 菅氏は、「自社さ」政権の厚相として「政治主導」で薬害エイズ問題に取り組んだ。その後の野党時代も、国会で官僚による無駄遣いや天下りを追及してきた。霞が関改革に適任との判断だろう。

We have no objections to "politician-led" politics and drastically cutting wasteful spending, but what is needed now is not playing to the gallery by bashing bureaucrats as opposition party members often do, but ideas and strategies to put bureaucrats under the government's control.
 「政治主導」やムダな支出の徹底削減に異論はないが、求められるのは、野党的な官僚たたきのパフォーマンスではなく、官僚をきちんと使いこなす発想だ。

Okada, who is to assume the post of foreign minister, is well-versed in policy and has built personnel connections in the United States and other countries through his visits overseas. On the other hand, as he is often derided as a fundamentalist, some have voiced concerns over rigidity in his policies.
 外相に起用される岡田氏は、政策通のうえ、外遊を通じて米国をはじめ各国に人脈を築いてきた。一方で、「原理主義者」と揶揄(やゆ)されるように、政策面の硬直性を心配する向きもある。

As for the new government's diplomatic policies, concerns have been expressed over Japan-U.S. relations because of the DPJ's coalition with the SDP and Hatoyama's recent op-ed piece published in The New York Times that caused a stir by expressing views that appeared to be critical of the United States.
 新政権の外交政策では、社民党との連立に加えて、「反米的」とも評された鳩山論文の影響などから対米関係が懸念されている。

If Japan-U.S. relations became unstable, it will cast a shadow on the Asia-oriented diplomacy the DPJ emphasizes. It will be necessary for the new government to pay careful attention to building a relationship of trust between Japan and the United States.
 日米同盟が不安定化すれば、民主党の重視するアジア外交にも悪影響を及ぼす。新政権は、日米の信頼関係の構築に十分留意することが必要だろう。

(From The Yomiuri Shimbun, Sept. 8, 2009)
(2009年9月8日01時12分 読売新聞)
by kiyoshimat | 2009-09-08 06:34 | 英字新聞

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