2007年VOA标准英语-Japanese PM Resigns Following Year-Long Politic

By Naomi Martig
Hong Kong
12 September 2007

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has announced his resignation after a year of missteps and scandals. The resignation is apparently¹ an effort to prevent cancellation² of Japan's non-combat role in Afghanistan. VOA's Naomi Martig reports from our Asia News Center in Hong Kong.

After a very troubled year that saw Japan's ruling party embroiled³ in allegations of financial wrongdoings and scandals, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has decided⁴ to call it quits.

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe announces his resignation at a nationally televised press conference in Tokyo, 12 Sep 2007

During a televised news conference, Mr. Abe says he is resigning because he believes Japan needs a new leader to fight against terrorism, and the country needs a new leader the people can support and trust.

Last week, Mr. Abe said he would resign if lawmakers did not extend a Japanese naval⁵ mission in support of U.S.-led operations in Afghanistan. Japan's navy has been refueling coalition⁶ warships⁷ in the Indian Ocean since 2001.

The law enabling that mission is set to expire November 1, and the opposition⁸ Democratic Party, which won control of the upper house of parliament in July, opposes an extension.

The naval mission has been a priority for Mr. Abe since he came into office last September, along with boosting Japan's global influence and revising the country's pacifist constitution.

Jeff Kingston is director of Asian studies at Temple University in Japan. Kingston says Mr. Abe's colleagues in the Liberal Democratic Party realized that the opposition's repeated calls for him to step down could make extending the naval mission very difficult.

"So I think that the party elders realized, well, if there is any chance of reviving this legislation in some form or another, and to strike a deal with the opposition on extending this legislation, that Abe had to go," Kingston said.

Yoshinori Suematsu, a member of the Democratic Party in Japan's lower house, says Mr. Abe's announcement was irresponsible, because just weeks ago he had refused to consider resigning.

"Every member of the diet was really surprised by the sudden news," said Suematsu. "We are very much embarrassed by no clear reason stated by Prime Minister, Mr. Abe."

Mr. Abe and the party received high popularity ratings at the beginning of the year. But the ratings have plummeted⁹ following a series of scandals.

First, the government admitted it had mishandled thousands of pension records. Four cabinet ministers have since resigned following accusations¹⁰ of financial wrongdoing, and a fifth committed suicide just before being questioned in yet another financial scandal.

Mr. Abe says he has instructed party leaders to search immediately for a new prime minister. Japanese media are reporting that a new election will be held on September 19th, and Taro¹¹ Aso, secretary-general of the LDP, is considered a leading contender.

Mr. Abe is the youngest Japanese leader in modern times and the first to be born after World War II. He was praised for his efforts to improve ties with China and South Korea, which were badly damaged during his predecessor's term.

1 apparently   

adv.显然地；表面上，似乎

参考例句：

• An apparently blind alley leads suddenly into an open space.山穷水尽，豁然开朗。
• He was apparently much surprised at the news.他对那个消息显然感到十分惊异。

2 cancellation   

n.删除，取消

参考例句：

• Heavy seas can cause cancellation of ferry services.海上风浪太大，可能须要取消渡轮服务。
• Her cancellation of her trip to Paris upset our plan.她取消了巴黎之行打乱了我们的计划。

3 embroiled   

adj.卷入的；纠缠不清的

参考例句：

• He became embroiled in a dispute with his neighbours. 他与邻居们发生了争执。
• John and Peter were quarrelling, but Mary refused to get embroiled. 约翰和彼得在争吵，但玛丽不愿卷入。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

5 naval   

adj.海军的，军舰的，船的

参考例句：

• He took part in a great naval battle.他参加了一次大海战。
• The harbour is an important naval base.该港是一个重要的海军基地。

6 coalition   

n.结合体，同盟，结合，联合

参考例句：

• The several parties formed a coalition.这几个政党组成了政治联盟。
• Coalition forces take great care to avoid civilian casualties.联盟军队竭尽全力避免造成平民伤亡。

7 warships   

军舰，战舰( warship的名词复数 )； 舰只

参考例句：

• The enemy warships were disengaged from the battle after suffering heavy casualties. 在遭受惨重伤亡后，敌舰退出了海战。
• The government fitted out warships and sailors for them. 政府给他们配备了战舰和水手。

8 opposition   

n.反对，敌对

参考例句：

• The party leader is facing opposition in his own backyard.该党领袖在自己的党內遇到了反对。
• The police tried to break down the prisoner's opposition.警察设法制住了那个囚犯的反抗。

9 plummeted   

v.垂直落下，骤然跌落( plummet的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Share prices plummeted to an all-time low. 股票价格暴跌到历史最低点。
• A plane plummeted to earth. 一架飞机一头栽向地面。 来自《简明英汉词典》

10 accusations   

n.指责( accusation的名词复数 )；指控；控告；（被告发、控告的）罪名

参考例句：

• There were accusations of plagiarism. 曾有过关于剽窃的指控。
• He remained unruffled by their accusations. 对于他们的指控他处之泰然。

11 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。