http://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2013/08/03/national/youtube-videos-hold-a-sliver-of-hope/#.Uf49i5J7KSo
自民党政権に戻るとプラカードを持ってどこかの集会に出かけるのは難しくなる、イコール「言論の自由」が難しくなるようです。勿論選挙演説がされていたのは公道です。この映像の自民党員がやっている行為は、通りで「ここはうちの縄張りだから」と場所代を請求するその筋の人たちとなんら変わりありません。アメリカで黒人少年を射殺した自警団員もこの種の人なのだろうな、と思いました。民主主義の深くを考えず、自分の行動を正義だと信じているのかな？
それから英文のオレンジマーカーの部分...私もずっと昔から感じてきました。自民党が一党独裁をずっと続けられた理由。確実にマスコミとも結託して世論操作は行われてきたと思います。国民のやる気を失わせる。正直、はっきり言うと日本人が英語を習得できないのも、学校でいじめ問題が絶えないのも、全て今までの「自民党的なもの」のおかげだと思います。子供って敏感ですよ。世の不条理や「ずるさ」を肌で感じて、それを自分の行動や憤りとして表します。
YouTube videos hold a sliver of hope for future elections
BY PHILIP BRASOR AUG 3, 2013
During the recent campaign for the Upper House, a YouTube video emerged revealing the ruling Liberal Democratic Party’s attitude toward the electorate. A woman attending a rally in Fukushima by Prime Minister Shinzo Abe carried a placard that asked the LDP leader his stance on the nuclear energy controversy. LDP security confronted her and said that the rally was “not a place for protest but a place to listen.” Recording the conversation secretly, she explained that she wasn’t protesting. She just wanted Abe to state his position, but they confiscated the placard anyway and asked for her name and address. According to media reports, though she gave them her home address, they sent the placard to her workplace. As of this writing, the video has been viewed more than 88,000 times.One doesn’t need a hidden camera to show the cynicism of the LDP campaign approach. The party’s most potent weapon was voter apathy, meaning the fewer who voted the better its chances. The media guaranteed this outcome by reporting that the LDP would win in a landslide, so people who opposed the party but weren’t necessarily vehement about it concluded that voting was a waste of time, and they stayed home.
Given this set of suppositions, it’s difficult to claim that the LDP has a mandate. All they have is the power to pass any law they want without much trouble. In post-election surveys support rates for the Abe administration have been on average 10 points lower than they were before the election.
以下略
electorate 選挙民
confront 直面する
confiscate 押収する
as of ～の時点で
cynicism 皮肉
apathy 無関心
vehement 熱心な
mandate 委任
