经济学人491:日本新闻自由

 　　Press freedom in Japan

　　日本新闻自由

　　Secrecy¹ and lies

　　保密与谎言

　　A tough new law on secrecy has suddenly become controversial

　　一部事关保密的严苛新法突然间引起了争议

　　Oct 19th 2013 | TOKYO |From the print edition

　　Full of leaks

　　都在泄密

　　“A PARADISE for spies” is how a former agent of the Soviet² KGB described Japan in the 1980s. Little has changed, though now the politicians and bureaucrats³ more often pass information to journalists than to foreign agents. But this autumn Shinzo Abe, the prime minister, is trying to stop the leaks by passing a forceful new secrecy law, even as he seeks to pass economic reforms as part of his programme of measures known as “Abenomics”. He also wants to legislate⁴ for a new national security council in order to centralise intelligence information and speed decisions on national security. New rules on secrecy are needed for it to function well, says the government. The media, fearful for press freedom, are crying foul⁵.

　　“间谍的天堂”，在80年代，潜伏日本苏联克格勃特工如此称呼这个国度。到如今，“天堂”依然是“天堂”，只不过相比外国特工，政客与官员现在更多是把消息透露给记者。但这个秋天，安倍晋三首相决意推动一部新的强有力的保密法案，希望以此止住泄密。其认真程度，不下于他推动“安倍经济学”中的经济改革法案。他还想设立一个国家安全委员会，用以集中情报信息，便于对国家安全问题做出快速决策。政府称，国家安全委员会需要新保密法案的支持。为新闻自由担忧的媒体界高呼此举违规。

　　Japan is much less punitive⁶ than other countries towards leakers. Civil servants who breach⁷ rules on confidentiality⁸ are currently liable to just one year in prison. Only officials of Japan’s Self Defence Forces face the possibility of stricter punishment: five years for leaking defence secrets, or ten if they are gleaned⁹ from Japan’s security pact¹⁰ with America.

　　相比其他国家，日本对泄密者的惩罚较轻。违规泄密的公务员只会被判一年徒刑。只有自卫队的官员会遭受更严厉的惩罚：泄露军事机密判5年，收集日美军事关系情报的判10年。

　　The gap widened after the events of September 11th 2001, when security elsewhere became tighter. This year America used its Espionage¹¹ Act of 1917 to hand down a 35-year prison sentence to Bradley Manning, a former soldier, for passing information to the WikiLeaks website. Previous Japanese governments have tried to clamp down, but memories of the feared wartime secrecy regime have caused moves to tighten¹² the law to be blocked.

　　2001年9·11之后，全球各地的安全局势变得紧张，而对军人泄密的惩罚也随之加重。今年，美国依照1917年制定的《反间谍法》，判处了布拉德利·曼宁35五年监禁。这位曾经的军人因向维基解密网站提供情报而获罪。日本前几任的政府都曾努力推动类似法案，但由于对战时保密制度的恐惧记忆犹新，法案受到了阻挠。

　　Japan’s allies, especially America, complain that information entrusted¹³ to it is too often leaked, says Nobutaka Machimura, a former foreign minister who heads the ruling Liberal Democratic Party’s task-force on the law. If passed, the bill would apply to all civil servants and to high-ranking politicians. “Special secrets” would be designated in three new fields of diplomacy¹⁴, counter-espionage and counter-terrorism (in addition to defence). The penalty for leaks—also applied¹⁵ to those who encourage breaches¹⁶, such as journalists—would be up to ten years in prison. Further details are scant¹⁷, but the bill reportedly lacks important provisions, including independent review of what can be called secret, and a clear limit on the period of confidentiality.

　　前任外务大臣，负责自民党这次立法行动的町村信孝说，日本的盟国，尤其是美国，都抱怨说委托给日本的情报泄密过于频繁。如果法案得以通过，那将适用于所有公务员，包括高级别的政治家。“特秘”情报（除军事以外还）包括外交、反间谍与反恐三方面。对泄密者的惩罚——包括鼓动泄密的，譬如记者——将是十年徒刑。具体细节仍然未知，但据说法案缺少一些重要条款，包括对机密定义的独立审查，以及保密期长的限制。

　　That means the government could keep far more information under the veil than is necessary, says Kiyoshi Gojima, deputy managing director of Sankei Shimbun, a newspaper. The public would have less access to information than before, to some degree reversing a campaign in recent years for greater government transparency.

