Japan's bureaucrats¹ may have little to laugh about these days, given opposition² charges of misspent tax money, but that has not stopped one ministry³ offering its officials a unique form of training -- as stand-up comics.

More than 100 transport ministry officials in their 20s got tips this week from professional comedians⁵ as part of training in communication skills.

"By experiencing comedy routines, we hope they can learn more about how to speak to clients and how to manage their staff as they begin to have more management responsibility," said Atsuya Kawada, deputy director of the ministry's personnel division.

The training coincides with attacks by the main opposition Democratic Party, eyeing victory in a looming⁶ election, on what the party calls wasteful⁷ public spending due to decades of policy collusion between bureaucrats and ruling party lawmakers.

Kawada said the approach was better than just listening to lectures for young officials, who are often tired from long working hours.

"We also hope this training will soften⁸ the stiff image of bureaucrats," he added.

由于正遭反对党指责不当使用税款，日本官员近日也许笑不出来，但这并未妨碍有关政府部门为公职人员提供一项特殊培训---讲单口相声。

作为沟通技巧训练的一部分，本周一百多名二十来岁的国土交通省官员接受了专业喜剧演员的培训。

该政府部门人事处副主任Atsuya Kawada说：“由于官员们的管理责任越来越重，我们希望可以通过体验喜剧形式，使他们学会更多与客户交谈以及管理下属的技巧。”

这项培训进行之时，正赶上反对党日本民主党炮轰政府，该反对党希望能在即将举行的下届选举中胜出，并声称在过去几十年间，官员与执政党立法者制定政策时相互勾结，浪费了大量公共开支。

Kawada称对年轻官员来说，这种培训方式比听课有效，年轻官员在长时间工作之后经常感到疲劳。

他补充说：“我们还希望这项培训可以改善官员呆板的形象。”

 Vocabulary:

stand-up comic：Stand-up comedy is a style of comedy where the performer speaks directly to the audience, with the absence of the theatrical⁹ "fourth wall". A person who performs stand-up comedy is known as a stand-up comic, performed by a single comedian⁴, with the aid of a hand-held microphone.（站在没有任何布景和道具的舞台上讲笑话，通常由单人表演，类似于中国的“单口相声”，在日本被称为“落语”。）

looming：即将到来的