under fire
アイドルが東京都でのイベントで、ストーカー行為を疑われた男に刺傷された事件の記事からです。
Anti-stalking law under fire after stabbing of Japanes
The stabbing of 20-year-old female idol Mayu Tomita has sparked a discussion over the effectiveness of the anti-stalking law, which some experts say should include a clear statement on preventing the kind of online stalking the latest victim was facing.
The current anti-stalking law “cannot directly crack down on stalking on social networking websites” as it is not worded to include harassment via social media, Yohei Shimizu, a Tokyo lawyer well-versed in online defamation cases, said Monday.
According to media reports, 27-year-old Tomohiro Iwazaki, who was arrested Saturday for stabbing Tomita nearly two dozen times in the neck and chest, had apparently repeatedly sent messages to her Twitter account.
Police on Monday turned Iwazaki over to prosecutors on suspicion of attempted murder and violating the Firearm and Sword Control Law.
以下略
今回取り上げるのは、タイトルにある"under fire"という表現です。
直訳すると、「火の下で」となりますが、意味が通らなくなります。『ジーニアス英和辞典』第4版(大修館)で調べてみると、"be [come] under fire"で、1.「砲火を浴びている」2.「非難を受けている」とありました。
ここでは、今回の事件後、「ストーカー禁止法」について非難の声が多く、見直していかなければならないことが分かります。
(Akim)
