Bitter Words for a Better World 妄言猛言「アメリカの戦争」へのお付き合いはゴメンが世論だよ、安倍さん 11 日は入梅。21 日は夏至。昼間が最長で夜が短い。もっとも、日の入りが 1 年で最も遅いのは夏至から 7 日後とか。うっとうしい梅雨の先取りみたいな話題で恐縮だが、安倍晋三首相が 5 月 15 日の記者会見で「集団的自衛権」行使容認の方針を表明した。集団的自衛権とは、要するに米軍が他国へ侵入して反撃を食らったら、日本には無関係なのにこれを同盟国アメリカへの攻撃と看做して、自衛隊を派兵して米軍とともに戦争に突入する、ということである。こんな重大事を憲法第 9 条を改正する手順も踏まず、1 内閣独断の「解釈変更」とやらで強行するという。大手各新聞社の世論調査では、さすがに集団的自衛権行使に賛成 18％－反対 67％の朝日をはじめ毎日 39－54％、日経 28－51％と軒並み反対が賛成を大きく上回った。国民が「戦争できる日本」への逆戻りを懸念している証しである。憲法改正の手続法「国民投票法」の改正案が衆院を通過した。 2010 年に施行されたこの法律は投票年齢 18 歳への引下げを確定していない。改正案では国民投票に限り 4 年後に 18 歳に引き下げるなどとしている。世界の 8 割以上の国では 18 歳で選挙権を得ることが普通である。早急に 18 歳選挙権を確立し若者の政治参加をうながすべきだ。高齢化社会への対策でもある。（5.27）くずは通信 2014 年 6 月号 Kuzuha Tsushin, June, 2014 英訳は青木翻訳事務所。 Translated by ATS. Most Japanese are against being involved in America’s war The tsuyu rainy season is supposed to start around 11th June on the solar calendar. The summer solstice will be on 21st June this year, when we have the longest daytime and the shortest night. Actually, however, the latest sunset of the year is said to come a week later. Anyway, this writer feels somewhat sorry for bringing about this depressing topic, symbolic enough for the gloomy rainy season: Prime Minister Shinzo Abe stated in a news conference on 15th May that his cabinet is set to approve the exercise of the right to collective defence which he insists is constitutional. The right to collective defence, in short, is the right for Japan to send the Self-Defence Forces to attack a country, which hit back the U.S. armed forces that had intruded the country, in collaboration with the U.S. forces. Thus, Japan would be forced to plunge into a war with a country that is not antagonistic to it. Abe wants to fabricate such a critical scheme only by some constitutional interpretation changes by a single cabinet without taking necessary steps to amend Article 9 of the Constitution. According to recent opinion polls by leading Japanese newspapers, those against the exercise by Japan of the right to collective defence exceeded those for it by big margins: Asahi Shimbun, 18% pro vs. 67% con; Mainichi Shimbun, 39% pro vs. 54% con, and Nihon Keizai Shimbun (Nikkei), 28% pro vs. 51% con. This clearly shows that most of the Japanese people are worrying about bringing their country back to the one that can wage war on other nations. An amendment bill for the Referendum Law, meanwhile, has passed the Lower House. The law, put into effect in 2010 as virtually a procedures act for Constitutional amendments, lacks any definition of lowering the suffrage age to 18. The bill says that the voting age shall be lowered to 18 after 4 years from now only for the case of a national referendum. In more than 80% of the countries on this planet, it is simply usual that youths at 18 and older have obtained the right to vote in public office elections. The government should establish suffrage for the young people at 18 and older to encourage their participation in politics. It will also work as one of effective measures for the aging society. (27 May)