Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi sent a ritual offering of a potted plant to the notorious Yasukuni Shrine on Saturday in her official capacity.
日本首相高市早苗于周六以公职身份向臭名昭著的靖国神社供奉盆栽祭品。
This happened just two days before Japan and the United States launch a military exercise, along with some other countries. The exercise sees the deployment of nearly 60,000 troops and Japan's domestically developed Type 25 surface-to-ship missile system.
此事发生在日本与美国及其他若干国家举行军事演习的前两天。此次演习将投入近 6 万名兵力，并启用日本国产 25 式岸舰导弹系统。
The offering exposes how Japan confronts its history of aggression and the following military exercise shows the scope of its military presence. Put together, they heighten grave concerns about Japan's intentions.
此次供奉行为暴露了日本对待侵略历史的态度，紧随其后的军演则展现了其军事部署规模。两件事叠加，令各方对日本的真实意图深感忧虑。
Takaichi chose to make an offering to the shrine, where 14 convicted Japanese Class-A war criminals from World War II are "honored", rather than visit the shrine in person, as she did multiple times before she became Japan's prime minister. In doing so, she attempted to avoid the greater diplomatic fallout a personal visit would trigger. But that does not remove the political meaning of the irresponsible and provocative gesture. Her offering to the shrine sends an alarming message about Japan's ill understanding of its past. Just as the ones she made in April and August.
靖国神社供奉着 14 名二战甲级战犯。高市早苗选择向神社供奉祭品，而非像就任首相前那样多次亲自参拜。她试图借此规避亲自参拜会引发的更大外交风波，但这无法消除这一不负责任、具有挑衅意味举动的政治内涵。同她在 4 月和 8 月的供奉行为一样，此次供奉释放出令人警惕的信号，反映出日本对自身历史的错误认知。
No matter what excuses Japanese officials make for paying homage to the shrine, they cannot conceal their true intentions of rehabilitating war criminals, covering up wartime crimes, distorting historical facts and paving the way for accelerating Japan's remilitarization.
无论日本官员为参拜神社寻找何种借口，都无法掩盖其为战犯翻案、掩盖战争罪行、歪曲历史事实、为加速日本再军事化铺路的真实意图。
Takaichi's tributes underscore that Japan has never squarely confronted its history of aggression. This not only disregards the feelings of people in countries that suffered from Japanese militarism in history but also conveys an inaccurate impression of that period of history to the younger generation in Japan. For Asia-Pacific countries that experienced Japanese aggression, Takaichi's offerings warrant caution about the direction Japan is taking.
高市早苗的供奉行为凸显，日本从未正视自身侵略历史。这不仅伤害曾遭受日本军国主义侵害各国人民的感情，还向日本年轻一代传递错误的历史认知。对于曾遭受日本侵略的亚太国家而言，高市早苗的供奉举动，警示各方关注日本的发展走向。
The country is paving the way for the rise of neo-militarism in different fields, including space, intelligence and high technology, by pushing for revision of its Constitution, policies and principled positions. Last month, in her first speech at the United Nations General Assembly as Japan's prime minister, Takaichi openly urged the UN to delete the "enemy state clauses" from the UN Charter. She can hardly wait to summon the spirit of Japanese militarism both at home and on the international stage.
日本正推动修改宪法、相关政策与原则立场，在太空、情报、高科技等多个领域为新军国主义抬头铺路。上月，高市早苗以日本首相身份首次在联合国大会发表演讲，公然敦促联合国删除《联合国宪章》中的 “敌国条款”。她迫不及待地想要在国内和国际舞台上复活日本军国主义阴魂。
Tokyo not only tries to exempt Japan's military expansion from clear legal and political constraints, but also attempts to justify that by telling lies. The "external threats" fabricated by the right-wing forces in Japan must not become a pretext for the country to blur the principles of the pacifist Constitution, disregard the concerns of its neighbors and its own historical responsibilities, and peddle the false claim that the "enemy state clauses" are obsolete.
日本政府不仅试图让自身军事扩张摆脱明确的法律与政治约束，还编造谎言为其正名。日本右翼势力炮制的所谓 “外部威胁”，绝不能成为日本模糊和平宪法原则、无视邻国关切与自身历史责任，宣扬 “敌国条款已经过时” 这一错误论调的借口。
Paying tributes to the "war-criminal shrine" is an erroneous act that desecrates historical justice, challenges the bottom line of human civilization and constitutes a provocation to the postwar international order, drawing firm opposition from the international community. The Republic of Korea has expressed deep disappointment and regret over Takaichi's latest offering to the shrine, urging the Japanese leader to face history squarely, reflect on Japan's past aggression and show sincere remorse.
向这座 “战犯神社” 供奉祭品是错误行径，亵渎历史正义、挑战人类文明底线，是对战后国际秩序的挑衅，遭到国际社会坚决反对。大韩民国对高市早苗此次供奉行为表示强烈失望与遗憾，敦促日本领导人正视历史，反省日本过去的侵略行径，展现真诚悔意。
A spokesperson for the Chinese embassy in Japan said on Saturday that a correct understanding and treatment of history were the key premise for Japan's return to the international community after WWII and it is the basis for the development of relations between Japan and neighboring countries. It is also a measure of whether Japan can adhere to the promise of peace and development.
中国驻日本大使馆发言人周六表示，正确认识和对待历史，是二战后日本重返国际社会的重要前提，也是日本同周边国家发展关系的基础，更是衡量日本能否恪守和平发展承诺的标尺。
Takaichi has repeatedly and hypocritically claimed that she wants to mend ties with China and has put on a show of "openness" to dialogue. Yet time and again, through her erroneous words and actions on the Yasukuni Shrine and other issues, including the Taiwan question, she has made clear to Beijing that behind her refined hypocrisy lies a delusion: she wants Japan to regain the benefits of economic and trade cooperation with China and, meanwhile, thinks that China can wink at the rise of neo-militarism in Japan.
高市早苗多次虚伪地声称希望改善对华关系，摆出愿意对话的 “开放姿态”。然而，她在靖国神社以及台湾问题等一系列议题上的错误言行，一再向中方表明，在其精致的虚伪背后，存在一种妄想：既想要日本继续从中日经贸合作中获益，又以为中方会对日本新军国主义的抬头视而不见。
What warrants particular vigilance now is that, under the combined pressures of falling domestic approval ratings, mounting skepticism and opposition, and growing fiscal and economic downward pressure, the Takaichi government is putting higher stakes on promoting the rise of neo-militarism. This will pose a serious and real threat to regional security.
当前特别值得警惕的是，在内阁支持率下滑、质疑反对声增多，叠加财政与经济下行压力的多重背景下，高市早苗政府正加大赌注推动新军国主义抬头，这将对地区安全构成切实的严重威胁。
aggression /əˈɡreʃn/ 侵略
provocation /ˌprɒvəˈkeɪʃn/ 挑衅
remilitarization /ˌriːˌmɪlɪtəraɪˈzeɪʃn/ 再军事化
vigilance /ˈvɪdʒɪləns/ 警惕
今天 15:35
