28/07 編集手帳

７月２８日付　

　級友にさよならを言う寂しさは想像に難くない。まして放射線という目に見えぬ怪物に追われての転校は、幼心にどんな傷痕を残すのだろう。精神面のケアを十分にと祈るばかりである◆福島市の小中学生３００人以上が、健康への影響を心配して、市外に転校したという。山形県に越した小３女児は七夕飾りに「ふく島にもどれますように」と書いた。その日が一日も早く訪れるように、急いで放射線の「除染」作業を進めるべきである◆福島市は、学校の建物除染と校庭の表土除去にとりかかっている。しかし、通学路や自宅、遊び場などにはなかなか手が回らない。田畑の土壌や森林の樹木・表土まできれいにするとなると相当の人手と費用が要る。政府の支援がぜひともほしい◆汚染がなくても福島県内の観光地は閑古鳥が鳴く。同僚が、同窓会旅行を今年は会津若松で、と誘っても、難色を示す仲間が多かったという。目当ての温泉宿には１００人以上の避難者がいる◆「でも宴会やカラオケは遠慮せずどうぞ。避難されている方々がそう望んでいます」。女将おかみの台詞せりふに全員が感激、決行と相成ったそうだ。

（2011年7月28日01時14分  読売新聞）

27/07 編集手帳

７月２７日付　

岐阜県庁では、この夏の節電対策の一環として、午後１時から３時までの間、職員に時間休（シエスタ休暇）を取るよう推奨している。シエスタはスペイン語で、昼寝、あるいは昼寝が出来る長い昼休みを意味する◆最近は東京のオフィス街でも、個室のベッドで仮眠できる施設がにぎわっている。企業の“サマータイム”導入による早朝出勤、冷房の利かないオフィス…。とりわけこの夏は、疲れがたまりやすい。昼休み、短い時間でも睡眠をとって、仕事の効率を上げようということなのだろう◆〈機織の機にもたれて昼寝かな　子規〉。かつて日本では、夏の昼下がり、仕事場や縁側、木陰などで仮眠をとる習慣があった。昼寝は、俳句では夏の季語でもある◆米国の文化人類学者、ルース・ベネディクトは著書「菊と刀」の中で、日本人はどんな姿勢でも、どんな環境においても楽々とよく眠ると驚嘆している。睡眠は「日本人の最も完成された技能の一つ」とまで持ち上げている◆扇子で涼をとりながら、椅子の背にもたれ、うつらうつらする。それも蒸し暑い日本の夏を乗り切るための知恵なのだろう。

（2011年7月27日01時18分  読売新聞）

26/07 よみうり寸評

７月２６日付　

　中国浙江省温州で起きた高速鉄道の衝突、脱線、高架下への転落大惨事には驚いたが、その事故処理には二度びっくりで仰天した◆何と転落した先頭車両が砕かれ、脇に掘られた巨大な穴に埋められた。重機が運転席の計器類を壊していたとも報じられた◆一般に常識と思われる事故調査のイロハにことごとく反している。「落雷で設備が故障した」などというが、十分に検証する姿勢がない。現場保存や事故車両の精査などよりも復旧が優先なのか、一日半後には早くも開通させた◆この事故はヒヤリハットなどという段階ではない。その失敗から学ぶこともないままの運行再開に怖さを感じる。これが中国流というものか◆事故車両を穴に埋めたと聞いて〈焚書坑儒ふんしょこうじゅ〉を連想した。昔、秦の始皇帝は意に反する書物を焼き、儒者多数を生き埋めにした。現代の中国は国威の発揚を妨げる車両を穴に埋めて幕引きを急ぐのか◆事故車両はまた掘り出されたというが、〈坑儒〉ならぬ〈坑車〉とはあきれるばかり、理解に苦しむ。

