新奇事件簿 日本儿童数量极低 老龄化严重

The number of children in Japan aged¹ 14 and under is the lowest ever. Japan's Ministry² of Internal³ Affairs and Communications released⁴ figures yesterday, just before the country's Children's Day national holiday on May the 5th. The figures show that the number of children in Japan fell by 160,000 from the previous year. It is the 33rd year in a row for the birth rate to decrease. There are 13 million fewer children in Japan today than there were in 1950. The Ministry said that out of 30 countries with a population of over 40 million, Japan has the smallest percentage of kids. Children make up 12.8 per cent of Japan's population. In France, the figure is 18.5 per cent and in the United States, it is 19.5 per cent.

在日本,14岁及以下的儿童数量是最低的。日本内部事务和通讯部昨天发布了数据,正值日本国家节日5月5日儿童节的前一天。数据显示,日本的儿童人数比前一年减少了160,000人。这是连续33年出生率创的新低。日本现在的儿童数量比1950年减少了1,300万。外交部说,在人口超过4,000万的30个国家当中，日本是儿童占人口比例最小的国家。儿童数量占日本人口的12.8%。在法国,这个数字是18.5%,在美国,它是19.5%。

While the number of children in Japan is going down, the number of old people is increasing. The over-65s now make up a record 25.6 per cent of the Japanese population. The government has warned that these trends will continue for decades to come. It said the proportion⁵ of people aged 65 or over could reach nearly 40 per cent in 2060. This will make life in Japan almost impossible for young, working people. They will have to pay much higher taxes to support the over-65s. The Japanese economy will also be in big trouble because there will not be enough young people to work. Japan's government has tried many things to get people to have more babies, but nothing seems to be working.

而日本的儿童数量一直在下降,老年人的数量正在增加。现在日本65岁以上的人口占25.6%。政府已经警告说,这些趋势将持续几十年。它说65岁或以上的人口比例将达到2060年的近40%。这将使得日本的年轻人和工薪阶层的生活很困难。他们将不得不支付更高的税收来供养65岁以上的老人。日本经济也将陷入严重的困境，因为没有足够数量的年轻人来工作。日本政府尝试了很多方法来让人们生更多的孩子，但是效果不大。

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 ministry   

n.(政府的)部；牧师

参考例句：

• They sent a deputation to the ministry to complain.他们派了一个代表团到部里投诉。
• We probed the Air Ministry statements.我们调查了空军部的记录。

3 internal   

adj.内的，内部的；国内的，内政的

参考例句：

• He is talking to Tom on the internal telephone.他正在内线电话上与汤姆交谈。
• We do not intend to be drawn into the internal strife.我们不想卷入内乱之中。

4 released   

v.释放( release的过去式和过去分词 )；放开；发布；发行

参考例句：

• He was released on bail pending committal proceedings. 他交保获释正在候审。
• With hindsight it is easy to say they should not have released him. 事后才说他们本不应该释放他，这倒容易。

5 proportion   

n.比率，比例；大小

参考例句：

• His head is out of proportion to the size of his body.他的头部与身体大小不成比例。
• The proportion of imports to exports is worrying the government.进口与出口的比例令政府担忧。