安倍贏得參議院選舉 距修憲更近一步

Japan Vote Strengthens Shinzo Abe’s Goal to Change Constitution

安倍贏得參議院選舉，距修憲更近一步

TOKYO — Voters helped Prime Minister Shinzo Abe of Japan move closer Sunday to securing the lawmaker support he needs to revise a pacifist constitution that has been in place since U.S. occupiers created it in 1947.

東京——週日，在選民的幫助下，日本首相安倍晉三距離獲得足夠國會議員支持以修改和平憲法的目標更近了一步。該憲法於1947年由佔領日本的美軍創建，此後一直有效。

Although national election results were incomplete, all major Japanese newspapers reported that the governing coalition and its allies had captured two-thirds of the seats in the upper house of Parliament, the amount required to proceed with the constitutional revision. A final count was likely to be announced Monday morning.

雖然全國選舉結果的統計還不完整，日本所有主要報紙都報道稱，安倍的聯合政府及其盟友已經贏得國會參議院席位的三分之二，達到繼續推進修訂憲法所需要的國會議員數量。最終的統計結果很可能會在週一上午公佈。

Despite a weak economy and divided public opinion on the expanded role for Japan’s military that Abe is seeking, exit polls by NHK, the country’s public broadcaster, indicated that his Liberal Democrats and their allies had again won a commanding majority in the upper house.

儘管日本經濟疲軟，輿論也對安倍擴大日本軍事角色這一目標持分裂態度，日本公共電視臺NHK的出口民調仍然表明，安倍的自由民主黨(Liberal Democratic Party)及其盟友已經贏得了參議院中舉足輕重的多數席位。

“This is the people’s voice letting us firmly move forward,” Abe said. When asked whether he would proceed with a revision of the constitution, he said it had long been the Liberal Democrats’ goal.

“這是人民的聲音，讓我們堅定地向前邁進，”安倍說。當被問及是否會推進憲法的修訂，他說這一直以來都是自民黨的目標。

Whether Abe will be able to pursue that ambition — to overturn the constitutional clause that calls for the complete renunciation of war — remains to be seen.

安倍能否實現他的抱負——撤銷一項呼籲完全放棄戰爭的憲法條款——還有待觀察。

While the partners in the governing coalition have indicated some support for amendments, different groups have divided opinions on which clauses they want to change. Still, the election outcome is sure to give Abe more leverage.

儘管聯合政府的夥伴表示了對修正案的支持，不同的團體間對於具體修改哪一條憲法條款還是存在分歧。不過，這次選舉的結果肯定能給安倍帶來更多優勢。

The results in Japan were achieved without the fiery populist emotions that have fueled the U.S. presidential race or the recent British vote to leave the European Union. Instead, the Japanese election seemed to reflect resignation with the status quo rather than a broad mandate.

與美國總統大選和英國的脫歐公投不同，日本選舉並沒有伴隨着狂熱的民粹主義情緒。相反，日本選舉似乎更多反映出人們對現狀的無能爲力，而不是廣泛的民意授權。

Voters see few alternatives, with many still feeling stung by what they saw as the opposition Democratic Party’s failure to deliver during its four-year term before Abe came to power in 2012.

選民們沒有看到什麼其他選擇。他們中的很多人仍對於反對黨民主黨(Democratic Party)及其在安倍2012年上任前的四年任期中的失敗而感到失望。

As in previous elections, voter turnout was low. Early estimates put it at just under 55 percent, only slightly higher than results three years ago in the last upper house election.

與以往的選舉一樣，今年的選民投票率也很低。據初步估計，投票率略低於55％，僅比三年前的參議院選舉投票率稍微高出一點。

During the campaign this summer, Abe and other Liberal Democrats kept mostly quiet about their revisionist ambitions, which led opposition party leaders and some news media critics to accuse them of a hidden agenda.

在今年夏天的競選中，安倍和其他自民黨成員並未怎麼談及對修改憲法的抱負，這使得反對黨的領導人和一些新聞媒體指責安倍和自民黨隱瞞自己的競選議程。

Abe focused mainly on economic policy — known as Abenomics — and other less contentious issues, like his promise to expand child care and nursing home slots. Although polls have shown that few Japanese believe the economy is thriving, Abe spoke with pride of growth in employment, without mentioning that the rise had been mostly in part-time or contract jobs.

安倍主要關注經濟政策——也被稱爲“安倍經濟學”——和其他爭議性較小的問題。比如，安倍承諾會擴大兒童看護並增加養老院空位。儘管民調顯示，絕大多數日本人不相信日本經濟正在繁榮發展，安倍仍然驕傲地提起就業人數的增長，同時對增長主要集中在兼職和合同工的情況閉口不談。

“Abenomics is not failing,” Abe told a crowd of more than 1,000 at his final campaign stop Saturday evening in Tokyo. “The only choice is to go forward.”

“安倍經濟學沒有失敗，”週六晚上在東京，安倍在競選的最後一站對1000多名羣衆說，“唯一的選擇是勇往直前。”

The public remains split over constitutional revision. According to exit polls by NHK, about a third of voters said they supported some amendments, while another third said they saw no need to revise the governing document. Previous news media surveys showed even less support for constitutional revision.

公衆對修憲仍然持分歧態度。根據NHK一次出口民調顯示，約三分之一的投票者表示他們支持部分修改，而另外三分之一的投票者稱他們認爲沒有必要去修改治國文件。之前的新聞媒體調查顯示，支持修憲的民衆更少一些。

If the governing coalition achieves the two-thirds threshold in Parliament, it is not clear how quickly it could move to change the constitution. The Liberal Democrats have also proposed amendments that could limit free speech deemed dangerous to the public interest and expand emergency powers for the prime minister.

如果執政聯盟取得三分之二參議院席位的門檻，多快能實現修憲並不明朗。自民黨提議的條款修正還包括：限制被認爲是危害公共利益的自由言論，以及擴大首相的緊急權力。

The Liberal Democrats will have to work with their coalition partners to gain consensus on which parts of the governing document to change. Any amendments must also be approved by a majority in a nationwide referendum.

自民黨將會與執政聯盟的其他成員合作，在修改治國文件哪些條款問題上達成一致。任何修改都必須在全國投票中以多票數通過。

Japanese voters who selected opposition candidates Sunday did so less out of passion than of protest. “I didn’t vote for positive reasons,” said Miu Okada, 30, an office worker in Nakano who said she simply chose a candidate who was not a member of the Liberal Democratic Party or its allies.

週日，給反對黨成員投票的日本選民更多的是出於抗議而非熱情。“我不是爲了什麼積極的理由才投票的，”今年30歲，在東京中野區工作的岡田美羽（Miu Okada，音）說道。她表示，自己只是想給既不是自民黨成員也不是自民黨同盟成員的候選人投票。

Sunday’s election was also the first time that 18- and 19-year-olds had been allowed to vote. Yet many seemed apathetic about their new rights. Minori Hosaka, 18, a computer engineering major at Tokai University walking with a friend in the Akihabara district of Tokyo on the eve of the election, said he was not voting because he had not had time to move his residency from his hometown to Tokyo. Besides, he said, “I am not sure my own single vote can affect anything.”

週日的選舉也是18歲和19歲日本公民第一次獲得投票權的選舉。不過，許多年輕人對他們新獲得的權利顯得很冷淡。選舉前夜，和朋友一起走在日本秋葉原的東海大學計算機工程專業學生、18歲的保阪稔（Minori Hosaka，音）表示，因爲沒有時間把自己的住處從家鄉變更到東京，所以不打算去投票。他還說，“我不確定自己的這一票能有多大的影響。”