There`s a lot going on right now in the Asian island country of Japan. The nation held snap or early elections yesterday. They were originally scheduled for next year.

日本，这个亚洲岛国，发生了很多事情。日本昨天举行了提前选举。选举本应明年举行。

But Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe called for them to be held now because he was doing well again in opinion polls. His numbers had dropped as the government grappled with a fair of corruption scandals linked to the prime minister, though he`s repeatedly denied being involved.

日本首相安倍呼吁进行选举因为他在选票中占有绝对优势。日本政府处理与安倍有关的腐败丑闻时，尽管安倍一再否认，但其支持率有所下降。

But they ticked back up again recently and analysts say Prime Minister Abe wanted to take advantage of that and to get more support for his stance against North Korea. That nation has fired two ballistic missiles over Japan recently.

但是，最近他的支持票数又有所回升，分析人士表示，安倍想利用这一局势，获得更多的支持来对抗朝鲜。最近，朝鲜向日本发射了两枚导弹。

And it`s not the only challenge Japan is facing. Typhoon Lan was bearing down on the country last night. It was expected to make landfall along Japan`s southern coast. Its wind speeds were 134 miles per hour on Sunday, making the typhoon the equivalent of a powerful category 4 hurricane.

这不是这个国家面临的唯一挑战。昨晚，日本受到台风“兰恩”的影响。预计在日本南海岸登陆。周日，风速达到134英里/小时，约相当于四级飓风。

And though Typhoon Lan was weakening as it approached Japan, it was so large that the clouds around it extended farther than the borders of the whole country. Dangerous winds, flooding, mudslides and damage in the Japanese capital of Tokyo were all possible.

虽然台风“兰恩”在靠近日本的时候，有所减弱，但是其云层之大超过了日本整个国家的边界。强风、红水、泥石流在东京都可能会发生。

There`s a lot going on right now in the Asian island country of Japan. The nation held snap or early elections yesterday. They were originally scheduled for next year.

But Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe called for them to be held now because he was doing well again in opinion polls. His numbers had dropped as the government grappled with a fair of corruption scandals linked to the prime minister, though he`s repeatedly denied being involved.

But they ticked back up again recently and analysts say Prime Minister Abe wanted to take advantage of that and to get more support for his stance against North Korea. That nation has fired two ballistic missiles over Japan recently.

And it`s not the only challenge Japan is facing. Typhoon Lan was bearing down on the country last night. It was expected to make landfall along Japan`s southern coast. Its wind speeds were 134 miles per hour on Sunday, making the typhoon the equivalent of a powerful category 4 hurricane.

And though Typhoon Lan was weakening as it approached Japan, it was so large that the clouds around it extended farther than the borders of the whole country. Dangerous winds, flooding, mudslides and damage in the Japanese capital of Tokyo were all possible.