（2011年7月26日13時52分  読売新聞）

26/07 編集手帳

７月２６日付　

　〈お隣もわが家もおなじ老夫婦一日おんなじテレビの音量〉。読売歌壇にあった。画面を見ていようがいまいが、テレビはいつもついている。お年寄り２人暮らしの情景だ◆もの悲しさを詠んだようでもあり、つつがなき暮らしの幸せを詠んだようでもあり、解釈はさまざまあろう。確かな点は、高齢者の日常生活にテレビは欠かせないということだ。それによって隣家同士、とりあえず変わりなし、と確認し合えるのかも知れない◆大震災の被害が大きかった３県を除き、テレビの地上波がデジタル化された。大多数の家庭は「地デジ化」したようだが、一方で高齢者世帯を中心に１０万軒ほどが未対応と推測されている◆その家では、久しぶりの大相撲千秋楽を見られなかっただろう。いつもの「おんなじテレビの音量」が聞こえず、ご近所は心配しているかも知れない。総務省とテレビ各局は、今後も説明や支援を怠ることなかれ◆〈磯野家に地デジテレビはいつ届く〉。これは以前、大阪本社版に載ったよみうり時事川柳。速すぎる時代の変化に遅れていくサザエさん一家を案じながら、少しホッとしてもいる。

（2011年7月26日01時30分  読売新聞）

25/07 よみうり寸評

７月２５日付　

　〈全勝優勝〉を逸した大関日馬富士は実に残念そうだった。土俵下でしばしぼう然と立ちつくしていた◆前日、横綱白鵬の８連覇を阻み、自身２年ぶり２度目の優勝を決めていたのだが、〈全勝〉が欲しかった気持ちがよくわかる。きのうの千秋楽、関脇稀勢の里を土俵際あと一歩まで攻めながら、突き落とされて敗れた◆が、大関の表情は悔しさの苦笑から、やがて微笑に変わった。この日の勝負が全力を尽くした攻防だったことと、今場所は連日、持ち前のスピードで自分の相撲を取り切れたという悔いない微笑だ◆２００９年夏場所の初優勝後は前場所まで、けがなどもあって最高１０勝しかあげられなかった。復活の勢いを来場所以降につなぐべし◆Ｖ８を逸した白鵬は野球賭博、八百長など大相撲の嵐の時代を一人横綱で支えた功労をたたえたい。その疲れが出たのかも知れない。連勝、連覇記録の再スタートを期待する◆今場所は〈満員御礼〉が千秋楽で初めて出た。これも来場所は連日の復活を力相撲に期待しよう。

（2011年7月25日13時41分  読売新聞）

25/07 編集手帳

７月２５日付　

　＜今日はお祭りですが　あなたがいらっしゃらないので　何の風情もありません＞。出征した夫に届いた妻からのハガキ。夫は軍の検閲を嫌って返事を書かず、ハガキを読んだという言づてを戦友に託したことから数奇な物語が始まる◆来月６日に封切られる新藤兼人氏の映画『一枚のハガキ』である。言いたいことを言えない状況が人の運命を変えていく。話の筋を追いながら、戦時中の日本人に似た不自由さに今も耐えている人々のことを思い出した◆アラブ諸国の独裁者に対する民衆の抗議デモは、秘密警察が監視網を巡らすシリアでも起きている。在米シリア人女性はネット上の映像に、抗議に参加した郷里の母の姿を見つけた。実家に電話すると、父が答える◆「行くなと言っても、母さんは病院通いをやめないんだ」。米紙が伝えるエピソードである。「壁に耳あり」の生活を何十年も強いられてきたシリア人には、隠語を使って身を守る習性が染みついているのだという◆それに比べれば、指導者の“自由な”発言に振り回される今の日本はまだ幸せなのだろう。「早くお辞め」と言い返せるのだから。

（2011年7月25日01時27分  読売新聞）

Strengthen defense against cyber-attacks

The Yomiuri Shimbun

Japan must catch up quickly and appropriately with the development of information and communication technology to defend its national security.

