【英语财经】日本经济大臣因受贿丑闻辞职 Japan economy minister Amari resigns

Japan’s prime minister Shinzo Abe yesterday lost one of the chief architects of his stimulus strategy after his economy minister resigned over allegations he accepted a bribe.

Akira Amari, regarded as the “minister for Abenomics”, has denied pocketing money from a construction company. He said any cash was a legitimate political donation but he would quit to take responsibility for how his office handled the matter.

The scandal is the most serious to hit Mr Abe since he took office in 2012. Mr Amari was Japan’s chief negotiator for the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade deal and part of the premier’s inner circle. His departure could tip the balance in the government away from economic stimulus towards tighter fiscal policy.

Japan’s attempt to escape from two decades of on-and-off deflation has stumbled, at least partly because of tax rises pushed by fiscal hawks in Mr Abe’s party.

“The Japanese economy is on the brink of exiting deflation. We must remove obstacles to the passage of vital laws. Of course, I am no exception. I have therefore today decided to resign from the cabinet,” said an emotional Mr Amari.

Last week, the magazine Shukan Bunshun alleged that Mr Amari and his secretaries had accepted at least Y12m ($100,000) from a construction company, in contravention of Japan’s political funding laws.

“Even though I have done nothing to be ashamed of, I can’t shift the blame for creating public doubt in politics on to an official,” said Mr Amari. Doing so would be against his “aesthetic as a politician”.

“Politically, this will stabilise the government. If Mr Abe had left him in place, then the scandal would have gone on and on in parliament,” said Masatoshi Honda, a professor of politics at Kinjo University.

日本首相安倍晋三(Shinzo Abe)昨天失去了其刺激政策的总设计师之一，经济大臣因受贿指控辞职。

被视为“安倍经济学大臣”的甘利明(Akira Amari)否认从一家建筑公司收取贿赂。他称，任何现金都是合法的政治献金，但是他会辞职，为其办公室处理该问题的方式承担责任。

该丑闻是自2012年安倍上台以来对他打击最沉重的事件。甘利明是《跨太平洋伙伴关系协定》(TPP)的日本首席谈判代表，也是安倍核心圈子的一员。他的离职可能会改变平衡，使日本政府从经济刺激转向收紧财政政策。

日本摆脱20年断断续续通缩的努力已失去后劲，至少部分原因是安倍政党内财政鹰派力推的增税措施。

“日本经济正处于摆脱通缩的边缘。我们必须移除阻碍重要法案通过的障碍。当然，我也不是例外。因此今天我决定辞去内阁职务，”情绪激动的甘利明称。

上周，《周刊文春》(Shukan Bunshun)宣称，甘利明及其秘书接受了来自一家建筑公司的至少1200万日元（合10万美元），违反了日本政治献金法。

“尽管我并未做任何让我蒙羞的事，但是我不能推卸制造公众对一名官员的政治质疑的责任，”甘利明称。那么做将有违他“身为一名政客的美感”。

“从政治角度来讲，这将使政府稳定。如果安倍让他继续留任，那么该丑闻将在议会不断发酵，”金城大学(Kinjo University)政治学教授本田雅俊(Masatoshi Honda)表示。

译者/马柯斯