经济学人下载:后海啸时期日本政治,徒劳挣扎

Japan's post-tsunami politics
后海啸时期日本政治

Flailing
徒劳挣扎

Political co-operation, hard before the earthquake and tsunami, has got harder
地震和海啸发生之前就困难重重的政治合作，现在更是愈发艰难

AS JAPAN copes with its worst crisis since the second world war, the prime minister, Naoto Kan, is calling for a new politics. In particular, he wants collaboration with opposition parties mostly bent on ousting him. “Many ways of doing things in this country have come to the end of the road,” he said on April 11th. “To rebuild this country, we need a new mindset. I hope for—and expect—a new direction.”

日本正在面对自二战以来的最大危机，现任首相菅直人正在呼吁出台新政。特别地，他希望能和决意令他下台的在野党合作。4月11日菅直人说：“这个国家一些处理事情的方法已经走到了尽头。为了重建这个国家，我们需要全新的精神状态。我希望着并盼望着能有新的出路。”

He seems unlikely to get it. The quake and tsunami that devastated north-eastern Japan, and the nuclear disaster that followed, have disrupted the economy, with power shortages and stricken factories. Ordinary Japanese have cut back on inessential spending, in a mood of sacrificial restraint. Much has changed. Yet one constant remains: petty political bickering.

看来菅直人不太可能看到这一出路了。摧毁日本东北部的地震和海啸，以及随之而来的核灾难，导致了能源短缺以及工厂受灾，从而扰乱了日本经济。在 “自肃”精神的影响下，日本普通民众减少了不必要的开支。许多事情都改变了，但是琐碎的政治争吵却从未间断过。

As the government has attempted to deal with the mess, the opposition Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) has picked on minor gaffes to justify exaggerated displays of outrage. Mr Kan’s offer to the LDP’s leader, Sadakazu Tanigaki, to form a “grand coalition” with his Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ) was rebuffed. The opposition thinks Mr Kan is flailing and his prime ministership, which was in trouble well before the earthquake, is in danger.

就在政府试图收拾乱摊子时，在野党自由民主党（LDP）通过挑毛病来替民众夸张的愤怒辩护。菅直人向自由民主党（LDP）主席谷桓祯一提出：由自由民主党（LDP）和他的民主党（DPJ）一起成立“联合政府”，但这个提议被谷桓祯一断然拒绝。在野党认为菅直人在徒劳挣扎，他本在地震之前就不牢固的首相职位现在更是岌岌可危。

In opinion polls, Mr Kan’s personal support has increased slightly since then, but around two-thirds of voters are disappointed with the government’s handling of the crisis, particularly at the Fukushima nuclear plant. On April 12th the nuclear accident there was upgraded to level seven, the highest rating on an international scale of severity. That places it on a par with the Chernobyl disaster 25 years ago this month (though the radiation released at Fukushima is only a tenth of Chernobyl’s, and nobody has died from it yet).

民意测验显示：在此之后菅直人的支持率有了短暂上升，但是约有2/3的选民对于政府应对危机的能力表示失望，尤其是在处理福岛核电站的问题上。福岛的核事故在4月12日升至7级，这是国际范围内严重问题的最高等级。这使福岛达到了在25年前这个月发生的切尔诺贝利核灾难的高度（尽管福岛泄露的放射性物质只是切尔诺贝利泄露的十分之一，而且没有人死于泄露的放射性物质）。