日本天皇想要退位，他是否有权这样做？ [美国媒体]

Japan’semperor wants to retire. Is he allowed to?

日本天皇想要退位，他是否有权这样做？



Japanese Emperor Akihito is 82, has health challenges and islaying the groundwork to relinquish his role. But he may not be allowed to, andeven bringing up the subject may be unconstitutional. (Toru Yamanaka/AFP/GettyImages)

日本明仁天皇已经82岁，正在用健康问题为自己退位做铺垫。但是他这样做可能是不符合宪法。

TOKYO — For28 years, Emperor Akihito has been a steady and reassuring presence in Japan, afact that many people here are reminded of on a daily basis. After all, 2016 isofficially known as “Heisei 28,” marking Akihito’s time on the ChrysanthemumThrone.

东京——日本明仁天皇已经在位28年。2016年被称为“平成28年”，用来纪念其登基时间。

But now, the 82-year-old “emperor for life” islaying the groundwork to relinquish his role and pass it on to his oldest son,Naruhito. That will be tricky. Not only is there no legal provision for him toabdicate, but even raising the prospect could be unconstitutional.

但是现在这位82岁的“终身皇帝”正在为自己退位做铺垫，并准备将皇位传给自己的长子德仁。比较棘手的问题是，不仅没有合法依据支持他退位，而且可能会违宪。

“Under the current law, he can’t abdicate,even if he wants to. There is no option but to carry on,” said Yasushi Kuno, aveteran journalist who for years covered the imperial family for the Nippontelevision network.

“在目前的法律下，不是他想退位就能退位的，没有第二选择。”多年来为日本电台专门报道皇室新闻的资深记者说道。

Akihito is scheduled to make a pre-recordedvideo statement to the Japanese people Monday afternoon, during which heprobably will say that he is having difficulty carrying out his officialduties.

预计明仁天皇将会在周一中午发布一条事先录制的声明，在声明中他可能谈及自己履行职责的困难。

He has had health issues — prostate cancer andheart problems — and, marking his birthday in December, he said there had beentimes when he had felt his age.

他有一些健康问题——前列腺癌和心脏问题，而且在去年12月其生日时也说道，考虑到自己的年龄，有很多次退位想法。

“Even if he tries really hard, he can’t denythat his body is deteriorating,” which means he can no longer carry out all hisofficial duties, Kuno said.

“即使他非常努力，无法否认的是他的身体状况在恶化。”也就是说他无法再履行自己的职责。

Surviving through samurais and shoguns andwars, an unbroken male line of emperors has endured in Japan for almost 3,000years. They are said to be direct descendants of Amaterasu, the Shinto goddessof the sun.

横穿武士、幕府、战争时代，日本天皇一直延续了将近3000年。他们自称为太阳神的后裔。

Abdication was relatively common until 1817,when Kokaku became the last emperor to resign his post.

在1817年前，天皇退位很常见，Kokaku是最后一位退位的天皇。

But the imperial system underwent a hugeupheaval at the end of World War II, when the U.S. occupying forces allowedHirohito, the current emperor’s father, to remain in his position but strippedhim of his powers.

但是在二战后期，天皇体系发生了很大变化。在美国占领日本期间，准许现任天皇的父亲裕仁天皇继续留任，但是废除其参政权利。

The emperor was reduced to being a ceremonialfigurehead who would serve as a “symbol of the state and of the unity of thepeople,” according to the U.S.-written constitution. As such, he does “not havepowers related to government,” meaning that he cannot say anything evenremotely political.

根据美国为日本制定的宪法，天皇变成了一个象征形式的国家领袖。因此天皇没有参政权利，意味着他对政治没有任何话语权。

That will cause some issues for Akihito, theonly emperor to have begun his reign under the postwar constitution. Becausethere is no provision in the Imperial House Law for him to abdicate, evenraising the idea would be considered political because it would require aparliamentary amendment.

这对明仁天皇带来一些麻烦，因为他是战后宪法第一个继位的人。在皇室法中没有条款让他可以退位，放大到政治来说，这需要议会来进行修改。

“So he will be ambiguous, unclear,” saidTakeshi Hara, a professor of politics who has written several books on theimperial system. “I think he will just express his feelings.”

“所以他会表达的模糊，不清晰。”一位出版过皇室书籍的教授说道，“我认为他仅仅是表达自己的感觉。”

Signs of the emperor’s wish to step downemerged last month when NHK, the public broadcaster, which has close ties toPrime Minister Shinzo Abe’s government, reported that it was under discussion.

天皇退位的消息在上个月出现，是由亲安倍政府的日本NHK电台披露，据报道该问题正在讨论中。

The public has been supportive of the idea,with polls showing that between 77 percent and 90 percent ofrespondents say the government should create a system to allow the emperor toabdicate.

日本民众支持天皇想法，有民调显示77%至90%的反馈者认为日本政府应该新设法律准许天皇退位。

“If he feels old and tired, it’s okay for himto retire,” said Yukiko Sakurai, one of a group of four gray-haired womensitting in a Tokyo cafe last week. “He’s old. Maybe they should set an agelimit on being emperor?”

“如果天皇感觉自己老了，力不从心，让他退位也是可以的。”一位受访女士说道，也许他们设一个天皇退休年龄限制。

Hirohito died at age 87; Akihito was 55 whenhe succeeded his father. His oldest son, Naruhito, is 56.

裕仁天皇在87岁去世，明仁天皇在55岁时继位。明仁天皇长子德仁，目前56岁。

The Japanese public has warm feelings towardthe current emperor. His father was considered to be “above the clouds,” sorevered that Japanese people weren’t even allowed to look straight at himduring the war.

