日本百年家族企业的生存秘诀 养子继承制度!

 　　In Japan, 98% of those being adopted are actually adult men, aged¹ between 20 and 30.

　　日本98%的被收养人实际上是20-30岁的成年男子。

　　In Japan, there is a several-hundred-year-old tradition in which businesses adopt their executives so companies or institutions are "family-run" groups.

　　日本有一项延续了数百年的传统，即企业收养管理人员，这样一来，企业或机构就成了"家族运营"集团。

　　It all started hundreds of years ago when Japan's civil code dictated² how a family's wealth would be passed on after the death of the family elder.

　　这一切始于数百年前，当时日本民法典规定了家族长者去世后家族财富的继承办法。

　　If a family did not have any blood-related sons, the law said that adopted sons could carry on the family name, business, and receive the wealth.

　　该部民法典规定，如果家里没有任何有血缘的子嗣，养子可以延续姓氏、继承产业和财富。

　　日本百年家族企业的生存秘诀 养子继承制度!

　　Nowadays, legal adoption³ of this kind is paired up with an arranged marriage of a daughter, meaning the adopted son becomes son and son-in-law at the same time because he changes his name to the wife's family name.

　　如今这类合法收养与女儿的包办婚姻相结合，即养子同时成为儿子和女婿，因为他会将自己的姓氏改为妻子的姓氏。

　　Studies have found that adult adoption is a very effective way of keeping family businesses healthy over long periods of time.

　　研究发现，收养成人是家族企业长期健康运营极有效的方法。

　　According to The New Economy, "adopting highly qualified⁴ adults to head family businesses has the triple effect of displacing untalented blood heirs, eliciting⁵ better performance from managers who stand to be placed on a fast-track to ownership by becoming an adopted son, and encouraging proactivity among blood heirs who live under constant threat of being replaced by a 'superior' adopted son."

　　《新经济》杂志称，“收养高素质成年人来领导家族企业具有一箭三雕的效果：取代无才的血亲继承人；促使有望通过成为养子而踏上拥有公司捷径的管理者表现更出色；激发处于随时可能被“更优秀”的养子取代的威胁中的血亲继承人的工作积极性。”

　　Today, there are a host of matchmaking companies and marriage consultants⁶ specializing in recruiting adult adoptees for Japanese companies.

　　如今，有很多婚介公司和婚恋顾问专门为日本企业招收成年养子。

　　"There is definitely demand because the birth rate in Japan has been falling and many parents just have a daughter," says Chieko Date, the founder⁷ of a matchmaking site for woman looking for husbands willing to get adopted by their families.

　　伊达千惠是一家婚介网站的创始人，该网站为女性寻找愿被其家族收养的丈夫。伊达千惠说，“因为日本的出生率一直在下降，而许多夫妻只有一个女儿，所以肯定有需求。”

　　"And many men are looking for opportunities to use their business skills outside the corporate⁸ world because in this economy, climbing up the corporate ladder is much harder."

　　“许多男人都希望在企业世界之外的天空施展自己的商业技能，因为在这种经济体制中升迁要困难得多。”

1 aged   

adj.年老的，陈年的

参考例句：

• He had put on weight and aged a little.他胖了，也老点了。
• He is aged,but his memory is still good.他已年老，然而记忆力还好。

2 dictated   

v.大声讲或读( dictate的过去式和过去分词 )；口授；支配；摆布

参考例句：

• He dictated a letter to his secretary. 他向秘书口授信稿。
• No person of a strong character likes to be dictated to. 没有一个个性强的人愿受人使唤。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 adoption   

n.采用，采纳，通过；收养

参考例句：

• An adoption agency had sent the boys to two different families.一个收养机构把他们送给两个不同的家庭。
• The adoption of this policy would relieve them of a tremendous burden.采取这一政策会给他们解除一个巨大的负担。

4 qualified   

adj.合格的，有资格的，胜任的，有限制的

参考例句：

• He is qualified as a complete man of letters.他有资格当真正的文学家。
• We must note that we still lack qualified specialists.我们必须看到我们还缺乏有资质的专家。

5 eliciting   

n. 诱发, 引出 动词elicit的现在分词形式

参考例句：

• He succeeded in eliciting the information he needed from her. 他从她那里问出了他所需要的信息。
• A criminal trial isn't a tribunal for eliciting the truth. 刑事审讯并非是一种要探明真相的审判。

6 consultants   

顾问( consultant的名词复数 )； 高级顾问医生，会诊医生

参考例句：

• a firm of management consultants 管理咨询公司
• There're many consultants in hospital. 医院里有很多会诊医生。

7 Founder   

n.创始者，缔造者

参考例句：

• He was extolled as the founder of their Florentine school.他被称颂为佛罗伦萨画派的鼻祖。
• According to the old tradition,Romulus was the founder of Rome.按照古老的传说，罗穆卢斯是古罗马的建国者。

8 corporate   

adj.共同的，全体的；公司的，企业的

参考例句：

• This is our corporate responsibility.这是我们共同的责任。
• His corporate's life will be as short as a rabbit's tail.他的公司的寿命是兔子尾巴长不了。