The Defense Ministry's white paper for 2011, which was approved by the Cabinet on Tuesday, emphasized the importance of strengthening the nation's defense against cyber-attacks on the government and Self-Defense Forces because they could "significantly affect national security."

Previous white papers, in a chapter titled, "Issues in the International Community," ranked cyber-attacks as the third-biggest threat after the transfer and proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, and international terrorism. However, cyber-attacks were bumped up to the top of the list in this year's white paper, which is officially called "Defense of Japan 2011."

Cyber-attacks include data falsification or theft of information via unauthorized access to information and communication networks, and clogging network functions through the simultaneous transmission of large quantities of data.

A computer virus recently penetrated U.S. military networks, creating the very real risk that information could be leaked.

The U.S. Defense Department last month announced a new security strategy that considers cyber-attacks as a possible act of war and does not rule out military retaliation if key computer systems are targeted. The Pentagon also pointed out that many of the cyber-attacks on U.S. computers were launched by hackers in China.

===

Japan ready for cyber-attacks?

Is Japan's defense against cyber-attacks sufficient? In May last year, the government compiled a cybersecurity strategy, and conducted the first simulation exercise based on this in March. The branches of the Self-Defense Forces have just begun creating a joint cybersecurity unit.

The SDF should hire experts from the private sector for this unit, enhance research sections and introduce the latest countermeasures. It also must cooperate with the United States and other countries concerned, and improve its defense capability against cyber-attacks.

Meanwhile, the white paper said China's military power is "a matter of concern for the region and the international community, including Japan." It also showed an increased sense of vigilance against China. "In regards to issues of conflicting interest with surrounding countries, including Japan, China's response has been criticized as assertive," the white paper said. "There is a concern over its future direction."

===

China, N. Korea intl issues

This is a reasonable perception of China's military power, considering incidents such as the collisions last year between a Chinese fishing boat and Japan Coast Guard vessels near the Senkaku Islands, Chinese military helicopters flying abnormally close to Maritime Self-Defense Force ships several times, and friction between China and Vietnam over territorial issues in the South China Sea.

It is essential to make bilateral or multilateral rules to control and resolve international maritime disputes.

The international community also needs to convince Beijing through military exchanges and dialogue that observing international rules and enhancing military transparency would erase international concerns about the possible threat from China, and serve its own national interests.

Regarding North Korea, the white paper said that nation's "military behavior...constitutes a serious destabilizing factor for the entire East Asian region." The report mentioned Pyongyang's disclosure of uranium enrichment facilities and development of a new intermediate-range ballistic missile called Musudan.

Japan must stay alert and closely monitor North Korea's military activities to ensure the Japan-U.S. alliance deterrent functions. It is also necessary to continue diplomatic efforts with participants in the six-nation talks to persuade North Korea to give up its nuclear and missile development programs.

(From The Yomiuri Shimbun, Aug. 3, 2011)

(Aug. 4, 2011)

Regain public trust with unified N-safety body

The Yomiuri Shimbun

Following the accident at the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant, the government has compiled and released a draft plan on reorganization of the bodies that regulate nuclear safety.

The draft plan calls for the separation of the Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency (NISA) from the Economy, Trade and Industry Ministry, which promotes nuclear power generation. Under the plan, the agency would be integrated with the Nuclear Safety Commission of the Cabinet Office to establish a new nuclear safety agency.

Other government offices related to nuclear safety regulation would be unified under the envisaged nuclear safety agency. They now come under different ministries such as the Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology Ministry. In this way, the government intends to reform its regulatory systems on nuclear safety.

The current regulatory systems failed to prevent the crisis at the Fukushima plant, and responses to it were delayed. The envisaged safety agency must ensure thorough safety measures and gain public trust.

The proposed separation of the agency from METI is a matter of course.

===

Independence the norm

In most nations, the independence of regulatory organs is an ironclad rule taken for granted. The International Atomic Energy Agency had pointed out that Japan must address this issue.

