丑态百出日本副首相把愤怒对准年轻女性

Japanese Finance Minister Taro Aso in Brisbane on November 15, 2014

日本财政部长麻生太郎在布里斯班，2014年11月15日

After telling Japan's growing ranks of elderly they should "hurry up anddie", Finance Minister Taro Aso has turned his well-worn gaffe gun on "people who don't give birth".

在对日本日益增长的老年人发表“应该赶快去死”的言论后，财政部长麻生太郎把他的陈旧的嘴炮对准了那些“不生孩子的人”。

The former prime minister, whose mouth has a habit of running away with him,said pensioners were not to blame for the spiralling social welfare costs of arapidly ageing society.

前首相麻生太郎经常满嘴炮灰车，他说在急速老龄化的社会，居高不下的福利支出不能怪罪于领养老金的退休人员。

"There are many people who are creating the image that (the increasing number of) elderly people is bad, but more problematic is people who don't give birth," Aso said in a speech in Sapporo, local media reported Monday.

“很多人的观念中老年人数量日益增长是件糟糕的事，但那些不愿生孩子的人才是更严重的问题。”麻生在札幌的一次演讲中说道，当地媒体于周一报道了此事。

The comments came as Aso was stumping ahead of a general election on Sunday.

在周日大选前麻生陷入僵局的时候，评论纷至。

Japan has a birth rate -- the average number of children a woman has in her lifetime -- of around 1.4, far below replacement level. This gives it aninverted age pyramid and a falling tax base.

日本的出生率——每个女人一生中拥有孩子的平均数量——在1.4上下，远低于更替水平。这使得日本人的年龄结构呈倒金字塔形，并使得税基下降。

A dearth of childcare, financial insecurity and gloom about the future have all been blamed for the lack of children in Japan.

儿童保育的缺乏、财政安全的不确定、以及对未来的忧虑都被归结于日本缺少儿童，因而被倍加指责。

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe (L) and Deputy Prime Minister Taro Aso leave a parliament session in Tokyo on November 21, 2014

日本首相安倍晋三（左）和副首相麻生太郎离开国会会议，东京，2014年11月21日

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has repeatedly pledged he will boost women's participation in the labour market and make structural changes that will mean they are not forced to make a choice between having a career or having a family.

首相安倍晋三再三保证他将促进妇女参与进劳动市场，并将对结构做出改变，这意味着妇女们不必再被迫从就业和家庭之间做出抉择。

Aso, who is also Abe's deputy, has form in offending various sections of the electorate, although criticism of his gaffes tends to run like water off aduck's back.

麻生是安倍的副手，他已经冒犯了几个区的选民，即使他的口误已经像滴在鸭子羽毛上的水消失的无影无踪了。

Over the weekend, he reportedly also said businesses that do not make money areeither "unlucky or incompetent".

周末，报道称他还说过那些不挣钱的生意要么是不够幸运，要么就是无能。

In July last year he said Tokyo could learn from Nazi Germany when it comes toconstitutional reform.

在去年7月，他说东京在宪法改革方面可以效仿德国纳粹。

Six months earlier, he said the elderly should be allowed to "hurry up and die"instead of costing the government money for end-of-life medical care.

六个月前，他说老年人应该被允许“赶快去死”，而不是花费政府的钱为他们提供终生的医疗保健。