经济不景气意外来袭，日本年轻人焦躁不安

TOKYO (AP) — When Prime Minister Shinzo Abe responded to Japan's surprise recession by delaying a sales-tax increase, it was a cause for worry, not celebration, for many young Japanese. This generation, barely aware of their country's economic heyday, frets that putting off tough decisions now could make the future even worse.
Despite Abe's unprecedented stimulus efforts — almost everything short of dropping money from helicopters — Japan has slipped into recession less than two years after the last one. With the country's debt rising, population aging and job security fading, young people in particular wonder when, and if, Japan will bounce back.
东京（美联社）——当日本首相安倍回应日本民众对于推迟增加消费税的惊讶之潮时，引发了一片担忧而非庆贺，尤其对于年轻的日本人。这一代人几乎没有体会到自己国家经济的鼎盛时期，他们对于推迟消费税上涨感到焦躁，担心未来可能会更加糟糕。
尽管安倍实施了空前的刺激措施——几乎就是直接从直升机上撒钱——但此后不到两年日本再次陷入经济衰退之中。随着国家债务的增加，人口老龄化和就业保障的衰弱，年轻人特别疑惑什么时候日本经济才会反弹。

"This is our children's future," said Mai Yamaguchi, a 29-year-old trading company employee heading into the gaudy Shibuya shopping area for an outing with her 4-month-old son and two other young moms and babies. "Child care, elder care, social welfare are all going to be even bigger burdens for us."
Under pressure to reduce the developed world's heaviest per-capita debt burden, at over a quadrillion yen ($8.5 trillion), Abe raised the sales tax from 5 percent to 8 percent in April, and was supposed to increase it to 10 percent next year. But after the economy, already fragile after two decades of malaise, shrank for two quarters in a row, he put off the second increase until 2017.
“未来属于孩子们。”山口舞说道。他是一名29岁的外贸公司职员。她正带着4个月大的儿子去涉谷购物区游玩，同行的还有另外两个带孩子的母亲。她正带着4个月大的儿子去涉谷购物区游玩，同行的还有另外两个带孩子的母亲。“孩子们要养，老人也要养，对我们这些人来说这些都是越来越重的负担。”
在需要消减世界上最重的人均债务负担（一千万亿日元，8.5万亿美元）的压力下，安倍在4月份把消费税从5%上调到了8%，并计划在来年上跳到10%。但日本经济经过20年的萎靡不振已经非常脆弱，并且又已经连续两个季度缩水，安倍决定把第二次消费税上调推迟到2017年。

Yamaguchi was unimpressed by that decision. "I'm grateful to Mr. Abe for his policies to improve child care, but putting off the tax increase, well, they say the pension system is on the verge of bankruptcy. I think it would have been better to go ahead and raise the tax as planned," she said.
The generation born as Japan's economic bubble burst in the early 1990s will be supporting a vast cohort of retirees. Though their nation is rich, with ultra-modern public transport, low crime rates and excellent public health services, most are making do without the security of lifetime employment enjoyed by their parents and grandparents.
山口非常不满这一决定。“我对于安倍发展儿童教育的政策非常感激，但就算不说税率上涨，他们说养老保险制度以及到了崩溃边缘，但我觉得它应该会更好而增税计划应当如期推进。”他说。
他们这代人出生于日本经济泡沫刚刚破灭的1990年代，低犯罪率和出色的社保服务，大多数都是他们父母和祖父母这一代所享受到的。

In this Friday, Nov. 21, 2014 photo, Ryosuke Sunaga, a college senior, poses for a portrait at a scramble crossing at Shibuya shopping district in Tokyo. Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s choice last week to postpone a sales tax hike to help fend off recession comes less as a relief than as cause for greater concern over how the country will cope with its ballooning national debt. Sunaga is acutely aware that he’ll be supporting an ever growing number of retirees throughout his future career. “Speaking clearly, they just postponed it. In the end the tax will go up to 10%, to me it seems they are just using a temporary expedient and I don't really approve,” Sunaga said. “I don't really like the idea of higher taxes, but to a certain extent there is no avoiding passing the burden on to the younger generation. By the time I have kids the sales tax will probably be 15%, I'm thinking that will be tough. But compared to Europe the sales tax is still relatively low so raising it to 10% seems unavoidable to me.” (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)
本周五，2014年11月21日。照片中的人名叫须永凉介，一名准大学毕业生，在东京的涉谷街头摆pose拍的。日本首相安倍上周决定推迟消费税的上涨，以期在一定程度上缓解日本的经济衰退。但相较于这种大场面，日本全国上下如何面对其国家债务的膨胀更值得关注。须永敏锐的意识到在他今后的职业生涯中将面对不断增加的退休老人。“说白了他们只是推迟了增税，说到底还是要涨到10%的。对我来说他们这样做只是权宜之计，我是肯定不会同意的。”须永说道。“说实话我不喜欢高税收，但一定程度上说这个重担无论如何都无法避免落到年轻一代人的身上。等我有孩子的时候消费税已经涨到15%了，我想那肯定会非常艰难。但看看欧洲的税收，涨到10%仍然是比较低的，而它注定要落到我身上”（美联社照片/尤金星野）

