'Comfort women': anger as Japan paper alters description of WWII terms

日本报纸修改二战“慰安妇”描述引发怒火

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Japan’s oldest English-language newspaper has sparked anger among staff and readers after revising its description of wartime sex slaves from the Korean peninsula.

日本最古老的英文报纸修改了对朝鲜半岛战时性奴的描述，引发了工作人员和读者的愤怒。

The Japan Times, whose motto is ‘all the news without fear or favour’，said it would alter its description of the comfort women—a euphemism for tens of thousands of girls and women, mainly from the Korean peninsula, who were forced to work in Japanese military brothels before and during the war.

《日本时报》的宣传标语是“新闻无所畏惧、亦无偏袒”；该报表示，它将修改对“慰安妇”的描述。慰安妇是一种委婉说法，指在二战前和二战期间被迫在日本军队的妓院里工作的成千上万的女性，她们主要来自朝鲜半岛。

The newspaper noted that it had previously described the victims as “women who were forced to provide sex for Japanese troops before and during world war two”. But it added: “Because the experiences of comfort women in different areas throughout the course of the war varied widely, from today, we will refer to ‘comfort women’ as ‘women who worked in wartime brothels, including those who did so against their will, to provide sex to Japanese soldiers’.”

该报指出，它此前曾将这些受害者描述为“在第二次世界大战之前和战争期间被迫为日本军队提供性服务的妇女”。但该报补充道：“因为在整个二战期间不同地区‘慰安妇’的经历差异很大，从今往后，我们会将‘慰安妇’解释为‘在战时妓院工作，为日本士兵提供性服务的女性，这其中有一部分女性并不自愿’”。

The revision has added to concern that sections of the media are bowing to pressure from rightwing politicians and activists to rewrite Japan’s wartime history and portray its actions on the Asian mainland in a more favourable light.

此次修订增添了民众的担忧：部分媒体正屈服于右翼政客和活动家的压力，重写日本的战时历史，美化二战时日本在亚洲大陆的行动。

The editorial shift by The Japan Times comes soon after South Korea said it would dissolve a Japanese-funded foundation to support survivors, sparking outrage in Tokyo. The move, which in effect terminated a 2015 agreement to settle the countries’ impasse over sexual slavery, drew an immediate rebuke from Japan.

《日本时报》措辞上的转变，是在韩国表示将解散一个日资基金会不久后发生的。这个基金会旨在支持幸存的慰安妇，而解散基金会的举动在东京引起了愤怒。由于它实际上终止了一项 2015 年日韩双方达成的、关于打破战时性奴问题僵局的协议，这一举动立即引起了日本的谴责。

—————  文章来源 / 卫报

重点词汇

spark/spɑːrk/

v. 引发，触发

e.g.

spark interest

spark concern

revise/rɪˈvaɪz/

v. 修订，修改（revised adj.; revision n.）

peninsula/pəˈnɪnsələ/

n. 半岛

e.g.

The Arabian Peninsula

euphemism/ˈjuːfəmɪzəm/

n. 委婉说法，委婉语

brothel/ˈbrɑːθl/

n. 妓院

course/kɔːrs/

n. 过程，经过

e.g.

the course of history

the course of events

bow to

屈服

e.g.

We must never bow to fate.

rightwing/ˌraɪt ˈwɪŋ/

adj. 右翼的

portray/pɔːrˈtreɪ/

v. 描绘，描述

dissolve/dɪˈzɑːlv/

v. 解散团体或机构

e.g.

The parliament was dissolved.

in effect

实际上，事实上

terminate/ˈtɜːrmɪneɪt/

v. 结束，使终结

e.g.

My friend's remark terminated the conversation.

impasse/ˈɪmpæs/

n. 僵局，绝境

e.g.

We reached an impasse in the negotiations.

rebuke/rɪˈbjuːk/

n. 指责，斥责（rebuke v.）

e.g.

He received a rebuke from the manager.

The manager rebuked him. (v.)