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進入《中英對照讀新聞》Death rate is highest in Aomori, says health ministry－日本厚生勞動省說，青森縣死亡率最高
（圖擷取自Google Map）
◎張沛元
More people are dying per 100,000 of population in northern Japan than elsewhere in the nation, and it could well be down to too much salt in the diet.
日本北部的每10萬人口的死亡率居全國之冠，原因很可能是飲食鹽分過多。
The 2015 mortality rate was highest for both men and women in Aomori Prefecture at the northern tip of the Japan’s main island of Honshu. For men, Aomori was followed by two other prefectures in the northern Tohoku region － Akita and Iwate.
（日本）2015年男女兩性死亡率最高的縣，是位於日本主要島嶼本州北端的青森縣。單就男性而言，青森也領先東北地方的另外兩縣—秋田與岩手。
Nagano Prefecture, a snowy region in the central part of the main island, ranked lowest for both sexes in the survey results announced by the health ministry June 14.
根據（日本）厚生勞動省6月14日公布的調查結果，位於本州中部豪雪區的長野縣，兩性死亡率全國最低。
The ministry official who released the results speculated that it was the "consequence of the dietary culture of cold regions that traditionally uses a lot of salt for preserved （vegetables）," while in chilly Nagano a "（public health campaign） to improve dietary style has seemingly paid off."
公布結果的厚勞省官員推測，此結果「肇因於寒冷地區傳統上使用大量鹽保存（蔬菜）的飲食文化」，而寒冷的長野縣「改善飲食方式的（公共衛生運動）看似奏效」。
The national average death rate for men decreased by 58.3 points compared to the last survey, and was at 486.0 persons per 100,000. For women, it decreased by 20.0 points, and was recorded at 255.0.
較上次調查，日本男性全國平均死亡率降低58.3%，每10萬人486人死亡。女性則降低20%，來到破紀錄的每10萬人255人死亡。
《新聞辭典》
be down to someone：慣用語，非正式用法，某人的責任或由某人決定。例句：It’s down to the boss to find out what went wrong with the project.（老闆負責找出計畫哪裡出錯。）
speculate：動詞，沉思，推測。
pay off：片語動詞，（1）付清債務；（2）奏效，獲致成果。例句：Her plan paid off.（她的計畫成功了。）
