探祕日本首相最親密的批評者

After winning two landslide elections over the past year, Japan's popular, powerful prime minister, Shinzo Abe, faces little parliamentary opposition. One of his most widely quoted policy critics runs a tiny pub named 'UZU,' or 'Tidal Swirl,' hidden among the back streets of a dowdy Tokyo commercial neighborhood.

在去年以壓倒性優勢贏得了兩輪選舉之後，擁有極高人氣和強大權勢的日本首相安倍晉三(Shinzo Abe)幾乎獲得了國會的全面支持。安倍晉三影響力最大的政策批評者之一現在經營着一家名爲“UZU”――又名“漩渦”(Tidal Swirl)――的居酒屋，這家居酒屋隱藏在東京一處破敗商業區的偏僻巷子中。

'I don't want agriculture to be treated like industrial products,' the 51-year-old proprietor said one recent afternoon, explaining her antipathy to Mr. Abe's signature free-trade pact aimed at subjecting farmers to global competition. In her establishment, with just two dozen seats and a narrow open kitchen, she serves customers her organic 'Akie Rice' grown in her 'Akie Paddy' located back in the prime minister's own rural district.

不久前的一個午後，這位51歲的居酒屋老闆闡述了自己對於安倍晉三簽署旨在讓日本農民參與全球競爭的自由貿易協定的反感：“我不希望農產品被當成工業品那樣對待。”在她只有二十幾個座位和一個狹窄的開放式廚房的居酒屋裏，她向客人們供應一種有機“昭惠米”(Akie Rice)，這種有機米產自位於首相自家農莊內的“昭惠農園”(Akie Paddy)。

When she's not running her pub, Akie Abe carries out her official duties as Japan's first lady, greeting dignitaries and presenting awards. But the tart-tongued wife of the prime minister hasn't been afraid to offer her honest -- often critical -- opinions of her husband's policies, like the time she declared herself in a speech to be 'the opposition in the household' over his staunch advocacy of nuclear power less than three years after the Fukushima disaster.

在不經營居酒屋的時候，安倍昭惠(Akie Abe)會履行自己作爲日本第一夫人的職責，比如會見各國首腦以及頒發各種獎項等。但是，這位快言快語的第一夫人從來都不掩飾自己對丈夫政治主張的逆耳忠言，就像這次，繼安倍晉三在福島事件發生還不到三年時就爲核能做出堅定的辯護後，安倍昭惠發表講話稱自己在這件事上是“家庭中的反對派”。

'There's no guarantee another accident won't happen,' Mrs. Abe told The Wall Street Journal in her first interview with a foreign media organization since her husband took power nearly a year ago. An avid user of Facebook who posts accounts of her daily activities from her smartphone, she once uploaded a photo of the carcass of a cow left in the evacuation zone that she had taken herself.

安倍昭惠在接受《華爾街日報》(The Wall Street Journal)採訪時表示：“我們無法保證，災難不會再次發生。”在安倍晉三上任近一年後，這是安倍昭惠首次接受外國媒體的採訪。作爲一名Facebook的活躍用戶，她經常用智能手機發布有關自己日常活動的內容，她曾經上傳過一張她本人拍攝於核撤離區內的牛屍體的照片。

So far, Mrs. Abe seems to have had little sway over Mr. Abe's policy-making. But she has angered supporters and energized foes. Some Japanese media have called her Mr. Abe's liability, others his secret weapon, helping stoke his high support rate.

截至目前，安倍昭惠似乎未能對安倍晉三的執政決策產生任何影響。但是，她已經激怒日本首相的支持者，並樹立了一些敵人。一些日本媒體把她稱作安倍晉三的負擔，而另一些人則認爲第一夫人是幫助安倍晉三提高支持率的祕密武器。

The first lady's anti-nuke comments prompted an opposition lawmaker to chide Mr. Abe, 59, for failing to form a consensus even in his inner circle. From the floor of the legislative chamber, the parliament member held up a panel displaying photos of Mrs. Abe and former Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi, Mr. Abe's mentor, who has also recently attacked nuclear power.

第一夫人的反核言論使反對黨的一名議員對安倍晉三譴責有加，他認爲這位59歲的日本首相甚至沒有能力在小範圍內取得共識。在日本國會大廳，這名反對黨議員高舉起了粘貼有第一夫人和日本前首相小泉純一郎(Junichiro Koizumi)的照片的牌子。作爲安倍晉三的政治導師，小泉純一郎最近也發表了去核言論。

'I must admit those two are extremely important figures in my life,' Mr. Abe responded with a chuckle. 'But we as the government must ensure a stable energy supply.'

