NYタイムズ大西、太田光をマンセー

■日本における政治風刺の領域を拡大　　By NORIMITSU ONISHI

＜前略＞コメディー番組「太田光の私が総理大臣になったら」に出演中の太田光さんはおそらく、"The Daily Show" のジョン・スチュワートに、日本で最も近似した人物だ。有名お笑いコンビの一方である太田さんは、以前から政治問題に一家言ある人物として知られていたが、日本のテレビに政治風刺を持ち込んだのは彼が初めてだ。

"The Daily Show" から "Saturday Night Live"、"The Simpsons" に至るまで、アメリカのテレビには政治パロディーが盛りだくさんだ。しかし日本のテレビには、社会風刺はたくさんあるものの、この国の政治指導者を風刺する伝統は無かった。最近日本では独演コメディーがブームだが、そのうち政治問題を扱おうとするのはごく僅かである。

「僕はこういう番組をやってますが、政治はコメディアンが立ち入るべき分野ではないと言う人もいます」と太田さんは語った。「でも僕はそうは思いません。コメディアンは政治であっても笑いの題材にすべきです。」＜中略＞

しかし太田さんによれば、ある種のテーマはタブーなのだという。皇室や北朝鮮などだ。

「北朝鮮にはその国の歴史があり、複雑な問題を解きほぐす必要があります」と太田さんは語った。「あの国がいかにして形づくられ、そこに日本がいかに関わったのか、その全容を把握できている人は誰もいないと思います。」　ここに来て北朝鮮が日本の第一の敵となったことで、北朝鮮というテーマは風刺の対象とするには余りにデリケートな問題となった。

太田さんは自らを左派というより反体制派だとしているが、彼の反権威的なスタンスは、小泉政
権で台頭している右翼的立場と衝突しており、攻撃に晒されやすい状況をもたらしている。

「特に心配し恐れているのは、番組が打ち切りになることです。ある種の圧力がかかったら日本テレビが番組を打ち切る可能性があります」と太田さんは言う。

より直接的な心配は、組織化された右翼グループが反日的とみなす人々を定期的に脅すということが行なわれている日本ならではのものだ。今年４月には、そうした右翼の一人（昭和天皇の戦争責任に言及した政治家への暗殺未遂で服役したことのある人物だ）が太田さんの事務所を突然訪問した。その右翼が置いていった手紙には、太田さんの発言に抗議するものだった。その発言は結局太田さんのものでないことが判明したが、以来太田さんは用心するようにしている。

太田さんは言う。「自分の言いたいことを言いたい。でも、番組制作に携わる人たちに危害が及
んだり、彼らの仕事を難しくしてしまったり、事務所のスタッフが襲われたりする可能性も考えなくてはなりません。だから僕は、そうしたことが起こらないようにしています。何とかうまく切り抜けていかねば。」


Pushing the Boundaries of Political Satire in Japan
By NORIMITSU ONISHI

THE “Japanese prime minister,” with his trademark silver mane, and the “president of the United States” are butting horns over the enormous costs of maintaining American bases in Japan. “From now on,” the prime minister says with a statesman’s decisiveness, “Japan won’t pay America a single cent.”

The president storms away, threatening to shut down the bases altogether.

He soon has second thoughts, though. Sitting on a grassy hill overlooking a river, with the Carpenters’ “Close to You” playing in the background, he decides to apologize for his outburst after picking daisy petals. The apology, proffered with a deep bow, is accepted magnanimously.

So unfolded a skit broadcast recently on the weekly prime-time comedy show “Hikari Ota: If I Became Prime Minister,” whose star is possibly the closest figure Japan has to Jon Stewart, the host of “The Daily Show.” Mr. Ota, long known as the politically opinionated half of a famous comic duo, has brought political satire to Japanese television for the first time.

American television may abound with political parodies, from “The Daily Show” to “Saturday Night Live” to “The Simpsons.” But Japanese television, though rich with social satire, has no history of lampooning the country’s political leaders. While there is a current boom in stand-up comedy in Japan, all but a few performers avoid the political.

“Even though I’m doing this kind of show, some say politics is not an area that comedians should step into,” Mr. Ota said. “But I wouldn’t say that. Comedians should even make fun of politics.”

Mr. Ota, 41, dressed in jeans and a T-shirt, sounded pensive at times as he chain-smoked his way through an interview at his office here.

“As a matter of fact, I respect comedians who say we shouldn’t poke our nose into politics,” he said. “But at the same time, that frustrates me. I hate to be restricted like that. I feel I want to poke my nose into everything.”

The show has been carried as part of the regular programming of Nippon Television, a major network, since April. Though not in the top 10 in its category, its ratings have been good, according to figures by Video Research, a tracking firm.

MR. OTA’S barbs may be mild by American standards. But the message is usually clear, as with the skit showing a statesmanlike prime minister saying no to an American president.

It resonated with an audience used to a real prime minister, Junichiro Koizumi, who is known for saying yes to President Bush and whose lasting impression may be of wearing Elvis sunglasses and playing air guitar to Mr. Bush’s strained smile on a recent visit to Graceland.

The show’s format follows a bill proposed in Parliament, over which Mr. Ota, as prime minister, presides. Guests, including real-life politicians in dark suits and entertainers in purple outfits, debate the bill before voting.

The bills tend to take extreme positions to fuel debate. One early show proposed that Mr. Koizumi’s famous one-liners — the prime minister is known for repeating stock lines instead of addressing complex issues in detail — be rated R so that they don’t reach the ears of impressionable youths whose intelligence might decline as a result.

Another show discussed popular referendums to get rid of incompetent prime ministers or the suspension of diplomatic relations with the United States for one year. Yet another proposed that the salaries of government bureaucrats who land jobs in the private sector be limited to $4.30 an hour.

Jokes fly, though Mr. Ota sometimes makes serious speeches on subjects that — judging from the veins popping on his temples — he cares passionately about. Politicians who come on the show are made fun of, sometimes by simply agreeing to share the space with entertainers sporting bleached-blond hair and sunglasses.

On the show about the military bases, the main guest was Shigeru Ishiba, a former defense minister known for his detailed knowledge of weapons. Mr. Ota’s proposal to stop payment to America was defeated, 13 to 10, after a spirited duel with the former minister.

“He’s a scary guy — he’s straight out of Akihabara,” Mr. Ota said, mentioning a Tokyo neighborhood that is the heart of Japan’s techno-geek culture.

Mr. Ota traces his interest in satire to a youthful discovery of the films of Charlie Chaplin, novels by Kurt Vonnegut and comedy by Monty Python. In high school, he says, he did not have a single friend. But unlike many children who simply drop out of school as a result, he did not miss a single day in three years. He wrote short plays, and performed them in front of his teacher, his only audience.

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/08/12/world/asia/12ota.html?_r=1&oref=slogin

太田が叩かれるのは馬鹿だからだと思うが。