安倍晋三缘何推动安保法案 Tokyo inches away from pacifism
In 1960 Nobusuke Kishi, then prime minister, rammed through legislation to strengthen Japan’s military alliance with the US. He did so despite strong objection from many voters, hundreds of thousands of whom poured on to the streets in protest. More than half a century later Shinzo Abe, Kishi’s grandson, is at it again.
1960年，时任日本首相岸信介(Nobusuke Kishi)强行推动立法，加强日本与美国的军事同盟。尽管遭到许多选民的强烈反对，成千上万的人涌上街头抗议，他还是一意孤行。半个多世纪后，岸信介的外孙、现任日本首相安倍晋三(Shinzo Abe)让这一幕再现了。
Last week, Mr Abe secured lower house approval for 11 bills that would make it marginally easier for Japanese troops to fight alongside their US allies. As things stand Japan’s armed forces — officially still called the Self Defence Forces because of restrictions imposed by the pacifist constitution — can defend Japan only if it is directly under attack.
上周，安倍促成众议院通过11项法案，这些法案将使日本军队能够更容易地与其美国盟友并肩作战。在目前的情况下，日本的武装力量——囿于和平宪法的规定，官方称谓仍是自卫队(Self Defence Forces)——只有在日本遭到直接攻击的情况下才能自卫。
As in his grandfather’s day, there were noisy demonstrations outside parliament and commotion inside. The vote was passed after the opposition walked out of the chamber. Now the bills must be ratified by the upper house, a process likely to take two controversial months. Even if the upper house rejects them, the lower house — where Mr Abe’s ruling coalition enjoys a hefty majority — is almost certain to drive them through.
像其外祖父所遭遇的情形一样，国会外是喧闹的抗议示威场面，而内部也是一片混乱。在反对派走出国会大厅后，法案被表决通过。现在，这些法案还必须经过参议院批准，这一充满争议的过程可能需要两个月时间。即使参议院驳回了这些法案，安倍执政联盟占多数议席的众议院也几乎肯定会推动它们通过。
Mr Abe has neither the votes nor the public backing to amend the constitution outright. Adopted under the American occupation in 1947, it can be changed only after a referendum. So Mr Abe has gone for second best by reinterpreting it instead. Under the new reading, disliked by constitutional experts, Japan will be allowed to engage in “collective self-defence”. That would enable it to come to the aid of allies — for which read the US — in the case of any conflict that could have an imminent impact on Japan’s security.
安倍既没有选票也没有公众支持来直接修改宪法。1947年日本在美军占领下实行的《和平宪法》，只有在全民公决之后才能进行修改。因此，安倍退而求其次——对宪法进行重新解释。根据新的解释（被宪法专家所厌恶），日本将被允许参与“集体自卫”。这将使日本在面对任何可能立即危及本国安全的冲突时，能够支援盟友（指美国）。
Mr Abe has done a lousy job at convincing the public that such changes are necessary. Yoichi Funabashi, chairman of the Rebuild Japan Initiative Foundation, says the administration is bogged down in detail and has failed to make an emotional case. It has been deliberately vague — one might say dishonest — in spelling out the conditions under which troops could offer logistical support to allies, or even fight alongside them. The public fears that Japan will be dragged into reckless US adventures, such as the invasion of Iraq.
安倍没能做好说服公众相信此类修订有其必要性的工作。日本再建基金会(Rebuild Japan Initiative Foundation)主席船桥洋一(Yoichi Funabashi)说，安倍政府纠结于细枝末节，未能打出情感牌。在说明日本军队在哪些情况下可以为盟友提供后勤支持，甚至与他们并肩作战时，安倍政府故意含糊其辞（人们也许会说其不诚实）。公众担心日本将被拖入美国不计后果的军事冒险中，就像入侵伊拉克行动。
Though it is never set out explicitly, the main motive for the security changes is China (though an unstable nuclear-armed North Korea is also stiffening resolve). Washington, for decades frustrated at what it regards as Japan’s freeriding on American military spending, has long pressed Tokyo to take more responsibility for its own defence.
虽然永远不会被挑明，但安倍修改安保法案的主要动因是中国（尽管拥有核武器且不稳定的朝鲜也坚定了他的决心)。对日本几十年来免费搭美国军事开支便车心怀不满的华盛顿，一直在敦促东京在本国防卫方面承担更多的责任。
Like his grandfather, Mr Abe is not giving Washington what it wants out of love for the US. He wants to strengthen the alliance for reasons of national interest. His grandfather, too, was determined to renew the US-Japan security treaty because he thought Japan would be safer as a result.
像其外祖父一样，安倍并非出于爱美国而满足华盛顿的要求。他是为了本国利益而希望强化美日同盟。他的外祖父决心更新美日安保条约，同样是因为他认为这样做可以让日本更安全。
Conservatives such as Mr Abe — and his grandfather before him — harbour resentment towards Washington for imposing what they see as victor’s justice. Kishi, who was in the wartime cabinet, was once arrested by US occupying forces as a suspected Class-A war criminal. Despite such reservations, conservatives still regard the alliance with Washington as the bedrock of Japan’s security and prosperity.
包括安倍（及其外祖父）在内的日本保守派其实对华盛顿怀有怨气，因为后者对日本施加了他们所认为的胜利者的正义。在战时内阁担任职务的岸信介，曾被美国占领军当作甲级战犯嫌疑人逮捕。尽管持有保留意见，但保守派仍将美日同盟视为日本安全与繁荣的基石。
Mr Abe, again in common with the grandfather he idolises, believes he is doing the right thing. Though his popularity has dropped sharply as a result of the national security bills, he will press ahead regardless. Kishi did so in the face of tremendous political adversity. Protests were so large that Tokyo was deemed unsafe for the planned visit of US President Dwight Eisenhower. A few months after the security treaty was acrimoniously ratified, Kishi resigned.
安倍相信自己正在做正确的事，他在这方面又一次与自己崇拜的外祖父有共同之处。虽然安保法案让他的支持率急剧下降，但他将不顾一切地继续推动这些法案。岸信介在面对巨大的政治逆境时就是这样做的。当时抗议活动的规模如此之大，对于计划到访的美国总统德怀特縠森豪威尔(Dwight Eisenhower)来说，东京被认为是不安全的。美日安保条约艰难获批几个月后，岸信介宣布辞职。
Events today are not quite so dramatic. Opponents of the bill, though many, are less vociferous. The media, shamefully, has mostly been cowed into silence by an administration that faces little serious parliamentary opposition. Mr Abe has few challengers within his party and is likely to remain in office until 2017. That would make him one of the country’s longest-serving prime ministers in recent memory.
今天的形势不会具有这样的戏剧性。安保法案的反对者虽然很多，但他们的呼声并不大。可耻的是，媒体被完全掌控议会的安倍政府吓得几乎陷入集体沉默。在党内，安倍基本上没有挑战者，他很可能执政到2017年。这将使他成为人们近代记忆中任职时间最长的首相之一。