　　《产经新闻》副社长Kiyoshi Gojima称，这样的法案意味着政府可能会秘密掌握太多信息，超出必要数目。公众知情权更少了，这是对近年来要求更大政府透明度之潮流的一种颠覆。

　　In the field of diplomacy, for instance, the contents and outcome of summit meetings could be kept firmly secret. Last month, Norika Fujiwara, a television celebrity¹⁸, warned that information relating to radiation from the meltdown at the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear plant in 2011 could be ruled off limits by the new law. An adviser¹⁹ to Mr Abe denied this would happen.

　　以外交领域为例，首脑级会议的内容与结果都将保密。电视明星藤原纪香上个月警告说，与2011年福岛核电站第一反应堆泄露有关的信息也将为新法所禁。安倍的一名顾问否认了这一点。

　　Another risk is that public officials will stop talking to journalists entirely²⁰, says Mr Gojima. That would be a big shift from the current system of privileged press clubs, in which reporters have special channels to sources in the government and bureaucracy who pass on inside information. The current system needs reform, says Koichi Nakano of Sophia University, but there is no need to jump to the other extreme.

　　另一风险是，公职官员会完全停止与记者的往来，Gojima如是说。这将极大地改变现有的特权新闻俱乐部体系，记者将再难通过特殊渠道从政府机构获取信息。现有体系是需要改革，但也不需要走到另一个极端，上智大学政治学教授中野晃一如是说。

　　The final bill is expected to state the public’s right to know, and to include a commitment to press freedom. The LDP’s coalition²¹ partner, New Komeito, will insist on such amendments²². But public opinion seems to be firmly against the law, so Mr Abe may face resistance, even though his government has a majority in both houses of parliament. One unwelcome outcome would be if the bill diverts government attention from economic reforms.

　　法案的最终版本将涉及公众知情权，并包括对新闻自由的承诺。自民党的盟友新公明党将致力于完成这些修正。但公众坚决反对这项方案。即便安倍在国会两院都坐拥多数席位，他的前方仍有阻碍。如果这项法案分散了在经济改革上的专注，那结果就不妙了。

1 secrecy   

n.秘密，保密，隐蔽

参考例句：

• All the researchers on the project are sworn to secrecy.该项目的所有研究人员都按要求起誓保守秘密。
• Complete secrecy surrounded the meeting.会议在绝对机密的环境中进行。

2 Soviet   

adj.苏联的，苏维埃的；n.苏维埃

参考例句：

• Zhukov was a marshal of the former Soviet Union.朱可夫是前苏联的一位元帅。
• Germany began to attack the Soviet Union in 1941.德国在1941年开始进攻苏联。

3 bureaucrats   

n.官僚( bureaucrat的名词复数 )；官僚主义；官僚主义者；官僚语言

参考例句：

• That is the fate of the bureaucrats, not the inspiration of statesmen. 那是官僚主义者的命运，而不是政治家的灵感。 来自辞典例句
• Big business and dozens of anonymous bureaucrats have as much power as Japan's top elected leaders. 大企业和许多不知名的官僚同日本选举出来的最高层领导者们的权力一样大。 来自辞典例句

4 legislate   

vt.制定法律；n.法规，律例；立法

参考例句：

• Therefore,it is very urgent to legislate for the right of privacy.因此，为隐私权立法刻不容缓。
• It's impossible to legislate for every contingency.为每一偶发事件都立法是不可能的。

5 foul   

adj.污秽的；邪恶的；v.弄脏；妨害；犯规；n.犯规

参考例句：

• Take off those foul clothes and let me wash them.脱下那些脏衣服让我洗一洗。
• What a foul day it is!多么恶劣的天气！

6 punitive   

adj.惩罚的，刑罚的

参考例句：

• They took punitive measures against the whole gang.他们对整帮人采取惩罚性措施。
• The punitive tariff was imposed to discourage tire imports from China.该惩罚性关税的征收是用以限制中国轮胎进口的措施。

