評論
打印
Japan and the Paradox of Thrift
日本與節儉的悖論
Consumers living on fixed incomes have become intolerant of price hikes
以固定收入維持生活的消費者已經無法容忍價格上漲
When the maker of a popular Japanese popsicle decided to raise prices for the first time in 25 years, executives of Akagi Nyugyo Co.—which introduced the treat in 1981—felt a need to apologize to their customers.
日本冰凍甜品公司赤城乳業要給一款備受歡迎的冰棍漲價時，公司高管們感到有必要向他們的顧客道歉。這款冰棍由赤城乳業于 1981 年推出，其價格25年來從沒改變過。
On the day of the hike, in April 2016, they ran a 60-second commercial showing the company's gray-haired chairman, backed by a phalanx of dark-suited workers, all bowing in deep contrition.
在2016年4月冰棍漲價當天，公司播放了一個60秒鐘的廣告。在廣告中，白發蒼蒼的董事長身后站著一群身著黑色制服的員工，所有人都鞠躬致敬。
Three years later, the Akagi Nyugyo manager who came up with the idea for the ad is still feeling contrite.
三年后，赤城乳業那位為這個廣告獻策的經理仍然感到懊悔。
"It's not like people have any extra spending money," Fumio Hagiwara says.
“人們沒有任何額外的支出資金，” Fumio Hagiwara說道。
Japan is the only developed economy where wages have dropped year after year.
日本是唯一一個工資逐年下降的發達國家。
Since 1996 inflation-adjusted pay has fallen about 13 percentage points—a big reason businesses are loath to raise prices or invest in a shrinking market.
自1996年以來，通脹調整后的工資下降了約13個百分點，這是企業不愿意提高產品價格或投資萎縮市場的一個重要原因。
The downward spiral has led to a "deflationary mindset" that Bank of Japan Governor Haruhiko Kuroda blames for thwarting his efforts to revive the economy, using every trick in the central bankers' playbook.
不斷走低的趨勢導致一種“通貨緊縮的心態”。日本中央銀行長黑田東彥在利用央行戰術手冊中的各種方法試圖重振經濟，他指責這種走低趨勢挫敗了他的各種努力。
Thrift has become so deeply ingrained in the Japanese psyche that a rare bump in the most recent round of seasonal bonuses paid to workers ended up powering a savings surge instead of a shopping spree.
節儉在日本人心中早已根深蒂固。最近一輪給員工發放季度性獎金時，出現了儲蓄額激增，而非購物狂潮的罕見現象。
"It's not surprising when people have had negative wages for so long," says Michael Causton, an expert on Japanese spending patterns and co-founder of research firm JapanConsuming.
日本消費模式專家、市場調研公司JapanConsuming的聯合創始人邁克爾·考斯頓表示，“當人們的工資一直處于負增長狀態時，出現這種現象不足為奇。”
After six recessions in 30 years, figuring out ways to save money has turned into a national obsession.
在30年間經歷了六次經濟衰退之后，日本民眾都癡迷于尋找省錢的方法。
One television show, Cocorico Creates a Legend, scored a hit in the mid-August by challenging celebrities to survive for a month on a $3-a-day budget
綜藝秀《黃金傳說》（Cocorico Creates a Legend），在8月中旬播出過超受歡迎的節目，內容是讓明星挑戰每天以3美元的預算生活一個月。
—black humor for a still-rich country where living standards are slowly eroding and the poverty rate has crept up to a more U.S.-like 16 percent.
日本仍然是個富庶的國家，但其民眾的生活水平在緩慢下降，貧困率也攀升至16%，與美國相類似。此時播出這個節目，無疑算是種黑色幽默。
