「続けてほしかった」　後任に「実行力」注文も―東北被災地・安倍首相辞任

　安倍晋三首相は任期中、東日本大震災の被災地をたびたび訪れた。復興が続く被災地の人々は、さまざまな思いで安倍首相の辞意を受け止めた。
　「現政権には良く対応してもらい、スピーディーに復興を進めることができた」。宮城県女川町の復興連絡協議会の阿部喜英会長（５２）は、安倍首相に感謝の弁を述べた。津波で壊滅した町中心部は、ＪＲの駅や加工工場が再建されるなど、復興が進んだ。
　後任の首相について「若い人に代わることで良い変化があると思う」と、若い世代が担う町の復興に重ねて期待を込めた。
　岩手県大槌町で被災した専門学生佐々木慎也さん（１９）は、通っていた県立大槌高校に安倍首相が視察に訪れた。「いつも被災地のことを気に掛けてくれていると感じていた。続けてほしかった」と残念がった。
　廃炉作業が続く東京電力福島第１原発。事故の影響で、安藤民子さん（７４）は住んでいた福島県富岡町を離れ、郡山市で暮らす。「もう少しリーダーシップを発揮してほしかった」と振り返った。
　東京五輪招致中の２０１３年９月、原発の状況を「コントロールされている」と説明した安倍首相。あれから約７年たつが、安藤さんはまだ故郷に戻れない。「五輪には期待していない。次の首相は実行力を持って復興事業を進めて」と求めた。（2020/08/29-07:25）

Residents of areas hit by natural disasters responded to Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's announcement Friday of his decision to resign with words of gratitude and concern.
   "The current administration supported us well, and we were able to speedily push forward with reconstruction," said Yoshihide Abe, 52, head of a group aimed at reconstructing the town of Onagawa in Miyagi Prefecture, part of the Tohoku northeastern Japan region. On the next prime minister, he said, "I believe the change to a younger generation will lead to good results."
   The town center, which was destroyed by the March 2011 tsunami from a powerful earthquake, has seen major progress in reconstruction, with a processing plant, a train station and other facilities rebuilt.
   "I felt Prime Minister Abe has always cared about disaster areas," Shinya Sasaki, 19, a student of a vocational school, said. "I wanted him to continue." Abe once visited his high school in the town of Otsuchi, Iwate Prefecture, which was also damaged by the tsunami.
   Tamiko Ando, 74, lived in the town of Tomioka in Fukushima Prefecture, adjacent to Miyagi, at the time of the quake and tsunami. Following an unprecedented triple meltdown at Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings Inc.'s Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant, which was knocked out by the disaster, she was forced to move to the Fukushima city of Koriyama. "I wanted him to exercise his leadership a bit more," she said.