JAPAN'S new prime minister admits he is no Mr Charisma - Yoshihiko Noda likens himself to a marine bottom-feeder rather than a glittering goldfish. But that, he says, is his appeal.
新一届日本首相野田佳彦坦言自己并非魅力先生——他将自己比作水底的泥鳅而不是闪闪发光的金鱼。但是他说,这正是他魅力所在。
The 54-year-old, who as finance minister kept to plodding statements so as not to spook financial markets, stresses his credentials as a responsible, moderate and middle-of-the road leader at a time of national crisis.
54岁的野田佳彦强调在国家面临危机之时,他的角色是一个负责任的、温和的、走中间路线的领导人。在任财务相时,他一直秉承稳健的主张,避免使金融市场受到惊吓。
When he announced his candidacy in an essay in a conservative magazine this month, Mr Noda said: "I am an ordinary man. I do not have large financial resources... I am not stylish and my looks are not my selling point."
本月他在一本保守主义杂志上撰文,宣布自己将参选首相。他说:“我是一个普通人。我没有那么大的财政资源。我不时尚,相貌也没什么卖点。”
On Monday, making his final pitch for the leadership of the ruling Democratic Party of Japan, he used the fish metaphor, humbly telling his fellow DPJ MPs: "I am a loach. I can't be a goldfish."
周一,在竞选当政的日本民主党党首的最后讲演中,他用了金鱼的比喻,谦逊地告诉他的民主党国会议员说:“我是一条泥鳅,不可能成为一条金鱼。”
The son of a paratrooper in the Self-Defence Forces, Noda, a married father of two, holds broadly conservative political views.
野田佳彦是自卫队一名伞兵的儿子,已婚,是两个孩子的父亲。政治观点上,他持明显的保守立场。