人口定時炸彈：日本人“瀕危”的8個跡象

2016 marked a 117-year low for fertility.
2016年見證了117年來日本生育率的新低。

Ever since 1899, the annual number of births in Japan had exceeded one million — until 2016.
自從1899年以來，日本每年出生的嬰兒人數都超過了100萬——這個趨勢一致持續到2016年。

When government officials conducted a tally of total births last year, they counted about 20,000 shy of the benchmark. The death count, meanwhile, fell at around 1.3 million.
去年政府官員開展了年度出生人口統計，他們發現出生人口比基準少了2萬人。與此同時，死亡人口比往年減少了130萬人。

Young people have started "granny dumping."
年輕人開始“棄老”。

The word ubasute is an old Japanese word that translates to "granny dumping," and according to Japanese news sources, it's making a comeback.
“棄老”是日本的一個古老的詞，可翻譯為“拋棄老奶奶”。據日本媒體報道，這個詞又再度時興起來。

It describes the unfortunate practice of younger citizens bringing their senile elders to hospitals or charities and essentially abandoning them — generally because they can't afford care anymore.
如今的“棄老”指的是年輕人將家里的老人送到醫院或福利機構，然后就此撒手不管——通常是因為他們再也負擔不起贍養費用。

The trend still isn't widespread yet: One social worker estimates the total number of cases is in the low hundreds each year.
這種風氣目前尚未流行：一個社會工作者估計，每年“棄老”的案件不超過500例。