日本大米危機：一場經濟與政治的考驗

1

導讀

1918 年日本因大米價格飆升引發米騷動，政府倒台。如今日本大米價格自 2024 年初上漲超 100%，農業大臣遠藤太郎因不當言論辭職。

日本大米產業受國家指導，自給率高，但 2023 年收成不佳衝擊市場，政府為平抑價格大量出售儲備，導致陳米充斥市場。新任農業大臣小泉進次郎出台措施防止大米轉售，而日本人口老齡化嚴重，政府面臨參議院選舉，需應對大米問題以防政治危機。

2

地道表達

Carry a prison sentence - “被判處監禁”或“被判入獄”。通常用來描述某種行為或犯罪會導致的法律後果，即被判處在監獄中服刑。

[例]：Driving under the influence of alcohol can carry a prison sentence in many countries.（在許多國家，酒後駕駛可能會被判處監禁。）

相關短語：

carry a fine：罰款

carry a penalty：受到懲罰

carry a punishment：受到處罰

Long in the tooth - 用來形容某人或某物已經很老了。這個表達通常用於非正式場合，帶有幽默或詼諧的語氣。

[例]：This car is getting a bit long in the tooth; it's time to get a new one.（這輛車有點舊了，是時候換一輛新的了。）

相關短語：

over the hill：過氣了；年紀大了

past one's prime：過了巔峰期

show one's age：顯老

3

｜原文｜翻譯｜字詞｜

Paddy problems

稻米問題

Japan is obsessed with rice, and prices have gone ballistic

日本對大米的痴迷導致大米價格暴漲

A little more than a century ago, in July 1918, the wives of fishermen in Toyama began to protest against the export of rice from their prefecture. The unrest, which was triggered by the staple grain’s surging price, then spread across Japan. Ultimately, the so-called rice riots were violently extinguished by 100,000 troops; an action that would in time bring down the government.

一個世紀多以前，1918年7月，富山縣的漁民的妻子們開始抗議從他們的縣出口大米。這種動盪是由主食大米價格飆升引發的，隨後蔓延到日本各地。最終，所謂的米騷動被100,000名士兵暴力鎮壓；這一行動最終導致了政府的倒台。

Japan is not often considered to be a nation of unrest. But it takes rice seriously. Eto Taku, the country’s agriculture minister, discovered as much in May, when he was forced to resign after a ham-fisted joke. Mr Eto said that he did not have to worry about the price of rice, because his supporters made sure to buy it for him. That was quite a statement, given prices have now risen by more than 100% since the beginning of 2024. He resigned in the uproar that followed.

日本通常不被認為是動盪的國家。但對大米很重視。日本農業大臣遠藤太郎在5月就發現了這一點，當時他因為一個笨拙的玩笑被迫辭職。遠藤先生說，他不必擔心大米的價格，因為他的支持者會為他購買大米。鑑於自2024年初以來價格已經上漲了超過100%，這番話可謂相當有份量。他隨後在一片嘩然中辭職。

obsess /əbˈses/ - v.痴迷；使著迷；使迷戀

ballistic /bəˈlɪstɪk/ - adj.彈道(學)的；發射的

prefecture /ˈpriːfektʃə(r)/ - n.縣；省；(法、意、日等國的)地方行政區域

unrest /ʌnˈrest/ - n. 動盪；動亂；騷動

staple /ˈsteɪpl/ - n.主食；主要產品；訂書釘；U形釘；

riot /ˈraɪət/ - n.騷亂；暴亂

extinguish /ɪkˈstɪŋɡwɪʃ/ - vt.熄滅；撲滅；消滅

resign /rɪˈzaɪn/ - v.辭職；辭去；放棄；屈從

ham-fisted /ˌhæm ˈfɪstɪd/ - adj.笨手笨腳的；愚笨的

uproar /ˈʌprɔː(r)/ - n.騷動；喧囂；吵鬧

Some residents grumble that tourists, who are arriving in Japan in record numbers, are snaffling the fluffy carbohydrates. In reality, the country’s state-directed agriculture industry, a clubbish relationship between farmers and ministers, and protectionist measures against overseas growers have created the mighty squeeze. Japan grows 99% of the rice it consumes, approaching autarky. Production is therefore highly vulnerable to shocks. A poor harvest in 2023 is still hurting the market.

