探秘日本首相最亲密的批评者

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.

在去年以压倒性优势赢得了两轮选举之后，拥有极高人气和强大权势的日本首相安倍晋三(Shinzo Abe)几乎获得了国会的全面支持。安倍晋三影响力最大的政策批评者之一现在经营着一家名为“UZU”――又名“漩涡”(Tidal Swirl)――的居酒屋，这家居酒屋隐藏在东京一处破败商业区的偏僻巷子中。

'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.

不久前的一个午后，这位51岁的居酒屋老板阐述了自己对于安倍晋三签署旨在让日本农民参与全球竞争的自由贸易协定的反感：“我不希望农产品被当成工业品那样对待。”在她只有二十几个座位和一个狭窄的开放式厨房的居酒屋里，她向客人们供应一种有机“昭惠米”(Akie Rice)，这种有机米产自位于首相自家农庄内的“昭惠农园”(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.

在不经营居酒屋的时候，安倍昭惠(Akie Abe)会履行自己作为日本第一夫人的职责，比如会见各国首脑以及颁发各种奖项等。但是，这位快言快语的第一夫人从来都不掩饰自己对丈夫政治主张的逆耳忠言，就像这次，继安倍晋三在福岛事件发生还不到三年时就为核能做出坚定的辩护后，安倍昭惠发表讲话称自己在这件事上是“家庭中的反对派”。

'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《华尔街日报》(The Wall Street Journal)采访时表示：“我们无法保证，灾难不会再次发生。”在安倍晋三上任近一年后，这是安倍昭惠首次接受外国媒体的采访。作为一名Facebook的活跃用户，她经常用智能手机发布有关自己日常活动的内容，她曾经上传过一张她本人拍摄于核撤离区内的牛尸体的照片。

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，安倍昭惠似乎未能对安倍晋三的执政决策产生任何影响。但是，她已经激怒日本首相的支持者，并树立了一些敌人。一些日本媒体把她称作安倍晋三的负担，而另一些人则认为第一夫人是帮助安倍晋三提高支持率的秘密武器。

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.

第一夫人的反核言论使反对党的一名议员对安倍晋三谴责有加，他认为这位59岁的日本首相甚至没有能力在小范围内取得共识。在日本国会大厅，这名反对党议员高举起了粘贴有第一夫人和日本前首相小泉纯一郎(Junichiro Koizumi)的照片的牌子。作为安倍晋三的政治导师，小泉纯一郎最近也发表了去核言论。

'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.'

安倍晋三微笑着回应道：“我必须得承认，他们两位在我的生活中都是极其重要的人物。但是，作为政府，我们必须要保证稳定的能源供应。”

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.

在日韩关系的敏感期，当安倍晋三受到韩国方面的冷遇之际，安倍昭惠发布了一张自己正在搅拌一大锅著名韩式料理石锅拌饭的照片。照片拍摄于今年9月在东京举办的某韩国节日的庆祝活动上，安倍昭惠的身旁还站着数位韩国高官。这张照片给第一夫人带来了数百条负面评论，比如“向韩国人卑躬屈膝”和“损害日本的国家利益”等。但是，第一夫人发布的这张照片也收获了超过2,000个“赞”，并受到了韩国外交部发言人的赞赏。

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，正当美国副总统拜登(Joe Biden)在访日期间敦促安倍晋三为改善日韩关系作出更大努力时，安倍昭惠则出席了一个展示日韩两国儿童画作的艺术展。她表示：“让我们的孩子通过画作了解对方至关重要。我相信，儿童将缔造日韩关系的未来。”

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

日本首相办公室未同意对本文置评。

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.

安倍昭惠在帮助丈夫赢得选民的青睐上发挥了一定的作用。她曾经与公众分享过丈夫的私人生活片段，比如安倍晋三清晨时头发杂乱、睡眼惺忪的照片和他在深夜穿着睡裤吃雪糕的照片。在另一张照片中，安倍晋三用筷子夹着肉喂他们的宠物狗，这对膝下无子的夫妇养了一条名叫罗伊(Roy)的小达克斯狗。在有些人批评安倍晋三用筷子的方式不正确，并给他扣上藐视日本文化的帽子后，粉丝们联合起来表示了对他们的支持。

'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.'

五野井郁夫(Ikuo Gonoi)表示：“安倍昭惠一直是她丈夫的缓冲器。”五野井郁夫是一位研究安倍晋三影响力的政治学家。五野井郁夫认为，安倍晋三面对着双重压力，一方面，保守派要求他执行更加强势的外交政策，另一方面，自由派批评他太过强硬。五野井郁夫称：“安倍昭惠的言行使安倍晋三保持了一种温和的形象。”

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.

安倍昭惠的直率言论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随意性。在日本，美国式的推手和形象专家还相对少见。

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?'

安倍昭惠并不是第一位掀起过风波的日本第一夫人。鸠山幸(Miyuki Hatoyama)在她的丈夫于2009年出任首相的前一年，出版了一本引发大众关注的书。在书中，她描述了自己被外星人绑架的经历。 (她写道：“当我的身体还在熟睡之时，我觉得我的灵魂搭上了一个三角形的UFO，并飞到了金星。”) 另一位前首相夫人菅伸子(Nobuko Kan)则出版了一本名为《如果你是首相，你能改变什么？》(What Could Possibly Change If You Were Prime Minister?)的书，将矛头直指自己的丈夫。

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.

在安倍晋三2006年首次就任首相的短暂日子里，安倍昭惠就因为在与丈夫第一次出访别国时与丈夫携手走下飞机舷梯的举动使公众大感意外。日本的公众人物很少像这样感情外露。新闻媒体仔细地审视着这位颇为上镜的第一夫人的时尚装束，并对她张扬的生活方式颇有微词。在一张安倍夫妇在某位知名歌手家中参加奢华假期聚会的照片引起争议后，安倍昭惠关闭了自己的个人博客。

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年底安倍晋三重新执政后，安倍昭惠也重整旗鼓。在一次农业时装秀活动上，她以身着宽松蓝白条纹工作服、脚踏金色球鞋的形象登上了T型台。她还邀请一位记者参观了自己的薙刀（一种日本剑术）练习课。在练习课上，安倍昭惠身着白色棉质和服和黑色的宽松裤子，手持木质长柄薙刀向她的对手――另一名前首相夫人――发出了表达昂扬斗志的短促利落的叫喊声。

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.

安倍昭惠是在东京长大的，出身于日本一个糖果企业家族。当她就职于一家广告公司时，她遇到了来自日本显赫政治世家的安倍晋三。两人于1987年结婚。

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，自己从未想过以事业为重，但是，当安倍晋三的第一次首相生涯于2007年结束后，她开创了自己的事业。她说：“对我们夫妻俩来讲，那段时期充满了挫折和困难。不久之后，我丈夫决定重返政坛。我认为我也有必要开始自己的生活。”此后，安倍昭惠回到学校，并且完成了一篇有关缅甸教育的硕士论文。她还开始了农产品的种植。

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.

此后，安倍昭惠在去年10月开办了这家居酒屋，几周之后，安倍晋三再次登上了日本首相的座位。安倍晋三同意妻子继续经营这间居酒屋，但是有两个条件：第一，她在工作时不得饮酒；第二，如果居酒屋在一年内不能赢利，就必须关张。那么，她是否已经达到了这个财务目标？安倍昭惠说：“是的，勉勉强强算是吧。”