日本剩男剩女猎婚进行时-英语点津

The tome has sold 170,000 copies since it was released by Tokyo publisher Discover21 in early 2008. The authors urge young singles to actively seek a spouse: Just sitting back and waiting for the right person to come along isn't enough。自2008年年初东京出版社Discover21推出《猎婚时代》以来，其销量已经达到17万册。书中，作者敦促年轻的单身男女积极寻找配偶：只是坐着干等另一半的出现是远远不够的。

Appealing to spouse-hunters has become quite a business in Japan, where marriage rates have plummeted in recent years。猎婚族在日本也已成为一个炙手可热的行当，这与近年来日本不婚族大增的趋势密切相关。

Government data show the percentage of unmarried people surged from 14% to 47% for men aged 30 to 34 and from 8% to 32% for women over the three decades ending in 2005。政府数据显示，在截至2005年的30年间，30岁至34岁的独身男性比例从14%增至47%，未婚女性比例亦从8%上升到32%。

The authors of 'The Era of Marriage Hunting' cite changes in Japanese society, where traditional matchmaking -- often by so-called neighborhood aunties -- is fading away. Bosses in Japanese companies also used to match up women and men working under them -- then force the women to quit once they were married。《猎婚时代》一书的作者认为日本社会的种种变化是不婚族不断扩大的原因：经常由邻居大妈大婶组织的传统相亲逐渐消失。过去，日本企业的老板通常会为自己的部下牵线搭桥，一旦女性结婚，就迫使她们辞去工作。

That changed after an equal-employment opportunity law was enacted in the late 1980s. Since the law was passed, sociologists have observed an increase in women seeking careers rather than marriage. Men, they say, have become less aggressive about finding partners because of money troubles and uncertain jobs。然而，80年代末平等雇佣机会法的颁布促使这种现象发生变化。自法律通过以来，社会学家注意到更多的女性开始寻求职业生涯的发展，而非婚姻。他们表示，男性则由于财务困境和就业不稳定，寻求伴侣的积极性有所下降。

Businesses ranging from matchmaking services to lingerie makers and professional baseball teams are trying to fill the romance void。眼下，从征婚服务机构，内衣制造商到职业棒球队，各类企业都在试图利用猎婚热潮带来的商机。

Konkatsu is a new buzzword for Japanese media. The concept has been featured in magazines and is the title of a popular television show. Even shrines are getting in on the konkatsu boom。“猎婚”是日本媒体最近相当盛行的一个新词。这个理念也频频出现在各种杂志上，而且还是一个流行电视节目的名称。就连神社也卷入了猎婚潮。

（来源：网络英语点津Jennifer编辑）