Who Should the Press Be Monitoring?
マスコミには権力を監視する役割が期待されています。マスコミが権力側に有利な報道だけを行い、不利な報道を行わなければ、もはや報道ではなくプロパガンダです。だからこそ民主主義・自由主義の国では、言論の自由や報道の自由が保障されます。マスコミは三権（立法権、行政権、司法権）に次いで重要な、４つ目の権力とも言われます。
The media is expected to exercise the role of keeping a check on the government. If it only gives reports favorable to the government and does not give any unfavorable reports, then its reports are propaganda, not true reporting. That is why in a free and democratic nation, freedom of speech and freedom of the press are guaranteed. For this reason, the media is often referred to as the fourth branch of government (after the legislative, executive, and judicial branches).
http://www.jcp.or.jp/akahata/akahata_80th/hatsugen/13.html
ところで今の時代、マスコミが監視すべき権力とは何でしょうか。自国政府など国内の権力に限定したのでは不十分です。なぜなら幕末にペリー艦隊が浦賀に現れた160年も昔の時代から、日本は好むと好まざるとに関わらず、国際社会の中に深く組み込まれているからです。
In this day and age, who else should the media be keeping a check on? It is not enough to limit the target of checks to the government or people in power in their own country. The reason is that, whether we like it or not, during the 160 years since Admiral Perry arrived at Uraga Port in the closing days of the Tokugawa Shogunate, Japan has been deeply involved in international affairs.
ご存知の通り、幕末の日本には「徳川幕府 vs 薩長連合」という対立がありました。しかし、それだけ知っていても不十分です。徳川幕府に小銃や大砲、軍艦などの武器を提供していたのはフランスです。そして薩長連合に武器を提供していたのはイギリスです。世界各地に植民地を持っていた二つの国がそれぞれバックにいたのです。
As you know, in the closing days of the Tokugawa Shogunate, there was a confrontation between the Tokugawa Shogunate and the Satsuma/Choshu Alliance. However, it is not enough just to know this fact. The rifles, cannons, and warships of the Tokugawa Shogunate were provided by France, and the weapons for the Satsuma/Choshu Alliance were provided by England. These two countries, each of which had colonial interests around the world, provided military aid to the two sides.
http://blogs.yahoo.co.jp/hirahira523/5279298.html
もし勝海舟と西郷隆盛が江戸城無血開城の合意に至らず、徳川軍と薩長軍（新政府軍）の全面戦争が起きていたら、江戸の町は焼け野原でした。その後の日本は内戦が全国に飛び火して長期化し、借金してでも英仏から武器を買い続けたでしょう。最終的には英仏両国が分割統治する植民地になっていた可能性が高いです。ロシアも乗り込んで来たかも知れません。
If Katsu Kaishu and Saigo Takamori had not secured a bloodless surrender of the Edo Castle (in 1868) and a full-scale war between the Tokugawa Shogunate and the Satsuma/Choshu Alliance had ensued, the city of Edo (present day Tokyo) would no doubt have been reduced to ashes. Thereafter Japan would no doubt have been plunged into a long nationwide civil war, and each side would have been forced to continue to procure weapons from England and France even if they had had to go into debt to do so. And it is entirely possible that in the end Japan might have been divided into colonies of these two countries. Russia may have also jumped into the fray.
ちなみに黒船で日本を開国させた米国は、国内で南北戦争が起きたので、日本に関与する余裕がありませんでした。実は、戊辰戦争で使われた銃火器には、南北戦争の中古品がかなり含まれていました。このように国際情勢を考慮しなければ、江戸城無血開城がどれほど価値ある出来事だったのかですら、正しく理解できないのです。
Incidentally, during this period, the United States, which had forced the opening of Japan, was deeply involved in the U.S. Civil War and did not have the wherewithal to be involved deeply in Japan. It is worth noting, however, that a portion of the weapons used in the Boshin War (the final battle beginning in Kyoto and ending in the surrender of Edo Castle) were weapons left over from the U.S. Civil War. Thus, it is impossible to gain a true understanding of the bloodless surrender of Edo Castle and how significant it was without considering the international implications.
言うまでもなく、現代の国際社会はさらに複雑になっています。米国、中国、ロシア、ＥＵ、イスラエルなど、国際社会のプレーヤーは様々な思惑や意図を持ち、世界各地の内戦や資源開発に関与しています。ＩＳＩＳやアルカイダなどテロ組織の動向も無視できません。それらを考慮・監視することなく、マスコミが日本の国内問題だけを報道しても不十分なのです。
It goes without saying that the present-day international scene is much, much more complicated. The United States, China, Russia, the European Union, Israel, etc. all have their own agendas, and are involved in civil wars and development of natural resources throughout the world. In addition, the movements of ISIS, Al Qaeda, and other terrorist organizations cannot be ignored. It is insufficient for Japanese media organizations to report only on domestic issues without taking these facts into consideration.
インターネット普及のお陰で、現代ではマスコミだけでなく、個人が世界中から情報を収集して、ブログやＳＮＳなどで自由に発表できるようになりました。これを５つ目の権力として捉える人もいます。何しろ民主主義国家の主権者ですから、個人は先に書いた４つの権力すべてを監視する権利を初めから持っています。
Thanks to the proliferation of the internet, not only the media but ordinary individuals can now gather their own information from around the world and publish freely in blogs or other social media. Some people consider this to be the fifth branch of government. After all, these people are the final powers in a democratic nation, so they have the inherent right to keep a check on the other four branches.
参考： 【水間政憲】南京大虐殺陥落！本多勝一、写真捏造を認める！[桜H26/9/18] http://youtu.be/9y4JOIYhbfk
しかし、この権利を行使する場合には、責任とリスクが伴うことを忘れてはいけません。匿名でなければ絶対にやりそうもない無責任な書き込みを見かけるとがっかりします。その一方で、フェイスブックやツイッターを見ていると、本名のままリスクの高い書き込みをする人も多いので心配になります。
However, we must remember that the exercise of that right entails responsibility and risk. I am constantly disappointed when I see articles and postings which would never have been placed in the public domain if the authors had not been assured of anonymity. On the other hand, when I look at Facebook and Twitter, I am also worried about people who make very risky statements under their own names.
そう言えば火曜日の夕刊フジに寄せた記事が予想以上に話題になっています。あの記事は「安倍政権を批判するな」ではなくて、「テロリストの主張に同調するな」という部分がメインの主張なので、誤解なきようお願いします。
The article by me which was published in Fuji Evening News on Tuesday drew a much bigger response than I had expected. The main point of that article was not “Do not criticize the Abe administration,” but rather “Do not provide sympathy for the demands of terrorists.” Please do not misunderstand what I meant to say.
刺激的に編集されたタイトルに飛び付いて拡散したものの、全文を冷静に読んでない人も多いんだろうなぁ・・・。
It was distributed widely in various media channels with a sensationalized title, but I hope most people were able to read the whole article.
http://www.zakzak.co.jp/society/domestic/news/20150204/dms1502041140005-n1.htm
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