It has been recently learned that despite being a regulatory organ, the agency asked power companies to see that more opinions favoring nuclear power were expressed at explanatory public meetings.

The subsequent decision to dismiss METI officials, including a vice minister and the head of the agency, will not alone eliminate public distrust.

A key issue is where the safety agency should be placed in the government structure. The draft plan referred both to the Cabinet Office and the Environment Ministry as possible entities under which the new agency could be placed.

Both the Cabinet Office and the ministry were suggested because opinion was divided within the Cabinet over which of the two would better serve to make the new agency completely neutral and ensure that it effectively exercises its regulatory functions.

If the agency were placed under the Cabinet Office, it would be necessary to dedicate a cabinet minister solely to heading the agency. The minister should not also be in charge of other policy areas such as measures to combat the declining birthrate and disaster management.

The Environment Ministry has made certain achievements in regulation of industrial activities. But it is also known to have promoted nuclear power, which emits little greenhouse gas, for the sake of arresting global warming.

===

'Not an issue for Kan'

The draft plan is set to be given Cabinet approval soon. But some argue that it is not appropriate for the administration of Prime Minister Naoto Kan, who is expected to resign soon, to decide on the issue. We hope the plan will be thoroughly discussed so there will be no problems in the future.

Nurturing knowledgeable and highly qualified specialists also is mentioned in the draft plan as an issue to be addressed. This surely is an essential issue, but it is questionable whether the government could attract the best and brightest while arguments are being made over abandoning nuclear power or reducing dependence on it.

Unlike the United States and Europe, laws related to nuclear regulations in this nation are not based on the assumption that severe accidents could occur. This point needs to be drastically reviewed, too.

The government plans to launch a safety agency in April. There will not be much time to devise related bills and submit them for Diet deliberations.

Discussions on these matters, including the issue of how to steer the nation's nuclear policy, should be expedited.

(From The Yomiuri Shimbun, Aug. 6, 2011)

(Aug. 7, 2011)

MUSINGS / July 29, 2011

The Yomiuri Shimbun

The following is a translation of the Henshu Techo column from The Yomiuri Shimbun's July 29 issue.

* * *

The date stunned me. "It was on March 11 that an announcement from the U.S. geodetic society--saying massive crustal movements, centered in the Japanese archipelago, were about to occur--rocked the world like an electric shock..."

This quote is taken from the sci-fi novel "Nihon Chinbotsu" (Japan Sinks), written by Sakyo Koma

tsu and published in 1973 by Kobunsha Co.

The book was a big hit and sold more than 4 million copies. It is said that Komatsu became worried about the tax he would have to pay on the sales, and phoned his publishing company to say, "Don't print any more copies." The publisher refused, saying, "We can't do that."

Komatsu was a second-year middle school student when World War II ended. Many people just three or four years older than him had died in the war.

His first novel, "Chi niwa Heiwa o" (Peace on Earth), was built on a "what if" premise: What if the war had not ended when it did, and the decisive battle had been fought on the main islands of Japan?

"If not for the war, I probably wouldn't have become a sci-fi writer," he once said.

Komatsu--who helped elevate the perception of science-fiction writing in Japan, from an "childish" genre to a respected apparatus for critiquing civilization--has died, at the age of 80.

In "Nihon Chinbotsu," an old man says: "The Japanese people have, until now, lived like happy infants. For as long as 2,000 years, we have lived happily in the bosom of these four warm and gentle islands."

Reading this, and the date mentioned in the passage quoted at the beginning of this column, it is hard to believe the novel was written nearly 40 years ago.

(Aug. 4, 2011)

MUSINGS / July 27, 2011

MUSINGS / July 27, 2011
The Yomiuri Shimbun

The following is a translation of the Henshu Techo column from The Yomiuri Shimbun's July 27 issue.

