野田首相へ―自民との協調が優先だ

--The Asahi Shimbun, May 31
EDITORIAL: Noda should pursue tax policy, despite Ozawa's objections
野田首相へ―自民との協調が優先だ

Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda asked Ichiro Ozawa, former head of the Democratic Party of Japan, to support his proposal to raise the consumption tax during their 90-minute meeting on May 30.
　野田首相が民主党の小沢一郎元代表と約１時間半会談し、消費増税への協力を要請した。

But Ozawa made clear his opposition to Noda’s bid to pass the tax hike bill during the current Diet session. “There are things that should be done before such a massive tax increase,” the ruling party heavyweight said to Noda.
　だが、小沢氏は「大増税の前にやるべきことがある」と、今国会での法案成立に反対する姿勢を明確にした。

The disappointing results of the talks, in which the two politicians failed to narrow their differences over the issue, have left no doubt that Noda should pursue a new strategy for the legislation instead of seeking the approval of Ozawa, who is only a “rank-and-file” member of the party.
　平行線だった会談結果をみるにつけても、首相には「一党員との会談」より優先すべきことがあるのは明らかだ。

Two years and nine months after the DPJ came to power in a dramatic regime change, the government’s policy-making machinery remains miserably out of gear due to its inability to move things forward and make necessary decisions. Now, the government should start taking effective steps to get the ball rolling.
　政権交代から２年９カ月。「動かない、決められない」惨状が続く政治を前に動かす。

In order to do so, the Noda administration should display a willingness to make necessary political concessions and sincerely seek talks with the opposition parties, especially the main opposition Liberal Democratic Party, for a bipartisan agreement to revise and pass the consumption tax bill.
　そのために、譲るべきは譲って、野党、とりわけ最大野党の自民党に、法案の修正合意を真摯（しんし）に働きかけることだ。

During his meeting with Ozawa, Noda solicited his cooperation for the initiative, saying a consumption tax hike is urgently needed. Noda pointed out that the social security burden and benefits should be shared equally among generations and added that the nation’s public finances are in dire straits.
We share the prime minister’s sense of crisis about the situation.
　「社会保障は世代間の公平を確保しなければならない。財政も厳しい。（消費増税は）待ったなし。ぜひご協力を」。会談で、首相が小沢氏に説いた危機意識は私たちも共有する。

This is about integrated tax and social security reform, a key policy challenge that has huge and direct implications for the nation’s future.
　社会保障と税の一体改革という、国の将来像に直結するテーマである。

We agree that the legislation is best enacted with unanimous support by the ruling party based on a reconciliation between the opposing groups within the party, if that is possible.
「挙党一致」「党内融和」が可能なら、それに越したことはないと私たちも思う。

But Ozawa based his objection to the proposal on key planks of the DPJ’s manifesto for the 2009 Lower House election, which led to the party’s ascent to power.
　これに対し、小沢氏は政権交代が実現した０９年総選挙のマニフェストの柱を並べて反論した。

The DPJ pledged to radically reform the way the nation is governed and to finance its policy proposals with the savings from exhaustive efforts to eliminate wasteful spending, Ozawa pointed out. But the party has yet to start serious efforts to deliver on this promise, he argued.
「統治の仕組みを大改革し、ムダを徹底的に省いた財源を、新しい政策の財源にする。その約束が緒についていない」

Indeed, the DPJ’s election manifesto is in tatters.
　確かに、民主党のマニフェストは破綻（はたん）状態にある。

But Ozawa is making a totally irrational argument by saying that the government should not embark on raising taxes or reforming the social security system because the ruling party has failed to carry out its election promises.
　だが、マニフェストが実行できていないからといって、増税にも、社会保障の改革にも手をつけてはならないといわんばかりの主張は暴論にすぎる。

Why has the DPJ made so little progress on its policy commitments? The party appears to have failed to make serious political efforts to move gradually but steadily toward policy goals, taking one step at a time.
　民主党政権がなぜ、政治を動かせないのか。一歩ずつでも、できることを積み上げていく。そんな着実な政治の営みが欠けていたのではなかったか。

The Diet deliberations so far during the current session have underscored the impressive fact that the two major parties have very similar positions on many policy issues.
They include not only the increase in the consumption tax rate to 10 percent, but also the integration of the employee pension program and the mutual aid pension program for public servants and the shortening of the minimum period of premium payments to become eligible for national pension benefits.
　これまでの国会審議で印象深かったのは、１０％への消費増税だけでなく、厚生・共済年金の一元化、年金の受給資格期間の短縮など、２大政党の主張に差のない政策が多いことだ。

Fearing that a vote on the consumption tax bill could prompt Ozawa to bolt from the party with his followers, some DPJ lawmakers are calling for carrying the bill over to the next session or postponing the vote through a large extension of the current session.
　民主党では、法案を採決すれば小沢氏が党を割りかねない、と継続審議や会期の大幅延長による採決先送り論も出ている。

But such an approach would only perpetuate the paralysis of policymaking due to the ruling camp’s inability to make gutsy political decisions.
だが、それでは「決められない政治」が続くだけだ。

Only three weeks are left until the end of the current Diet session. The legislature should have exhaustive debate on important bills and duly pass into law those on which a bipartisan agreement has been reached.
　会期末まであと３週間。審議を尽くし、与野党で一定の合意ができた法案は粛々と採決して成立させる必要がある。

Noda should accept the LDP’s proposal to set up “national councils” with experts among the members to discuss policies on which the ruling and opposition parties have failed to agree.
　合意できない政策は、有識者をまじえた「国民会議」で話し合う。そんな自民党の提案を首相は受け入れるべきだ。

If such efforts of the Noda administration to push through its policy initiatives prompt Ozawa to leave the DPJ, so be it.
　そうして政治を進めた結果、小沢氏が民主党とたもとを分かつというなら仕方がない。

It is clearly time for Noda to become prepared to do whatever he needs to do to achieve his key policy goal.
首相はもはや腹をくくるときだ。