Japanese Newspaper Prints Apology for Using the Term ‘Sex Slaves’
日本報紙為將慰安婦稱為性奴道歉
TOKYO — The Yomiuri Shimbun, the conservative newspaper that is the largest-circulation daily in Japan, has apologized for using the term “sex slaves” to refer to the women many historians say were coerced into working in a sprawling network of brothels supervised by the Japanese military during World War II.
東京——日本發(fā)行量最大的日報、持保守派立場的《讀賣新聞》(Yomiuri Shimbun)表示道歉，因為它在指代二戰(zhàn)期間在日軍監(jiān)管下的龐大妓院網(wǎng)絡(luò)工作的婦女時，使用了“性奴”一詞。許多歷史學(xué)者認(rèn)為，這些婦女受到了脅迫。
In a challenge to the view held by those historians, as well as by the governments of South Korea and China, the newspaper said it was “inappropriate” to suggest that the women — of many nationalities and known euphemistically as comfort women — had been recruited against their will. Writing “as if coercion by the Japanese government or the army was an objective fact” was incorrect, it said.
《讀賣新聞》表示，說這些婦女——她們來自多個國家，也被稱為“慰安婦”——在違背其意愿的情況下遭日本政府與軍隊征召，是“不恰當(dāng)?shù)?rdquo;。這種說法挑戰(zhàn)了歷史學(xué)者以及韓國和中國政府的立場。該報稱，如果你寫作時表達(dá)的意思“就好像日本政府或軍隊的脅迫是客觀事實，”是不正確的。
The Yomiuri’s apology Friday for the use of the term “sex slave” in its English-language edition over more than two decades came as the newspaper campaigns to correct what it sees as unduly negative portrayals of Japan’s wartime behavior.
《讀賣新聞》周五為20多年來一直在英文版上使用“性奴”一詞表示道歉的同時，該報也正在掀起一場運(yùn)動，那就是糾正在它看來對日本戰(zhàn)時行為的大量負(fù)面描述。
The Yomiuri has for months castigated its liberal archrival, The Asahi Shimbun, over mistakes in its reporting on sexual abuses by the Japanese military during World War II. The Asahi Shimbun wrote articles in the 1980s and 1990s about a man who claimed to have kidnapped Korean women during the war and forced them into Japanese military brothels. The man turned out to be lying, and The Asahi’s retraction of those stories in August prompted The Yomiuri to accuse it of an “extremely grave” error that had damaged Japan’s international reputation.
《讀賣新聞》數(shù)月來一直在抨擊自由派的主要對手《朝日新聞》(Asahi Shimbun)，指責(zé)它在涉及二戰(zhàn)期間日軍性侵行為的報道中的錯誤。上世紀(jì)80、90年代，《朝日新聞》撰寫的一些文章稱，一名男子聲稱在戰(zhàn)爭中綁架了一些朝鮮婦女，并強(qiáng)迫她們進(jìn)入了日本軍隊的妓院。這名男子最終被證明是在說謊，《朝日新聞》今年8月撤回了相關(guān)報道，《讀賣新聞》因此譴責(zé)該報犯了“極其嚴(yán)重”的錯誤，破壞了日本的國際聲譽(yù)。
The debate over wartime history in Japan has intensified with the ascent of Shinzo Abe, the culturally conservative prime minister who regained power in 2012. Mr. Abe has made restoring pride in Japan’s past a central theme of his political career and has shown a willingness to intervene against news media outlets that he believes stand in the way of that cause. He has spoken out against The Asahi’s reporting on the brothels and installed supervisory board members at Japan’s national broadcaster, NHK.
隨著安倍晉三(Shinzo Abe)的上位，有關(guān)日本戰(zhàn)時歷史的討論變得更加激烈。這位文化上持保守立場的首相在2012年重新掌權(quán)，他已經(jīng)把恢復(fù)對日本歷史的驕傲變成了其政治生涯的一個核心主題，并表現(xiàn)出對在他看來妨礙了這項事業(yè)的媒體進(jìn)行干預(yù)的意愿。他已經(jīng)公開譴責(zé)了《朝日新聞》對軍隊妓院的報道，并在日本國家電視廣播公司 NHK的監(jiān)督委員會里安插了多名成員。
The Yomiuri’s chairman, Tsuneo Watanabe, is a close associate of Mr. Abe’s, and the newspaper firmly backs the prime minister. With the apology, it appeared less to be bending with the conservative wind than stoking its power. Critics sensed a political statement disguised as an admission of guilt.
《讀賣新聞》的會長渡邊恒雄(Tsuneo Watanabe)是安倍晉三的親密盟友，該報堅定地支持這位首相。隨著道歉的刊出，它似乎更多的是在強(qiáng)化自己的實力，而不僅是向保守主義風(fēng)潮低頭。批評人士感到，這份道歉表面上是認(rèn)錯，實際上卻是一個政治聲明。
“It’s no mistake to see the Abe administration’s views reflected in the Yomiuri article,” Koichi Nakano, a political scientist at Sophia University in Tokyo, said in a post on Twitter.
“認(rèn)為《讀賣新聞》的文章反映了安倍政府的立場，這是沒錯的，”東京上智大學(xué)(Sophia University)政治學(xué)者中野晃一(Koichi Nakano)在Twitter上發(fā)帖說。