On Friday, Abe dissolved parliament for a Dec. 14 snap election he is calling to seek public approval of the tax hike delay and to affirm public support for his all-or-nothing policies to revive the world's third-largest economy.
He has pledged to vanquish Japan's long stagnation by injecting tens of trillions of yen (hundreds of billions of dollars) into the economy, pushing prices higher and the value of Japan's currency lower. He also has promised a sweeping and drastic overhaul to help improve the country's crumbling competitiveness.
周五，安倍在议会就12月14日提前大选的会议散会后，呼吁日本大众认可他推迟增税计划，并且就他可有可无的政策寻求民众支持，以期复习全球第三大经济体。
他已经承诺将注入几十万亿日元来战胜日本长期的的经济衰退和停滞。（相当于数千亿美元），推动产业价值走高和日币汇率降低。他还含泪承诺要彻底改革以提高和改变该国摇摇欲坠的竞争力。

In this Friday Nov. 21, 2014 photo, Kaori Endo, a 21-year-old bread factory worker from Ibaraki, north of Tokyo, poses for a portrait at a scramble crossing at Shibuya shopping district in Tokyo. Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s choice tlast week to postpone a sales tax hike to help fend off recession comes less as a relief than as cause for greater concern over how the country will cope with its ballooning national debt. Endo said she wouldn’t mind paying more for taxes if she felt like she might benefit from them. But her bigger concern is getting a permanent job. “Right now I'm living with my family but I'm thinking about how I will support my parents,” she said. Endo is hoping the government will be able to handle its growing debt and other problems. “I want to be hopeful,” she said. “This is the country I was born in so I want to believe in it.” (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)
本周五，2014年11月21日。照片中的女生名叫远藤香织，今年21岁，是茨城面包厂的工人。在东京北部涉谷的十字路口拍摄。日本首相安倍上周决定推迟消费税的上涨，以期在一定程度上缓解日本的经济衰退。但相较于这种大场面，日本全国上下如何面对其国家债务的膨胀更值得关注。远藤表示只要能够从中受益，他不介意付出更多的税。但他更担心的是如何获得一份长期稳定的工作。“现在我还和家人住在一起，但我很担心怎么给父母养老。”他说。远藤希望政府有能力控制债务增长和其他的问题。“我希望看到救赎”他说“这是生我养我的土地，我希望能相信它。”（美联社照片/尤金星野）

So far, that combination, dubbed "Abenomics," has yielded mixed results.
Profits of big exporters have surged, thanks to the weaker yen, but higher costs have hit households and smaller companies. Despite some wage increases, many ordinary Japanese feel less well off than before, thanks to longer-term declines in wages and purchasing power.
"I'm not a permanent employee, and that worries me," said Kaori Endo, a 21-year-old bread factory worker from Ibaraki, north of Tokyo.
"Right now I'm living with my family, but I'm thinking about how I will support my parents. If I were a full employee, my parents would be less worried," said Endo, who plans to take professional tests to help improve her job status.
迄今为止，名为安倍经济学的组合拳已经产生了复杂的结果。
得益于日元的贬值，大出口商的利润大幅上涨，但成本较高的中小型企业尽管获得了一定的增长，许多日本民众却感到大不如前，这都要感谢长期下降的工资和购买力。
“我不是正式职员，这可愁死我了”远藤香织说道。他21岁，在东京北部的茨城面包厂工作。
“现在我还和家人住在一起，但我很担心怎么给父母养老。如果我有一份长期稳定的工作，父母会少担心很多。”远藤说。他表示正计划考些专业证书以找到一份更好的工作。

As lawmakers rush to prepare for the election, Abe is renewing his campaign to persuade Japanese companies to raise wages and offer more opportunities for women workers. He also has promised to slash corporate taxes beginning next year to entice companies to invest more in Japan.
In the meantime, Abe has been pushing ahead with cuts to social welfare, raising health insurance premiums and co-payment requirements for all, including retirees.
Ultimately, Japanese taxpayers will end up shouldering an even greater share of the country's surging costs for health insurance, elder care and pensions, said Koichi Hamada, an economic adviser to Abe.
"It's not very fair to poorer constituents, but still we have to go ahead with the consumption tax hike," Hamada said.
作为立法者安倍急于为选举做准备，他更新了它的竞选说辞说服日本企业提高工资，并提供女工更多的工作机会。他还承诺从明年开始将削减企业税收，以吸引企业更多在日本投资。
在此期间，安倍一直推进削减社会福利，提高医疗保险费以及对所有人的共同费用分摊，也包括退休人员的。
最终，日本纳税人将承担更大份额的国家医疗保险成本飙升，社保和养老金，安倍晋三的经济顾问浜田宏一说。
“这对经济拮据的选民不是很公平，但我们必须推进消费税上调”滨田说。

