醜態百出日本副首相把憤怒對準年輕女性

Japanese Finance Minister Taro Aso in Brisbane on November 15, 2014

日本財政部長麻生太郎在布里斯班，2014年11月15日

After telling Japan's growing ranks of elderly they should "hurry up anddie", Finance Minister Taro Aso has turned his well-worn gaffe gun on "people who don't give birth".

在對日本日益增長的老年人發表“應該趕快去死”的言論後，財政部長麻生太郎把他的陳舊的嘴炮對準了那些“不生孩子的人”。

The former prime minister, whose mouth has a habit of running away with him,said pensioners were not to blame for the spiralling social welfare costs of arapidly ageing society.

前首相麻生太郎經常滿嘴炮灰車，他說在急速老齡化的社會，居高不下的福利支出不能怪罪於領養老金的退休人員。

"There are many people who are creating the image that (the increasing number of) elderly people is bad, but more problematic is people who don't give birth," Aso said in a speech in Sapporo, local media reported Monday.

“很多人的觀念中老年人數量日益增長是件糟糕的事，但那些不願生孩子的人才是更嚴重的問題。”麻生在札幌的一次演講中說道，當地媒體於週一報道了此事。

The comments came as Aso was stumping ahead of a general election on Sunday.

在週日大選前麻生陷入僵局的時候，評論紛至。

Japan has a birth rate -- the average number of children a woman has in her lifetime -- of around 1.4, far below replacement level. This gives it aninverted age pyramid and a falling tax base.

日本的出生率——每個女人一生中擁有孩子的平均數量——在1.4上下，遠低於更替水平。這使得日本人的年齡結構呈倒金字塔形，並使得稅基下降。

A dearth of childcare, financial insecurity and gloom about the future have all been blamed for the lack of children in Japan.

兒童保育的缺乏、財政安全的不確定、以及對未來的憂慮都被歸結於日本缺少兒童，因而被倍加指責。

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe (L) and Deputy Prime Minister Taro Aso leave a parliament session in Tokyo on November 21, 2014

日本首相安倍晉三（左）和副首相麻生太郎離開國會會議，東京，2014年11月21日

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has repeatedly pledged he will boost women's participation in the labour market and make structural changes that will mean they are not forced to make a choice between having a career or having a family.

首相安倍晉三再三保證他將促進婦女參與進勞動市場，並將對結構做出改變，這意味着婦女們不必再被迫從就業和家庭之間做出抉擇。

Aso, who is also Abe's deputy, has form in offending various sections of the electorate, although criticism of his gaffes tends to run like water off aduck's back.

麻生是安倍的副手，他已經冒犯了幾個區的選民，即使他的口誤已經像滴在鴨子羽毛上的水消失的無影無蹤了。

Over the weekend, he reportedly also said businesses that do not make money areeither "unlucky or incompetent".

週末，報道稱他還說過那些不掙錢的生意要麼是不夠幸運，要麼就是無能。

In July last year he said Tokyo could learn from Nazi Germany when it comes toconstitutional reform.

在去年7月，他說東京在憲法改革方面可以效仿德國納粹。

Six months earlier, he said the elderly should be allowed to "hurry up and die"instead of costing the government money for end-of-life medical care.

六個月前，他說老年人應該被允許“趕快去死”，而不是花費政府的錢爲他們提供終生的醫療保健。