回顧星期天LBS - 日本相關時事趣聞 All about 2022 Japan

通勤學英語 15Mins Today

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Topic: Covid-Inspired ‘Silent Cut Haircutting Service Gains Popularity in Japan
Devised by a Tokyo hair salon during the Covid-19 pandemic to prevent the spread of the coronavirus, the ‘Silent Cut’ service is becoming increasingly popular in Japan.
在武漢肺炎（Covid-19）疫情期間，日本東京一家髮廊為防止病毒傳播而推出「無聲剪髮」服務，在日本愈來愈受歡迎。
As a way of curbing the spread of the coronavirus during the Covid-19 pandemic, authorities in Japan started promoting “no conversation” or “less conversation” policies in schools, shops and supermarkets. One Tokyo salon decided to implement the ‘silent cut’ service and it proved so popular that others quickly followed suit.
做為在Covid-19大流行期間遏制冠狀病毒傳播的一種方式，日本當局開始提倡在學校、商店和超市「不交談」或「少交談」。東京一家髮廊決定實施「無聲剪髮」服務。事實證明，這項服務非常受歡迎，其他髮廊也紛紛跟進。
As it turns out, hairstylists prefer the silent cut as well, with many claiming that they were taught to chat up clients in their apprenticeship.
事實證明，髮型師也更喜歡無聲剪髮，許多髮型師表示，他們在學徒期間需要學習如何與客人搭訕。
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Topic: We’re hiring: Babies wanted for Japan nursing home 我們正在招聘：日本療養院需要嬰兒
A nursing home in southern Japan is “hiring” babies for a very important job — to keep its elderly residents company and make them smile.
日本南部一間療養院正在招聘嬰兒，擔任非常重要的職位──陪伴年長居民、讓他們開心。
A job advert pinned to the wall informs would-be workers they will be compensated for their services in diapers and powdered milk.
一個釘在牆上的工作廣告告知未來的員工，他們將會收到尿布和配方奶做為服務報酬。
New recruits at the facility in Kitakyushu must be under four years old, and their guardians have to sign a contract stipulating that the babies and toddlers can show up for work “whenever they feel like it.”
這間北九州機構的新成員必須小於4歲，而且他們的監護人必須簽署一份合約，明文規定嬰兒和學步幼童可以依照他們的意願，想上班的時候再出現。
More than 30 babies have been signed up so far, tasked with lifting the spirits of more than 100 residents who are mostly in their 80s.
至今已有超過30名嬰兒報名，他們被賦予提升逾百名居民興致的任務，這些居民大多超過80歲。Source article: https://features.ltn.com.tw/english/article/paper/1555385
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Topic: What’s behind strained China-Japan relations
Japan and China on Thursday last week marked the 50th anniversary of the 1972 normalization of their ties, but there isn’t much of a celebratory mood. Improved ties between Asia’s two biggest economies are considered vital to the region’s stability and prosperity, but they remain at odds over disputed East China Sea islands and China’s growing military and economic assertiveness in the region. Here are the key issues in the often strained relations between these powerhouse neighbors:
日本和中國上週四慶祝一九七二年兩國關係正常化五十週年，但並沒有太多慶祝的氣氛。亞洲最大的兩個經濟體間關係之改善，咸認攸關亞洲的穩定與繁榮，但對於有領土爭端的東海島嶼，以及中國軍事和經濟上在該區域愈趨強勢，兩國的立場仍然分歧。這兩個鄰近的強國經常處於緊張的關係，以下是其中幾個關鍵問題：
TERRITORIAL DISPUTES
A huge source of contention is an uninhabited group of Tokyo-controlled, Beijing-claimed East China Sea islands called Senkaku in Japan and Diaoyu in China. Japan insists that the islands, which once hosted a Japanese seafood factory, are part of its territory, both historically and by international law. China says they were stolen by Japan in 1895 and should have been returned at the end of World War II. The disputed islands are surrounded by rich fishing grounds and undersea oil deposits, and Japan accuses China of suddenly making its territorial claims after the undersea resources were found in a 1969 United Nations report. The 1972 normalization communique did not deal with the issue, but the dispute intensified after Japan’s government in 2012 nationalized the Senkaku islands, leading to violent protests across China. Chinese coast guard and fishing boats are regularly found in the area, routinely intruding on Japanese waters.
