sturdy Japan

心がどこか落ち着かず、ここにも何を書けばよいのか整理がついていません。みんなも気持ちは同じで、ブログの記事停滞はそんな事情からでしょう。でも、いつまでもそうしてはおられないのも事実。歩いていかなければ。少しずつでいいから、何かを書き続けておこうと思います。みんなも追随してくれることを期待します。
3/12付けのWall Street Journal（電子版）の社説から。タイトルにあるsturdyを、邦字新聞各紙は「不屈の」と訳しています。この語の定義を見ると、確かに「もの」を言う場合には、"strong, we-made, and not easily broken"（以下、定義はすべてLDOCEから）とあり、すなわち「堅固」ということ。精神面に関する定義は、"determined and not easily persuaded to change your opinions"とあり、これは「頑固一徹」ということでしょう。ところが人についての定義を見ると（これが第一義なんですね）、"someone who is sturdy is strong, short, and heathy looking"となっています。ここではshortが気になります。彼らが日本に抱くイメージはやはりそうなのかと、かんぐりたくもなりますが、記事を書いたのはWSJの元東京支局長とのこと。内容も見事な応援歌です。ここは「不屈の」をそのまま素直にとらえることにします。（UG）

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Sturdy Japan
No country was better prepared for an 8.9 quake.
No nation escapes unscathed from an earthquake of the magnitude that struck Japan yesterday. At least 1,000 people have died. For all that damage, it is remarkable how well this island nation of more than 126 million people has withstood the fifth largest earthquake since 1900. Registering a stunning 8.9, the earthquake near Sendai produced a 30-foot high tsunami that hurtled toward some 53 countries.
Despite these powerful forces, one cannot help but note how relatively well prepared the Japanese were to survive such an assault from mother Earth. Japan stands, literally, as a testament to how human planning and industrialized society can cope with natural disasters.
A country that experiences hundreds of subterranean vibrations annually, Japan has been earthquake-proofing its buildings since an 8.4 earthquake in 1891. Until 1965, Japan limited the height of buildings to a little over 100 feet, but with the pressure of urban populations, the height limit was lifted. Japan's wood residential houses were vulnerable to a tsunami on the coast, but its tall buildings seem to have held up well against the quake.
In 1993, the Yokohama Landmark Tower was completed at 971 feet tall, a remarkable height in a country prone to serious earthquakes. It was only possible to erect such a building if one had the skills and wealth to access the most sophisticated techniques of modeling and engineering.
In late 2007, the Japanese completed the world's most sophisticated early-warning system for earthquakes, which was credited Friday with signaling Tokyo's residents—via TV, radio and cellphone—that a quake was coming. The warning system gives industrial, energy and transportation facilities time to shut down before a quake hits. The biggest concern as we went to press was the ability to cool the reactor cores at nuclear power plants that were shut down automatically as the earthquake hit. The U.S. is sending some coolant materials.
Japan now faces significant rebuilding, but less than could have been expected after enduring its strongest temblor in 300 years. We'd now expect that similar warning systems would be developed and installed in the rest of the world's quake-prone nations.
Contrast this preparation with poor Haiti or the 2008 earthquake in Sichuan, China, which killed some 70,000 people. Haiti has the excuse of abject poverty caused by decades of misrule. China has wealth but a government answerable only to itself. Sometimes the hard phrase, invidious comparison, is apt. After its disastrous Kobe earthquake in 1995, Japan instituted a multitude of reforms.
Japan itself has experienced some bad press of late. Its economic growth is stagnant, and its inept political class has become an embarrassment to its great population of productive citizens. But make no mistake. Japan remains a great industrial power. Despite the destructive effects of yesterday's quake, the self-protective benefits of Japan's achievement as a modern nation was hard not to notice.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703597804576194572642844968.html