日本上院选举 修宪应慎重为之(1)

 　　No one can be happier than Shinzo Abe that Sunday’s upper house election tipped the legislative¹ balance in favour of lawmakers open to revising Japan’s constitution.

　　7月10号日本上院选举结果使立法天平向修宪派立法者倾斜，对此没有谁比安倍晋三(Shinzo Abe)更高兴了。

　　But throwing off the constraints² that followed military defeat and occupation, long an ambition of the prime minister, will be far less important than building a firm foundation for the nation’s future.

　　但是，相比为日本的未来奠定一个坚实基础，摆脱日本在遭遇战败和占领后被施加的约束远远没有那么重要。

　　A growing number of Japanese people seem taken with the notion that they should try crafting their own constitution.

　　越来越多的日本人似乎接受了他们应该尝试制定自己的宪法这一想法。

　　The 100 or so articles of the 1947 document, drafted under occupation by the Allied³ powers, offset⁴ the power of the prewar state by strengthening the individual rights that support popular sovereignty.

　　1947年版的现行“和平宪法”在盟军占领时期起草，其100来条内容强调个人权利，支持人民主权，削弱了战前的国家权力。

　　They protect the choices — of religion, work, protest, due process — Japanese citizens today take for granted.

　　这部宪法保护了人民在宗教、工作、抗议、正当法律程序上的自由选择权，如今日本公民对这些权利习以为常。

　　As tensions intensify⁵ across Asia — in the South China Sea, for example — the focus is largely on Article 9, the “no war” clause.

　　随着亚洲各地紧张局势加剧——例如在南中国海——修宪的关注点主要集中在第9条“放弃战争”。

　　Japan’s military decisions are increasingly shaped by its neighbours’ rising capabilities⁶. North Korea’s pursuit of nuclear weapons prompted Tokyo to invest heavily in ballistic missile defence. China’s growing maritime⁷ reach has drawn⁸ attention to Japan’s readiness to defend its waters and its islands.

　　日本的军事决定日益受到其邻国实力崛起的影响。朝鲜发展核武器促使东京方面大举投资弹道导弹防御。中国海上触角越伸越长，令人关注日本是否准备好防卫其海域和岛屿。

　　Last year Mr Abe’s cabinet reinterpreted the constitution to allow the military to co-operate with others, primarily the US, if its own security is threatened.

　　去年，安倍内阁重新解释了宪法，允许军方在自身安全受到威胁的情况下与盟军（主要是美国）合作。

　　Mr Abe’s push to revise the constitution is widely perceived as a way to free Japan’s Self-Defense Force from its postwar restrictions⁹, but the debate is in fact about far more than this.

　　安倍推动修宪被普遍认为是为了给日本自卫队解除战后限制的枷锁，但是实际上这场辩论的意义远不止于此。

　　Revising the constitution would equate¹⁰ to nothing less than weighing up the balance of forces that will sustain Japanese democracy throughout the 21st century.

　　修宪将相当于重新调整力量平衡，面向整个21世纪为日本的民主体制保驾护航。

　　In 1947, the aim was to strip the aristocracy of its economic and political influence. One of the most progressive elements of the document was the establishment of rights for women.

　　1947年宪法意在剥夺贵族的经济和政治影响力。该文件中最进步的元素之一是确立妇女权利。

　　The state set up under the postwar constitution was a far cry from its predecessor¹¹.

　　根据和平宪法重建的国家体制与前身完全不同。

1 legislative   

n.立法机构，立法权；adj.立法的，有立法权的

参考例句：

• Congress is the legislative branch of the U.S. government.国会是美国政府的立法部门。
• Today's hearing was just the first step in the legislative process.今天的听证会只是展开立法程序的第一步。

2 constraints   

强制( constraint的名词复数 )； 限制； 约束

参考例句：

• Data and constraints can easily be changed to test theories. 信息库中的数据和限制条件可以轻易地改变以检验假设。 来自英汉非文学 - 科学史
• What are the constraints that each of these imply for any design? 这每种产品的要求和约束对于设计意味着什么？ 来自About Face 3交互设计精髓

3 allied   

adj.协约国的；同盟国的

参考例句：

• Britain was allied with the United States many times in history.历史上英国曾多次与美国结盟。
• Allied forces sustained heavy losses in the first few weeks of the campaign.同盟国在最初几周内遭受了巨大的损失。

4 offset   

n.分支，补偿；v.抵消，补偿

参考例句：

• Their wage increases would be offset by higher prices.他们增加的工资会被物价上涨所抵消。
• He put up his prices to offset the increased cost of materials.他提高了售价以补偿材料成本的增加。

5 intensify   

vt.加强；变强；加剧

参考例句：

• We must intensify our educational work among our own troops.我们必须加强自己部队的教育工作。
• They were ordered to intensify their patrols to protect our air space.他们奉命加强巡逻，保卫我国的领空。

6 capabilities   

n.能力( capability的名词复数 )；可能；容量；[复数]潜在能力

参考例句：

• He was somewhat pompous and had a high opinion of his own capabilities. 他有点自大，自视甚高。 来自辞典例句
• Some programmers use tabs to break complex product capabilities into smaller chunks. 一些程序员认为，标签可以将复杂的功能分为每个窗格一组简单的功能。 来自About Face 3交互设计精髓

7 maritime   

adj.海的，海事的，航海的，近海的，沿海的

参考例句：

• Many maritime people are fishermen.许多居于海滨的人是渔夫。
• The temperature change in winter is less in maritime areas.冬季沿海的温差较小。

8 drawn   

v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的

参考例句：

• All the characters in the story are drawn from life.故事中的所有人物都取材于生活。
• Her gaze was drawn irresistibly to the scene outside.她的目光禁不住被外面的风景所吸引。

9 restrictions   

约束( restriction的名词复数 )； 管制； 制约因素； 带限制性的条件（或规则）

参考例句：

• I found the restrictions irksome. 我对那些限制感到很烦。
• a snaggle of restrictions 杂乱无章的种种限制

10 equate   

v.同等看待，使相等

参考例句：

• You can't equate passing examination and being intelligent.你不能把考试及格看成是聪明。
• You cannot equate his poems with his plays.你不可以把他的诗歌和他的剧本相提并论。

11 predecessor   

n.前辈，前任

参考例句：

• It will share the fate of its predecessor.它将遭受与前者同样的命运。
• The new ambassador is more mature than his predecessor.新大使比他的前任更成熟一些。