野田圣子质疑安倍扩军计划 Potential Abe successor questions Japan military expansion
A senior Japanese politician, viewed as a strong contender to become the country’s first female prime minister, has broken ranks within the ruling party and questioned new security legislation that would expand the role of the military.
被视为有望成为日本首位女首相的一名资深政治人物在执政党内部唱反调，质疑扩大军队角色的新版安保法案。
Seiko Noda’s public expression of doubts over the plans, said analysts, highlights the increasing vulnerability of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe as he wrestles with falling approval ratings and flagging economic momentum.
分析人士称，野田圣子(Seiko Noda)对相关计划公开表示怀疑，凸显首相安倍晋三(Shinzo Abe)越来越脆弱。安倍正艰难应对支持率下降和经济势头减弱。
Asked in an interview with Bloomberg whether she supported the security bills — which secured lower house approval earlier this month — Ms Noda, who served as chairwoman of the Liberal Democratic party’s general council earlier in her political career, said: “To tell the truth, that’s a question mark.”
在接受彭博社(Bloomberg)采访期间被问及她是否支持安保法案（7月早些时候已获得日本国会下院批准）时，在从政生涯早期曾担任自民党(LDP)总务会长的野田圣子表示：“说实话，那是一个问号。”
Ms Noda, who said she remained in full support of the prime minister, added that hawkish elements within the ruling party had been “flinging unfamiliar ideas at the public”.
野田圣子表示，她仍全力支持安倍首相。她补充说，执政党内部的鹰派分子在“向公众兜售陌生的观念”。
Although Ms Noda said that she would not attempt to block the security bills, she said that she would look for ways to change them to reflect what has been, for the Abe administration, an unexpectedly fierce public backlash.
虽然野田圣子表示她不会试图阻止安保法案，但她说，她会想办法改变它们，以反映出乎安倍政府意料的激烈民意反弹。
People close to the cabinet office said that although he faces no credible challenger for the leadership, Mr Abe must now run a summer gauntlet of risks to his approval ratings.
接近内阁府的人士表示，虽然并没有可信的挑战者威胁安倍的领导地位，但安倍的支持率今夏将面临风险。
The passage of the security bills through the upper house of Japan’s parliament and the chaos surrounding Tokyo’s plans to host the 2020 Olympics are seen as having the greatest potential to push the prime minister’s ratings lower.
安保法案获得日本国会上院批准，以及围绕东京主办2020年奥运会计划的混乱，被视为最有可能打击首相的支持率。
Earlier this week the Yomiuri Shimbun, Japan’s largest newspaper and a supporter of the Abe administration, published a poll that put the cabinet’s approval rating at 43 per cent — the lowest level since it was inaugurated in December 2012.
本周早些时候，日本最大报纸、安倍政府的支持者《读卖新闻》(Yomiuri Shimbun)发表一项民意调查，显示现任内阁的支持率在43%，这是它在2012年12月成立以来的最低水平。
In a note to clients earlier this week, Taisuke Tanaka, a strategist at Deutsche Bank, highlighted the possible market effects of Mr Abe’s waning public support. “Whenever the Abe administration has seen its ratings reach the 40 per cent level it has taken measures to bolster stocks, undermine the yen and recover its popularity,” he said.
德意志银行(Deutsche Bank)策略师田中泰辅(Taisuke Tanaka)本周早些时候在一份发给客户的简报中，分析了安倍支持率下降可能产生的市场影响。“每当安倍政府看到其支持率跌至40%水平时，它都会采取措施提振股市，削弱日元，恢复自己的人气，”他表示。
The LDP is preparing for its leadership contest in late September — an internal election held every three years. Mr Abe, who remains comfortably the strongest figure within the party, is expected to win.
自民党正准备在9月下旬举行党首选举，这是每三年举行一次的党内选举。预计安倍晋三将会胜出，他仍是自民党内部遥遥领先的最强大人物。
But the key issue, said Takao Toshikawa, a political analyst, will be whether any of Mr Abe’s potential leadership rivals — a list that may include Ms Noda as an outsider — score over 50 votes. If anyone does achieve that, he said, it will create a focus for Mr Abe’s opponents within the party.
但政治分析人士岁川隆雄(Takao Toshikawa)表示，关键问题在于，安倍的任何潜在对手（这份名单可能将野田圣子作为一个局外人包括在内）能否赢得50票以上？他说，如果任何人能够做到这一点，那将为安倍在党内的反对势力提供凝聚力。
“Mr Abe has centred a one-man-dominant system on himself so nobody is able to be very openly critical. But day by day, week by week, the criticism will grow more apparent and more aggressive,” said Mr Toshikawa.
“安倍搞了一套‘自己说了算’的规矩，以至于谁也不敢公开地表达非常严重的批评。但日复一日，周复一周，批评会越来越明显，越来越尖锐，”岁川隆雄表示。
Ms Noda, whose comments follow weeks of rising public opposition to the security bills, said that Japan’s long commitment to its pacifist constitution — and the fact that its soldiers have not killed anyone for 70 years — should be seen as a “badge of honour”.
野田圣子表态之前，近几周日本公众反对安保法案的声浪不断升温。她进一步指出，日本对和平宪法的长期坚守——以及70年来日本军人从未杀死任何人这个事实——应当被视为一枚“荣誉勋章”。
