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タイ在住11年目、妻はタイ人、娘が2人、養女が2人

The number of people who become unhappy with Abenomics will surpass the number of people who become happy with Abenomics.
アベノミクスで不幸せになる人の数は、アベノミクスで幸せになる人の数を凌駕する。
Prime Minister Abe shouldn't be trying to change Japan to be such a boring country as that the money is most important.
安倍首相には、日本をお金がすべてのつまらない国にして欲しくない。
Having a government that refuses to take the wishes of its people seriously is unfortunate for the entire public.
民意を重く受け止められない政府の存在は、国民全体にとっても不幸だ。
Having a government that can take the wishes of its people seriously is expected.
民意を重く受け止める政府を期待したい。
(srachai)

--The Asahi Shimbun, March 14
EDITORIAL: Paying no heed to Okinawa an issue that concerns us all
（社説）辺野古移設　作業を止めて対話せよ

The central government's decision to restart geological surveys in preparation for moving a U.S. military airbase to Nago, Okinawa Prefecture, prompted a concerned citizen to liken the drilling on the seafloor to “sticking a knife into Okinawa’s heart.”
　「海の掘削は、沖縄の心にナイフを突き刺されたようなもの」。沖縄県名護市辺野古で、市民の一人はそう抗議した。

The government has resumed drilling the seabed to study the geological features of the area as part of a plan to relocate the U.S. Marine Corps Air Station Futenma from the crowded city of Ginowan to the rural Henoko district.
　米軍普天間飛行場の移設に向け、政府が海底を掘って地質を調べるボーリング作業を再開した。

The surveys, which were suspended last summer, will be followed by land reclamation work that the government intends to start as early as this summer.
昨年夏に中断していたもので、この作業を経て今夏にも埋め立て工事に突き進む構えだ。

The resumption of the surveys is the first major move related to the Futenma relocation plan since Okinawa Governor Takeshi Onaga, who is opposed to the proposal, took office in December.
Onaga denounced the central government’s move, saying, “It is unforgivable that work resumed without an explanation to the Okinawan people.”
　移設に反対している翁長雄志知事の就任後、初の大きな動きであり、知事は「県民に説明がない中で物事を進めるのは許せない」と反発した。

On the part of the government, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga indicated that the Abe administration will maintain its hard-edged approach to the issue.
　一方の政府では、菅官房長官が「法制に基づいて手続きを行っている。

“We are following procedures based on legal provisions,” Suga said at a March 12 news conference in Tokyo.
He said the central government is proceeding with the construction of the new airbase as a “matter of course.”
粛々と工事を進めるのは当然じゃないか」と強硬姿勢を崩さない。

Defense Minister Gen Nakatani also said, “I have no intention to seek a meeting (with Governor Onaga).”
The Abe administration and Okinawa are locked in an extraordinary confrontation.
中谷防衛相はきのう、「こちらから（知事に）会う考えはない」と発言し、異様な対立状態に陥っている。

Although former Okinawa Governor Hirokazu Nakaima approved the land reclamation off Henoko to build a new airfield, voters in Okinawa rejected his decision and replaced him in an election in December, making clear their opposition to the Futenma relocation plan.
　確かに、仲井真弘多・前知事は埋め立てを承認した。だが、その判断に納得できない県民が選挙で知事を交代させ、移設反対の意思を明示したのだ。

In what can only be described as an irrationally obdurate attitude, the Abe administration has kept ignoring Onaga.
　翁長知事を無視し続ける政府の姿勢は頑迷というほかない。

Further aggravating the confrontation between the central government and Okinawa Prefecture would be far from ideal in light of the relationship between the state and local governments and Japan’s security policy.
政府と沖縄県の対立をこじらせることは、国と地方の関係や、安全保障を考える上でも、決して望ましいことではない。

The U.S. military’s response to the new development has also been questionable.
　米軍の対応もおかしい。

When the prefectural government sought permission to conduct inspections in the off-limits area to gauge whether the marine environment had been damaged on the seabed, the U.S. military declined the request, citing operational reasons.
海底の環境が損なわれた疑いがあるため、県が立ち入り禁止区域での調査許可を求めたが、米軍は「運用上の理由」で拒んだ。

But government-operated ships, including vessels of the Japan Coast Guard, frequently enter the area. Why does the U.S. military think only the prefectural government’s survey ships would cause trouble to its operations?
　この海域では、海上保安庁など政府の船舶は往来している。なのになぜ、県の調査船だけが支障となるのか。

No wonder the prefectural government is distrustful of the U.S. military.
県が米軍に不信感を抱くのも無理はない。

The prefectural government decided to carry out an on-site inspection after the Okinawa Defense Bureau sank huge concrete blocks into the seabed at various locations outside areas where the prefectural government had given permission for rock reefs to be destroyed for the construction work. The sinking of concrete blocks raised concerns about damage to coral reefs.
　県が調査することになったのは、沖縄防衛局が岩礁破砕の許可区域外に巨大なブロックをいくつも沈め、サンゴなどを壊した可能性があるからだ。

The areas on the periphery of reclaimed land, coral reefs and other elements of the marine environment should remain as they are even after the work is finished.
　この海域は埋め立て予定地の周辺部で、工事完了後もサンゴ礁などはそのまま残る。

The prefectural government has good reason to take steps to protect fisheries resources and conserve the environment in these areas.
県が水産資源の保護策や環境保全策をとるのは当然だろう。

The waters off Henoko contain some of the few precious marine areas along the coasts of Okinawa that still boast an abundance of coral reefs.
　ましてやこの海域は、沖縄の海岸の中でわずかに残った貴重なサンゴ礁の海。

Fabled dugongs live in these waters. Previously unknown crustacean species have been discovered in the area in recent years.
ジュゴンが回遊し、近年、新種の甲殻類なども相次いで見つかっている。

Onaga is calling on the central government to suspend the construction work in Henoko until a third-party committee set up by the prefecture finishes its task of assessing his predecessor’s permission for the work to go ahead.
　翁長知事は、前知事の承認を検証する県の第三者委員会の審査が終わるまで、作業を停止するよう政府に求めている。

The Abe administration should accept Onaga's request and embark on serious efforts to mend its strained relations with the prefecture through dialogue.
ここは政府が提案を受け入れて作業を中止し、県との対話による関係修復に乗り出すべきだ。

Both the central government and U.S. military should avoid wounding further the hearts of the people in Okinawa, who have been suffering from the heavy burden of hosting U.S. military bases for many years.
　政府も米軍も、長年、重い基地負担に苦しむ沖縄県民の心をこれ以上傷つけてはならない。

Having a government that refuses to take the wishes of its people seriously is unfortunate for the entire public.
民意を重く受け止められない政府の存在は、国民全体にとっても不幸だ。