安倍晉三決定不出席中國閱兵式
Japan's prime minister has rebuffed China's invitation to a military parade marking the end of the second world war in a setback to relations between East Asia's two largest economies.
日本首相安倍晉三拒絕了中國的邀請，不出席紀念二戰結束70週年的閱兵式。此舉標誌着東亞最大的兩個經濟體之間的關係遭遇挫折。"Prime Minister Shinzo Abe will not attend the ceremony," Yoshihide Suga, chief cabinet secretary, said on Monday. "The decision is based on the situation in we have communicated this to the Chinese."
週一，日本內閣官房長官菅義偉表示："安倍晉三首相不會出席這一儀式。這一決定是基於國會的情況作出的……我們已向中方傳達了這一決定。"The Japanese prime minister's decision to skip the ceremony suggests that he is wary of being humiliated at a celebration of Japan's defeat 70 years ago, outweighing the opportunity to improve neighbourly ties.
安倍決定不出席這一儀式，說明他擔心會在這個慶祝70年前日本戰敗的儀式上受到羞辱，寧可放棄與鄰國改善關係的機遇。
There has been a thaw in relations between Tokyo and Beijing since Mr Abe met Chinese president Xi Jinping last November, but the decision not to attend casts a shadow over that progress.
自去年11月安倍與中國國家主席習近平會晤以來，日中關係已有所解凍，但安倍的上述決定爲這一進展蒙上了陰影。Mr Suga said Mr Abe had to stay in Tokyo to deal with security bills passing through parliament. The legislation would reinterpret Japan's pacifist constitution, making it easier for its military to fight in defence of allies.
菅義偉表示，爲處理正在國會討論的安保法案，安倍不得不留在東京。該法案將重新解讀日本的和平憲法，減少日本軍隊爲保護盟國而作戰的障礙。Deciding whether to attend the Chinese parade has caused heartache for many national leaders, who have no wish to rebuff the rising superpower, but worry about becoming props in a display of military might.
對許多國家的領導人來說，決定是否出席中國的閱兵式是個令人頭疼的問題。這些領導人不想冷落這個崛起中的超級大國，但又擔心這麼做會變成爲一場軍力展示站臺。Last week, South Korean president Park Geun-hye opted to attend, joining the leaders of the Czech Republic, Russia, Egypt, Serbia, Mongolia and four central Asian nations.
上週，韓國總統朴槿惠決定與捷克、俄羅斯、埃及、塞爾維亞、蒙古及中亞四國領導人一道出席中方的慶典。Mr Abe is eager for a summit meeting with Mr Xi, and Japanese officials had considered whether he could skip the military parade but still attend other parts of the ceremony.
安倍渴望與習近平舉行峯會，日本官員也曾考慮過安倍能否不出席閱兵式、但仍出席慶典的其他活動。Hopes of a meeting between the two leaders were raised after China and South Korea gave a subdued response to Mr Abe's statement on the 70th anniversary of the end of the war last week.
上週，安倍發表了紀念二戰結束70週年的講話，中韓兩國對該講話的迴應都比較剋制，這點燃了日中兩國領導人舉行會晤的希望。The decision to stay away thwarts Mr Abe's quest for a high profile China summit. Attending the parade might have facilitated meetings with Russia's Vladimir Putin and Ms Park of Korea on the sidelines.
但安倍的上述決定對他尋求日中舉行高調峯會的努力構成了障礙。出席此次閱兵式本可爲他在活動間隙會晤俄總統弗拉基米爾·普京和韓國總統朴槿惠提供便利。Instead, Mr Abe must now rely on occasions such as next's months meeting of the United Nations General Assembly in New York to meet his most important counterparts and advance his diplomatic agenda.
如今，要想和習近平這個最重要的對手會晤、推進自己的外交議程，安倍必須仰仗下月紐約聯合國大會會議等場合。"As before with China, we'll continue to seek opportunities for frank discussion between the two leaders using occasions such as international meetings," said Mr Suga.
菅義偉表示："像以往與中方的交流一樣，我們會繼續利用國際會議等場合，尋找機會促成兩位領導人間的坦率對話。"The prospects of Mr Putin visiting Japan this year — a meeting eagerly sought by Mr Abe — suffered a blow over the weekend when Russia's prime minister, Dmitry Medvedev, visited one of the disputed Kuril islands.
上週末，俄總理德米特里·梅德韋傑夫訪問了有爭議的千島羣島中的一個島嶼，此舉令普京今年訪日的可能性大大降低。安倍一直渴望與普京展開會晤。