日本民众对目前的明仁天皇有着良好的感情。而其父亲裕仁天皇则被认为“天神”，在二战期间日本民众甚至不准许对直视天皇。

“But the current emperor has a different styleand talks directly to the people,” said Kuno, the journalist. This wasparticularly evident after the March 2011 earthquake and tsunami, when Akihitofor the first time recorded a video message to the Japanese people, and thenvisited the disaster zone.

但是明仁天皇有着不同的风格，其直接同民众对话。尤其是在2011年3月日本地震和海啸后，明仁首次录像广播给日本民众，后来还访问了受灾区。

Any legal changes will take time, probablyyears, to usher through. But in the meantime, the emperor’s intentions probablywill create headaches for Abe, whose top — and controversial — priority isrevising the constitution to loosen the pacifism imposed on Japan after thewar.

任何法律修改都需要时间，甚至好几年来完成。但是同时，天皇的想法也给安倍带来头疼，安倍一心要修改宪法，来释放战后限制日本的和平宪法。

Abe’sgovernment last month succeededin winning the two-thirds majorityneeded inthe upper house to try to make changes to the constitution.

安倍政府在上周赢得上议院2/3的多数权，试图修改宪法。

[Japan’s emperor appears to part ways with Abe on pacifism debate]

日本天皇在修宪上同安倍有着截然不同的观点。

Theemperor has obliquelysignaled that he disagrees withattempts to revise the constitution and has made efforts to atone for Japan’swartime brutality.

天皇一直婉转表示其不同意修改宪法，也努力弥补日本战争罪行。

“I hear the emperor feels a sense of crisisover the current political situation,” said Jiro Yamaguchi, a politicalscientist at Hosei University. “Abe’s position on constitutional revision iscompletely different from the emperor’s position of protecting theconstitution.”

“我能感觉到天皇对目前的政治形势有危机感。”一位政法大学政治学者说道。安倍修改宪法的目的和天皇保护宪法的目的完全不同。

Akihito’s coming statement, he said, couldtrigger a drive among the public to keep the constitution as it is.

明仁天皇即将发表的声明，很可能激起发对修宪的浪潮。

Talk of legal changes could put the brakes onefforts to revise the constitution, said Mari Miura, a political scientist atSophia University. But it also could inject momentum into the efforts. “Thiscould give a push to those on the revision side if all the changes could bereviewed together,” she said.

对皇室法律的修改也许会暂缓对宪法的修改。一位索菲亚大学的政治学者说到。但是也有可能会促进对宪法的修改，这可能会推动反对派将这两项一起修改。

Abe has other reasons to be resistant tochange in the royal status. He lobbied against efforts a decade ago, when theemperor had only granddaughters, to allow women to inherit the title.

安倍也有其他原因来组织对皇室条款的修改。在十年前他就进行游说，在当时天皇只有孙女的情况下，反对准许女性继承皇位。

Thorny legal questions aside, there are lotsof logistical considerations, much like the Vatican had to grapple with whenPope Benedict XVI wanted to step aside. Where would Akihito live? What would hebe called? “Retired emperor?”

除了这些棘手的法律问题，也有很多后续方面的考虑。就像当年梵蒂冈艰难的应对本笃十六岁要退位的难题一样。明仁天皇会安排住在哪里？他的名号会是什么？退休皇帝？


Sql
8/7/2016 11:10 PM GMT+0800
Theheavenly king is only ordinary human being, after all. Only humans can retire.It may be high time to stop the big lie and abolish the throne all together.

天子终究也是凡人。只有人类可以退休。是时候阻止这些谎言了，顺便把皇权一起也废了吧。

WigglyWeasel
8/7/2016 3:39 AM GMT+0800
Theemperor can't retire and let the designated heir take over his ceremonialduties? That's really stupid.

皇帝不能退位，也不能让子嗣继承仪式指责？这不是扯淡吗。

readeverythingwithdoubt
8/7/2016 3:09 AM GMT+0800
Theseare absurd and antiquated laws that prevent a sick and aged Emperor fromretiring. We have a Pope in retirement, why notan Emperor?

这些荒诞又落后的法律阻止年老病衰的皇帝退位。我们教皇都可以退位，你们天皇就不行？

Bullnose_02
8/7/2016 12:18 AM GMT+0800 [Edited]
Theemperor's roles are symbolic and ceremonial. Akihito doesn't have to do morethan breathe to fulfill the first, and if he sends Naruhito to stand in for himat events, what are the authorities going to do, arrest him? I suspect thatthis really is about efforts to amend the self-defense provisions of theconstitution.

天皇就是个象征仪式。明仁只需要还活着就行了，即使他让儿子德仁代替他参加仪式。难道日本政府还会逮捕他？我看这些努力，其实真正的目的就是为了修改自卫法而已?

californiawalrus
8/6/2016 9:02 PM GMT+0800
Theauthor is remarkably ignorant of Japanese culture to be the Japan Bureau chief.The Emperor has always been far above politics and other worldly. Many Emperorsnever ventured outside of the palace. There may be no provision for retirementbut what he does and does not say or do in entirely up to him. The distinctionbetween non-retirement and retirement is exactly what he makes of it. If hechooses to send his son as a representative, he can do so.

这个作者充满对日本文化的傲慢，自认为很熟悉日本。日本天皇一直远离政治和世俗。很多日本天皇都不出皇宫的。

Frank Fourth
8/7/2016 1:26 AM GMT+0800
"Many Emperors never venturedoutside of the palace." 
Or never allowed outside of the palace.

“很多日本天皇都不出宫”
我看是不被准许出宫吧！