In a chilling turn of events, some taxi drivers in Japanare claiming to have picked up 'ghost passengers' inthe aftermath of the tsunami that devastated thenation in March 2011. As many as seven of the 100drivers interviewed by Yuka Kudo, a student ofsociology at Tohoku, admitted to having encounteredphantom fares.
2011年3月，東日本海疆產生地動，囊括而來的大海嘯重創天下。災害事後，曾傳出的士司機在災區載到“鬼搭客”的報導，聽來很是駭人。就讀日本東北大學社會學系的工藤優花采訪了百位的士司機，七人認可曾載到過幽靈。
Kudo conducted the interviews as a part of her graduation thesis, traveling to the coastal townof Ishinomaki every week for a year to speak to taxi drivers waiting for fares. She asked over100 drivers the same question: "Did you have any unusual experiences after the disaster?"Many of them ignored her, some even got angry, but seven drivers agreed to describe theirstrange encounters.
工藤優花每周都邑前去海濱都會石卷，采訪本地正在候客的的士司機，為本身的卒業論文做預備。一年來，她采訪了一百多位的士司機，題目只有一個：“海嘯事後，你碰著過甚麽瑰異事宜嗎?”很多人鉗口不談，有些人乃至對她惡語相向，但個中有七人則向她報告了本身的靈異遭受。
One driver recounted a particularly unsettling story—in the summer of 2011, a woman dressedin a coat climbed into his taxi near Ishinomaki station. She said, "Please go to the MianmihamaStation." When he pointed out that there was nothing left standing in the district, she askedhim in a shivering voice, "Have I died?” The driver immediately turned around, only to find theback seat empty.
有位司機的故事非分特別驚悚。那是2011年的炎天，一名身著大衣的女生在石卷車站鄰近坐上了他的車，並告知他：“貧苦去南濱車站。”這位司機告知她，南濱已在海嘯中被夷為平地了。聽到這兒，女搭客發抖著問他：“我是否是已死了?”一句話，嚇得司機趕快扭頭，發明後座竟空無一人。
Another driver recalled how a young man who looked to be in his 20s got into his taxi. Whenthe driver looked in the rear-view mirror for directions, the man kept pointing towards the front.The driver then asked for a destination, to which he replied, "Hiyoriyama" (mountain). Whenthe taxi reached the area, the man had disappeared from the taxi.
另一名司機回想道，本身曾載過一位20多歲的須眉。他盯著後視鏡，問搭客要往哪兒開，可這名須眉只是一向往前指。因而他不能不問了句，到底去哪兒?須眉答道：“日和山。”當司機開到目標地時，發明須眉早已無影無蹤了。
It’s easy to dismiss these stories as hallucinations or imaginations, but the drivers' logs areproof that they really might have occurred. When these 'ghosts' got into their cabs, the driversstarted the meter, which is recorded. So even though these passengers disappeared during theride, they were still counted as clients. The drivers then had to pay their fares out of their ownpockets. Some of the drivers even wrote down their experiences in their logs.
很多人會說，他們必定是發生幻覺了，大概故事是編的。可的士上的計程儀不會哄人啊。“鬼搭客”一上車，計程儀便開端運作，記載著行車全程。哪怕搭客半路消逝，仍舊算一次行車記載，也便是說，司機們不能不自掏腰包，付出車資。有些司機乃至在行車冊上寫下了他們的遭受。
All these phantom travelers were described to be young, which compels Kudo to believe thatthey were indeed victims of the 2011 tsunami. "Young people feel strongly chagrined (at theirdeaths) when they cannot meet people they love," she said. "As they want to convey theirbitterness, they may have chosen taxis, which are like private rooms, as a medium to do so."
據司機們的描寫，全部的鬼搭客都是些年青人，是以工藤優花以為，他們確切是2011年的海嘯罹難者。“年青人死不瞑目，放不下對愛人的掛念，”她說，“為了發泄苦楚，他們選取坐的士，由於的士空間密閉，是幻想的載體。”
Interestingly, none of the drivers reported feeling any fear, instead holding their specialpassengers in reverence. Having lost loved ones in the disaster themselves, they perceivedthe encounters as a spiritual experience, meant to be remembered and cherished forever. "Itis not strange to see a ghost here," a driver said. If I encounter a ghost again, I will accept itas my passenger.”
風趣的是，接收采訪的司機紛紜表現，本身其實不畏懼，反而對這些特別的搭客心生畏敬。很多司機也在海嘯中落空了他們的至愛，是以，他們將搭載鬼搭客視作通靈的閱歷，值得銘刻與珍愛。“在這裏見鬼其實不特別，”一名司機坦言，“假如我再載到鬼，確定會送它到目標地。”
Kudo herself was moved by the interviews. "I learned that the death of each victim carriesimportance," she said. "I want to convey that to other people."
此番采訪，讓工藤優花深受激動。她說：“這些司機讓我明確了，每一名罹難者的死都意義龐大。我要讓更多人懂得這點。”
According to official records, over 15,000 people died during the magnitude-9 earthquakethat lasted for six minutes and triggered a 133-ft high tsunami that swept six miles inland.Numerous sightings of 'ghosts' and 'spectral figures' have been reported in residential districtsin the affected areas in the aftermath of the disaster.
官方材料稱，東日本地動強度高達9級，雖僅連續6分鐘，卻激發了133英尺(約合40米)高的海嘯，深刻要地本地達6英裏(約合9.6千米)，共造成1.5萬多人歸天。海嘯事後，多人曾在災區目擊了“幽靈”或“鬼魂”出沒。
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