篡改文件丑闻冲击安倍政府
围绕低价出售公共土地的一起丑闻撼动了日本政府，此前财务省承认篡改文件，以去除首相安倍晋三(Shinzo Abe)和他的妻子安倍昭恵(Akie Abe)的姓名。
The finance ministry said it made 14 alterations in documents submitted to parliament relating to the sale of land in Osaka to Moritomo Gakuen, an ultra-nationalist school operator
. 财务省表示，在提交给国会的相关文件上作了14处更改，这些文件涉及向极端民族主义的学校经营者森友学园(Moritomo Gakuen)出售大阪的一个地块。
The revelations have left Taro Aso, finance minister, clinging to his job and threaten Mr Abe’s chances of winning a third term as leader of the Liberal Democratic party this autumn.
这些爆料使财务大臣麻生太郎(Taro Aso)受到辞职压力，并危及安倍晋三今秋赢得自民党党魁第三个任期的机会。
Alterations occurred between February and April last year and were made by “a group of staff in the financial bureau”, said Mr Aso. Mr Aso said he did not know about the alterations until Sunday and blamed the senior bureaucrat in charge. He refused to resign.
麻生太郎表示，去年2月至4月期间做出的上述更改，是由“财务局部分职员”做出的。他表示自己只是在刚刚过去的周日才了解这些改动，并将这件事归咎于负责的高级官员。他拒绝辞职。
“The person ultimately responsible is the head of the financial bureau at that time, [Nobuhisa] Sagawa,” he said. Mr Sagawa resigned as head of Japan’s tax agency on Friday.
“最终负责人是时任理财局长的佐川宣寿(Nobuhisa Sagawa)，”麻生太郎表示。佐川已在上周五辞去国税厅长官职务。
Opposition leaders said Mr Aso’s explanation was “improbable”. Parliamentary investigators are likely to concentrate on discovering who ordered the alterations and why, with the apparent cover up now a bigger risk to the government than the original land sale.
反对党领导人表示，麻生太郎的解释“不太可能”。国会调查人员可能会专注于查明谁下令进行更改以及为什么。相比原本的土地出售交易，这一明显的掩盖行为如今对政府构成更大风险。
“This situation could shake confidence in all our public administration so I feel a keen responsibility,” said Mr Abe, vowing a thorough investigation. “I apologise to the public.”
“这是有可能动摇整个行政部门的事态。作为行政部门的最高领导，我痛感应负的责任，”安倍誓言要进行彻底调查。“谨向国民深表歉意。”
Moritomo Gakuen is controversial for its nationalist curriculum, aimed at instilling patriotism in small children, and its links to senior politicians in the ruling Liberal Democratic party.
森友学园因其民族主义教学大纲(旨在向小小年纪的孩子们灌输爱国主义)以及与执政的自民党高层政治人物的联系而备受争议。
The scandal began last year when it emerged that Moritomo paid ¥134m for land with an appraisal value of ¥956m. Mrs Abe was going to be honorary principal of a new primary school on the site.
这起丑闻在去年爆发，当时有消息称，森友学园以1.34亿日元买下了评估价值达到9.56亿日元的地皮。按照原来的安排，安倍夫人将出任在该地块上一所新建小学的荣誉校长。
Controversy died down when no evidence emerged tying Mr Abe to the sale. But the unedited documents show that bureaucrats involved in the sale were aware of the political backing for Moritomo.
由于没有证据证明这桩交易与安倍晋三有牵扯，争议曾渐渐平息下来。但是未经编辑的文件显示，参与此次出售的官僚们知道森友学园的政治后台。
According to one reference excised by the finance ministry, Moritomo Gakuen described a visit by Mrs Abe, who allegedly said: “This is a good plot of land so please go ahead.” The documents also mention the names of several senior LDP politicians, including Mr Abe, as connections of the school operator.
财务省删除的一段文字称，森友学园描述了安倍夫人的访问，据称她当时说：“这是一块不错的地皮，请推进此事。”这些文件还提到了自民党几名政治人物(包括安倍晋三)的姓名，称他们是学校经营者的关系。
Mr Abe has always denied any involvement with the land sale. Analysts said there was no smoking gun to suggest national leaders had ordered the sale, but it will be hard to escape questions about why the finance ministry altered the documents.
安倍始终否认涉及这笔土地出售交易。分析人士表示，没有确凿证据表明国家领导人下令出售这块地皮，但是，要摆脱外界对于财务省为什么更改文件的质疑将是很难的。
“It is difficult to believe that Mr Aso will be able to escape taking responsibility when his own ministry provided false information to the Diet,” said Tobias Harris, who follows Japan at Teneo Intelligence.
“考虑到他自己的部门向国会提供了虚假信息，很难相信麻生太郎能够逃避责任，”特尼欧情报公司(Teneo Intelligence)追踪日本事态的托拜厄斯•哈里斯(Tobias Harris)表示。
Mr Harris said the prime minister was not yet at risk of a hasty resignation, but the scandal would spur “Abe fatigue”, making it harder for him to secure another term as leader this autumn.
哈里斯表示，首相还没有面临仓促辞职的风险，但这起丑闻将会助燃“安倍疲惫”，使他更难在今秋再次当选党魁。
Last Friday police reported the apparent suicide of a finance ministry official in Kobe. It is unclear whether the death is linked to the scandal, but the victim was reportedly a mid-level official in the department responsible for the land sale.
上周五警方报告，财务省一名职员在神户被发现自杀。目前尚不清楚这起死亡事件是否与丑闻有关，但受害者据称是负责出售土地的部门的一名中级职员。
