导读:自近代以来，海洋硬实力一直被视为大国博弈的重要指标。近日，美国一作者指出，即使二战后的日本没有正式的海军，其能力仍然是亚洲最强大的，崛起的中国也是难以与之匹敌。你怎么看？
The best navy in Asia has a total of 114 warships and 45,800 volunteer personnel. It has a large fleet of fast, powerful destroyers, thoroughly modern diesel-electric attack submarines, and amphibious ships that can haul tanks and other ground forces. It can hunt submarines, square off against invasion fleets, and shoot down enemy ballistic missiles. Despite all of that firepower, this is not in fact a navy at all.
亚洲最棒的海军拥有总计114艘军舰和45800名义工人员。它有着大型的舰队：反应迅速、威力巨大的驱逐舰、十分现代化的柴油机电力传动攻击型潜水艇、以及能够托运坦克和其它地面部队的两栖攻击舰。它可以搜寻到潜水艇，反击进攻舰队，并击落敌军发射的导弹。尽管战斗力很强，它并不算是真正意义上的海军。
Technically, the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force is a “self-defense force” designed to overcome the country’s constitutional limits on armed forces. It is, ship for ship, the best navy in Asia.
从技术层面上来说，日本海上自卫队是一支用来突破日本宪法对军队限制的“自卫部队”。就舰艇的数量来说，日本自卫队在亚洲是最棒的海军。
The main component of the MSDF are its fleet of forty-six destroyers and frigates—more than that those fielded by the United Kingdom and France combined.
海上自卫队主要由46艘驱逐舰以及护卫舰组成——超过英国和法国的总和。
The most powerful of Japan’s surface combatants are the Kongo class of guided-missile destroyers （just two Kongos can protect most of the country.）. The four ships—Kongo, Kirishima, Myoko and Chokai—are all named after battleships and cruisers of the Imperial Japanese Navy, a practice once generally avoided but becoming more popular as the memory of World War II fades.
日本威力最大的水上战舰是金刚级别的导弹驱逐舰（只需两艘金刚就可保护日本的大多数领土）。这四艘舰艇——金刚、雾岛、妙高和鸟海——都是取名于日本帝国海军的战舰和巡洋舰，一般来说，这种命名方式在以前都是避免的，但是随着二战记忆的淡去，它变得更为流行。
Another formidable Japanese ship is the JS Izumo. At twenty-seven thousand tons fully loaded and more than eight hundred feet long, Izumo has a full-length flight deck, an island for controlling flight operations, aircraft elevators and a hangar that spans the length of the ship.
另一艘令人生畏的日本舰艇是JS出云号。出云号满载排水量为27000吨，长逾800英尺，有着大型的飞机甲板、控制飞机操作的平台、飞机升降舵和一个贯穿舰长的机库。
While that sounds like a traditional aircraft carrier, Japan insists the ship is actually a “helicopter destroyer.”
虽然这听起来像是一艘传统的航空母舰，但是日本坚称这事实上是一艘“护卫舰”。
Japan’s submarine force is another major component of the MSDF. Japan is building up to a force of twenty-two submarines to against a growing Chinese Navy. The fleet will consist of two classes of submarines, the older Oyashio class, and the newer, deadlier Soryu class.
日本的潜艇部队是海上自卫队的又一主要组成部分。日本正在建造一支拥有22艘潜艇的部队，从而来抗衡日益强大的中国海军。这只舰队将由两个级别的潜水艇组成，旧的为亲潮级，新的为更加致命的苍龙级。
Finally, Japan has three Osumi-class tank landing ships. The ships resemble small aircraft carriers, with a 130-meter long flight deck stretching the length of the ship.
最后，日本拥有三艘大隅极的坦克登录舰。它们类似于小型航空母舰，有着130米长的飞行甲板来延伸舰艇的长度。
One final reason why Japan’s navy is the best in Asia? On March 11, 2011, a magnitude 9.0 earthquake struck off the coast of northern Japan. Vice Admiral Hiromi Takashima, commandant of the Yokosuka Naval District, immediately assumed temporary command of the entire MSDF and ordered all available ships north to the earthquake zone. The first ship left just forty-five minutes after the earthquake. Another seventeen ships packed with relief supplies departed within eighteen hours.
最后一个日本海军在全亚洲是最棒的的原因是什么呢？2011年3月11日，日本北部沿海发生了一场9.0级的地震。副海军上将广美高岛——横须贺海军区的指挥官——立即担任全体海上自卫队的临时指挥官，命令所有舰艇北进地震区。第一艘舰艇仅在地震15分钟之后驶离。另外17艘装满救济物资的舰艇在8小时内驶离。