* * *

As part of energy-saving efforts this summer, the Gifu prefectural government is advising its employees to use their paid leave to have a "siesta" between 1 p.m. to 3 p.m.

In Spanish, siesta means an afternoon nap, or an afternoon break that is long enough to fit a nap in.

Recently, businesses that provide people with beds in private rooms to take naps have proven popular in Tokyo's business districts.

Individual companies have introduced earlier-than-usual morning starts, offices are cutting down on air conditioning...Workers might be particularly prone to fatigue this summer.

The siesta break apparently is meant to encourage workers to have a sleep, even if it is just a few winks, during their lunch break to improve their efficiency at work.

A weaver is leaning down

On a weaving machine,

Taking a nap

This is a haiku by Masaoka Shiki (1867-1902).

In the past, people in Japan customarily took an early-afternoon nap at their workplace, on an engawa veranda or under the shade of a tree during summer.

Hirune, or afternoon nap, is a summer kigo (seasonal word) in haiku.

U.S. cultural anthropologist Ruth Benedict (1887-1948) wrote in her book "The Chrysanthemum and the Sword" that Japanese people, surprisingly, can sleep well in any kind of position and under any circumstances. She went so far as to praise sleeping as one of the Japanese people's "most accomplished arts."

With a folding fan in hand, a worker leans back in their chair and dozes off. This might be good advice for people trying to get through a sticky summer in Japan.

(Aug. 1, 2011)

MUSINGS / July 25, 2011

MUSINGS / July 25, 2011
The Yomiuri Shimbun

The following is a translation of the Henshu Techo column from The Yomiuri Shimbun's July 25 issue.

* * *

"It's festival day today. But as you're not here, it [the festival] holds no charm for me."

So goes a postcard sent by a woman to her husband drafted for service and about to go to the front. The husband, who didn't want to be censored by the military, asked one of his fellow soldiers to tell her that her husband had read her letter. From there, the movie tells the story of the checkered lives of its characters.

The movie is "Ichimai no Hagaki" (Post Card), directed by Kaneto Shindo and due for release on Aug. 6.

Being unable to openly say what they want changes the fate of the movie's characters.

As I followed the plot of the story, I was reminded of people who are still enduring a lack of freedom similar to that experienced by the Japanese during the war.

People are demonstrating against dictatorships in Arab countries such as Syria, where the secret police have a wide surveillance network.

A U.S. newspaper reported that a Syrian woman now living in the United States spotted her mother demonstrating in Syria in a video on the Internet.

When she telephoned her home in Syria, her father answered. He said, "Even though I told her not to go, your mother wouldn't stop going to the hospital."

Having been forced for many decades to lead a life in a place where walls have ears, Syrians are said to have acquired the habit of protecting themselves by speaking in code.

Compared with such a situation, people in Japan today--who are often misled by the "free" remarks of their leader--can be happy that they are free to tell him,"Quit soon."

(Jul. 28, 2011)

MUSINGS / July 22, 2011

The Yomiuri Shimbun

The following is a translation of the Henshu Techo column from The Yomiuri Shimbun's July 22 issue.

* * *

While watching Yomiuri Giants' pitcher Tetsuya Utsumi on TV earlier this week as he picked up his 10th victory of the season, leading the Central League in wins, my eyes fell on his cap.

I noticed the kanji for "pillar" or "main support" was written on the underside of the bill, seemingly to remind himself of his status as the team's ace pitcher.

It is quite understandable that people may want to write a kanji character on something close at hand to keep their focus and spirits up.

However, when it comes to Cabinet members, for whom it may be unseemly to wear a baseball cap when attending Diet deliberations, a palm may be a well-suited place to write a character as an emotional pick-me-up.

During a session of the House of Councillors Budget Committee yesterday, a Yomiuri Shimbun camera caught the left hand of Economy, Trade and Industry Minister Banri Kaieda as he raised it just before responding to a question.

Presumably having been written with a thick marker, the single kanji for "perseverance" could be clearly seen on his left palm.

