鹿児島３区補選 自民を後押しした政権不信

The Yomiuri Shimbun (Oct. 30, 2012)
Distrust in govt helped LDP win Kagoshima by-election
鹿児島３区補選　自民を後押しした政権不信（10月29日付・読売社説）

Victory in a House of Representatives by-election in Kagoshima Constituency No. 3 has given a boost to the opposition Liberal Democratic Party led by Shinzo Abe, which wants to regain the reins of power from the Democratic Party of Japan as soon as possible.
　早期の政権交代を目指す安倍自民党に追い風となろう。

However, the LDP should not take too much pride in the election result. It should instead play a constructive role in the extraordinary Diet session to be convened Monday.
だが、自民党はこれにおごることなく、臨時国会で建設的な役割を果たすべきである。

Kazuaki Miyaji, a former lower house member of the LDP, defeated Takeshi Noma, a first-time candidate of the People's New Party who was also backed by the DPJ, and the two other first-time candidates in Sunday's by-election to fill a lower house seat in Kagoshima Prefecture. The seat had been held by Tadahiro Matsushita, former state minister for postal reform and financial services, who died last month.
　松下忠洋前金融相の死去に伴う衆院鹿児島３区補欠選挙は、自民党元議員の宮路和明氏が民主党の推薦する国民新党新人の野間健氏らを破って当選した。

It was the first national election for Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda's administration. The by-election, a prelude to the next general election, was actually a joust between Miyaji and Noma.
　野田政権初の国政選挙だ。次期衆院選の前哨戦ともなった補選は宮路、野間両氏による事実上の一騎打ちだった。

With New Komeito also endorsing Miyaji, the LDP waged an all-out war against the DPJ, sending Abe and LDP Secretary General Shigeru Ishiba to campaign for their candidate.
　自民党は公明党の推薦を取り付け、安倍総裁、石破幹事長ら幹部を投入する総力戦を展開した。

The constituency has serious economic and employment problems. A factory in the constituency, for example, is to close down. The LDP stressed it would help bring about an economic revival.
　鹿児島３区では地元に進出した工場の撤退が明らかになるなど、経済・雇用が深刻な問題だ。自民党はこれを踏まえ、経済再生に取り組む姿勢を強調した。

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Good start for Abe

The LDP also considered the by-election an opportunity to question the three years of DPJ-led government and marked the first step in its march back to power. The by-election victory represents a good start for the new LDP leadership under Abe.
　民主党政権の３年間を問う選挙と位置付け、「政権奪還」への第一歩になるとも訴えた。今回の勝利は、安倍新体制にとって幸先の良いスタートである。

Meanwhile, Noma said he was a natural successor to Matsushita and his campaign stressed a generation change. The DPJ, which did not want the ruling coalition to lose even one Diet seat, established a campaign support system equivalent to that for a candidate on the DPJ ticket. Government ministers and leaders of the PNP and the DPJ stressed to voters that the ruling coalition parties would keep working for political reform.
　一方、野間氏は、「松下氏の後継」を前面に掲げ、世代交代を訴えた。民主党も与党議席を一つでも失いたくないとして、「公認候補並み」の支援態勢を敷いた。閣僚や党幹部は「政権与党として改革に取り組む」などと訴えた。

Nonetheless, the support for Noma did not significantly increase, apparently due to public distrust in the Noda government. The resignation of Keishu Tanaka as justice minister following revelations that he received donations from a foreign national and had past ties with criminal organizations worked to Noma's disadvantage.
　支持が広がらなかったのは、政権への不信感があったからだろう。外国人献金問題や過去の暴力団関係者との交際で田中慶秋前法相が辞任したことも、野間氏への逆風となったようだ。

Kyushu Electric Power Co.'s Sendai nuclear power plant is located in the constituency.
　鹿児島３区には、九州電力川内原子力発電所がある。

Both candidates indicated they would approve reactivation of the plant's idled reactors on condition that the national government guarantees their safety. A Japanese Communist Party candidate stressed that all nuclear reactors in the country should be abolished now and forever, but his view did not resonate with the voters.
　ただ、宮路、野間両氏とも「国による安全性の担保」を前提に、再稼働を容認する姿勢を示した。共産党候補は「即時原発ゼロ」を訴えたが、有権者には浸透しなかったと言える。

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Voters want decisive politics

With the by-election defeat, more members of the ruling coalition parties are likely to raise their voices to demand a lower house dissolution be delayed as long as possible because they believe they will suffer a crushing defeat if a general election was held now.
　補選敗北を受け、与党内では、「衆院選を行えば惨敗必至だ」として、衆院解散の先送りを求める声が一層強まるだろう。

However, we think the ruling coalition parties must not stagnate the nation's politics any longer by trying to extend the life of the current government unnecessarily.
　しかし、いたずらに政権の延命を図って、政治をこれ以上停滞させてはなるまい。

The LDP intends to adopt a more confrontational approach toward the government and the ruling coalition parties, demanding dissolution of the lower house for a general election by the end of this year.
　自民党は、年内の衆院解散を求め、政府・与党との対決姿勢を一層強める方針だ。

As for the extraordinary Diet session, the LDP and other opposition parties said they would not even allow the opening of the plenary session of the House of Councillors for the prime minister to deliver his policy speech. We think this is going too far.
　自民党など野党は、２９日に召集される臨時国会で野田首相の所信表明演説のための参院本会議開会さえ認めないという。これは明らかに行き過ぎである。

Rather than a futile confrontation between the ruling and opposition parties, the voters want the kind of politics in which decisions can be made. The LDP should not misunderstand this.
　有権者は、与野党の不毛な対決ではなく、「決められる政治」の実現を望んでいる。自民党は勘違いをしてはならない。

(From The Yomiuri Shimbun, Oct. 29, 2012)
（2012年10月29日01時53分  読売新聞）