安倍改造内閣 経済再生へ挙党態勢を固めよ

The Yomiuri Shimbun
Abe’s new Cabinet must strengthen party unity, national economy
安倍改造内閣　経済再生へ挙党態勢を固めよ

　◆「次」のリーダー育成も重要課題だ◆

The country is facing such major challenges as ensuring its escape from deflation, revitalizing the economy and preparing relevant national security laws to secure peace for Japan.
　脱デフレを確実にし、経済の活力を増す。日本の平和を確保する安全保障法制を整備する。

The new administration must tackle these issues unflinchingly through the concerted efforts of its new lineup.
　こうした重要課題に新たな陣容の総力を挙げ、果敢に取り組まねばならない。

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has reshuffled the Cabinet and the leadership of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party.
　安倍首相が内閣改造・自民党役員人事を断行した。

At a press conference following the Cabinet reshuffle Wednesday, Abe said: “We’re only halfway through reforms. I’ve reshuffled my Cabinet so we can carry out various measures more boldly and vigorously,” emphasizing the significance of the shake-up.
　首相は記者会見で「改革は道半ばだ。諸政策を心機一転、さらに大胆かつ力強く実行する」と述べ、内閣改造の意義を強調した。

Eye on elections
　選挙にらむ重厚な布陣

For the party leadership roles, Abe appointed Sadakazu Tanigaki, a former LDP president and justice minister, as secretary general of the LDP, and Toshihiro Nikai, chairman of the House of Representatives Budget Committee, as chair of the General Council.
　自民党幹事長に前総裁の谷垣禎一法相、総務会長に二階俊博衆院予算委員長を起用した。

Abe also selected Tomomi Inada, who has been elected to the lower house three times and was state minister in charge of administrative reform, as chair of the Policy Research Council.
政調会長には衆院当選３回の稲田朋美行政改革相を抜擢ばってきした。

LDP Vice President Masahiko Komura retained his post, while Economy, Trade and Industry Minister Toshimitsu Motegi was appointed head of the Election Strategy Headquarters.
高村正彦副総裁は留任し、選挙対策委員長には茂木敏充経済産業相が就いた。

Abe apparently aims to stabilize his administration by maintaining a balance between veteran, middle-ranking and young lawmakers in the new party leadership. He likely attached importance to preparing for elections, with an eye on the Okinawa gubernatorial election in November, the nationwide local elections next spring or even a possible dissolution of the lower house.
　ベテランと中堅・若手のバランスを取り、重厚な布陣で政権を安定させる狙いがある。１１月の沖縄知事選や来春の統一地方選、さらに衆院解散も見据えて、選挙対策を重視したのだろう。

Appointing a former party president as party secretary general is extremely unusual. Both Tanigaki and Nikai have connections to leading figures in China and enjoy good relations with New Komeito, the LDP’s junior coalition partner. Both are a type of politician quite different from Abe, who considers himself to be conservative.
　総裁経験者の幹事長起用は、極めて異例である。谷垣、二階両氏は、中国要人とのパイプを持ち、公明党との関係も良好だ。保守主義を標榜ひょうぼうする首相とは、タイプがかなり異なる。

With the appointments of Tanigaki and Nikai, it will be important to try to create harmony within the ruling camp and to expand the breadth of policy options. Top priority should be given to addressing major challenges through reinforced cooperation between the Prime Minister’s Office and the party leadership.
　両氏の起用により、与党内の融和を図り、政策の幅を広げることが大切である。首相官邸と党執行部が連携を強化し、重要政策を遂行することを最優先すべきだ。

At one point, a conflict emerged between Abe and Ishiba over what to do regarding former LDP Secretary General Shigeru Ishiba in the latest reshuffle.
　石破茂前幹事長の処遇をめぐって一時、首相と石破氏の対立が表面化した。

There were a number of unusual developments, including Ishiba publicly expressing his wish to continue as secretary general during a radio program. Abe reportedly considered giving no Cabinet post to Ishiba at all.
石破氏がラジオ番組で幹事長続投を公然と希望するなど異様な展開となり、首相は石破氏を無役にすることも検討した。

