【日本社會的不平等】安定vs貧困

Inequality in Japan

日本社會的不對等

The secure v the poor

安定vs貧困

The problem is not the super-rich

問題不在於巨富

Feb 14th 2015 | TOKYO | From the print edition of The Economist

譯者：飛翔的心

IN THOMAS PIKETTY』S bestseller, 「Capital in the Twenty-First Century」, Japan appears as another rich country in which wealth is becoming ever more concentrated. It is certainly another rich country in which the book is selling well. Mr Piketty visited Tokyo this month, to a rapturous reception. Yet Japan may be the place where his thesis holds up least well.

在托馬斯·皮克提的暢銷書《21世紀資本論》中，日本作為一個財富正在變得越來越集中的富有的國家出現。當然，它也是又一個暢銷此書的富有國家。本月，應日本方面的盛情邀請，皮克提先生曾訪問了東京。或許，日本還是一個對皮克提在本書中的思想最不追捧的國家。

The bursting of Japan』s asset bubble in 1991 is one reason why the rich have amassed less than in America or many European countries. The share of wealth held by the richest tenth of Japanese is lower than in famously egalitarian spots such as Norway and Sweden. In fact, it is the second-lowest of the 46 economies surveyed by Credit Suisse Research Institute, above only Belgium. The share of income going to the wealthiest has been fairly stable too. Levels of executive pay are far less egregious than in America. According to an analysis prepared for the Wall Street Journal by Mr Piketty』s collaborators, the share of national income taken by the top 1% in Japan, excluding capital gains, fell from a high of 9.5% in 2008 to 9% in 2012.

1991年，日本地產泡沫就破滅了。這是日本富人源何比美國或一些歐洲國家的富人聚集財富較少的原因之一。占日本人口十分之一的富人所握有的財富比挪威和瑞典的富人們要少，後兩者是以以平等主義聞名與世。事實上，根據瑞士信用研究所（Credit Suisse Research Institute）對46個經濟體在這方面的調查，日本位列倒數第二，僅高於比利時。雖然，日本國民收入中流向富人的比例已相當穩定了,只對富人們徵收的費用又遠低於美國。但根據出自皮克提合作者的一份「華爾街新聞」的分析報告，不包括資本收益，占日本人口1%的上層人士所佔有的國民收入的比例已經從2008年的9.5%下降到了2012年的9%。

Other types of inequality, however, are on the rise. The most important is not between the mega-rich and the rest, as 「Capital」 would have it, but between a privileged cadre of workers on permanent contracts and those with more precarious jobs, who account for a rising share of the workforce. The average annual salary for permanent employees is around ￥5m ($41,500), compared with ￥2m for less secure workers.

不僅如此,其他類型的不對等也在加劇。最重要的是，這些上升的不對等不是存在於巨富與其他人之間，而是存在於簽訂了終生勞動合同、享有特權的工人與比例越來越大的那些工作更不穩定的勞動力之間。前者的平均年薪是約5百萬日元（摺合41,500美元），而後者僅為200萬日元。

Many argue that what Japan really needs is a lot more inequality, but of a different kind. Its employment system still tends to reward seniority and status rather than performance, in what Japanese call aku byodo or 「bad egalitarianism」. If people were paid for what they accomplish, argues Robert Feldman of Morgan Stanley, the economy would grow faster. And Japan』s chronically low levels of business creation mean that there is worryingly little wealth inequality of the sort created by entrepreneurs who become billionaires by dreaming up exciting new products and services.

一些人爭辯說，日本真正需要的是更多但不同於目前的不對等。它的僱傭體系仍趨向於讓高級別和地位的僱員獲得更多，而非根據受雇者的工作表現，這就是日本人所謂的「糟糕的平均主義」。如果實行按勞取酬，那麼日本的經濟將會獲得更快的發展，摩根斯坦利公司的羅伯特·菲德曼如是說。同時，對於那些力求以創造出令人興奮的新產品和服務而躋身百萬富翁行列的創業者們來說，日本長期低水平的商業創造意味著這樣的方式不會帶來財富的不對等。

None of that has stopped 「Capital」 selling over 130,000 copies so far in Japan. Idiots』 guides to the 700-page tome have also done well. Mr Piketty』s timing is ideal, for he has tapped into growing doubts about Abenomics, the economic-revival plan of Shinzo Abe, the prime minister. By inflating asset prices, Mr Abe』s schemes could increase the gap between haves and have nots, Mr Piketty warned during his visit. Ironically, however, Mr Abe』s main economic concern at the moment is bullying big companies into lifting workers』 pay.

以上這些都不能阻擋《21世紀資本論》這本書在日本迄今為止的銷量已超過了13萬本。對這部長達700頁的大部頭所作的宣傳也非常棒。皮克提先生的時間把握得很完美，因為他已將人們對於日本現任首相—安倍的經濟復興計劃，即安倍經濟學不斷上升的疑慮寫進了書中。在本月的訪問期間，皮克提先生警告說，通過提高地產價格，安倍計劃可能會拉大既得與未得之間的差距。然後，具有諷刺意味的是，安倍在現階段對於經濟的主要關注是迫使大公司提升工人的工資。

From the print edition: Finance and economics