新奇事件簿 日本劳动力短缺促成移民新政策

Japan is changing its immigration policy because it needs workers. Japan is an aging society. This means it does not have enough workers to work in many jobs. Japan's government has decided¹ to allow many workers from other countries into the country to help fill the jobs. Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said his government will meet on December 28 to approve the plan. If the plan is approved, it will become law on April 1. The new law would allow up to 345,000 foreign workers to help with labor² shortages³. Many of these workers will work in the construction, fishing, healthcare and agriculture industries. They will be largely low-skilled workers and will need to pass a Japanese language test.

因为劳动需求，日本更改其移民政策。日本是一个老龄化社会。这意味着日本没有充足的劳动力满足职位需求。日本政府已经决定允许来自他国家的劳动力进入日本帮助填补职位。日本首相安倍晋三表示他的政府将于12月28日会面批准该计划。如果计划得到批准，那么将于4月1日成为法律。新法将允许多达345,000名外籍劳工帮助填补劳动短缺。其中很多劳工将任职建筑业、渔业、医疗健康以及农业。他们大部分将是低技能工人且将需要通过日语测试。

Japan's Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga said on Saturday that Japan had to change and allow more foreign workers in to help the economy. He said: "If Japan simply continued along the same path, we would find ourselves in a very difficult situation." He also said the government would make sure the foreign workers can quickly adjust to life in smaller Japanese cities and towns. He said: "We want to ensure they have the right environment in which to live and work." Japanese people are having fewer children. The fertility rate is now only 1.4 children per woman. The rate should be 2.1 for Japan to have enough Japanese workers. Japan's population is already dropping by about 400,000 people a year.

日本首席内阁部长菅义伟周六表示日本不得不改变并允许更多的外籍员工来日本帮助经济。他说：“如果日本仅仅是继续同样的道路，那么我们将发现自己处于一个非常艰难的境地。”他还表示政府将确保外籍劳工能够迅速适应日本的小城市和城镇生活。他说：“我们希望确保他们有合适的生存和工作环境。”日本民众的孩子越来越少。现在的生育率仅为1.4。日本生育率只有达到2.1才能拥有充足的日本劳动力。日本人口一年已经下降了约40万。

1 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。

2 labor   

n.劳动，努力，工作，劳工；分娩；vi.劳动，努力，苦干；vt.详细分析；麻烦

参考例句：

• We are never late in satisfying him for his labor.我们从不延误付给他劳动报酬。
• He was completely spent after two weeks of hard labor.艰苦劳动两周后，他已经疲惫不堪了。

3 shortages   

n.不足( shortage的名词复数 )；缺少；缺少量；不足额

参考例句：

• Food shortages often occur in time of war. 在战争期间常常发生粮食短缺的情形。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• At the same time, worldwide food and fuel shortages eased. 同时，世界性粮食和石油短缺的现象终止了。 来自英汉非文学 - 政府文件