きょう衆院解散 民自公協調が「条件」を整えた

The Yomiuri Shimbun (Nov. 17, 2012)
DPJ-LDP-Komeito cooperation must survive general election
きょう衆院解散　民自公協調が「条件」を整えた（11月16日付・読売社説）

As the three "preconditions" set by Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda for dissolving the House of Representatives have largely been met, the lower chamber is expected to be dissolved Friday so a general election can be held.
　衆院はきょう１６日、解散される。野田首相が掲げた解散の三つの「条件」がほぼ整ったためだ。

One of the focal points, reforming the lower house's electoral system, moved forward as a bill that would eliminate five single-seat constituencies to rectify vote-value disparities between the most and least represented electoral districts passed the lower house with support from the ruling Democratic Party of Japan and opposition parties including the Liberal Democratic Party and New Komeito.
　焦点だった衆院選挙制度改革では、「１票の格差」を是正する小選挙区の「０増５減」案が民主、自民、公明各党などの賛成多数で衆院を通過した。

The legislation to rectify vote disparities is expected to be enacted into law Friday by the House of Councillors.
１６日の参院本会議で成立する。

Further, an accord has been reached on a proposal Noda made to the LDP and Komeito to cut the number of lower house seats elected through proportional representation. The agreement would see the three parties join hands to pass a bill in an ordinary Diet session early next year.
　首相が自公両党に提案した比例定数削減に関しては、民自公３党が来年の通常国会での成立を目指すことで一致した。

The ruling and opposition parties are also in agreement on another bill expected to pass on Friday that would slash Diet members' annual salaries by 20 percent. The legislation is looked upon as a gesture by lawmakers that they can "set an example by enduring suffering" until the number of legislators has been reduced.
　与野党は、議員歳費を２割削減する法案も１６日に成立させる。議員定数削減が実現するまでの間、国会議員が自ら「身を切る」姿勢を示そうというのだろう。

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Poll in 'state of unconstitutionality'

These agreements between the ruling and opposition camps have realized what Noda referred to as the "minimum acceptable accord" in one-on-one debates in the Diet with opposition party leaders Wednesday.
　首相が党首討論で言及した「最悪のケース」で合意が実現することになる。

It will likely take several months to rezone the relevant single-seat constituencies to eliminate the five seats and to inform the public about the electoral change. The lower house election expected for next month will therefore be carried out in what the Supreme Court called in a ruling last March a "state of unconstitutionality."
　とはいえ、小選挙区の区割り見直し作業や周知期間を含めると数か月必要で、来月の衆院選は、最高裁に昨年３月指摘された「違憲状態」のまま実施される。

Indications are that lawsuits will be filed sometime after the general election seeking to nullify its results, and the courts will most likely hand down exacting decisions on the election's outcome.
　いずれ選挙無効を求める訴訟が起こされ、厳しい司法判断が下される公算が大きい。

It also appears likely that yet another condition for dissolving the lower house--passing a bill to allow the issuance of deficit-covering bonds--will soon become law.
　もう一つの条件だった、赤字国債発行を認める特例公債法案も成立する見通しだ。

The legislation in question would enable the government to issue the bonds until fiscal 2015, on the condition that it gives due attention to the need for fiscal discipline.
財政規律に配慮することを前提に、２０１５年度までは、赤字国債を自動的に発行できるようになる。

The three major parties have also agreed to establish by the end of the month a national council to outline social security system reform. There are of course a large number of issues that must be solved, such as how to keep the pension system sustainable.
　民自公３党は、社会保障制度改革国民会議の月内設置でも合意した。持続可能な年金制度のあり方など論点は多いはずだ。

Although it was not a condition for dissolving the lower house, a bill that would revise the National Pension Law to allow pension benefits to be lowered to a level that reflects recent price declines appears assured of enactment through cooperation between the DPJ, the LDP and Komeito.
　解散の条件ではなかったが、年金支給額を物価下落と見合う適正水準に減額する国民年金法改正案も、民自公３党の協力により、成立することになった。

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Partnership vital in divided Diet

It is highly significant that the problem of excess pension payments--an issue that has lingered since the time when the LDP and Komeito were in power--has finally been rectified.
　自公政権時から放置されてきた年金の「払い過ぎ」がようやく是正される意義は小さくない。

This signifies that important legislation can be passed even in a divided Diet, where the ruling bloc lacks a majority in the upper house, if the ruling and opposition camps make a concerted effort to find common ground.
　衆参ねじれ国会であっても、与野党が真剣に接点を模索すれば、成立させることは十分可能だ。

Nevertheless, several key bills have been scrapped in the current Diet session, including one that would create a numbered citizen identification system, known as the My Number bill, which is essential for effectively carrying out comprehensive social security and tax reform. Also, joining of the 1980 Hague Convention on international child abduction, which lays out how child custody should be dealt with when international marriages break up, will be delayed. These bills should be enacted without fail in the next ordinary Diet sitting.
　社会保障・税一体改革の効率的な運用に不可欠な共通番号制度関連法案（マイナンバー法案）や、国際結婚破綻時の子の扱いを定めるハーグ条約実施法案などが今国会では廃案となるが、来年の通常国会で成立を図るべきだ。

As the configuration of parliamentary groups in the upper house will remain basically the same after the coming lower house election, maintaining the framework of cooperation between the DPJ, the LDP and Komeito will still be needed to continue moving national politics forward.
　衆院選後も、参院の会派構成が基本的に変わらない以上、政治を前に動かすには、民自公協力の枠組みの維持が重要となる。

Lower house elections, where the survival of each party is at stake, are prone to devolving into intense mudslinging contests. However, the DPJ, the LDP and Komeito must keep in mind the danger of smear campaigns during the next lower house contest.
　各党の消長がかかる衆院選は、激しい“非難合戦”に陥りがちだが、民自公３党は、そのことを十分念頭に置いて、選挙戦に臨まねばならない。

(From The Yomiuri Shimbun, Nov. 16, 2012)
（2012年11月16日01時38分  読売新聞）