VOA慢速英语20060930a

IN THE NEWS - Abe Moves Quickly to Improve Ties With South Korea and ChinaBy Brianna Blake

Broadcast: Saturday, September 30, 2006

This is IN THE NEWS in VOA Special English.


Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe

Japan's new prime minister, Shinzo Abe, has already taken his first steps to try to repair relations with South Korea and China. Mister Abe and South Korean President Roh Moo-hyun spoke¹ by telephone earlier this week and agreed to meet as soon as possible. Leaders from the two countries have not met in almost a year.

Some reports said a visit to Seoul could take place before the middle of October. And Japanese Foreign Minister Taro² Aso said Mister Abe may visit China as early as October.

Japan's parliament, the Diet, elected Mister Abe on Tuesday to replace Junichiro Koizumi. Mister Koizumi left office after more than five years as prime minister.

South Korea and China were both victims of past aggression³ by Japan. Relations have suffered in recent years, mainly because of visits by Japanese leaders to a memorial for Japan's war dead.

Several of those honored at the Yasukuni Shrine⁴ were found guilty of war crimes during World War Two. Mister Abe has refused to say if will visit the shrine as prime minister.

On other issues, he says he plans to continue the economic reforms started by Mister Koizumi. And he says he is serious about cutting government spending. Mister Abe reduced his own pay by thirty percent and his cabinet members' pay by ten percent.

He and President Bush spoke by telephone Wednesday. They agreed to meet in November in Hanoi at the meeting of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation group. A White House spokeswoman said they expressed a desire to further strengthen the United States-Japan alliance.

Japan is a leading trading partner and security ally of the United States. About fifty thousand American troops are based in Japan. Mister Koizumi sent Japanese troops to assist rebuilding in Iraq. And Japanese ships provide fuel for the military operations in Afghanistan.

Shinzo Abe is fifty-two years old, making him Japan's youngest prime minister since World War Two. He was recently elected president of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party. The only cabinet position he has held was chief cabinet secretary. But his grandfather and great-uncle were prime ministers and his father was foreign minister.

Mister Abe gave his first policy speech in parliament Friday. He rejected relations with North Korea until the issue of its kidnapping of Japanese citizens in the past is settled. And he announced that Japan will study how it can take part in collective defense⁵ efforts with the United States.

Since the end of World War Two, Japanese forces have been constitutionally restricted in their activities. Mister Abe restated his desire to see the constitution changed as soon as possible.

And he talked about his desire to create what he calls a beautiful nation. Mister Abe says he seeks a Japan that is trusted, honored and loved by the world and active in showing its leadership.

And that's IN THE NEWS in VOA Special English, written by Brianna Blake. Transcripts⁶ and MP3 files are at www.unsv.com. I'm Steve Ember.

1 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

2 taro   

n.芋，芋头

参考例句：

• Main grain crop has taro,corn,banana to wait.主要粮食作物有芋头、玉米、芭蕉等。
• You celebrate your birthday with taro,red bean and butter.用红豆、芋头和黄油给自己过生日。

3 aggression   

n.进攻，侵略，侵犯，侵害

参考例句：

• So long as we are firmly united, we need fear no aggression.只要我们紧密地团结，就不必惧怕外来侵略。
• Her view is that aggression is part of human nature.她认为攻击性是人类本性的一部份。

4 shrine   

n.圣地，神龛，庙；v.将...置于神龛内，把...奉为神圣

参考例句：

• The shrine was an object of pilgrimage.这处圣地是人们朝圣的目的地。
• They bowed down before the shrine.他们在神龛前鞠躬示敬。

5 defense   

n.防御，保卫；[pl.]防务工事；辩护，答辩

参考例句：

• The accused has the right to defense.被告人有权获得辩护。
• The war has impacted the area with military and defense workers.战争使那个地区挤满了军队和防御工程人员。

6 transcripts   

n.抄本（ transcript的名词复数 ）；转写本；文字本；副本

参考例句：

• Like mRNA, both tRNA and rRNA are transcripts of chromosomal DNA. tRNA及rRNA同mRNA一样，都是染色体DNA的转录产物。 来自辞典例句
• You can't take the transfer students'exam without your transcripts. 没有成绩证明书，你就不能参加转学考试。 来自辞典例句