'I'm more worried than excited about the future': Japan's Coming of Age Day tinged with anxiety
“我对未来更多的是担忧而不是兴奋”：日本的成人节略带焦虑
On the second Monday in January every year, Japan's 20-year-olds put on their best kimono and suits, brave the winter chill and congregate at event halls across the country to celebrate their official passage into adulthood.
每年 1 月的第二个星期一，日本 20 岁的年轻人们都会穿上他们最好的和服和西装，冒着冬天的寒气，聚集在全国各地的活动大厅，庆祝他们正式步入成年。
In happier times, Coming of Age Day is a time to reunite with old school friends and take endless commemorative photos.
在更为欢乐的过去，成人节是一个和学校的老朋友们团聚、拍摄数不尽的纪念照片的日子。
But for the latest cohort of Japanese men and women who have turned 20, this year's festivities will be tinged with anxiety, as they contemplate a future filled with uncertainty caused by the coronavirus pandemic and Japan's skewed demographics.
但是对于日本最近一批年满 20 岁的男性女性来说，这一年的庆祝活动将会略带焦虑——他们所展望的未来充满了不确定，而这种不确定是新冠疫情和日本不平衡的人口结构所造成的。
Like many of her contemporaries, Kato has spent almost all of her two years at university living in the shadow of Covid-19. "It has definitely disrupted my studies," says Kato, a social studies major.
和许多同龄人一样，加藤将近两年的大学生活几乎都被笼罩在新冠的阴影之下。“这绝对打乱了我的学习，”社会研究专业的加藤这样说道。
Kato will enter a job market very different from the one experienced by her parents' and grandparents' generation. Japan's "lost" two decades of low or no growth and the rise of low-paid, non-regular workers have created a generation that can no longer look forward to the postwar guarantees of lifetime employment, seniority-based pay rises and a comfortable pension.***
加藤将要进入的就业市场与她父母和祖父母那一辈的截然不同。在日本“失去”的二十年里，经济增长缓慢甚至停滞不前，成为收入低的非正式员工的风险增大，这些都导致如今的一代不再能寄希望于战后日本的种种保障——终身就业、基于资历的加薪以及体面的养老金。
Instead, they can expect to work well into "retirement" – paying into a pension pot that will be of little benefit to them by the time they reach their twilight years – as part of a shrinking workforce expected to fund older members of an ageing population.***
与之相反，他们可以期待的是一直工作到很晚才“退休”，并作为日益萎缩的劳动力的一员，为老龄化人口中的老年人们提供养老金。而他们交给养老金体系的钱，几乎不能在他们进入暮年之后给他们带来多少好处。
"I am definitely more worried than excited about the future," says Kato.
加藤说：“我对未来更多的绝对是担忧而不是兴奋。”
主编：Jojo、乐崽、Luni
品控：Jojo、Dobby、啾笛
审核：乐崽
Photo Credit：
AFP / Behrouz MEHRI
AFP / Philip FONG
重点词汇
come of age
成年
tinge
/tɪndʒ/
v. 使带有一点（情绪、特质）；给……淡淡地着色，染色
v. 使带有一点（情绪、特质）；给……淡淡地着色，染色
例句：The light of the setting sun tinges the buildings with delicate colours.（落日的余晖给建筑物染上一抹柔和的色彩。）
例句：His new novel is tinged with humor.（他的新小说略带诙谐幽默。）
搭配短语：be tinged with（略带……）
kimono
/kəˈmoʊ.noʊ/
n. 和服
congregate
/ˈkɑːŋ.ɡrə.ɡeɪt/
v. 聚集，集合
词根词缀：con-（表示“共同，一起”）
相关词汇：conspire（v. 合谋）
例句：Crowds began to congregate to hear the President's speech.
passage
/ˈpæs.ɪdʒ/
n. 过渡，转变；经过
相关词汇：pass（v. 经过）
例句：The bridge isn't strong enough to allow the passage of heavy vehicles.（这座桥不够坚固，无法让重型车辆通过。）
搭配短语：the passage from ignorance to wisdom（从无知到智慧的转变）
reunite
/ˌriː.juːˈnaɪt/
v. 重聚，团聚
词根词缀：re-（表示“重新，再次”）
相关词汇：unite（v. 团结，联合）
例句：We return home to reunite with our family members.
相关词汇：reunion（n. 重聚，团聚）
搭配短语：a time for family reunion
commemorative
/kəˈmem.ɚ.ə.t̬ɪv/
adj. 纪念性的
相关词汇：commemorate（v. 纪念）
搭配短语：commemorative stamps
cohort
/ˈkoʊ.hɔːrt/
n. 有共同特点（通常指年龄）的一群人；同伙，支持者
例句：The Mayor and his cohorts have abused their positions of power.（市长和他的同党们滥用职权。）
搭配短语：a cohort of patients aged 65 years or older（一群 65 岁及以上的病人）
festivity
/fesˈtɪv.ə.t̬i/
n. 庆祝活动；欢庆
相关词汇：festival（n. 节日）
例句：There was an air of festivity.（这里一片欢庆气氛。）
例句：The festivities started with a procession through the town.（庆祝活动以全城巡游开始。）
contemplate
/ˈkɑːn.t̬əm.pleɪt/
v. 思考，考虑
英文释义：to spend time considering a possible future action, or to consider one particular thing for a long time in a serious and quiet way
例句：The doctor contemplated the difficult operation he had to perform.
skewed
/skjuːd/
adj. 歪斜的；偏颇的，不正确的
相关词汇：skew（v. 使歪斜；歪曲）
例句：The picture on the wall was slightly skewed.（墙上的画稍微有点歪。）
例句：The media's coverage of the election has been skewed from the very beginning.（媒体对这次大选的报道从一开始就有偏颇。）
demographics
/ˌdem.əˈɡræf.ɪks/
n. 人口统计数据，人口统计结果
contemporary
/kənˈtem.pə.rer.i/
n. 同龄人；同时代的人
词性拓展：comtemporary（adj. 同一时代的；当代的）
搭配短语：contemporary art（当代艺术）
例句：Shakespeare was not contemporary with Dickens.（莎士比亚和狄更斯不是同时代的人。）
例句：Shakespeare was not a contemporary of Dickens.（莎士比亚和狄更斯不是同时代的人。）
disrupt
/dɪsˈrʌpt/
v. 扰乱，打断
例句：It disrupts our sleep cycles and causes a number of other health problems.（这会打乱我们的睡眠周期，并且导致其他多种健康问题。）
postwar
/ˈpoʊst.wɔːr/
adj. 战后的
词根词缀：post-（表示“在……之后”）
相关词汇：postgraduate（n. 研究生）
pension pot
养老金总额
相关词汇：pension（n. 养老金）
相关词汇：pot（n. 罐子）
twilight
/ˈtwaɪ.laɪt/
n.（人生的）暮年时期；黄昏，暮色
搭配短语：the twilight of her acting career（她演艺生涯的晚期）
