每日英語跟讀 Ep.K145: About Japan - Emergency bathroom run lands Japanese "bullet train" driver in hot water 煩

The famed high-speed "bullet train" in Japan got some unwanted attention from regulators last month after the driver briefly abandoned his controls to take a bathroom break — leaving the train and its 160 passengers to hurtle along the tracks at 93 miles-per-hour.

日本知名的高速「子彈列車」上月因一名司機員暫離駕駛室去上廁所而被監管人員盯上——（他）讓列車與車上160名乘客以93英里的時速奔馳於鐵軌上。

The train departed Tokyo Station at 7:33 a.m., bound for Shin-Osaka station. At 8:14, outside the city of Odawara southwest of Tokyo, the driver suffered a bout of abdominal distress.

這班前往新大阪站的列車在早上7時33分從東京站出發。8時14分來到東京西南方的小田原市外圍時，司機員感到一陣腹痛。

Instead of stopping the train to run to the bathroom, he called in the conductor to occupy the control room for three minutes, until he was able to scramble back to his post.

與其停車以便跑去上廁所，他反而找來車掌在駕駛室待3分鐘，直到他趕回與重返駕駛崗位。

"Many of our conductors are licensed to take the controls," Central Japan Railway public relations representative Ryumon Hashimoto said. "But this one wasn’t."

「我們的許多車掌有（列車）駕駛執照，」JR東海公關部的橋本龍門（譯音）說。「但這位沒有。」

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Wearing someone else’s face： Hyper-realistic masks to go on sale in Japan戴上其他人的臉：日本開始販售超逼真面具

A year into the coronavirus epidemic, Japanese retailer Shuhei Okawara has come up with a new take on the theme of facial camouflage - a hyper-realistic mask that models a stranger’s features.

新型冠狀病毒大流行1年後，日本零售商大河原修平想出臉部遮掩方式的新點子—以陌生人五官特徵為範本的超逼真面具。

Okawara’s masks won’t protect you or others against the virus. But they will lend you the exact appearance of an unidentified Japanese adult whose features have been printed onto them.

大河原的面具不會保護你或其他人免於病毒威脅，但可以讓你擁有一個陌生日本成年人的容貌，他們的五官特徵都被印在上面。

The masks will be sold for 98,000 yen apiece at his Tokyo shop, Kamenya Omote, whose products are popular as accessories for parties and theatrical performance.

這些面具將在他的商店Kamenya Omote，以每個9萬8000日幣（約2萬5700台幣）的價格販售。該店因販售派對和戲劇表演配件而廣受歡迎。

More than 100 applicants sent Okawara their photos, with each receiving 40,000 yen in return.

逾100名申請「賣臉」者，已將自己的照片寄給大河原，每人可獲4萬日幣（約1萬500台幣）報酬。

Demand for the masks are strong, Okawara said. "There are not so many people who buy （face masks） for specific purposes. Most see them as art pieces."

大河原說，面具需求很強勁，「為了特定目的買（面具）的人沒那麼多，大部分都視為一件藝術品。」

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Ministry brass entertained by company Suga’s son works at 部會高官接受菅義偉之子任職的企業招待

High-ranking bureaucrats at the telecommunications ministry were secretly wined and dined by employees of a major visual media production company, including Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga’s son － a possible ethics code violation.

總務省高官曾秘密接受一家大型視訊媒體製作公司的工作人員—包括首相菅義偉之子—的餐飲招待，此舉恐有違反風紀規範之虞。

After Bunshun Online broke the scandal on Feb. 3, Suga told reporters, "I am not aware of the matter at all."

在文春（週刊）網路版2月3日踢爆此一醜聞後，菅義偉告訴記者：「我完全不曉得這件事。」

"I think the ministry will properly handle the case," Suga said, adding that he has "no intention" of asking his son about it.

「我認為總務省會適當處理此事。」菅義偉說，並補充道，他「不打算」問兒子這件事。

But Suga’s aloof approach quickly changed at a Lower House Budget Committee meeting on Feb. 4, where opposition lawmakers grilled the prime minister about the scandal.

但當他在2月4日的國會眾議院預算委員會的會議上，被反對黨國會議員盤問這起醜聞時，菅義偉一改原本的冷處理態度。

Suga said he has talked with his son over the phone about the Bunshin report.

菅義偉說，他曾在電話裡與兒子談過文春週刊的報導。

"I told him to cooperate with the fact-finding investigation," Suga said.

「我告訴他要配合核實調查。」菅義偉說。Source article: https://features.ltn.com.tw/english/article/paper/1452760;https://features.ltn.com.tw/english/article/paper/1441828;https://features.ltn.com.tw/english/article/paper/1436388

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