日本最大軍火生產商尋求擴大對外軍售

Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Japan’s biggest arms producer, is taking aim at more deals to sell its weapons abroad, according to its chief executive, as it revamps efforts to win a $36bn submarine contract from Australia.

日本最大軍火生產商三菱重工(Mitsubishi Heavy Industries)的社長宮永俊一(Shunichi Miyanaga)表示，該公司正尋求擴大對海外的軍火銷售。爲贏得澳大利亞一筆價值360億美元的潛艇合同，該公司調整了相關努力。

“We need to preserve the defence industry in a healthy form to strengthen Japan’s security,” Shunichi Miyanaga said in an interview. “In order to maintain and enhance our technology, we need to seek more opportunities [for arms exports].”

宮永在接受採訪時表示：“我們需要使國防工業保持在一種健康狀態下，以加強日本的安全。爲了保持和提高我們的技術，我們需要（爲軍火出口）尋求更多機會。”

Mr Miyanaga’s language marks a subtle shift from past reluctance among Japanese companies to openly talk about military technology and the arms business, which remain sensitive issues for neighbouring countries as well as the domestic public.

日本企業以往不願公開談論軍事技術和軍火生意，因爲對日本的鄰國以及日本國內民衆來說，這些仍屬於敏感話題。宮永的言論標誌着一個微妙的轉變。

It is also a welcome transition for Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, who ended Japan’s self-imposed ban on the export of weapons in 2014.

對日本首相安倍晉三(Shinzo Abe)來說，這也是一個值得歡迎的轉變。安倍在2014年終止了日本自我施加的武器出口禁令。

Last week, Mr Abe’s cabinet approved a record defence budget of Y5.1tn ($42bn) — an increase of 1.5 per cent year-on-year — for 2016-2017 to bolster security amid a territorial dispute with China.

在日本與中國存在領土爭端之際，爲了加強國家安全，安倍內閣於上週批准了2016-17年度防務預算，預算額達5.1萬億日元（合420億美元），創下了紀錄，同比增幅爲1.5%。

While Japanese companies have sophisticated military technology, defence represents only a fraction of their business: MHI itself earns just a tenth of its total $33bn in revenue from weapons sales.

雖然日本企業擁有先進的軍事技術，但國防業務在它們的業務裏只佔一小部分。三菱重工330億美元的總營收中，僅有十分之一來自武器銷售。

The group is also part of broader Japanese efforts to launch an aviation comeback. It is building the country’s first commercial aircraft — the Mitsubishi Regional Jet — though has just delayed its delivery once again, by about a year to mid-2018.

三菱重工還是日本復興航空業的更宏大努力的參與者。該公司正在建造日本首款商用飛機“三菱支線噴氣式飛機”(MRJ)，儘管不久前該公司再度推遲了交貨時間。這一次，交貨時間推遲了大約一年，推遲到2018年年中。

Even with strong backing from Mr Abe, initial efforts to expand military sales have foundered given the country’s isolation from foreign arms markets since its defeat in the second world war.

儘管有安倍的大力支持，但由於日本自二戰戰敗以來一直未參與國際軍火市場，其爲擴大軍售而付出的初步努力已遭遇挫折。

MHI and Kawasaki Heavy Industries were poised to land a A$50bn ($36bn) contract to build Australia’s new submarines. But Tokyo’s initial proposal that the fleet be built in Japan sparked concerns that jobs in Australia would be lost, allowing competitors ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems of Germany and France’s DCNS to gain ground in the contest.

三菱重工和川崎重工(Kawasaki Heavy Industries)打算贏得一筆價值500億澳元（合360億美元）的爲澳大利亞建造新潛艇的合同。但東京方面最初提議在日本建造這批潛艇，這讓一些人擔心澳大利亞的工作崗位會因此流失。這一提議使得德國蒂森克虜伯海事系統公司(ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems)以及法國DCNS等競爭對手在這場競賽中取得了一定優勢。

The Japanese delegation has since altered its proposal and promised that the Soryu submarines would be built at Australian shipyards.

日本代表團後來更改了提議，承諾將在澳大利亞船廠建造“蒼龍級”（Soryu）潛艇。