日本将以国宾之礼迎接奥巴马
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.
日本政府周五宣布，将在本月晚些时候以国宾待遇迎接到访的美国总统奥巴马(Barack Obama)。在经历了短暂的外交紧张后，这一消息意味着安倍晋三(Shinzo Abe)内阁取得了胜利。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.
奥巴马将至少在日本停留两天（4月24-25日），期间将两度拜访明仁天皇(Emperor Akihito)和皇后美智子(Empress Michiko)，另外还将出席一个高峰会议和安倍晋三主持的一个宴会。
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.
美国和日本官员表示，预计奥巴马和安倍晋三将讨论从双边防务合作到东亚安全等一系列广泛话题，不过重要议题将是跨太平洋伙伴关系协定(Trans-Pacific Partnership，简称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是奥巴马“重返”亚洲战略和安倍经济学的关键要素，但在日本农业和美国汽车业准入问题上，美日之间尚存分歧，这阻碍了由12个国家组成自由贸易区的计划。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.
美国和日本官员称，美日双方过去几周围绕奥巴马在日本停留的时间和这次访问的性质发生分歧。日本是奥巴马此次东亚之行的一站，他还将访问韩国、马来西亚和菲律宾。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.
在东亚紧张局势升温之际，日本希望强调与美国紧密的双边关系，因此坚持以国宾之礼接待奥巴马，正式的接待程序通常需要三天。而美国方面指出，奥巴马日程安排较紧，需要平衡每个国家的访问时间。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.
美国的这一态度与去年12月份日本首相安倍晋三参拜靖国神社有关。安倍此举激怒了中国和韩国，也促使美国发布了一份不同寻常的声明，对日本领导人的行为表示失望。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.
在这之后，安倍晋三一直努力与邻国、特别是美国的另一个亲密盟友韩国修好。上周，在奥巴马撮合下，安倍晋三与韩国总统朴槿惠(Park Geun-hye)在海牙三边峰会上举行会晤，这是他们上任一年多来首次会面。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.'
日本和美国还在讨论奥巴马的确切停留时间。日本政府在新闻稿中称，奥巴马预计最晚将在4月24日清晨抵达。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.
虽然美国总统访问日本并非罕事，但奥巴马是1996年克林顿(Bill Clinton)访日以来首位受到国宾待遇的美国总统。
