日本2011核危机恐将持续多年

Former U.N. Undersecretary Secretary General for Disarmament Affairs, Nobuyasu Abe (a director at the Japan Institute of International Affairs), says nuclear industry supporters have hampered oversight.

联合国负责武器控制事务的前副秘书长阿部信泰，也是日本国际问题研究所的主任。他说，核工业的支持者阻挠政府监管。

"In Japan, a great number of Japanese politicians receive political contributions from power companies," said Abe. "They may be influenced or they may be hesitant to be critical."

阿部信泰说：“在日本，有些政治人物收到电力公司的政治献金。他们可能因而不愿太批判。”

A former foreign minister and environment minister of Japan is criticizing the official response to the crisis over the past nine months. But Yoriko Kawaguchi, of the opposition conservatives, says the government must not let Tokyo Electric Power Company, known as TEPCO, go under at a time of crisis.

日本一位前外务大臣和环境大臣批评官方过去9个月来对灾难的反应。不过，保守派反对党自民党议员川口顺子说，民主党政府必须阻止东京电力公司在危机时刻破产。

"There is no question, ultimately, that we will survive. We will manage the situation," Kawaguchi said. "TEPCO is almost bankrupt and the government is helping, financial institutions are helping. We have no other choice but to let TEPCO survive and do the work, no matter how long it's going to take."

川口顺子说：“我们最终会生存下来是无庸置疑的。我们将掌控住局面。东京电力公司就快破产，政府在帮忙、金融机构也在帮忙。除了让东京电力公司生存下来并完成工作以外，我们都别无选择，无论这必须花上多久的时间。”

About 80 percent of Japan's nuclear reactors are now offline, mainly for safety inspections.

日本现在大约80%核反应堆都停止运作，大多是因为接受安全检查。

That, along with increasing generation costs and a slowing demand for electricity (with China being the notable exception), has led to nuclear power production globally falling this year, according to the Worldwatch Institute.

But Kawaguchi says Japan, an island nation with scant natural resources, cannot follow Germany, which has decided to shut down all of its nuclear power plants.

但川口顺子说，日本是个资源稀少的岛国，无法跟随德国的脚步。德国已经决定关闭所有的核电厂。

"Without nuclear power generation, it will be difficult for us to keep our economy growing, probably for some years - 10, 20, 30 years to come. Japan is isolated," Kawaguchi said. "We are not like Germany where you can import energy from France where electricity is produced using nuclear power."

川口顺子说：“没有核发电就很难维持未来或许10 年、20年、30年的经济增长。日本是孤立无援的。我们不像德国能从法国进口能源，而法国就是用核发电。”

To maintain economic growth, she says the Japanese government must restore public confidence, which vaporized after the reactor meltdowns. That could turn out to be a task that takes decades to accomplish.

为了维持经济增长，她说，日本政府必须重拾公众的信心。公众的信心在核反应堆熔毁后瞬间消失。结果可能要花上几十年才能完成这个任务。