野田聖子質疑安倍擴軍計劃 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.
被視爲有望成爲日本首位女首相的一名資深政治人物在執政黨內部唱反調，質疑擴大軍隊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.
分析人士稱，野田聖子(Seiko Noda)對相關計劃公開表示懷疑，凸顯首相安倍晉三(Shinzo Abe)越來越脆弱。安倍正艱難應對支持率下降和經濟勢頭減弱。
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)採訪期間被問及她是否支持安保法案（7月早些時候已獲得日本國會下院批准）時，在從政生涯早期曾擔任自民黨(LDP)總務會長的野田聖子表示：“說實話，那是一個問號。”
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”.
野田聖子表示，她仍全力支持安倍首相。她補充說，執政黨內部的鷹派分子在“向公衆兜售陌生的觀念”。
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.
雖然野田聖子表示她不會試圖阻止安保法案，但她說，她會想辦法改變它們，以反映出乎安倍政府意料的激烈民意反彈。
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.
接近內閣府的人士表示，雖然並沒有可信的挑戰者威脅安倍的領導地位，但安倍的支持率今夏將面臨風險。
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.
安保法案獲得日本國會上院批准，以及圍繞東京主辦2020年奧運會計劃的混亂，被視爲最有可能打擊首相的支持率。
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.
本週早些時候，日本最大報紙、安倍政府的支持者《讀賣新聞》(Yomiuri Shimbun)發表一項民意調查，顯示現任內閣的支持率在43%，這是它在2012年12月成立以來的最低水平。
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.
德意志銀行(Deutsche Bank)策略師田中泰輔(Taisuke Tanaka)本週早些時候在一份發給客戶的簡報中，分析了安倍支持率下降可能產生的市場影響。“每當安倍政府看到其支持率跌至40%水平時，它都會採取措施提振股市，削弱日元，恢復自己的人氣，”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.
自民黨正準備在9月下旬舉行黨首選舉，這是每三年舉行一次的黨內選舉。預計安倍晉三將會勝出，他仍是自民黨內部遙遙領先的最強大人物。
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.
但政治分析人士歲川隆雄(Takao Toshikawa)表示，關鍵問題在於，安倍的任何潛在對手（這份名單可能將野田聖子作爲一個局外人包括在內）能否贏得50票以上？他說，如果任何人能夠做到這一點，那將爲安倍在黨內的反對勢力提供凝聚力。
“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‘自己說了算’的規矩，以至於誰也不敢公開地表達非常嚴重的批評。但日復一日，周復一週，批評會越來越明顯，越來越尖銳，”歲川隆雄表示。
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”.
野田聖子表態之前，近幾週日本公衆反對安保法案的聲浪不斷升溫。她進一步指出，日本對和平憲法的長期堅守——以及70年來日本軍人從未殺死任何人這個事實——應當被視爲一枚“榮譽勳章”。