The two ultimately reached a compromise, leading Ishiba to become a Cabinet member.
　だが、最後は、双方が歩み寄り、石破氏は入閣した。

It was an appropriate decision for both Abe and Ishiba, who were candidates in the party presidential election in the autumn of 2012, to avoid a head-on confrontation and maintain a whole-party approach.
　一昨年秋の総裁選を争った両氏が、決定的な対立を回避し、挙党態勢を維持したのは妥当な判断である。

If party unity dissolved into chaos only 20 months after the LDP’s return to power, it would hardly win public confidence.
政権復帰から１年８か月余で党の結束が乱れるようでは、国民の信頼を得られない。

Stability maintained
　消費増税どう判断する

Six ministers, including Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga, who has earned a reputation for his crisis management abilities, kept their respective posts in the reshuffle, therefore maintaining the overall framework of the Cabinet. Key staff at the Prime Minister’s Office, including deputy chief cabinet secretaries and special advisers to the prime minister, all kept their jobs.
　改造内閣では、危機管理能力に定評のある菅義偉官房長官ら６閣僚が留任し、骨格は維持された。官房副長官、首相補佐官など官邸スタッフもそろって続投した。

Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Taro Aso, who is in charge of the Abe administration’s economic policy package, dubbed Abenomics, and Akira Amari, state minister in charge of economic revitalization, also remain in their respective posts.
　経済政策「アベノミクス」を担当する麻生太郎副総理・財務相と甘利明経済再生相も留任した。

Multilateral talks over the Trans-Pacific Partnership free trade pact are reaching a critical stage. The TPP negotiations are bound to determine the success or failure of the government’s growth strategy, which the prime minister calls the third arrow to be unleashed in his Abenomics economic policies.
　３本目の矢である成長戦略の成否を左右する環太平洋経済連携協定（ＴＰＰ）交渉が、山場を迎える。

We hope our nation will be able to reach an agreement with other participants in the TPP talks. This goal should be pursued through cooperation between Amari, who is also in charge of the TPP talks, and Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Minister Koya Nishikawa, who previously served as chairman of an LDP panel charged with discussing how to deal with the TPP pact.
甘利ＴＰＰ相や、党ＴＰＰ対策委員長を務めた西川公也農相らが連携し、合意を目指したい。

One priority facing the reshuffled Cabinet is to revitalize economies outside major urban areas, a portfolio that has been given to Ishiba. Pursuing this goal requires comprehensive measures to halt the ongoing population decrease, as well as mid- and long-term strategies. Steps include encouraging a number of urban residents to live in provincial areas instead, while also creating more jobs in such districts and offering child-rearing support. The task should be tackled by the government as a whole, with Ishiba as a central player in this respect.
　改造内閣の最重要課題である地方創生は、地方移住、雇用創出、子育て支援など総合的な人口減対策と中長期的戦略が欠かせない。石破地方創生相を中心に、政権全体で取り組む必要がある。

Another cause for worry is the current economic conditions. The economy has been slow to improve, reflecting a decrease in consumer spending that followed a rise in the consumer tax rate to 8 percent in April. In December, the Abe administration must decide whether to increase the rate to 10 percent as initially planned. A key factor will be whether the government can prevent the economy from taking a downturn and put it back on a growth track.
　景気の現状も心配だ。８％への消費税率引き上げに伴う消費の反動減から、回復が遅れている。１２月には、１０％への税率再引き上げの是非を判断せねばならない。景気の腰折れを避け、経済を成長軌道に戻せるかがカギを握ろう。

Some members of Abe’s reshuffled Cabinet seem to have been chosen partly on the strength of their ideological affinity to the prime minister. They include Hakubun Shimomura, who stays on as education, culture, sports, science and technology minister. He is tasked with promoting education reforms.
　「安倍カラー」の人事も散見される。教育改革を担う下村博文文部科学相を留任させた。

