2006年VOA标准英语-OECD Concerned About Rising Poverty in Japan

By Steve Herman
Tokyo
20 July 2006

Japan received a sobering warning about its economy from the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development on Thursday. The OECD, in its annual survey of Japan, says that the country has finally emerged from a long period of economic stagnation¹. But sustainable growth is endangered by increasing poverty, income inequality and by the effects of an aging population. 

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The world's second largest economy is not usually associated with poverty. But growing numbers of poor in Japan are worrying the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development.

The policy coordination² group for advanced economies announced that Japan ranks second worst in relative poverty - only behind the United States - among the 30 OECD nations. 

Randall Jones   
  
The organization's senior economist³ Randall Jones says that traditional prescriptions⁴ to combat poverty do not seem to apply to Japan.

"In Japan the poverty rate is higher for single-parent families that work than for those that do not work," he said. "In Germany the solution is, get those single families to work and then they escape poverty. In Japan they're already working. The problem is the income is too low. So there's not the easy solution to say 'let's just find them jobs.'"

The OECD report cautions that rising poverty and income inequality could weaken the public will for further economic reforms. Pressures on economic growth will also come from Japan's aging population, the Japanese aversion to foreign workers and the country's poor climate for foreign investment.

Jones says Japan should look at alternatives to its traditional lifetime employment system.

"One is the U.S. approach where it's very relaxed. It's ironic⁵, but if it's easy to lose your job it's easy to get another one," noted⁶ Jones. "The other is the Nordic model. And, in Denmark, for example it's very easy to lose your job as well, but then they have a social safety net that takes care of you after you lose your job."

The OECD says another troubling statistic⁷ is Japan's public debt - expected to equal about 150 percent of gross domestic product by next March. That is the highest percentage among the major industrialized nations.

The Paris-based policy group, however, had some good news for Japan, predicting that the economy will grow between two to three percent over the next two years. But, it says, Japan's central bank should move cautiously on interest rate rises so as not to endanger that growth.

The Bank of Japan signaled an end to the country's "easy money" era last Friday by modestly raising interest rates from virtually zero.

1 stagnation   

n. 停滞

参考例句：

• Poor economic policies led to a long period of stagnation and decline. 糟糕的经济政策道致了长时间的经济萧条和下滑。
• Motion is absolute while stagnation is relative. 运动是绝对的，而静止是相对的。

2 coordination   

n.协调，协作

参考例句：

• Gymnastics is a sport that requires a considerable level of coordination.体操是一项需要高协调性的运动。
• The perfect coordination of the dancers and singers added a rhythmic charm to the performance.舞蹈演员和歌手们配合得很好，使演出更具魅力。

3 economist   

n.经济学家，经济专家，节俭的人

参考例句：

• He cast a professional economist's eyes on the problem.他以经济学行家的眼光审视这个问题。
• He's an economist who thinks he knows all the answers.他是个经济学家，自以为什么都懂。

4 prescriptions   

药( prescription的名词复数 )； 处方； 开处方； 计划

参考例句：

• The hospital of traditional Chinese medicine installed a computer to fill prescriptions. 中医医院装上了电子计算机来抓药。
• Her main job was filling the doctor's prescriptions. 她的主要工作就是给大夫开的药方配药。

5 ironic   

adj.讽刺的，有讽刺意味的，出乎意料的

参考例句：

• That is a summary and ironic end.那是一个具有概括性和讽刺意味的结局。
• People used to call me Mr Popularity at high school,but they were being ironic.人们中学时常把我称作“万人迷先生”，但他们是在挖苦我。

6 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

7 statistic   

n.统计量；adj.统计的，统计学的

参考例句：

• Official statistics show real wages declining by 24%.官方统计数字表明实际工资下降了24%。
• There are no reliable statistics for the number of deaths in the battle.关于阵亡人数没有可靠的统计数字。