2007年VOA标准英语-Japan's Ruling Party Chooses New Leader

By Naomi Martig
Hong Kong
23 September 2007

Japan's ruling party has chosen the country's longest-serving chief cabinet secretary, Yasuo Fukuda, to lead the party and succeed Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.  A spokesman for Japan's Liberal Democratic Party announced the results of Sunday's presidential election a few hours after lawmakers cast their ballots¹. 

Fukuda, a political moderate with years of government experience, won 330 of the 527 valid² votes. His rival, the conservative former foreign minister, Taro³ Aso, won 197 votes VOA's Naomi Martig reports from Hong Kong.

Like many lawmakers in Japan, Yasuo Fukuda comes from a political family.  He was born in 1936 on the main island of Honshu, the eldest⁴ son of future Prime Minister Takeo Fukuda.

Yasuo served as political secretary during his father's time in office, from 1976 to 1978.  In 2000, then-Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori appointed the younger Fukuda chief cabinet secretary.  He retained that post well into the term of Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi, stepping down in May of 2004.  This made him the longest-serving chief cabinet secretary in the country's history.

Analysts⁵ say he lasted so long in the job because of his ability to build bridges between the prime minister's office, the ministries⁶, and factions⁷ within the party.

Tomohito Shinoda is a political science professor at the International University of Japan.  He says Fukuda has less experience than some other veteran LDP members, but his time as cabinet secretary equips him to serve as the nation's leader.

"So he knows the…challenges and difficulties we are facing both in domestic affairs and foreign affairs.  That is his strength," shinoda said.

A soft-spoken man, Fukuda is willing to compromise in the interest of good relations with Japan's neighbors.

He has joined other legislators in proposing a secular⁸ alternative to the controversial Yasukuni shrine⁹, which honors all of Japan's war dead, including a number of convicted war criminals from World War Two.

China and South Korea, which suffered under Japanese militarism, view the shrine as a glorification¹⁰ of Japan's wartime past, and the two countries were angered by former Prime Minister Koizumi's frequent visits to the shrine. Fukuda says that as prime minister, he will not visit Yasukuni.

This is not the first time Fukuda has run for LDP president.  He announced his candidacy to replace Mr. Koizumi in 2006, but he dropped out of the race before the election was held.

Fukuda is also no stranger to scandal.  His resignation as chief cabinet secretary came after revelations that he and other ministers had failed to pay their required amount into the national pension system.  He said his failure to pay was not deliberate.  

1 ballots   

n.投票表决( ballot的名词复数 )；选举；选票；投票总数v.（使）投票表决( ballot的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• They're counting the ballots. 他们正在计算选票。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The news of rigged ballots has rubbed off much of the shine of their election victory. 他们操纵选票的消息使他们在选举中获得的胜利大为减色。 来自《简明英汉词典》

2 valid   

adj.有确实根据的；有效的；正当的，合法的

参考例句：

• His claim to own the house is valid.他主张对此屋的所有权有效。
• Do you have valid reasons for your absence?你的缺席有正当理由吗？

3 taro   

n.芋，芋头

参考例句：

• Main grain crop has taro,corn,banana to wait.主要粮食作物有芋头、玉米、芭蕉等。
• You celebrate your birthday with taro,red bean and butter.用红豆、芋头和黄油给自己过生日。

4 eldest   

adj.最年长的，最年老的

参考例句：

• The King's eldest son is the heir to the throne.国王的长子是王位的继承人。
• The castle and the land are entailed on the eldest son.城堡和土地限定由长子继承。

5 analysts   

分析家，化验员( analyst的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• City analysts forecast huge profits this year. 伦敦金融分析家预测今年的利润非常丰厚。
• I was impressed by the high calibre of the researchers and analysts. 研究人员和分析人员的高素质给我留下了深刻印象。

6 ministries   

（政府的）部( ministry的名词复数 )； 神职； 牧师职位； 神职任期

参考例句：

• Local authorities must refer everything to the central ministries. 地方管理机构应请示中央主管部门。
• The number of Ministries has been pared down by a third. 部委的数量已经减少了1/3。

7 factions   

组织中的小派别，派系( faction的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The gens also lives on in the "factions." 氏族此外还继续存在于“factions〔“帮”〕中。 来自英汉非文学 - 家庭、私有制和国家的起源
• rival factions within the administration 政府中的对立派别

8 secular   

n.牧师，凡人；adj.世俗的，现世的，不朽的

参考例句：

• We live in an increasingly secular society.我们生活在一个日益非宗教的社会。
• Britain is a plural society in which the secular predominates.英国是个世俗主导的多元社会。

9 shrine   

n.圣地，神龛，庙；v.将...置于神龛内，把...奉为神圣

参考例句：

• The shrine was an object of pilgrimage.这处圣地是人们朝圣的目的地。
• They bowed down before the shrine.他们在神龛前鞠躬示敬。

10 glorification   

n.赞颂

参考例句：

• Militant devotion to and glorification of one's country; fanatical patriotism. 对国家的军事效忠以及美化；狂热的爱国主义。
• Glorification-A change of place, a new condition with God. 得荣─在神面前新处境，改变了我们的结局。