听说日本要收“单身税”？为什么受伤的总是单身狗？

In fact, this is not the first time that Japanese government officials have proposed a bachelor tax. In 2004, a member of the Liberal Democratic Party suggested taxing single people to promote marriage, but the proposal ended up with nothing definite.

事实上，这并非日本政府官员第一次提出征收“单身税”(Bachelor Tax)，早在2004年，日本自民党就曾经提出过向单身人士征税的议案，意图促进单身男女尽快结婚，不过最后还是不了了之。

NHK's documentary highlights the dilemma facing Japan's economy due to the number of childless couples and an aging population. In Japanese society, more and more young people choose to live alone. These young people not only have no life partners, but also reject the idea of engaging in normal social life.

这部在日本社会引起热议的纪录片讲述了日本陷入少子、高龄化带来的经济发展困境。目前的日本社会里越来越多的年青人选择独身生活，他们不仅没有伴侣，且无法融入正常的社交生活。

With a higher unemployment rate and lower pensions, these young people are facing the threat of dying alone.

面临高失率和养老金不足的威胁，这些年轻人对“无缘死”——一个人孤独地死去而没有任何亲友发现的恐惧加深。

According to NHK's report, every year 32,000 Japanese people die alone. Japan's "Choose the Future Committee" estimates that if this situation continues, within 100 years the Japanese population will be less than half of what it is today.

根据NHK报道，日本每年都有32000人“无缘死”，如果这种情况继续恶化，那么根据日本“选择未来委员会”的测算，100年后日本人口将只剩下现在的一半不到了。

Is "being single" a factor that effects the economy? For Japan, the answer may be yes. But there is another voice saying that the increasing single group stimulates the development of emerging industries like the Internet, entertainment, film and television. The term "single economy" was created due to this phenomena.

单身真的会影响经济发展吗?对于日本来说，答案也许是肯定的。但也有另一种声音认为，单身的增多刺激了互联网、娱乐、影视以及其他新兴产业的出现和发展，“单身经济”一词应运而生。

Alibaba released a report on "Empty Nester Youth in China" on May 3. The report shows that China has more than 50 million single "empty nester" young people.

5月3日，阿里巴巴发布了《中国空巢青年图鉴》，数据显示我国的单身空巢青年人数已经超过5000万。

This group consists of singles from 20 to 39 years old. They enjoy shopping online, eating take-away food and ordering on-site services. They watch movies and travel alone.

这群20到39岁之间的空巢青年，喜欢网购，经常点外卖、线上预约服务。他们一个人看电影、一个人旅行。

"The singles usually have more disposable income and tend to focus more on self spending." According to the report "Marketing the single consumers - China 2017", released by British market consulting firm Mintel, 61% of the single consumers are interested in movies and TV shows, followed by travel (56%) and fitness (48%).

“单身人士通常拥有更多的可支配收入，倾向于关注自我和把钱花在自己身上。” 英国市场咨询公司英敏特最新报告《针对单身消费者的营销——中国2017》显示，六成(61%)单身消费者最感兴趣的领域是电影、电视剧，其次是旅行(56%)和运动健身(48%)。

"16% of China’s urban population now lives alone, according to the Boston Consulting Group. The trend has been accompanied by a profound change in people’s perceptions of remaining single: the concept is no longer stigmatized, singles “dine, travel and pursue activities by themselves".

波士顿集团也在其报告中说：“如今中国16%的城市人口独自一人生活。这种趋势还伴随着人们对于保持单身的观念的巨大改变，单身观念不再受鄙夷。这也意味着单身人士会‘自己就餐、自己旅游、自己从事各种活动’”。

The Lex Papia Poppaea was introduced in 9 AD to encourage marriage. Penalties were imposed on those who were celibate and married people who had no children.

公元9年古罗马颁布了《巴比亚波培亚法》，该法律对对公民的单身状况进行了相关规定，根据法律，独身和已婚不育的夫妇，都需要受到惩罚。

In 1695, the English parliament passed The Marriage Duty Act or Registration Tax, which imposed a tax on childless couples, widowers and bachelors over the age of 25. It was primarily used as a revenue-raising mechanism for the war on France.

1695年，英国议会通过了“婚姻与注册税法”， 法律不仅规定了25岁以上的单身人士需要纳税，就连无子女的夫妇和丧偶个人也需要缴纳税款，主要目的用于征集英国对法战争的款项。