Japan’s change of government in 2009 – when the Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ) broke the almost uninterrupted monopoly on power held by the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) since 1955 – was not a revolution. But, rather like the election of the first black president of the United States, it was fizzing with popular expectations, promising a fundamental shift from the past.
在2009年发生在日本的政权更替——自民党自1955年以来几乎从未间断的政权垄断终于被民主党一手终结——并不是一场革命。但就像美国选出了第一位黑人总统那样，这场更替承载着大众的殷切期望，并承诺要与过去来一个彻底的了断。