民主党役員交代 バラバラ感を解消できるか

The Yomiuri Shimbun
Can DPJ achieve unity at last under its new executive lineup?
民主党役員交代　バラバラ感を解消できるか

A lack of unity has been the Achilles’ heel of the Democratic Party of Japan ever since its foundation. The main opposition party has recently reshuffled its executive team, but questions remain on whether the new lineup can overcome the party’s longtime weakness.
　この新たな布陣で、結党以来の弱点である党のバラバラ感を解消できるのだろうか。

On Tuesday, the DPJ picked former Chief Cabinet Secretary Yukio Edano as secretary general, and appointed former Deputy Prime Minister Katsuya Okada as acting president in charge of national Diet elections. “We will unite ourselves as one and face off against the politics of the Liberal Democratic Party,” DPJ President Banri Kaieda said at a general meeting of party members of both houses.
　民主党の新しい幹事長に枝野幸男元官房長官、国政選担当の代表代行に岡田克也前副総理が起用された。海江田代表は両院議員総会で、「全員が一丸となり、自民党の政治に対峙たいじしていく」と強調した。

Both Edano and Okada held key posts in the past DPJ-led government, but they are also among six key party figures who distanced themselves from Kaieda and other top executives after the DPJ’s crushing defeat in the 2012 House of Representatives election.
　枝野、岡田両氏は民主党政権で要職を務めたが、２０１２年の衆院選後は海江田執行部と距離を置いてきた「６人衆」の一員だ。

Appointed as chairman of the Policy Research Committee was House of Councillors member Tetsuro Fukuyama, a policy expert with experience as deputy chief cabinet secretary. For the Diet Affairs Committee chairman post, Kaieda picked former Internal Affairs and Communications Minister Tatsuo Kawabata, a long-serving lawmaker who entered the political world from a labor union.
　政調会長に政策通で参院議員の福山哲郎元官房副長官、国会対策委員長にはベテランで労組出身の川端達夫元総務相を充てた。

The lineup shows Kaieda’s intention to endorse party heavyweights in consideration of the power balance between party groups, an effort apparently aimed at creating monolithic unity.
　党内バランスに配慮しつつ、有力議員を取り込んだのは、挙党態勢を構築する狙いがある。

However, it is still too early to conclude that the DPJ has succeeded in building a united front with the reshuffle.
　ただ、これで民主党が一致結束できるとみるのは早計だろう。

The trio of Kaieda, Edano and Fukuyama were officials in charge of dealing with the nuclear crisis at the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant under the administration of then Prime Minister Naoto Kan. The memories of the administration receiving public criticism for its handling of the crisis are still fresh in our minds.
　海江田、枝野、福山の３氏は、菅政権が原発事故への対応で批判された際の当事者だ。

Smoldering discontent

Dissatisfaction with Kaieda is smoldering within the party, as the leader lacks the ability to make the party appealing to the public, and has been unable to lift the DPJ out of its slump.
　発信力に乏しく、党勢の低迷から抜け出せない海江田氏に対する党内の不満は根強い。

During the ordinary Diet session earlier this year, moves to dethrone Kaieda surfaced, with the party’s conservatives as the core instigators. They insisted that the party was unlikely to perform well in next spring’s unified local elections under his leadership. The party approved Kaieda remaining at the top at a July 31 meeting of DPJ members of both Diet houses, but the party is still far from becoming one.
　通常国会中には、保守系議員を中心に、「このままでは来年春の統一地方選を戦えない」として、「海江田おろし」の動きが顕在化した。７月末の両院議員懇談会で代表続投が決まったが、党内は依然、一枚岩とは言えない。

What the DPJ needs most as the top opposition party is to achieve consensus on key policies.
　野党第１党の民主党に最も求められるのは、政策の一致だ。

For example, the party has put off efforts to reach an agreement on whether to allow Japan to exercise the right of collective self-defense.
　民主党は今なお、集団的自衛権の行使の是非に関し、意見集約を先送りしている。

As the chairman of the party’s Research Commission on the Constitution, Edano has devoted himself to having his party issue an official opinion on the matter, helping the party conclude in February this year that it is unacceptable to revise the constitutional interpretation to allow Japan general exercise of the right of collective self-defense. However, the party is yet to decide its policy on whether a limited exercise of the right should be allowed.
　枝野氏は今年２月、党憲法総合調査会長として、「行使一般を容認する憲法解釈変更は許されない」との見解をまとめるのに尽力したが、行使の限定容認に関する方針は定まっていない。

In August, Kaieda took the bold step of stating his own opinion, opposing even a limited exercise of the collective self-defense right. However, his remarks drew criticism from the conservative camp within the party. Former DPJ President Seiji Maehara and other conservatives have been asking the government to establish a basic law on national security which allows Japan limited exercise of the right of collective self-defense.
　海江田氏が８月、限定容認への反対に踏み込むと、保守派からは批判が出た。前原誠司元代表らは、行使を容認する「安全保障基本法」の制定を求めている。

If Kaieda and other top executives hoist their liberal colors higher, it will likely widen the rift between them and conservative members. We also need to point out that the party’s efforts to review its manifesto from the 2009 lower house election, which overflowed with lavish spending policies, are still only half-finished.
　海江田執行部がリベラル色を強めれば、保守系議員との亀裂が深まる可能性が大きい。バラマキ政策が目立った０９年衆院選の政権公約の見直しも、まだ道半ばだ。

It is essential for the DPJ to come up with a concrete stance on key policy issues, such as national security, as soon as possible to regain public trust.
　国民の信頼の回復には、安全保障分野などの重要政策で党の軸足を早急に定める必要がある。

Another task for the DPJ is to build cooperation with other opposition parties, in Diet affairs and key elections. Kaieda has recently referred to the idea of forming a joint Diet group with other opposition parties. However, even within his own party, the majority of members doubt the possibility that the idea could be realized. It is sad to point out that Kaieda’s strategy for dealing with the LDP’s dominance is still unclear.
　国会対策や重要選挙での野党協力も課題である。海江田氏は、国会での野党統一会派構想に言及したが、党内でも「実現は困難」との見方が大勢だ。自民党の「１強」にどう立ち向かうのか、海江田氏の戦略が見えない。

(From The Yomiuri Shimbun, Sept. 17, 2014)Speech