Another similar minister is Eriko Yamatani, whose portfolio includes resolving the abduction issue. She is currently chairing the policy board at the LDP’s House of Councillors caucus. Yasuhisa Shiozaki, one of Abe’s close allies, has been named health, labor and welfare minister. He has been serving as acting chairman of the party’s Policy Research Council, and was chief cabinet secretary under Abe’s first Cabinet, which was in power about seven years ago.
拉致問題相には、山谷えり子参院政審会長を充てた。第１次安倍内閣で官房長官だった塩崎恭久政調会長代理を厚生労働相に起用した。

We hope Shiozaki will encourage bureaucrats at his ministry to fully utilize their expertise in striving to make progress in reforming the social security systems.
　塩崎氏は今度は、官僚を上手に使いこなし、社会保障制度改革に取り組んでほしい。

In July, the Abe administration revised its official view regarding the nation’s right of collective self-defense under the Constitution, a move that permits this country to exercise the right under limited conditions. The prime minister intends to present a comprehensive picture of legislation needed to complement the government’s new position on the right during an extraordinary Diet session expected to be convened in autumn. This will likely be followed by a plan to ensure pertinent laws are established at next year’s ordinary Diet session.
　安倍政権は７月、集団的自衛権の行使を限定容認する政府見解を決定した。秋の臨時国会で法整備の全体像を示し、来年の通常国会で関連法の成立を図る方針だ。

The new portfolio regarding security legislation has been given to Akinori Eto, chairman of the lower house Security Committee. A former senior vice defense minister, Eto has also been made defense minister. His appointment to these positions can be seen as reasonable.
　新設の安全保障法制相には、防衛副大臣も務めた江渡聡徳衆院安保委員長が、防衛相兼務で起用された。順当な人事だろう。

Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida will continue to serve in that position under the reshuffled Cabinet. This seems to indicate Abe’s intention to secure the continuity of our nation’s foreign policy.
　外交の継続性を重視する観点から、岸田文雄外相は留任した。

Efforts should be made to even more firmly cement the Japan-U.S. alliance through planned revisions to the bilateral defense cooperation guidelines toward the end of the year.
　年末に予定される日米防衛協力の指針の改定を通じ、より強固な日米同盟を構築すべきだ。

We also hope the government will work to ensure that summit meetings with China and South Korea take place, by taking advantage of such occasions as a meeting of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum scheduled for November in Beijing.
　１１月の北京でのアジア太平洋経済協力会議（ＡＰＥＣ）などの機会を利用し、懸案の中国、韓国との首脳会談も実現したい。

Female members to be tested
　真価問われる女性登用

Abe has appointed five female lawmakers as members of his reshuffled Cabinet, including Yuko Obuchi as economy, trade and industry minister, Sanae Takaichi as internal affairs and communications minister and Haruko Arimura as state minister to promote women’s more active participation in society. The appointment of five women ties the all-time record for the most women in a cabinet.
　改造内閣では、小渕優子経産相、高市早苗総務相、有村治子女性活躍相ら、過去最多と並ぶ５人の女性閣僚が誕生した。

The prime minister has advocated the need to transform our nation into “a society in which women can shine,” and several female officials have been given senior positions in the Kasumigaseki bureaucratic quarter. It is natural for Abe to appoint five women to his Cabinet in line with his own policy. They will be tested over whether they can successfully fulfill their duties.
　首相は「女性が輝く社会の実現」を唱え、霞が関でも女性官僚を登用している。閣僚人事にその方針を反映させたのは理解できる。今後は、成果が問われよう。

In 2003, Abe was appointed LDP secretary general when he was serving his third term as a lower house member — an apparently unusual appointment for a legislator with a relatively short political career. We hope the prime minister will properly train such future leaders as Ishiba, Kishida, Obuchi and Inada during his days in office.
　首相自身、衆院当選３回で幹事長に抜擢された経験がある。石破、岸田両氏に加え、小渕、稲田両氏ら、将来のリーダーをきちんと育成してもらいたい。

(From The Yomiuri Shimbun, Sept. 4, 2014)Speech