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ご挨拶 (11月4日)

9月15日に脳梗塞を発症18日にMRAの診断を受けました。
右手がしびれてしまって以前のようには素早くタイプできなくなりましたが、
命にかかわるほどではありませんでした。
現在リハビリ中で、脳内血管につまったコレステロールなどの不純物を溶かす薬を服用しています。
早期発見できたことは大変に幸運なことであると医者も申しておりました。
今後とも英字新聞のご愛読のほど、よろしくお願いいたします。

srachai from khonkaen, thailand


The Yomiuri Shimbun(Nov. 4, 2009)
Toll-free roads may hurt local transportation
高速道路無料化 地方の足が奪われかねない(11月4日付・読売社説)

Railroad, shipping and bus companies are opposing the decision by the Cabinet of Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama to in principle end expressway tolls, saying that the move will deprive them of their customers.
 高速道路を原則無料化する鳩山内閣の方針に、鉄道、海運、バス業界などが、「利用者が奪われる」と反発している。

They insist that even the discount on expressway tolls, a measure launched under the previous government of the Liberal Democratic Party and New Komeito, has had a significant impact on their business. They argue that they would lose more customers in the event expressways are made toll-free and that they would become unable to maintain their regional transportation networks.
 自公政権が始めた高速料金の割引でさえ影響は大きく、無料になればさらに客離れが進み、地方交通網が維持できなくなる、という主張だ。

If regional public transportation wanes, "those who are disadvantaged in terms of transportation," or those who cannot afford to own or drive cars, will lose their means of transportation in their daily lives. Though the government said it would pay full attention to the plan's impact on other means of transportation, it has yet to present concrete measures.
 地方公共交通が衰退すれば、車を利用できない「交通弱者」は暮らしの足を失う。政府は「他の交通機関への影響には十分配慮する」としているが、その具体策は示されていない。

In the first place, toll-free expressways involve certain problems. It will become necessary to inject taxpayers' money to repay a massive amount of debts owed by the former Japan Highway Public Corporation and other entities concerned. In addition, the policy, which will certainly increase overall automobile use, runs counter to measures to tackle global warming.
 そもそも高速道路を無料化すれば、旧道路公団などの巨額の債務返済に税金投入が必要になる上、交通量が増えて地球温暖化対策と矛盾する。

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Costly plan

In the face of such criticism, Hatoyama said he would phase in implementation of the toll-free expressway plan. But such an approach does not change the fact that the government will have to spend 1.3 trillion yen annually in the end.
 こうした批判を受け、鳩山首相は、無料化は段階的に実施していく考えを表明したが、最終的に年間1・3兆円の税金を使うことに変わりはない。

The government should first consider what form its comprehensive transportation policy will take before ending expressway tolls. Its principles on road improvement and maintenance and the toll system need to be reviewed as part of that process.
 政府は高速無料化を進める前に、まず、総合的な交通政策の在り方を考えなければならない。その中で、道路の整備方針や料金体系などを見直していくべきだ。

To deal with the criticism that expressway tolls are too high, the government could improve the discount system and change toll standards for individual regions. It is important for the government to flexibly deal with the issue, rather than sticking to the principle of toll-free expressways.
 高速道路料金が高すぎるという批判に対しては、割引制度の充実や、地域ごとの料金水準の変更といった手もある。はじめに無料化ありきではなく、柔軟に対応する姿勢が大事だ。

Six Japan Railways Group passenger rail companies project that their combined annual revenues would decline 75 billion yen once the government has eliminated expressway tolls. The plan is expected to adversely affect Hokkaido Railway Co. and Shikoku Railway Co. in particular, as they operate many lines running parallel to expressways. The JR firms are afraid they will be forced to close such lines.
 JR各社は、高速道路が無料化されれば、旅客6社であわせて年間750億円の減収になるとみている。高速道路と並行する路線が多いJR北海道、四国の影響は特に深刻で、廃線が相次ぐ可能性が高いという。

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Spreading effect

Expressway toll discounts, which started this spring, already have had a significant impact on the ferry industry, with some firms having collapsed and others forced to cut their workforce.
 春からの高速料金割引の影響で、すでにフェリー業界では倒産や人減らしが相次いでいる。

The profitability of express bus services has deteriorated because customers have chosen to drive their own cars due to lower expressway tolls. As a result, they now find it inevitable to reduce or even end services on regular routes, which have been maintained with profits from their express bus services.
バス業界ではマイカーに客を奪われて高速バスの採算が悪化し、その利益で維持してきた路線バスの減便や廃止が避けられない状況だ。

As for the economic revitalization program stressed by the Democratic Party of Japan, many observers point out that it would accelerate the so-called straw effect, or a movement of economic activity from economically weak to economically strong areas with shoppers in regional areas heading into urban areas and regional economies further deteriorating.
 民主党が強調する経済活性化についても、「地方の買い物客が都市部に流れる『ストロー現象』が進み、かえって地方経済は衰退する」という指摘が多い。

European countries and the United States are set to adopt policies of reducing the use of cars by charging expressway tolls and upgrading high-speed railway services, for the purpose of cutting carbon dioxide emissions.
 欧米では、高速道路を有料にしたり、高速鉄道の整備を進めたりして車の利用を減らし、二酸化炭素(CO2)の排出を抑える政策を取りつつある。

In Germany, the government began collecting tolls from some large vehicles on the autobahn, which was previously free for all vehicles. The United States has a plan to build a high-speed railroad modeled after Japan's Shinkansen.
 無料だったドイツのアウトバーンも、大型車の一部は有料になった。米国には、日本の新幹線をモデルにした高速鉄道計画もある。

The government should be aware that the toll-free expressway plan runs counter to such global trends.
高速無料化はこうした世界の流れに逆行する政策であることを、政府は認識すべきである。

(From The Yomiuri Shimbun, Nov. 4, 2009)
(2009年11月4日00時53分 読売新聞)
by kiyoshimat | 2009-11-04 13:54 | 英字新聞

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