評論
打印
Business
商業報道
Takafumi Horie's comeback
堀江貴文的回歸
Up, up and away
升高，升高再升高
The controversial entrepreneur remains popular, brash and ambitious
這個有著很大爭議的企業家依舊很受歡迎并且野心勃勃
IN 2005 Takafumi Horie, then president of Livedoor, an internet firm, joined the X PRIZE Foundation,
2005年，互聯網公司活力門的總經理堀江貴文加入了X獎基金會。
a charity which gives cash for innovative projects such as space tourism.
X獎基金會是一個慈善組織，這個組織會為一些創新科技項目提供資金，如：太空旅行。
Joining forces with the likes of Larry Page and Elon Musk, co-founders of Google and PayPal respectively, was a typically bold move by the self-styled boy billionaire from Fukuoka.
加入一個有拉里佩奇和埃隆?馬斯克這樣的人的組織，無疑是這個福岡不為人知的億萬富翁小子的一項勇敢舉措。拉里佩奇和埃隆?馬斯克分別是谷歌和貝寶的合作創建人。
Instead of going into orbit, however, Mr Horie went behind bars.
不像其他人那樣走的一帆風順，堀江貴文曾在監獄服過刑。
He was arrested in Japan's biggest financial scandal of the decade.
他被捕的原因是卷入了日本數十年來最大的財政丑聞。
Now, however, he is out on parole, and says he will soon launch a low-cost space-tourism business using a Russian capsule.
但是現在，他假釋出獄，并且表示，他馬上就會使用俄羅斯研發的一種太空艙經營一個低成本的太空旅行企業。
He has completed several test launches.
他已經進行了多次發射演練。
A large Japanese firm is on the verge of sponsoring a flight next year, he says.
他說，日本的一家大公司已經準備明年投資一架飛機。
Other investors, he claims, are standing by.
并且聲稱，其他的投資者也都蠢蠢欲動了。
This time the money will come not from inflating the earnings and shares of Livedoor, for which Mr Horie was sent down,
現在這個時期，對于像堀江貴文這樣子被開除的人來說，錢不是那么容易就能從活力門的股份和通貨膨脹的工資中掙到，
but from a dedicated following of 20- and 30-somethings who pay to hear his thoughts via a monthly digital magazine.
但是他卻可以從一大批忠心的追隨者中賺到錢，那些追隨者會訂電子月刊付錢聽他的想法。
He has almost a million followers on Twitter. Social media and crowdfunding platforms, he says, make it far easier now to launch new businesses.
他在推特上已經有了將近一百萬的追隨者。他說，社交媒體和云募資平臺使得創建新企業變得更加容易。
Not even 21 months in a Japanese prison,
絕不僅僅只是21個月在日本監獄生活，
including solitary confinement, freezing temperatures and forced labour, were able to stop him entertaining an audience.
這之中堀江貴文還被送到那種極度寒冷且被迫大量勞動的地方單獨監禁，這種經歷使得他不再用愉悅的口吻為自己的聽眾做講解。
From his cell he published two well-received books with gritty manga strips describing his new life:
牢獄中，他在自己的小房間中出版了兩本很受歡迎的書，書中他用日本漫畫來描繪自己的生活：
cleaning pubic hair out of toilets, being farted at by the senior prisoners he had to tend to, and having to surrender porn magazines to prison guards.
清理洗手間的毛發，比自己早來的犯人沖著自己放屁，被迫向監獄看守交出自己的色輕雜志。
He also dreamed up dozens of new-business ideas.
他也在書中闡述了很多關于新企業的想法。
Among the 30 or so earthbound plans are a new reality show where fans will pay to put their idols on television,
大約有三十個切合實際的計劃都是關于一個新的實體秀的，在這個實體秀中，粉絲需要付錢把他們的偶像放到電視上，
a celebrity-chat smartphone application and a scheme to undercut the price of livestreaming video to phones. Nothing too radical, then:
付錢去申請一個和名人電話通話的機會，付錢去買更為廉價的主流音像資源到手機上。這之中沒有任何一個特別激進的，然后：
Japan, after all, is already awash with social-media and smartphone start-ups.
日本就會充斥著社交媒體和智能電話企業。
As for his reception back into business life,
至于他返回商業界的感受，
Mr Horie jokes that everyone has welcomed me, except for the chairman of Fuji TV.
堀江貴文開玩笑地說道：每個人都很歡迎我，除了富士電視套臺長。
Many people reckon the entrepreneur was punished harshly mainly because he tried to win control of the big broadcaster, and because he flaunted his wealth.
很多人推測堀江貴文之所以被如此嚴厲的懲戒主要是因為他曾經試圖去控制廣播公司，而且他還總是去炫耀自己的資產。
The authorities usually treat accounting fraud more leniently. In July a group of executives at Olympus, a camera-maker, received suspended prison sentences for a far larger scheme.
政府懲罰做假賬的都比這輕。七月，奧林巴斯的一組高官由于一個很大的商業陰謀而被判緩刑。
Mr Horie, now 40, says he is trying to forget what happened.
四十歲的堀江貴文說他正在試圖忘記所發生的不好的事情。
It will be hard for his generation to do likewise.
但這對于他那一代人來說卻很難。
William Saito, a serial entrepreneur who travels the country encouraging graduates to start new businesses, says he has spent the past five years trying to undo the dispiriting effect of Mr Horie's fall and punishment on young people.
連環創業者威廉齋藤游遍全國去游說畢業生創業，他說，他過去五年都在嘗試解開堀江貴文的失敗為年輕人們帶來的負面效應。
A successful new venture would help greatly.
一個成功的新企業將會起到很大的幫助。