College student Yuto Tanaka, 19, said he knows that there's millions of yen (tens of thousands of dollars) in debt for every person in Japan. But fretting won't resolve that problem, and neither would an immediate tax hike, he said.
"If they raise the sales tax now, it will hurt the economy and tax revenues will fall anyway," said Tanaka, taking a break at the bustling intersection in Shibuya known as "Scramble" before heading to classes.
"We have to hope," he said. "If Japan falls to pieces, our society will be finished. We have to muddle through."
大学生佑田中今年19，他说他知道每个日本人身上都承担了几百万日元的债务（数万美元）。但微调不会解决这个问题，即便立刻加税也没用，他说。
“如果他们现在提高销售税，会伤害到整个经济而税收收入会不升反降。”田中在涩谷繁华的路口若有所思的说。他正在去上课的路上，稍微歇息一下。
“我们必须保持希望”他说。“如果日本瓦解，我们整个社会就完了。我们必须撑过去。”

Nanci • 2 days 6 hours ago Report Abuse
sounds kinda like the us
听着和我们差不多
Di Li • 2 days 5 hours ago Report Abuse
I'm tired of hearing this garbage "frets that putting off tough decisions now could make the future even worse" - tough decisions always meaning: buying a house, having children, or some other thing that is not a necessity, and only an expense that is continuously propagated to feed the poor economic model of a consumption-based economy - yet people think they can force it down others throats. Stop printing this BS, it's getting old and I'm tired of it being TOLD.
我已经烦死了听到这种废话“烦恼的是现在推迟艰难的决定可能使未来更糟糕” - 艰难的决定总是那几个意思：买房子，生孩子，或者一些其他的东西，那根本不是必须的，干这些事就是费钱不断去喂那悲剧的经济体制。但人们认为他们还能把它救起来。别瞎折腾了，日本经济老了，我都懒得再废话了。
Steve • 2 days 23 hours ago Report Abuse
Study this situation closely fellow Americans, this is the smaller version of the USA on its course to financial collapse. Funny that I finally saw the word Quadrillion used in reference to a nations debt.
他们肯定是从美利坚学的，这就是美国金融崩溃进程的缩小版。搞笑的是我第一次看到有个国家的债务是千万亿计的。
Mark • 2 days 22 hours ago Report Abuse
Afterwards, they still will have their dna. what will we have?
不管咋说最后他们还有DNA。我们有啥？
Rob • 2 days 22 hours ago Report Abuse
Fiat money and the corresponding debt is NOT Capitalism.
法定通货（大概是指安倍类似计划经济的动作？）和全民债务可不是资本主义
A Yahoo User • 2 days 13 hours ago Report Abuse
maybe not from the get go but bankers made it such
也许一开始没那么糟，但是银行搞成了这样
Erik • 1 day 19 hours ago Report Abuse
Almost every Japanese manufacturer has product marked "Made in China". There's your problem. Just like the US.
几乎所有日本产业都是贴标的中国货。那是你们自己的问题，就像美利坚一样
NN • 2 days 22 hours ago Report Abuse
Although the problems in Japan are much different then in the U.S., they are in some ways similar.
The fundamentals of their society are good, the people have a strong work ethic. They on the whole are bright and dedicated.
The bad thing is, they are falling down the 'Bigger Government' rabbit hole, just like the U.S.
Inefficiency, and too bloated, not precisely meeting the needs of their Society. And the Bank of Japan, is mimicking our Federal Reserve, with its failing policies, helping those who do not need help.
虽然日本和美国的问题不太一样，但有些方面还是差不多的
悲剧的是他们庞大的政府要倒了，就好像美利坚一样
效率低下，庞大臃肿，不符合社会需求。日本银行就模仿的美联储，他们失败的政策全都去帮助那些根本不需要帮助的人了
Richer • 1 day 16 hours ago Report Abuse
People forget they just recovered from a huge natural disaster, no way can they bounce back that quick. They still burning coal till they get other energy alternatives up and running.
人们是不是忘了他们刚刚经历过一场自然灾害？绝对不可能这么快反弹的。他们还在烧煤呢，除非他们找到什么高效清洁的新能源
KSophia • 3 days ago Report Abuse
Japanese work culture is strictly top-down and often demands long hours every day. It's tough. The rush hours last until midnight here in Tokyo. However, we don't notice from the appearance that Japan is in recession. The concern I have for Japan is that people seem to be insecure about their....
