经济学人下载:灾难来袭日本,大自然的报复

The government, though, is besieged on many fronts。 Naoto Kan, the prime minister, entered a crisis of hydra-headed complexity with feeble popularity and little public respect。 Until Mr Kan’s Democratic Party of Japan took power in 2009, Japan had seen its institutions of government corroded by 55 years of one-party rule; and one of the biggest bones of contention had been the nuclear-power industry.

日本政府已经四面楚歌，而首相菅直人更是面临多重困境：他不仅满意度低迷，大众对他的尊重也所剩无几。菅直人所在的民主党2009年执政之前，日本一党执政已达55年，这期间政府机构被不断蚕食。党派之间竞争的焦点之一就是核能工业。

Generally the safety record has been good, considering the number of plants and their length of service。 But when there have been accidents, a shameful record of cover-ups, lackadaisical crisis management and an inbred complicity between regulators and utilities has given the public ample reason for skepticism.

就核电站的数量和服役寿命来说，日本核电站的安全记录整体上尚属优良。然而一旦事故发生，对事实的隐瞒，对灾难管理的怠慢以及管理者和公共事业公司之间的勾结便暴露无疑。这使得日本民众有充分的理由对政府表示怀疑。

The first response of Mr Kan, a former civil activist, has suggested that he is reacting more openly, though he hardly exudes authority. If his presence has been hit-and-miss during the crisis, that cannot be said of his steadfast chief of staff, Yukio Edano. Mr Edano has produced frequent updates on the unfolding nuclear crisis, while avoiding sowing panic among the public. In his blue overalls (now standard kit for Mr Kan and his team), he looks to many the epitome of the stalwart line manager.

作为一名曾经的“市民政治家”，首相菅直人在首次对灾难进行回应时表示他正在更为坦诚的应对危机，然而我们却很难从他身上看到任何权威性。如果说灾难应对过程中他的存在可有可无的话，那么作风坚韧的官房长官枝野幸男则大为不同。他经常发布关于核危机的新消息，这避免公共恐慌的爆发。他身着蓝色外套（他现在是菅直人政府的标准智囊），在许多人来看来，他就是坚定可靠的业务经理的缩影。

Reduced to this只剩这些
But if the Fukushima crisis worsens, Mr Kan’s ability to lay blame for the mishaps on the Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO), the owner of the power plant, will wear thin—not least because the government has set up a crisis committee with TEPCO that appears to put the company firmly in charge. Also, there is the lingering danger of panic. Foreigners with families in Tokyo have reacted most nervously. As the radiation has risen they have taken bullet trains to Osaka, in western Japan, and flights out of the country, quietly supported by their firms and embassies.

如果福岛核电站的危机继续恶化，首相大人就不能对核电站的所有者东京电力能源公司加以责备了。因为至少政府没有与电力公司合作建立危机委员会以对其进行严格监控。与此同时，恐慌爆发的危险仍然挥之不去。有亲属在东京的外国人反应最为激烈。随着核辐射强度的不断上升，在公司和使馆的支持下，他们纷纷乘坐新干线来到日本西部城市大阪或是乘飞机回国。

Most residents of greater Tokyo—at 35m, the most populous metropolitan area in the world—have shown much more stoicism, partly because the authorities and media have remained calm. Despite radiation fears, aftershock warnings, power cuts, train disruption and half-empty supermarkets, many queued patiently on March 15th to meet their tax deadlines. But the next day, reflecting the seriousness of the situation, 77-year-old Emperor Akihito gave a rare televised address to express his “deep concern”. He had been quiet until then, despite messages of support coming in from royalty around the world.

东京都是世界上最繁华的大都市地区之一。这里约有3500万居民，如今他们大多比较冷静。这部分归因于政府和媒体的冷静态度。尽管面临放射危险，余震警报，停电，铁路中断以及超市营业惨淡，许多人还是在3月15日截止日期到来前排队交纳了税款。但是第二天，鲜有露面的77岁高龄的明仁天皇就通过媒体表达了对这次危机的深刻关注，这在某种程度上反映了局势的严重性。虽然世界各国皇室纷纷发来慰问函，天皇也再难保持沉默。