TOKYO (Nikkei)--Finance Minister Yoshihiko Noda on Monday was elected president of the ruling Democratic Party of Japan, beating out Economy Minister Banri Kaieda in a run-off vote by the party's Diet members.
Noda garnered the majority of votes with 215. Kaieda had 177 votes.
Noda is set to be appointed the nation's 62nd prime minister Tuesday.
He is expected to reshuffle the top party posts and select ministers for his cabinet soon.
The ruling party leader traditionally serves as prime minister. Noda will be the DPJ's third prime minister in only two years since becoming the ruling party, following Yukio Hatoyama and Naoto Kan.
One major challenge facing the new DPJ leader is to pass a third supplementary budget for the current fiscal year as quickly as possible. To do that, the new administration will have to win over opposition parties that have been reluctant to cooperate with the DPJ up to now.
TOKYO (Nikkei)--Economy Minister Banri Kaieda received 143 votes Monday in the first round of the Democratic Party of Japan's leadership election, but failed to secure a majority and will face runner-up Finance Minister Yoshihiko Noda, who came in second 102 votes, in a run-off.
The ruling party's leadership election was held Monday at a hotel in central Tokyo to select a successor to outgoing Prime Minister Naoto Kan.
The new DPJ head will be appointed on Monday afternoon as the country's 62nd prime minister at a Lower House plenary session.
The new premier will be the third in two years since the DPJ came to power, ending the nearly 50-year rule of the Liberal Democratic Party.
“We're at a critical go-no-go juncture with the rollout of DXD. Today I want to share the latest developments and, with your help, make a decision about where we go from here. (DXDの発売に関し、進むべきかどうかの重大な岐路に立たされています。今日は、最新の状況をお伝えし、皆さんにご協力いただいた上で、今後どうすべきかを決めたいと思います。)
Aよりレベルの高い表現(p.201より引用)
“Sales were $199 million for the third quarter of 2011, essentially flat as compared to $200 million during the same period a year ago, but still the strongest quarterly total of the year.” (2011年第3四半期の売り上げは1.99億ドルで、前年同期の2億ドルに比べ、実質、横ばいですが、今年の四半期としては最高です。)
B気の利いた表現(p.43より引用)
“You know the 80/20 rule? Only 20% of anything matters, so you should focus on that 20%. In other words, don’t worry about writing down everything I say.” (みなさん8対2のルールをご存知ですよね?どんな事でもたいてい大事なのは全体の2割です。みなさんもその2割にフォーカスしましょう。なので、私の言うことをすべてメモしようと思わなくても大丈夫ですよ。)
解説:「headとtailと言われてふつう思い浮かべるのは、「頭」(head)と「しっぽ」(tail)です。なのでこの問題は「頭としっぽがあって体がないものは?」という意味に聞こえます。でもこのheadとtailはコインの「表」(head)と「裏」(tail)という意味にもなります。アメリカでは、何かを決めるとき日本のようにジャンケンではなく、コインを投げて表か裏かで決めることが多いです。”Heads or tails?”(表?それとも裏?)と相手に聞いて決めてもらってからコインを投げます。」
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○Why did the golfer wear two pairs of trousers?
ヒント:「ゴルフで誰もが一度はやってみたいこと」
答え: 「In case he got a hole in one!」
解説:「「なぜゴルファーがズボンを2枚はいているのか?」という問題です。この答えは「もしホールインワン(hole in one)してもいいように」というのと、「もし穴(hole)が2枚のズボンの1つに(in one)空いてもいいように」というのをかけています。」
Father: Drinking is all right, son, but to get drunk is a disgrace. Son: How would I know when I'm drunk? Father: See those two men there? Well, if you saw four, you'd know you were drunk. Son: But, Dad, I can only see one man there. 引用元:「英語ジョークの教科書」(丸山孝男, 大修館書店, p.83)
Tom: Would you like to come to my birthday party on Saturday? Jim: I'd love to! What's the address? Tom: Number 10, Oxford Street. Just ring the bell with your elbow. Jim: Why can't I push the bell with my finger? Tom: You're not coming empty-handed, are you? 引用元:「英語ジョークの教科書」(丸山孝男, 大修館書店, p.98)
The teacher asked Robert: “Do fish grow fast?” “I'll say they do. My grandpa caught a small fish last week and it gets bigger every time he talks about it.” 引用元:「英語ジョークの教科書」(丸山孝男, 大修館書店, p.106)
Father: When Abraham Lincoln was your age, he used to walk ten miles every day to get to school. Son: Really? Well, when he was your age, Lincoln was president. 引用元:「英語ジョークの教科書」(丸山孝男, 大修館書店, p.154)
Teacher: Now, Carol, can you tell me where God lives? Carol: Miss, I think he lives in the toilet. Teacher: In the toilet! Why do you think that? Carol: Because every morning I can hear my brother knock on the toilet door and say: “God, are you still in there?” 引用元:「英語ジョークの教科書」(丸山孝男, 大修館書店, p.176)
<解説> このジョークのポイントは”God”という単語です。まず思い浮かぶのは「神様」という意味だと思いますが、この単語は「感嘆詞」としても使われます。ランダムハウス英和辞典には「失望・退屈・不満・怒り・驚きなどを表す」と書いてあります。この文では「いらだち」という感じでしょう。Godは”Oh my god!”のように「神」という意味以外で使われることの方が多いですが、この無邪気な子供はそのままの意味で取っちゃたんですね。