日本的工作文化阶级分明，每天都长时间加班，非常艰苦。在东京上下班高峰一直持续到半夜。但是他们都注意不到日本已经在阶级衰退中了。但我关心的是日本人是不是对他们的安全。。。。(？)
Delta Luminoso • 3 days ago Report Abuse
Japan wishes the U.S to be always the number1.
日本可是希望咱美利坚永远第一
Get Even • 3 days ago Report Abuse
True Delta, so we consume Japan's products!!!
楼上正解，所以我们应该多买日本货！
Michael Green • 3 days ago Report Abuse
Consumer price in Japan now is lower than that of 80's.
there are many 99 yen per plate sushi bars...that was unthinkable, then.
日本现在的消费可是比80年代还要低。
好多店里寿司只卖99阉。。。。在那时候可是不可想象的
Jake • 2 days 23 hours ago Report Abuse
Socialists create Cloward and Piven scenarios in the country that they are targeting for economic destruction. This consists of overburdening the countries' economy with social services mandates that not only can be easily manipulated by piling up debt and spending。
社会主义者的目标就是破坏国家经济和建立 Cloward and Piven scenarios。包括操纵社会服务项目以及堆积如山的债务支出来压垮国家经济
MichaelD • 2 days 20 hours ago Report Abuse
Several points to bring up as a counter-argument.
有些论点引发了反证
Jake • 2 days 6 hours ago Report Abuse
1. NOT TRUE.
2. NOT TRUE.
3. MOST ASSUREDLY NOT TRUE.
1假的
2 肯定是假的
3 肯定绝逼是假的
MichaelD • 1 day 23 hours ago Report Abuse
1. Care to explain why, because the trend of fewer children bears out across cultures with higher standards of living?
2. Don't understand how this is mistaken, please explain.
3. Rome did collapse because it grew too large, and no matter how oppressive it got, there was a point where it was unable to sustain itself.
1 你能解释为啥低出生率越低反而能在那享受高生活水平嘛？
2 我就不懂这咋就是个错误了，你解释下
3 罗马之所以毁灭是因为它太庞大了，不是因为它收到什么打击，重点是它无法维持自身。
MNHawk • 1 day 22 hours ago Report Abuse
Unexpected by who? More-ons coming out of journalism schools? Certainly not unexpected by people who are familiar with what happens after massive tax increases are imposed on a people.
谁新闻谁报的？刚毕业的新闻学院毕业生？这事对于那些习惯了重税压民的人来说根本不奇怪好吧
Salvo • 3 days ago Report Abuse
"I don't get it, we've been giving our rich people more and more money, why isn't our overall economy doing better? Well, what else can we do, let's just give them more money."
They can't be that stupid. I'm pretty sure our leaders are messing with us on purpose because they think it's hilarious to see how stupid most of us are. We accept it. Most of us praise them and agree with everything they tell us. So they can't help it.
“俺不明白，俺们已经不断给了壕们越来越多的钱，为啥我们的整体经济还是好不起来？好吧，我们唯一还能做的就是再给他们更多钱。”
他们不可能那么蠢！我敢肯定我们伟大的领袖是在玩我们，他喜欢看热闹，喜欢看我们这些人到底有多蠢。咱认了。因为我们大多数的人都相信他们说的一切，他们没法救了
5回复
Kempion • 3 days ago Report Abuse
Yeah, that's a common conspiracy theory among people who don't understand economics or value creation.
磅！这就是场不懂经济和创造价值的那些人捣鼓的阴谋
Steven • 3 days ago Report Abuse
Exactly Kempion. Typical Howel at the Moon philosophy that minimally ambitious people hold. The politics of envy at its best.
楼上说得好。就像登月阴谋论那样肯定是些别有用心的人搞的。他们的政策可是最好的羡慕还来不及呢
Kempion • 2 days 23 hours ago Report Abuse
Charles, wanting to believe does not make true. Again, neat conspiracy theory: blame. Brilliant.
Charles他就愿意相信些有的没的。咱重新整理下阴谋论的要点：指责，辉煌
Optimistmiser • 2 days 23 hours ago Report Abuse
Giving more of what is worth less creates the illusion of greater wealth without it actually being so.
想用小钱生大钱那是幻觉，实际上根本不会那样
Mr. Responsible • 2 days 8 hours ago Report Abuse
This is the "Gruber-ization" of the American voter. Even as it has been outed and made obvously apparent in no uncertain terms, the vast majority of Americans remain ignorant. And that drags us all to get fleeced, over and over again, by our so-called "leaders".
这就是所谓格鲁伯化的美利坚选民。就算早就被明明白白的敢出局了，大多数美国人还是一无所知。知道我们伟大的领袖一遍又一遍的来屠宰我们所有人。