日本上院选举 修宪应慎重为之(2)

The version promulgated by the Emperor Meiji in 1889 [CHKD]created a state empowered to direct Japan’s modernisation — fusing economic, political and social power in the service of the national purpose, legitimised by an absolute monarchy.

1889年由明治天皇颁布的宪法缔造了一个带领日本迈向现代化的国家体制——集中经济、政治和社会力量，为国家目标服务，而这一切的合法性来自绝对君主制。

The later document decentralised power and divested the state of its military power.

和平宪法对权力进行了分散，剥夺了国家的军事力量。

Will a new constitution once again seek to mend the social compact? Or will leaders set their sights lower, tinkering, tweaking language or amending the 1947 blueprint of their democracy to meet today’s social needs? It is too early to tell.

新版宪法会寻求再次修改这种社会契约吗？抑或日本领导人会降低期望值、在字面上稍作调整，或是修改1947年制定的民主蓝图以满足当今的社会需求？现在评判还为时过早。

The committee to revise the constitution has catalogued the changes Japan’s political parties think could improve their founding document.

修宪委员会已经列出了日本各政党认为可以改进该国宪制文件的修改内容。

The governing Liberal Democratic party has a draft to share, as Mr Abe pointed out after the election, a draft he says could serve as a basis for legislative discussion.

正如安倍晋三在选举后所指出的那样，执政的自民党制定了自己的草案，安倍称该草案可以作为立法讨论的基础。

But it will take far more than the 242 legislators in the upper house — or even the roughly 700 in both houses — to determine what a new constitution might look like.

但是，制定新宪法所需要的不仅是上院242名议员的支持——即使获得两院近700名议员的支持也不够。

Article 96 of the present document declares that two-thirds of all the members of each house of parliament must create a proposal for revision. After that, a national referendum must be held to gain approval.

现行宪法第96条规定，上下两院各三分之二以上的议员必须拿出一份修订提议。之后必须由全民公投批准修订。

And the fact is that, while voters have created an opening for those who advocate revision, they seem deeply ambivalent about the prospect of tampering with the document that has supported their transition to democracy.

事实是，尽管选民们为那些提倡修宪的政客创造了一个切入点，但是他们似乎对修订曾经支持日本实现民主转型的宪法的前景深感矛盾。

Popular sovereignty brings agency to the people; it should not be abandoned easily. All the social institutions must claim a stake in the process and all citizens must take responsibility for the outcome.

人民主权给人民带来能动性；它不应该被轻易抛弃。所有社会机构都应该参与这一过程，所有公民都必须对结果负起责任。

Revising simply for the sake of revising will only weaken confidence in Japan’s democracy, at home and abroad.

为了修宪而修宪，只会削弱国内外对日本民主的信心。