7 breach   

n.违反，不履行；破裂；vt.冲破，攻破

参考例句：

• We won't have any breach of discipline.我们不允许任何破坏纪律的现象。
• He was sued for breach of contract.他因不履行合同而被起诉。

8 confidentiality   

n.秘而不宣，保密

参考例句：

• They signed a confidentiality agreement. 他们签署了一份保守机密的协议。
• Cryptography is the foundation of supporting authentication, integrality and confidentiality. 而密码学是支持认证、完整性和机密性机制的基础。

9 gleaned   

v.一点点地收集（资料、事实）( glean的过去式和过去分词 )；（收割后）拾穗

参考例句：

• These figures have been gleaned from a number of studies. 这些数据是通过多次研究收集得来的。
• A valuable lesson may be gleaned from it by those who have eyes to see. 明眼人可从中记取宝贵的教训。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

10 pact   

n.合同，条约，公约，协定

参考例句：

• The two opposition parties made an electoral pact.那两个反对党订了一个有关选举的协定。
• The trade pact between those two countries came to an end.那两国的通商协定宣告结束。

11 espionage   

n.间谍行为，谍报活动

参考例句：

• The authorities have arrested several people suspected of espionage.官方已经逮捕了几个涉嫌从事间谍活动的人。
• Neither was there any hint of espionage in Hanley's early life.汉利的早期生活也毫无进行间谍活动的迹象。

12 tighten   

v.(使)变紧；(使)绷紧

参考例句：

• Turn the screw to the right to tighten it.向右转动螺钉把它拧紧。
• Some countries tighten monetary policy to avoid inflation.一些国家实行紧缩银根的货币政策，以避免通货膨胀。

13 entrusted   

v.委托，托付( entrust的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He entrusted the task to his nephew. 他把这任务托付给了他的侄儿。
• She was entrusted with the direction of the project. 她受委托负责这项计划。 来自《简明英汉词典》

14 diplomacy   

n.外交；外交手腕，交际手腕

参考例句：

• The talks have now gone into a stage of quiet diplomacy.会谈现在已经进入了“温和外交”阶段。
• This was done through the skill in diplomacy. 这是通过外交手腕才做到的。

15 applied   

adj.应用的；v.应用，适用

参考例句：

• She plans to take a course in applied linguistics.她打算学习应用语言学课程。
• This cream is best applied to the face at night.这种乳霜最好晚上擦脸用。

16 breaches   

破坏( breach的名词复数 )； 破裂； 缺口； 违背

参考例句：

• He imposed heavy penalties for breaches of oath or pledges. 他对违反誓言和保证的行为给予严厉的惩罚。
• This renders all breaches of morality before marriage very uncommon. 这样一来，婚前败坏道德的事就少见了。

17 scant   

adj.不充分的，不足的；v.减缩，限制，忽略

参考例句：

• Don't scant the butter when you make a cake.做糕饼时不要吝惜奶油。
• Many mothers pay scant attention to their own needs when their children are small.孩子们小的时候，许多母亲都忽视自己的需求。

18 celebrity   

n.名人，名流；著名，名声，名望

参考例句：

• Tom found himself something of a celebrity. 汤姆意识到自己已小有名气了。
• He haunted famous men, hoping to get celebrity for himself. 他常和名人在一起, 希望借此使自己获得名气。

19 adviser   

n.劝告者，顾问

参考例句：

• They employed me as an adviser.他们聘请我当顾问。
• Our department has engaged a foreign teacher as phonetic adviser.我们系已经聘请了一位外籍老师作为语音顾问。

20 entirely   

ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地

参考例句：

• The fire was entirely caused by their neglect of duty. 那场火灾完全是由于他们失职而引起的。
• His life was entirely given up to the educational work. 他的一生统统献给了教育工作。

21 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。

22 amendments   

（法律、文件的）改动( amendment的名词复数 )； 修正案； 修改； （美国宪法的）修正案

参考例句：

• The committee does not adequately consult others when drafting amendments. 委员会在起草修正案时没有充分征求他人的意见。
• Please propose amendments and addenda to the first draft of the document. 请对这个文件的初稿提出修改和补充意见。