ＮＳＣ法成立 意義深い与野党の幅広い合意

The Yomiuri Shimbun November 29, 2013
Passage of NSC bill vital development in safeguarding nation’s peace, security
ＮＳＣ法成立　意義深い与野党の幅広い合意（11月28日付・読売社説）

We welcome the passage of a bill designed to establish an organ to play a key role in issuing directives related to our country’s diplomatic relations and national security. This legislation will soon launch a Japanese version of the U.S. National Security Council, with the aim of ensuring the nation’s peace and security and defending its national interests.
　日本の平和と安全を確保し、国益を守るため、政府の外交・安全保障政策の司令塔が誕生することを歓迎したい。

On Wednesday, the Diet enacted the NSC establishment law. Our country’s NSC will be inaugurated in early December. The first task of the soon-to-be-launched command center will be drafting a comprehensive national security strategy, the first of its kind for Japan, while also writing a new version of the National Defense Program Guidelines. This will likely be followed by the launch in January of a national security secretariat that will serve as the NSC’s executive office.
　国家安全保障会議（日本版ＮＳＣ）設置法が成立した。１２月初めに日本版ＮＳＣが創設され、まず初の国家安保戦略と、新しい防衛大綱を策定する。年明けには、事務局の国家安全保障局が発足する見通しだ。

The NSC establishment law was endorsed by the governing coalition of the Liberal Democratic Party and New Komeito, as well as the opposition Democratic Party of Japan, Nippon Ishin no Kai (Japan Restoration Party) and Your Party. National security policies should be formulated based on suprapartisan consensus. Given this, it is highly significant that more than 90 percent of lawmakers in both Diet chambers united to pass the NSC bill into law.
　設置法には、自民、公明の与党のほか、民主、日本維新の会、みんなの党も賛成した。安保政策は超党派の合意を基に進めるのが望ましい。衆参両院議員の９割超が足並みをそろえた意味は重い。

The envisaged NSC’s central pillar will be a meeting of the prime minister and three key cabinet members—the chief cabinet secretary, the foreign minister and the defense minister. As a general rule, the meeting is to be held once every two weeks, also attended by the deputy prime minister.
　ＮＳＣの中核は、首相、官房長官、外相、防衛相による「４大臣会合」で、副総理も交えて、原則、２週間に１回開かれる。

It is most significant that a new system will be set up, by which the prime minister and relevant cabinet members will meet periodically to discuss important issues related to our country’s security and develop a common view on such matters. Themes will include situations related to China and North Korea, the ongoing realignment of U.S. armed forces in this country and issues related to our territory.
　中国・北朝鮮情勢や在日米軍再編、領土に関する問題などの重要案件について、首相と関係閣僚が定期的に議論し、共通認識を持つ体制を構築する意義は大きい。

The NSC scheme will make it possible for top officials at the Prime Minister’s Office to afford a certain amount of time and energy to address diplomatic and security matters even at a time when the government is confronted by a number of tasks to be tackled at home. This task will be supported by the NSC executive office, which will comprise personnel with professional expertise, including senior Self-Defense Forces members.
　多くの内政課題を抱えている時も、首相官邸が外交・安保案件に一定の時間と精力を充てる。自衛隊の制服組を含め、専門的知見を持つ事務局がこれを支える。

We hope all these arrangements will do much to ensure that diplomatic and security policies are given higher priority and are better formulated.
外交・安保政策の優先度を高め、充実させることにつなげたい。

Ensuring PM takes the lead

It will be necessary to ensure the Prime Minister’s Office takes the lead in determining the direction of security policy, a task that requires eliminating a lack of coordination among pertinent ministries and agencies.
　重要なのは、関係省庁の縦割り行政を排し、首相官邸が政策の方向性を主導することだ。

This can be exemplified by such immediate tasks as responding to China’s recent move to set up an expanded air defense identification zone and the planned relocation of the U.S. Marine Corps’ Futenma Air Station in Okinawa Prefecture. Seeking solutions to both problems requires cooperative relations among several government ministries and agencies. The NSC will be tested over its ability to coordinate and adjust cooperation among these government offices.
　例えば、当面の課題である中国の防空識別圏や、米軍普天間飛行場の移設の問題などは、複数の省庁の連携が欠かせない。ＮＳＣの総合調整力が試される。

Making appropriate decisions about security issues requires improving the ability of all government organs to gather and analyze information.
　安全保障問題で的確な判断をするには、政府全体の情報収集・分析力の向上が前提となる。

The NSC establishment law states that relevant ministries and agencies are required to supply the new organ with information related to its function. Information to be managed by the NSC will include government secrets whose confidentiality would be tightly guarded under an envisaged law seeking to stiffen penalties on public servants who leak such information.
　設置法は、関係省庁のＮＳＣへの情報提供義務を明記した。ＮＳＣは特定秘密も扱う。

With this in mind, relevant cabinet members must give their ministry personnel instructions necessary for facilitating a smooth information supply.
円滑な情報提供が実現するよう、関係閣僚は官僚に指示せねばならない。

It is also essential that the Diet does not fail to pass the bill designed to prevent the leakage of specified government secrets. The government should also make progress in reforming the Cabinet Intelligence and Research Office, although it has not done so in connection with the NSC scheme.
　関係国との情報交換を進めるため、情報漏洩(ろうえい)を防ぐ特定秘密保護法案も成立させる必要がある。
　今回は見送られた内閣情報調査室（内調）の改革も進めるべきだ。

Some duties of the NSC and the intelligence and research office may overlap, including analyzing the overseas state of affairs and intelligence regarding acts of international terrorism. The two organizations should promote effective cooperation between them.
ＮＳＣと内調は、海外情勢や国際テロ情報の分析などの業務が重複する可能性がある。効果的な連携体制が求められる。

The Diet has also adopted a resolution supplementary to the NSC establishment law that will require the government to consider producing the minutes of NSC ministerial meetings. This resulted from negotiations between the ruling and opposition parties.
　国会では、与野党協議の結果、ＮＳＣの議事録の作成を検討するとの付帯決議が採択された。

Admittedly, it is necessary to create a system for compiling records regarding how decisions are made about important policy issues, so that each decision-making process could be verified in the future. Nonetheless, whether to produce the minutes of NSC meetings and disclose related information must be considered by putting all relevant government meetings into perspective, including cabinet meetings and conferences attended by cabinet ministers related to the NSC scheme.
　重要政策の決定過程の記録を残し、後世の検証を受ける仕組みは大切である。ただ、議事録や情報公開は、閣議や関係閣僚会議なども含めた政府の会議全体について総合的に検討するのが筋だ。

(From The Yomiuri Shimbun, Nov. 28, 2013)
（2013年11月28日01時34分  読売新聞）