安倍晉三微笑着迴應道：“我必須得承認，他們兩位在我的生活中都是極其重要的人物。但是，作爲政府，我們必須要保證穩定的能源供應。”

As her husband was getting the cold shoulder from his South Korean counterpart amid bilateral animosities, Mrs. Abe posted a photo of herself mixing a giant pot of bibimbap, a popular Korean dish, standing next to Korean dignitaries to celebrate a Korean festival in Tokyo in September. She received hundreds of comments accusing her of offenses like 'cozying up to the Koreans' and 'damaging Japan's national interests.' She also got over 2,000 'likes' on her post and praise from a South Korean foreign ministry spokesman.

在日韓關係的敏感期，當安倍晉三受到韓國方面的冷遇之際，安倍昭惠發佈了一張自己正在攪拌一大鍋著名韓式料理石鍋拌飯的照片。照片拍攝於今年9月在東京舉辦的某韓國節日的慶祝活動上，安倍昭惠的身旁還站着數位韓國高官。這張照片給第一夫人帶來了數百條負面評論，比如“向韓國人卑躬屈膝”和“損害日本的國家利益”等。但是，第一夫人發佈的這張照片也收穫了超過2,000個“贊”，並受到了韓國外交部發言人的讚賞。

Just as U.S. Vice President Joe Biden was urging her husband to make greater efforts to get along with South Korea during his visit to Tokyo Tuesday, Mrs. Abe was at an art show, exhibiting paintings by children from the two countries. 'It is very important our children get to know each other through paintings,' she said. 'I believe the children will build the future for the Japan-Korea relationship.'

12月初，正當美國副總統拜登(Joe Biden)在訪日期間敦促安倍晉三爲改善日韓關係作出更大努力時，安倍昭惠則出席了一個展示日韓兩國兒童畫作的藝術展。她表示：“讓我們的孩子通過畫作了解對方至關重要。我相信，兒童將締造日韓關係的未來。”

The prime minister's office declined to comment for this article.

日本首相辦公室未同意對本文置評。

Mrs. Abe has also helped to endear her husband to voters. She has shared with the public his personal moments, such as looking sleepy with mussed hair in the morning, and eating a Popsicle in pajama bottoms on their sofa late at night. Fans rallied to defend her photo of Mr. Abe feeding a piece of meat with chopsticks to the childless couple's dog, a miniature dachshund named Roy, after someone accused the prime minister of holding the utensils improperly, branding it an insult to Japanese culture.

安倍昭惠在幫助丈夫贏得選民的青睞上發揮了一定的作用。她曾經與公衆分享過丈夫的私人生活片段，比如安倍晉三清晨時頭髮雜亂、睡眼惺忪的照片和他在深夜穿着睡褲吃雪糕的照片。在另一張照片中，安倍晉三用筷子夾着肉喂他們的寵物狗，這對膝下無子的夫婦養了一條名叫羅伊(Roy)的小達克斯狗。在有些人批評安倍晉三用筷子的方式不正確，並給他扣上藐視日本文化的帽子後，粉絲們聯合起來表示了對他們的支持。

'She has served as his shock absorber,' says Ikuo Gonoi, a political scientist who has analyzed Mrs. Abe's influence. Mr. Gonoi says Mr. Abe faces pressure from conservatives to pursue a tougher foreign policy and criticism from liberals that he's too hawkish. 'Her remarks have kept his image from going to one extreme or the other.'

五野井鬱夫(Ikuo Gonoi)表示：“安倍昭惠一直是她丈夫的緩衝器。”五野井鬱夫是一位研究安倍晉三影響力的政治學家。五野井鬱夫認爲，安倍晉三面對着雙重壓力，一方面，保守派要求他執行更加強勢的外交政策，另一方面，自由派批評他太過強硬。五野井鬱夫稱：“安倍昭惠的言行使安倍晉三保持了一種溫和的形象。”

Mrs. Abe's blunt public statements reflect, in part, the surprising freedom and informality political families have in Japan, where American-style handlers and image-makers remain relatively rare.

安倍昭惠的直率言論在一定程度上反映了日本的政治家族出人意料的自由度和隨意性。在日本，美國式的推手和形象專家還相對少見。

She isn't Japan's first first lady to make waves. Miyuki Hatoyama drew notice with a book published the year before her husband took office in 2009, describing her abduction by aliens. ('While my body was asleep, I think my soul rode on a triangular-shaped UFO and went to Venus,' she wrote). Nobuko Kan, the wife of another recent leader, published a book addressed to her husband titled 'What Could Possibly Change If You Were Prime Minister?'

