新奇事件簿 日本政府充当和事老（在线收听）

Japan's government is going to play Cupid in an attempt to encourage more couples to have babies. The country has one of the lowest birth rates in the world and politicians are turning to novel methods to get people to add to the population. One of these methods is local authorities acting as matchmakers. Japan's national government will support any local government effort at speed dating, online matchmaking and other ways to coax couples to get together and start families. The draft recommendations call for intensive efforts over the next five years. The report says Japan faces a "critical situation" in which the dwindling number of children could cause serious social problems for the country.

为了让更多日本夫妻生孩子，日本政府将扮演丘比特的角色。日本是世界婴儿出生率最低的国家之一，政治家正在利用新的办法来增加人口。其中一种办法就是让当地政府扮演和事老的角色。日本中央政府将不遗余力地支持当地政府的行动，这些包括婚配、网上婚配以及其他能够组建家庭的机会。这项草案的内容是在今后五年推进这一计划的发展。报告称日本正在面临困难的局面，急剧下降的儿童数量将为国家造成非常严重的社会问题。

One reason the government has found for Japan's falling birth rate is the rising cost of raising children.The government hopes to address this with a variety of measures. These include plans to improve access to free nursery care, special centres for people undergoing fertility treatment, and a target to increase thenumber of fathers taking paternity leave after their baby is born to 80 per cent by the year 2020. There are also plans to provide greater support for families with three or more children. By 2060, nearly 40 per cent of Japan's population will be aged over 65. The over-65s already constitute 25 per cent of the population. The birth rate has fallen steadily from 4.54 children per mother in 1947 to just 1.42 in 2014.

政府认为导致日本出生率减少的其中一个原因就是抚养孩子的费用正在逐渐增加。政府希望利用各种手段来解决这一问题。这些计划包括免费托儿所、建设生育治疗中心、到2020年，孩子出生后，将父亲假的数量提高80%。政府还有关于抚养3个或3个以上孩子的有关计划。到2060年，将近40%的日本人口年龄将在65岁以上。目前，65岁以上人口已经占据了总人口的25%。婴儿出生率也从1947年的每名母亲平均4.54个孩子下降到了2014年的1.42个。