日本的中年「單身寄生族」

說到「啃老族」，大多數人先想到的是住在家裡白吃白喝的年輕人。而現在日本卻有大批的「中年啃老族」，最新調查顯示，35至54歲和父母同住的日本人，2016年約有450萬人。這些人不知道離開父母后如何生活，同時也對日本的老齡化社會構成了很大負擔。

Millions of middle-aged singles in Japan still live with their elderly parents and depend on them financially, research has revealed, contributing to the county』s falling birth rate and ageing population. 調查顯示，日本有數百萬中年單身族依然與年邁的父母同住，並在經濟上依賴父母。這加劇了日本出生率的下降和老齡化負擔。

The country had an estimated 4.5 million unemployed — or under-employed — and unmarried 35- to 54-year-olds who still lived at home in 2016. They have been dubbed "parasite singles" by researchers. 2016年，有約450萬失業或就業不充分的35歲至54歲的單身族與父母同住。他們被稱為「單身寄生族」。

Sociologist Masahiro Yamada coined the term "parasite singles" in 1997. 社會學家山田正弘在1997年創造出這一辭彙。

「During the 『bubble economy』 until the mid-1990s, the 20-somethings were happily amusing themselves. They thought by the time they were in their 30s, they』d be married,」 he told Reuters. 他告訴路透社說：「1990年代中期的泡沫經濟時期，20多歲的年輕人只要自己過得開心就好。他們認為自己會在30多歲結婚。」

「But one-third never married and are now around age 50." 「但其中三分之一的人一直沒結過婚，而現在他們已經50來歲了。」

About 20 percent of middle-aged stay-at-home singles rely solely on parents for support. When their parents pass away they could become a burden on the state. 大約20%的中年啃老族完全依靠父母的支持。一旦父母去世，他們會成為社會的負擔。

But many "parasite singles" argue that they did not choose their lifestyle, but were handed it by the economy. 但很多單身寄生族辯稱，這不是他們自己的選擇，而是經濟環境所迫。

（中國日報網英語點津 yaning）

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