鸠山由纪夫今将出任日本首相

A new political party is taking power in Japan on Wednesday. The Democratic Party of Japan defeated the Liberal Democrats¹ in the general election last month, making party leader Yukio Hatoyama the first prime minister from outside the LDP in nearly 15 years.

Yukio Hatoyama campaigned (竞选)on a promise of change, but his personal story does not represent a break from Japan's political past. Like many previous Japanese prime ministers, Mr. Hatoyama comes from a wealthy family - and occupies a seat in the parliament once held by his father. His grandfather, Ichiro Hatoyama, served as prime minister in the 1950s.

Minoru Morita is a political analyst² in Japan.

Morita says Mr. Hatoyama's personal story has been well documented in Japan. But that is about all most Japanese people know about their new leader.


Mr. Hatoyama never expected to become prime minister. Unlike his brother Kunio who majored in political science in college, Yukio Hatoyama studied engineering at the University of Tokyo. He did advanced studies in the United States at Stanford University, and went on to become a professor. The brothers are heirs to the Bridgestone tire fortune.

Mr. Hatoyama later followed in his father's footsteps - taking over his parliament seat in Hokkaido.

But the man who becomes Japan's prime minister on Wednesday was not even in the political spotlight³ four months ago. Former DPJ （民主党）head Ichiro Ozawa was seen as the next leader of Japan. A political financing scandal, however, forced Ozawa to resign as party chief, and Mr. Hatoyama stepped in.

Ozawa, however, recently took the post of party secretary general, which keeps him closely involved in party and government activities.


Mr. Hatoyama's slogan - "Sei-ken koutai" or "administration change", helped the DPJ win 308 seats out of 480 in the lower house of parliament last month. That overwhelming victory swept the LDP from power for only the second time in more than 50 years.

Morita describes the new administration as the "pinch hitting" administration - a reference to a substitute batter⁴ in baseball. He says Mr. Ozawa is the real leader of the party and expects the newly appointed secretary-general to influence Mr. Hatoyama's policies. He says that is what will make this administration so unprecedented（前所未有的）.

Mr. Hatoyama faces tough challenges in his new job.

Japan is recovering from its worst economic crisis since World War II, and unemployment remains⁵ high. The country's birth rate is among the lowest in the world, while its population is rapidly aging.

Mr. Hatoyama says he will tackle those issues in part by giving money back to the people. He plans to eliminate road tolls⁶, increase the monthly childhood allowance, and give tax breaks to small and medium-sized companies.


Voters like Yuki Obayashi are skeptical⁷ about Mr. Hatoyama's ambitious plan.

She says she does not think he will be able to accomplish everything. If he can even get to two of his goals, she says she will consider it a success.

Mr. Hatoyama also faces skeptics （怀疑论着）abroad, including in the United States. During the campaign, the DPJ leader pledged to strengthen cooperation with Asian countries such as China, and seek a more independent policy approach from the U.S.

Days before his big win last month - he published an essay in American newspapers, criticizing what he called "U.S.-led globalization and market fundamentalism."


Members of his party have questioned whether Japan should help pay for the transfer of U.S. Marines from Okinawa to Guam and oppose a plan to move a Marine⁸ Corps⁹ air station on Okinawa. Party members also want to end Japan's refueling mission in the Indian Ocean, which supports ships involved in U.S.-led efforts to stabilize¹⁰ Afghanistan.

Mr. Hatoyama has named DPJ Secretary-General Katsuya Okada his foreign minister to tackle those issues.

Political analysts¹¹ say Mr. Hatoyama will be under tremendous pressure to make good quickly on his promises, particularly about the economy.

With an Upper House election looming（创作） next year - he will have to act fast if he intends to keep the DPJ in power for more than a year. （本文由在线英语听力室整理编辑）

1 democrats   

n.民主主义者，民主人士( democrat的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The Democrats held a pep rally on Capitol Hill yesterday. 民主党昨天在国会山召开了竞选誓师大会。
• The democrats organize a filibuster in the senate. 民主党党员组织了阻挠议事。 来自《简明英汉词典》

2 analyst   

n.分析家，化验员；心理分析学家

参考例句：

• What can you contribute to the position of a market analyst?你有什么技能可有助于市场分析员的职务？
• The analyst is required to interpolate values between standards.分析人员需要在这些标准中插入一些值。

3 spotlight   

n.公众注意的中心，聚光灯，探照灯，视听，注意，醒目

参考例句：

• This week the spotlight is on the world of fashion.本周引人瞩目的是时装界。
• The spotlight followed her round the stage.聚光灯的光圈随着她在舞台上转。

4 batter   

v.接连重击；磨损；n.牛奶面糊；击球员

参考例句：

• The batter skied to the center fielder.击球手打出一个高飞球到中外野手。
• Put a small quantity of sugar into the batter.在面糊里放少量的糖。

5 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

6 tolls   

（缓慢而有规律的）钟声( toll的名词复数 )； 通行费； 损耗； （战争、灾难等造成的）毁坏

参考例句：

• A man collected tolls at the gateway. 一个人在大门口收通行费。
• The long-distance call tolls amount to quite a sum. 长途电话费数目相当可观。

7 skeptical   

adj.怀疑的，多疑的

参考例句：

• Others here are more skeptical about the chances for justice being done.这里的其他人更为怀疑正义能否得到伸张。
• Her look was skeptical and resigned.她的表情是将信将疑而又无可奈何。

8 marine   

adj.海的；海生的；航海的；海事的；n.水兵

参考例句：

• Marine creatures are those which live in the sea. 海洋生物是生存在海里的生物。
• When the war broke out,he volunteered for the Marine Corps.战争爆发时，他自愿参加了海军陆战队。

9 corps   

n.(通信等兵种的)部队；(同类作的)一组

参考例句：

• The medical corps were cited for bravery in combat.医疗队由于在战场上的英勇表现而受嘉奖。
• When the war broke out,he volunteered for the Marine Corps.战争爆发时，他自愿参加了海军陆战队。

10 stabilize   

vt.（使）稳定，使稳固，使稳定平衡；vi.稳定

参考例句：

• They are eager to stabilize currencies.他们急于稳定货币。
• His blood pressure tended to stabilize.他的血压趋向稳定。

11 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。