The minister, who is in charge of energy policy, must spend many sleepless nights over the whims of Prime Minister Naoto Kan. For instance, Kan made a pronouncement of "breaking with the nuclear power generation," which he later backed away from, after coming under a barrage of criticism, saying it had just been his personal view.

The economy minister, to his credit, refrained from venting, when provoked by the opposition, the deep resentment he likely holds in his heart for Kan. This may explain why Kaieda held the kanji meaning perseverance in his clenched fist when taking the podium in response to opposition questions in the committee session.

People struck by the Great East Japan Earthquake, meanwhile, may have gone beyond Kaieda's kanji--which comprises two components signifying "blade" and "heart"--but instead may be feeling like writing the kanji for "grief," which combines the characters for "autumn" and "heart," on their palms. Perhaps the one for "sadness" consisting of "negative" and "heart" would be even more suitable.

The recurring component of all of these kanji is "heart" and seeing people eat grilled eel on skewers yesterday, the midsummer day of the ox, brings to mind a fitting kanji for the prime minister. Perhaps the best kanji for Kan is the one for "trouble," as the kanji is made up of "heart" and "skewer."

(Jul. 25, 2011)

MUSINGS / July 18, 2011

The Yomiuri Shimbun

The following is a translation of the Henshu Techo column from The Yomiuri Shimbun's July 18 issue.

* * *

In 1868, during the Boshin War, a fierce battle was fought when forces seeking to return political power to the imperial court attacked Tsurugajo castle, a stronghold of the Aizu domain (now part of Fukushima Prefecture), which was loyal to the ruling Tokugawa shogunate.

Among those on the Tokugawa side was a 24-year-old woman who, after her younger brother died in the battle, donned his clothes, cut her hair like a man's and took up arms herself, rushing through the smoke to join the battle.

This woman, referred to as a late-Edo period Japanese Joan of Arc, later became the wife of Jo Niijima, who founded Doshisha University after the Meiji Restoration.

She is Yae Niijima, the heroine of a yearlong historical TV drama titled "Yae no Sakura" (Yae's cherry) that NHK plans to start airing in 2013.

The city of Aizu-Wakamatsu, where the castle is located, has been the setting for a number of historical TV dramas.

But local people's hopes are higher for this NHK series than for any that have come before it. Their proud tourism industry has been devastated by the Great East Japan Earthquake and the Fukushima nuclear crisis.

Even though Aizu-Wakamatsu is 100 kilometers from the troubled Fukushima No. 1 nuclear plant, people scared of radiation have been reluctant to visit. The number of visitors to the city for school excursions in spring was down 90 percent from last year.

The hot spring inns and hotels in the city have been accommodating many evacuees from within the vicinity of the crippled nuclear plant, so the situation at those establishments is far from business as usual.

At such a time, it is nice of both Kagoshima and Yamaguchi prefectures to have offered their support to the tourism industry of Aizu-Wakamatsu.

These two prefectures--formerly the Satsuma and Choshu domains of the imperial forces during the Boshin War, and thus old enemies of the Aizu domain--may have been unable to remain indifferent to the sorry plight of Aizu-Wakamatsu.

Yae is said to have endured any hardship, never given up and always believed in the future.

The life of Yae, and her survival through tumultuous times, may offer a cue for the "revival of Aizu."

(Jul. 21, 2011)

MUSINGS / July 9, 2011

The Yomiuri Shimbun

The following is a translation of the Henshu Techo column from The Yomiuri Shimbun's July 9 issue.

* * *

A yukata-clad woman, holding a round fan in her hand, is enjoying a cool breeze on an outdoor bench. The picture is drawn in a way that we can see the coolness. But when I focus on the woman herself, her face and posture look sluggish, making me feel hot, rather than cool. Even just to be nice, I can't say the picture was done well.

