日本將以國賓之禮迎接奧巴馬
Japan will welcome U.S. President Barack Obama as a state guest with ceremonial flourishes later this month, Tokyo announced Friday, a victory for the government of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe following a brief period of diplomatic tensions.
日本政府週五宣佈，將在本月晚些時候以國賓待遇迎接到訪的美國總統奧巴馬(Barack Obama)。在經歷了短暫的外交緊張後，這一消息意味着安倍晉三(Shinzo Abe)內閣取得了勝利。Mr. Obama will spend at least two days in Japan on April 24 and 25, calling on Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko on two occasions. He will also attend a summit meeting and a banquet hosted by Mr. Abe.
奧巴馬將至少在日本停留兩天（4月24-25日），期間將兩度拜訪明仁天皇(Emperor Akihito)和皇后美智子(Empress Michiko)，另外還將出席一個高峯會議和安倍晉三主持的一個宴會。
While the two leaders are expected to discuss a broad range of topics, from bilateral defense cooperation to security in East Asia, a critical item on their agenda will be a regional trade agreement known as the Trans-Pacific Partnership, U.S. and Japanese officials say.
美國和日本官員表示，預計奧巴馬和安倍晉三將討論從雙邊防務合作到東亞安全等一系列廣泛話題，不過重要議題將是跨太平洋夥伴關係協定(Trans-Pacific Partnership，簡稱TPP)。
The TPP is a key element of Mr. Obama's much-publicized 'pivot' to Asia, as well as Mr. Abe's economic growth strategy dubbed Abenomics. Yet, the two sides still have disagreements over access to Japan's agriculture market and the U.S. auto sector, holding back broader efforts to form a 12-nation free trade bloc.
TPP是奧巴馬“重返”亞洲戰略和安倍經濟學的關鍵要素，但在日本農業和美國汽車業准入問題上，美日之間尚存分歧，這阻礙了由12個國家組成自由貿易區的計劃。Friday's announcement came after weeks of haggling between Tokyo and Washington over the length and classification of Mr. Obama's visit, part of an East Asia tour that will also include stops in South Korea, Malaysia and the Philippines, U.S. and Japanese officials said.
美國和日本官員稱，美日雙方過去幾周圍繞奧巴馬在日本停留的時間和這次訪問的性質發生分歧。日本是奧巴馬此次東亞之行的一站，他還將訪問韓國、馬來西亞和菲律賓。Hoping to emphasize strong bilateral ties at a time of rising tensions in East Asia, Japanese officials had insisted on hosting Mr. Obama as a state guest, a formal procedure that normally includes three days of events. The U.S. had pushed back, citing scheduling constraints, including the need to balance the president's time among the nations on his itinerary.
在東亞緊張局勢升溫之際，日本希望強調與美國緊密的雙邊關係，因此堅持以國賓之禮接待奧巴馬，正式的接待程序通常需要三天。而美國方面指出，奧巴馬日程安排較緊，需要平衡每個國家的訪問時間。Washington's reluctance stemmed from Mr. Abe's visit to a controversial Tokyo war shrine in December, a move that angered China and South Korea, the two neighbors Japan has squabbled with in recent years. It prompted the U.S. to issue an unusual statement that it was 'disappointed' by the Japanese leader's action.
美國的這一態度與去年12月份日本首相安倍晉三參拜靖國神社有關。安倍此舉激怒了中國和韓國，也促使美國發布了一份不同尋常的聲明，對日本領導人的行爲表示失望。Since then, Mr. Abe has made efforts to get along better with his nation's neighbors, particularly South Korea, another close ally of the U.S. Last week, he held talks with South Korean President Park Geun-hye for the first time since the two leaders took office over a year ago, with Mr. Obama bringing them together in a trilateral summit in The Hague.
在這之後，安倍晉三一直努力與鄰國、特別是美國的另一個親密盟友韓國修好。上週，在奧巴馬撮合下，安倍晉三與韓國總統朴槿惠(Park Geun-hye)在海牙三邊峯會上舉行會晤，這是他們上任一年多來首次會面。Signaling Tokyo's desire to have Mr. Obama experience the full gamut of official functions, the two countries are still negotiating the exact length of his visit. Tokyo said in a news release that Mr. Obama is expected to arrive 'on the early morning of April 24 at latest.'
日本和美國還在討論奧巴馬的確切停留時間。日本政府在新聞稿中稱，奧巴馬預計最晚將在4月24日清晨抵達。While visits to Japan by a U.S. president aren't rare, Mr. Obama's is the first one to receive state guest treatment since Bill Clinton's trip in 1996.
雖然美國總統訪問日本並非罕事，但奧巴馬是1996年克林頓(Bill Clinton)訪日以來首位受到國賓待遇的美國總統。