領土爭端
一個主要的爭論是東京所控制、北京聲稱擁有主權的東海無人島群，在日本稱為尖閣諸島，在中國稱為釣魚島。日本堅稱，日本曾在這些島嶼設有海產工廠，無論就歷史或國際法而言，這些島都是日本領土的一部分。中國說這些島是在一八九五年被日本偷走，日本應該在二戰結束時將其歸還。這些有爭端的島嶼，周圍環繞著富饒的漁場，海底石油儲量豐沛，日本指責中國是在一九六九年聯合國報告發現海底資源後才忽然提出領土主張。一九七二年的兩國關係正常化公報並未處理此問題，但日本政府二○一二年將尖閣諸島國有化後，爭端愈演愈烈，在中國各地引發了暴力抗議。中國海岸警衛隊及漁船常在此區域出現，經常侵犯日本水域。
FEAR OF TAIWAN EMERGENCY
Japan, along with its security ally the US, has openly criticized increased Chinese activities in the South China Sea. Tokyo has also pushed for peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait. China claims Taiwan, a self-governing democracy, and has threatened to annex it by force if necessary. With a US-China trade war and naval tensions on the rise in the area, Japan is increasingly worried about Taiwan emergencies. China’s increased joint military drills with Russia near Japanese coasts have also irked Japan. Tokyo is shifting its military posture toward southwestern Japan, including Okinawa and remote islands just east of Taiwan. China staged major military drills in areas surrounding Taiwan in August in an angry response to US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s Taipei visit, and fired five ballistic missiles into waters near Okinawa. Fear of conflict over Taiwan adds to Japan’s urgent efforts to reinforce its military capabilities and boost its budget. Japan is currently revising its national security strategy, which is expected to call for the possession of preemptive strike capabilities that opponents say would violate the country’s pacifist constitution. With Japan’s westernmost island just east of Taiwan, “It is increasingly difficult to see how a Taiwan military contingency would not affect at a minimum the waters and airspace around Japanese territory,” said Amanda Hsiao, senior analyst for China at the Crisis Group.
對台灣緊急狀況的恐懼
日本及其安全盟友美國公開批評中國在南海的活動增加。東京也推動了台灣海峽的和平及穩定。中國聲稱擁有台灣──一個自治的民主國家──的主權，並威脅在必要時以武力吞併台灣。隨著中美貿易戰及該地區海軍緊張局勢的加劇，日本越來越擔憂台灣出現緊急狀況。中國在日本沿海附近增加與俄國的聯合軍演也激怒了日本。東京正將其軍事布局轉向日本西南部，包括沖繩及台灣以東的偏遠島嶼。八月，中國在台灣周邊舉行大規模軍事演習，做為美國眾議院議長南希．裴洛西訪問台北的憤怒回應，並向沖繩附近海域發射了五枚彈道飛彈。對台灣衝突的恐懼讓日本更急迫地加強其軍事能力及增加預算。日本目前正在修訂國家安全戰略，預計將要求擁有先發制人的攻擊能力，反對者稱這將違反日本的和平憲法。日本最西端的島嶼就在台灣以東，因此「越來越難看出台灣的軍事意外事件如何不會對日本領土周遭的水域及空域造成一丁點影響」，國際危機組織中國問題高級分析師蕭嫣然表示。
WARTIME HISTORY
The two countries were at war, starting with clashes in the 1930s, until Japan’s defeat in 1945. Japanese atrocities during the Sino-Japanese war include the Rape of Nanking, the use of chemical and biological weapons and grisly human medical experiments in Manchuria, where Japan’s imperial army had a secret biological weapons unit. Japan also took nearly 40,000 Chinese laborers to Japanese mines and factories, where many died of malnutrition and abuse. In the 1972 communique, China waived the right to war compensation, which some experts say was in exchange for Japan’s apology and recognition of China as the only legal government. Japan, however, has provided official development aid totaling 3.6 trillion yen ($US25 billion) to China over the past four decades.
戰時歷史
從一九三○年代的衝突開始，直到一九四五年日本戰敗，中日兩國是處於戰爭狀態。中日戰爭期間日本的暴行包括南京大屠殺、使用化學及生物武器，以及在滿洲進行駭人的人體醫學實驗。日本帝國陸軍在滿洲有一個秘密的生物武器部隊。日本還將近四萬名中國勞工帶到日本的礦山及工廠，其中許多人死於營養不良和受虐。在一九七二年的公報中，中國放棄了獲得戰爭賠償的權利，一些專家稱這是為了換取日本的道歉及承認中共是唯一合法中國政府。然而，在過去四十年中，日本官方向中國提供了總計三點六兆日元（兩百五十億美元）的發展援助。
YASUKUNI SHRINE
China considers Tokyo’s Yasukuni Shrine — which honors 2.5 million war dead, including convicted war criminals — as a symbol of Japan’s wartime militarism. Beijing views visits by Japanese ministers and lawmakers to the Tokyo shrine as indicative of a lack of remorse over Japan’s wartime aggression. China, along with South Korea, which Japan colonized from 1910 to 1945, routinely protests against such visits.