I recently had a look at the picture, drawn by Saneatsu Mushanokoji (1885-1976), at an exhibition titled "Soseki to Bunjintachi no Shoga," which displayed paintings and calligraphic works by Soseki Natsume (1867-1916) and other writers at the Kanagawa Museum of Modern Literature in Yokohama.

The writer apparently was not satisfied with the picture himself. On the side of it, Mushanokoji wrote: "It was a failure. But my drawings might get better if I do them a hundred more times."

This shows he was indeed a hard-working man. But it is said he never improved at drawing.

"That's why I like him," wrote Hitomi Yamaguchi (1926-1995), also a novelist, who loved Mushanokoji's drawings.

"For me, the knowledge that there are people who can never get better no matter how hard they study encourages me far more than the knowledge that you can improve if you study hard," Yamaguchi wrote in his book titled "Mukuge no Hana" (Flower of Althaea) published as part of the Shincho Bunko pocketbook series.

We have a prime minister who is not ashamed of shifting the responsibility for his misgovernment onto someone else, and an electric power company that has eagerly turned to tricking the people with faked e-mails and other deceptions. Such things may be why I cherish the memory of a writer who was the very embodiment of straightforward honesty.

Mushanokoji wrote a poem that goes something like this: "Those who want to make a fuss, make a fuss. I'm a blue sky."

This is a summer that makes me long even more for a blue sky in people's minds.

(Jul. 14, 2011)

MUSINGS / July 14, 2011

The Yomiuri Shimbun

The following is a translation of the Henshu Techo column from The Yomiuri Shimbun's July 14 issue.

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From a conversation between two women:

"I won't get married until I turn 30."

"I won't turn 30 until I get married."

This is from the book "Otona no joku" (Jokes for adults) written by Minoru Baba, part of the Bunshun Shinsho paperback series published by Bungeishunju Ltd.

Here is a more timely version of the conversation, which you cannot laugh at.

"I won't resign as prime minister until plans for quake disaster relief are settled."

"I won't settle plans for quake disaster relief until I resign as prime minister."

I feel like I have to make such a sarcastic analogy whenever I am watching Prime Minister Naoto Kan. I wonder what his true intentions are for reviewing the nation's energy policy in the long run considering he has already said he would resign. In doing so, he pushed aside important legislation that urgently needs passing, including a bill to allow the government to issue deficit-covering bonds for reconstruction measures, even though the legislation is what would enable quake disaster relief plans to be settled.

The prime minister held a press conference Wednesday to announce that he wants to phase out nuclear energy. If such a declaration were made under a prime minister who had control over his Cabinet and ruling party, with thorough discussions having been made on both the pros and cons of the plan and concrete plans to achieve it having been shown, it cannot be denied that a shift from nuclear energy could be considered a political ideal.

But Kan lacks everything in this regard. It is just like: "I will look to the future because I don't want to resign and I won't have to settle disaster relief plans."

A person who is moving out of his house soon should not be undertaking new projects such as reroofing or repainting. He should be packing, cleaning up his mess and preparing to leave.

(Jul. 18, 2011)

首相不信が民主に波及…無党派、厳しい視線

世論調査

　読売新聞社の全国世論調査で、菅内閣支持率が、民主党政権としても最低を記録したことは、退陣表明以降も「居座り」を続ける菅首相に対する有権者の強い不信感を浮き彫りにした。


　内閣支持率は、退陣表明直後に実施した６月調査では３１％だったが、７月には２４％に下がり、今回は１８％に落ち込んだ。

　首相に対して特に厳しい視線を向けているのは支持政党なしの無党派層だ。無党派層に限ってみると、内閣支持率は２１％（６月）→１６％（７月）と続落し、今回はわずか１１％となった。

　足元の民主党の支持層でも離反は著しい。民主支持層の内閣支持率は、６月６４％、７月６２％と６０％台を維持したが、今回は５４％まで下がった。

（2011年8月8日00時14分 読売新聞）