安倍昭惠並不是第一位掀起過風波的日本第一夫人。鳩山幸(Miyuki Hatoyama)在她的丈夫於2009年出任首相的前一年，出版了一本引發大衆關注的書。在書中，她描述了自己被外星人綁架的經歷。 (她寫道：“當我的身體還在熟睡之時，我覺得我的靈魂搭上了一個三角形的UFO，並飛到了金星。”) 另一位前首相夫人菅伸子(Nobuko Kan)則出版了一本名爲《如果你是首相，你能改變什麼？》(What Could Possibly Change If You Were Prime Minister?)的書，將矛頭直指自己的丈夫。

Days after Mr. Abe started his first, short-lived term as prime minister in 2006, Mrs. Abe surprised the public by holding her husband's hand as they disembarked the plane on his first overseas trip. Such a display of affection had rarely been seen among Japan's public figures. The media scrutinized the photogenic first lady's fashionable outfits, and criticized her celebrity-like lifestyle. She abandoned her personal blog after a controversial post showing the Abes at a fancy holiday party at a well-known singer's house.

在安倍晉三2006年首次就任首相的短暫日子裏，安倍昭惠就因爲在與丈夫第一次出訪別國時與丈夫攜手走下飛機舷梯的舉動使公衆大感意外。日本的公衆人物很少像這樣感情外露。新聞媒體仔細地審視着這位頗爲上鏡的第一夫人的時尚裝束，並對她張揚的生活方式頗有微詞。在一張安倍夫婦在某位知名歌手家中參加奢華假期聚會的照片引起爭議後，安倍昭惠關閉了自己的個人博客。

After Mr. Abe returned to power in late 2012, Mrs. Abe picked up where she had left off. At an event to promote farming fashion, she hit the catwalk in a loose blue-and-white-striped smock with gold sneakers. She invited a Journal reporter to her practice session of naginata, a type of Japanese fencing. There, she sported a white cotton kimono paired with black baggy trousers, as she lunged at her opponent -- the wife of another former prime minister -- with a long wooden sword, giving a quick shout to express fighting spirit.

在2012年底安倍晉三重新執政後，安倍昭惠也重整旗鼓。在一次農業時裝秀活動上，她以身着寬鬆藍白條紋工作服、腳踏金色球鞋的形象登上了T型臺。她還邀請一位記者參觀了自己的薙刀（一種日本劍術）練習課。在練習課上，安倍昭惠身着白色棉質和服和黑色的寬鬆褲子，手持木質長柄薙刀向她的對手――另一名前首相夫人――發出了表達昂揚鬥志的短促利落的叫喊聲。

Mrs. Abe grew up in Tokyo, heir to a family owning a confectionery company, and met Mr. Abe, the scion of one of Japan's most prominent political families, while she was working at an ad agency. They have been married since 1987.

安倍昭惠是在東京長大的，出身於日本一個糖果企業家族。當她就職於一家廣告公司時，她遇到了來自日本顯赫政治世家的安倍晉三。兩人於1987年結婚。

Mrs. Abe says she was never career-oriented, but explored her own projects after her husband's first stint as prime minister ended in 2007. 'That was a period of setback and hardship for us as a couple. After a while, he decided to refocus on his political career. I felt like I needed to start my own life.' She went back to school and wrote a master's thesis on education in Myanmar. She started farming.

安倍昭惠表示，自己從未想過以事業爲重，但是，當安倍晉三的第一次首相生涯於2007年結束後，她開創了自己的事業。她說：“對我們夫妻倆來講，那段時期充滿了挫折和困難。不久之後，我丈夫決定重返政壇。我認爲我也有必要開始自己的生活。”此後，安倍昭惠回到學校，並且完成了一篇有關緬甸教育的碩士論文。她還開始了農產品的種植。

Then came the pub in October of last year, weeks before Mr. Abe returned to power. She says Mr. Abe agreed on two conditions: She didn't drink while working; and she must close it if she couldn't make a profit within a year. Has she met the financial goal? 'Yes. Just barely,' she said.

此後，安倍昭惠在去年10月開辦了這家居酒屋，幾周之後，安倍晉三再次登上了日本首相的座位。安倍晉三同意妻子繼續經營這間居酒屋，但是有兩個條件：第一，她在工作時不得飲酒；第二，如果居酒屋在一年內不能贏利，就必須關張。那麼，她是否已經達到了這個財務目標？安倍昭惠說：“是的，勉勉強強算是吧。”