一些居民抱怨說，創紀錄數量的的遊客正在搶購鬆軟的碳水化合物（大米）。實際上，該國由國家指導的農業產業、農民與部長之間的排他性關係以及針對海外種植者的保護主義措施造成了巨大的壓力。日本種植了其消費的99%的大米，接近自給自足。因此，生產極易受到衝擊的影響。2023年的收成不佳仍在對市場造成傷害。

The government has all but emptied its vast reserves in an attempt to bring prices back to Earth. The Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries ordinarily stores around 910,000 tonnes of rice, equivalent to one or two months of demand. After repeated sales this year, the reserve has only 100,000-odd tonnes left. The Japanese language reflects this development. Komai (old rice) describes last year’s harvest. So much rice has been released that the terms kokomai (old, old rice) and kokokomai (old, old, old rice) have soared in popularity. They are used to describe the two- and three-year-old vintages now being sold in stores.

政府幾乎耗盡了其龐大的儲備，試圖讓價格回到正常水平。農業、林業和漁業部通常儲存約91萬噸大米，相當於一到兩個月的需求量。經過今年的多次銷售，儲備只剩下大約10萬噸。日語反映了這一發展。“古米”（komai）描述的是去年的收成。由於釋放了如此多的大米，描述兩年前和三年前收成的“古古米”（kokomai）和“古古古米”（kokokomai）的使用頻率急劇上升。它們被用來描述現在商店裡出售的兩到三年前的陳米。

grumble /ˈɡrʌmbl/ - v. 抱怨；嘟囔

snaffle /ˈsnæfl/ - v. 搶購；奪取

fluffy /ˈflʌfi/ - adj.毛茸茸的；鬆軟的；絨毛般的

clubbish /ˈklʌbɪʃ/ - adj. 排他的；小團體的

autarky /ˈɔːtɑːrki/ - n. 自給自足；經濟獨立

vulnerable /ˈvʌlnərəbl/ - adj.脆弱的；易受…傷害的

popularity /ˌpɒpjuˈlærəti/ - n.人氣；受歡迎；普及；流行

vintage /ˈvɪntɪdʒ/ - n.釀造年份；葡萄收穫期；特定年份釀製的酒

Things are getting desperate for the government. Earlier this month Koizumi Shinjiro, the agriculture minister who replaced Mr Eto, announced measures intended to prevent the purchase of rice for resale. From June 23rd selling grains for more than their original retail price will carry a prison sentence of one year, or a fine(此處指罰款, 罰金) of up to ¥1m ($6,900).

政府的情況變得十分危急。本月早些時候，取代遠藤的農業大臣小泉進次郎宣佈了旨在防止大米轉售的措施。從6月23日起，以高於原零售價的價格出售穀物將被處以一年監禁或高達100萬日元（約合6900美元）的罰款。

With a median age of almost 50, Japan is the world’s oldest big country. Citizens are probably too long in the tooth to repeat the riots of a century ago. But that is not to say the government will escape unscathed. Elections for the upper house of parliament are scheduled for July. Ishiba Shigeru’s government must hope it does not have to dust off the kokokokomai to prevent defeat.

日本的中位年齡接近50歲，是世界上老齡化程度最高的大國。公民們可能太老了，無法重演一個世紀前的暴動。但這並不意味著政府會毫髮無損地逃脫。參議院的選舉定於7月舉行。石破茂的政府必須希望它不必動用“古古古古米”來防止失敗。

unscathed /ʌnˈskeɪðd/ - adj.毫髮無損的；未受傷害的

parliament /ˈpɑːləmənt/ - n.議會；國會

dust /dʌst/ - v.撒(粉)；擦去；撣去；擦去…的灰塵 (ChrisChris的外刊閱讀筆記)