靖國神社
中國將東京的靖國神社——它供奉兩百五十萬名戰爭死難者，包括被定罪的戰犯——視為日本戰時軍國主義的象徵。北京認為，日本部長和議員參拜東京靖國神社表示對日本的戰時侵略缺乏悔意。中國以及日本在一九一○年至一九四五年期間所殖民的韓國經常抗議此類參訪。
ECONOMIC SECURITY
As a top US ally and a major trade partner with China, Japan is in a delicate situation and must balance its position between the two superpowers. China has been more assertive about pressing other governments to embrace Chinese-led initiatives, including a trade group called the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership. Japan, along with the US, is seeking ways to stand up to increasing Chinese economic influence in the region. Tokyo also wants to reinforce economic security with other democracies in areas such as supply chains and the protection of sensitive technologies, apparently as a counter to China.
Yasuo Fukuda, a former Japanese prime minister who is an active proponent of better ties with China, says friction between Japan and China largely stems from US-China trade issues. “The question is whether global trade works better by excluding China,” he said.
經濟安全
作為美國的頂尖盟友和中國的主要貿易夥伴，日本處境微妙，必須平衡其在兩個超級大國之間的地位。中國在敦促其他政府接受中國主導的倡議方面更加自信，其中包括一個名為「區域全面經濟夥伴關係」的貿易組織。日本與美國一道，正想方設法抵禦中國在該地區日益增加的經濟影響力。東京還希望與其他民主國家在供應鍊和敏感技術保護等領域加強經濟安全，這顯然是為了對抗中國。
日本前首相福田康夫積極支持改善與中國的關係，他表示，日中之間的摩擦主要源於美中貿易問題。「問題是排除中國後全球貿易是否會更好」，他表示。Source article: https://www.taipeitimes.com/News/lang/archives/2022/10/04/2003786373
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Topic: Japan’s cats and dogs get wearable fans to beat scorching heat
A Tokyo clothing maker has teamed up with veterinarians to create a wearable fan for pets, hoping to attract the anxious owners of dogs - or cats - that can’t shed their fur coats in Japan’s blistering summer weather.
一間東京製衣廠與獸醫組隊為寵物製造一款穿戴式風扇，希望能吸引焦慮不安的狗狗或貓咪飼主，因
為牠們無法在日本炎熱的夏季脫下毛皮大衣。
The device consists of a battery-operated, 80-gramme fan that is attached to a mesh outfit and blows air around an animal’s body.
這款裝置由電池供電運作，80公克重的風扇附著在網格服裝上，在動物的身體周圍吹風。
Rei Uzawa, president of maternity clothing maker Sweet Mommy, was motivated to create it after seeing her own pet exhausted every time it was taken out for a walk in the scorching summer heat.
成衣製造商Sweet Mommy負責人鵜澤璃看見她自己的寵物每次在炎熱夏天高溫下的戶外散步之後筋疲力盡，因而有了製作這款衣服的動機。
After the rainy season in Tokyo ended in late June, the Japanese capital suffered the longest heatwave on record with temperatures up to 35 degrees Celsius for nine days.
東京雨季在6月底結束之後，日本首都迎來史上最久的熱浪，連續9天氣溫高達攝氏35度。
"I usually use dry ice packs. But I think it’s easier to walk my dog if we have this fan," said Mami Kumamoto, 48, owner of a miniature poodle and a terrier.
飼養一隻迷你貴賓和一隻梗犬的48歲熊本麻美（譯音）說「我通常使用冰袋。但是我認為有了這款風扇，遛狗會比較輕鬆。」
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Topic: World’s oldest person dies in Japan aged 119 全球最年長人士在日本過世 享年119歲
A Japanese woman believed to have been the world’s oldest person has died aged 119, public broadcaster NHK said on Monday, reporting the death of Kane Tanaka.
公共廣播機構「日本放送協會」週一報導田中加子的死訊說，據信是全球最年長者的一位日本女性以119歲過世。
Born on Jan. 2, 1903 - the year of the Wright Brothers’ first controlled flight of their motor-driven airplane - Tanaka was confirmed by Guinness World Records in 2019 as the oldest living person.
田中生於1903年1月2日──萊特兄弟以他們的引擎驅動的飛機進行首次受控飛行的那年──在2019年獲金氏世界紀錄證實為還活著的最年老人士。
She died of old age at a hospital in Fukuoka city, western Japan, on April 19, NHK said. During her life, she had been partial to chocolate and fizzy drinks, NHK said.
日本放送協會說，她於4月19日在日本西部福岡市一家醫院因年邁過世。她這輩子特別喜歡巧克力和氣泡飲料。
Japan has a dwindling and rapidly ageing population. As of last September, the country had 86,510 centenarians, and nine out of every 10 were women. （Reuters）
日本人口不斷減少並快速老化。截至去年9月，該國有8萬6510名人瑞，而且每10人中有9人是女性。Source article: https://features.ltn.com.tw/english/article/paper/1538125 ; https://features.ltn.com.tw/english/article/paper/1514547