日本新财相：将发债刺激经济

Japan’s new finance minister has signalled that the government will borrow to boost the struggling economy as the prime minister, Shinzo Abe, unveiled a “crisis beating cabinet yesterday.

日本新任财务大臣麻生太郎(Taro Aso)昨天表示，日本政府将通过借贷刺激该国举步维艰的经济。此前日本新任首相安倍晋三(Shinzo Abe)公布了一个以“战胜危机为目标的新内阁。

At a press conference following his appointment, Taro Aso announced that he would issue bonds and lift a cap on new debt for the 2012 fiscal year.

在麻生太郎获得任命之后的一个资讯发布会上，他宣布，将发行债券，并取消对2012财年新债发行规模的限制。

“We will not stick to the debt cap of Y44tn ($513bn) [for the year through to March], Mr Aso said. The debt limitation was introduced by the previous Democratic party administration, which was defeated in a landslide by Mr Abe’s Liberal Democratic party. The yen fell to a two-year low against the dollar yesterday, in anticipation of inflationary steps by Mr Abe’s government and potential monetary easing by the Bank of Japan.

麻生太郎表示：“（对截至明年3月的财政年度）我们不会坚持44万亿日元（合5130亿美元）的债务上限。这一债务上限是由日本上届民主党(Democratic party)政府实施的。安倍晋三领导的自民党(Liberal Democratic party)在最近的大选中，以绝对优势击败了民主党。日元兑美元汇率昨日跌至两年低点，因为市场预期，安倍晋三领导的政府将采取通胀性举措，同时日本央行(Bank of Japan)可能会推出货币宽松政策。

As prime minister himself from 2008-09, Mr Aso launched huge economic stimulus packages to combat fallout from the global financial crisis before he lost power.

麻生太郎自己曾在2008年至2009年担任日本首相，在下野前，他曾推出大规模经济刺激计划，以应对全球金融危机所造成的影响。

Mr Abe unveiled a cabinet of close allies and policy experts to push his agenda of economic recovery, just hours after being formally appointed as the country’s seventh prime minister in six years. He has vowed to create a “crisis-beating government to tackle the deflation that has dogged Japan for more than a decade and also the strong yen.

在正式成为日本6年来第7任首相几小时之后，安倍晋三公布了一个由亲密盟友和政策专家组成的内阁，以推动其经济复苏议程。他承诺创建一个“战胜突破内阁，以应对困扰日本10余年的通缩和走强的日元。

“I will direct the energies of my entire cabinet towards implementing bold monetary policy, flexible fiscal policy and a growth strategy that encourages private investment, Mr Abe said.

安倍晋三表示：“我将指挥我们整个内阁致力于实施大胆货币政策、灵活财政政策以及鼓励私人投资的增长战略。

He has pledged to reflate the economy through fiscal stimulus and monetary easing. He has also called on the Bank of Japan to carry out “unlimited easing and threatened the central bank’s independence – through legislative changes – if it does not introduce a 2 per cent inflation target.

他承诺将通过财政刺激和货币宽松政策刺激经济。他还呼吁日本央行实施“无限宽松政策，并威胁如果日本央行不引入2%的通胀目标，他将通过立法改革削弱日本央行的独立性。

But the finance ministry is opposed to the kind of big stimulus spending that Mr Abe says is needed to boost the economy, which recently entered its fifth recession in 15 years, unless additional spending is funded by tax increases. It is concerned about Japan’s fiscal situation, with the IMF warning that gross public debt will reach 236 per cent of the size of the economy by next March.

但对日本财政状况感到担忧的日本财务省并不赞成安倍晋三提出的大规模刺激计划，除非增加的开支是通过增税来支持。国际货币基金组织(IMF)警告称，到明年3月，日本公共债务总规模将达到该国经济总量的236%。日本经济最近陷入了15年来的第五次衰退。

Takao Toshikawa, editor of the current affairs newsletter Insideline, said the veteran Mr Aso was “the only one with the power to keep the finance ministry in line. Mr Aso will also assume the post of financial services minister, overseeing the Financial Services Agency.

时事通讯Inside Line的编辑Takao Toshikawa表示，经验丰富的麻生太郎是“唯一有能力控制财务省的人。麻生太郎还将担任日本金融担当大臣，掌管日本金融厅(Financial Services Agency)。