雙語閱讀：疫情促使日本民衆和公司離開東京

（原標題：連續三個月人口淨流出！疫情促使日本民衆和公司離開東京）

疫情之下，很多日本人離開了東京，有的是出於對食品安全的擔心，有的是因爲失業，還有很多人是拜遠程辦公所賜。這是東京多年來首次連續三個月出現人口淨流出。

When the coronavirus outbreak caused rice and instant noodles to disappear from supermarket shelves in Tokyo this year, Kaoru Okada, 36, decided to leave the capital because he was worried about food security.

今年新冠疫情的暴發促使大米和方便麪從東京超市貨架上消失，因爲擔心糧食安全，36歲的岡田薫決定離開東京。

Okada settled in the central Japanese city of Saku, Nagano prefecture, about 160 kilometres northwest of Tokyo, maintaining his online retail and export business while growing vegetables in shared farms and threshing rice.

岡田遷居到日本中部的長野縣佐久市，在東京西北方向約160公里處。他繼續在網上做他的零售和出口生意，同時在共享農莊裡種蔬菜、給稻米脫粒。

thresh [θreʃ]: vt.（給穀物）脫粒

"I moved out of Tokyo in June as soon as the domestic travel ban was lifted, thinking now is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity," Okada told Reuters. "Living close to a food-producing centre and connections with farmers give me a sense of security."

岡田告訴路透社說：“六月份國內旅行限制令一解除，我就搬離了東京。我認爲現在是離開東京千載難逢的好時機。住在食品生產中心附近，和農民建立聯繫，讓我有安全感。”

As the pandemic has pushed many companies to allow telecommuting, it has also caused population to flow out of Tokyo - the first time that has happened in years, the latest government data showed.

疫情迫使許多公司允許遠程辦公，也導致人口流出東京。政府最新數據顯示，這是多年來東京首次出現這種情況。

The shift could boost Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga, who made revitalising Japan's decaying rural regions a core plank of his socioeconomic platform.

這一改變對日本首相菅義偉有利，他將振興日本衰落的鄉村地區作爲自己社會經濟戰略的重要一環。

In September, 30,644 people moved out of Tokyo, up 12.5% year-on-year, while the number moving in fell 11.7% to 27,006, the data showed.

數據顯示，九月份有3萬零644人搬離東京，同比增加了12.5%，遷居東京的人則減少了11.7%，只有2萬7006人。

It was the third straight month that those moving out outnumbered those moving in, the longest run on record, led by people in their 20s and 30s.

這是連續第三個月東京流出人口超過流入人口，也是有記錄以來東京人口淨流出持續時間最長的一次，流出人口以二三十歲的人爲主。

Mizuto Yamamoto, 31, now uses telecommuting to skip Tokyo's jam-packed morning trains.

31歲的山本瑞人如今用遠程辦公的方式躲過了東京人擠人的早高峰列車。

An employee at staffing firm Caster Co, he moved about 150 km west of Tokyo to Hokuto in the mountainous Yamanashi prefecture last year with his wife and 2-year-old son.

山本是人才服務企業卡斯特公司的員工，去年他和妻子帶着2歲的兒子搬到了東京以西約150公里處的北杜市。北杜市位於多山的山梨縣。

"It was good to move to quiet areas like Hokuto surrounded by rivers, the Southern Alps and Mt. Fuji," Yamamoto told Reuters. "There's no crowd of people, which reduces the virus risks."

山本告訴路透社說：“搬到北杜市這樣依山（赤石山脈和富士山）傍水的清靜之地很不錯。沒有擁擠的人羣，可以降低感染病毒的風險。”

Premier Suga, from rural Akita prefecture in the north, made the revitalisation of Japan's countryside one of his key goals.

來自北部秋田縣鄉村地區的首相菅義偉把日本鄉村地區的復興作爲自己的一個主要目標。

Despite a lack of jobs and infrastructure to support them, local governments and businesses have been trying for years – largely in vain - to draw more people to rural areas.

儘管缺少支持鄉村復興的就業機會和基礎設施，地方政府和企業多年來一直在努力吸引更多人來鄉村地區，不過基本都是徒勞。

Hidetoshi Yuzawa, an official in Iida, Nagano Prefecture, said Nagano is among the most popular places to migrate because of how much support, including mentors, it offers newcomers.

長野縣飯田市的官員湯澤秀俊表示，長野縣是最受歡迎的遷居地之一，因爲那裡對新來者提供很多支持還有指導。

With help from Iida, Mio Nanjo, a 41-year-old pastry chef, is renovating a traditional house into a cafe, which she plans to open in the town of Matsukawa next spring.

在飯田市的幫助下，41歲的糕點師南條澪正在將鬆川的一座傳統住宅翻修成咖啡館，她計劃來年春天開業。

A single mother of three, Nanjo moved from an area southwest of Tokyo this summer after the pandemic shut down the confectionery where she was working and her son lost his job at a truck maker.

南條澪是一位有三個孩子的單身母親，疫情迫使她所在的糖果店關閉，她的兒子也丟掉了卡車製造廠的工作，於是今年夏天她就從東京西北部地區搬到了飯田市。

"The move allowed me to start all over again," Nanjo told Reuters. "There's no point of clinging to Tokyo, where there are crowds and many people commit suicide."

南條澪告訴路透社說：“這次搬家讓我一切都從頭開始。死守着東京沒有任何意義，那裡擠滿了人，還有許多人自殺。”

Jobs are also leaving the city.

就業機會也在流出東京。

A major staffing firm, Pasona Group Inc, said in September it would move its headquarters and 1,200 employees to Awaji island off Kobe, western Japan, the home of 68-year-old chief executive Yasuyuki Nambu.

大型人才服務企業保聖那集團九月份表示，將會把總部和1200名員工遷到日本西部的神戶市附近的淡路島，那裡是68歲的總裁南部靖之的家。

The lockdowns this spring were a decisive factor, Nambu said, adding that the trend would continue as companies and employees changed their mindsets about work-life balance.

南部靖之說，今春的封鎖是一個決定性因素，並補充道，隨着公司和員工改變對工作與生活平衡的思維方式，這一趨勢將會繼續下去。

"Regional society is stress-free, and you can live a life rich in delicious foods and activities such as fishing and farming," Nambu told Reuters.

南部靖之告訴路透社說：“小地方沒什麼壓力，你可以過上美食果腹的生活，還能釣釣魚，種種地。”

Other firms, such as Caster, have already based their business model on telecommuting, making it easy to hire workers by offering jobs wherever they are, said Shota Nakagawa, 34, CEO of the company in the southern Japanese city of Saito.

卡斯特公司的首席執行官、34歲的中川翔太表示，像卡斯特這樣的其他公司已經把遠程辦公作爲自己的業務模式，這樣無論員工在哪，都可以爲他們工作。卡斯特公司位於日本南部的西都市。

"Workers can avoid commuting on rush-hour trains and companies can spare transportation costs and reduce office space, all of which will improve profits," Nakagawa said.

中川說：“員工可以避免在高峰時間段擠列車通勤，公司也可以省去交通補助花費，減少辦公空間，這些都可以提升利潤。”

But in Saku, Okada, the online business owner, has no intention of living there forever - although that doesn't mean he'll move back to Tokyo.

但是網店老闆岡田可沒打算在佐久市住一輩子，不過這也不意味着他會搬回東京。

"As long as I can work anywhere, I will keep hopping to find a place best suited to my life at the time," he said.

他說：“只要我可以在任何地方工作，我就會繼續換地方，找到最適合自己當下生活的理想之地。”