With the $3.5bn sale of Sharp to Taiwan’s Foxconn last week, any wishful thinking that the state would rescue Japan Inc from foreign takeovers proved to be an illusion.

夏普(Sharp)不久前被以35亿美元的价格出售给了台湾的富士康(Foxconn)，至此，所有一厢情愿地以为日本政府会尽力救助本国公司、阻止其被外资收购的想法都被证明是错误的。

Yet it is too soon to celebrate the complete end of state bailouts and protectionism in Japan. The government of prime minister Shinzo Abe has been active in streamlining underperforming industries through mergers of regional banks and oil refiners. Ministers have also encouraged consolidation in consumer electronics, automobile and other sectors, as Japanese companies compete to survive in an era of artificial intelligence and connected devices.

不过，要庆祝政府救助和保护主义在日本彻底终结还为时尚早。在首相安倍晋三(Shinzo Abe)的领导下，日本政府通过合并地区性银行和炼油企业，积极地对状况不佳的行业实施整顿。在日本企业积极参与竞争、以求在人工智能和设备互联时代维持生存的情况下，政府高官也鼓励在消费电子、汽车等行业实施整合。

The government’s role, however, is more controversial when it uses the guise of “national interest” to justify injecting taxpayers’ money into troubled companies through vehicles such as the Innovation Network Corp of Japan.

然而，当政府以“国家利益”为借口，通过日本产业革新机构(INCJ)等机构把纳税人资金注入困难企业时，其扮演的角色也引起了更大争议。

Despite being armed with $18bn in investment capability, the state-backed fund was outbid by Foxconn’s Terry Gou in its pursuit of Sharp. But it has assisted Renesas Electronics and other struggling businesses even when there were competing offers from private investors.

尽管可投资的资金达到180亿美元，但在竞购夏普时，这家政府基金的报价低于富士康的郭台铭(Terry Gou)。不过，该机构对瑞萨电子(Renesas Electronics)和其他陷入困境的企业提供了支持，即便是在有私人投资者参与竞购的情况下。

It may be no coincidence that Japan’s fair trade watchdog last week released guidelines on state assistance to companies, just a day after the landmark Sharp takeover by Hon Hai Precision Industry, the parent of Foxconn, was announced. While a foreign buyout could not be avoided this time, state-backed funds such as the INCJ are already looking for their next big deal.

在富士康母公司鸿海精密(Hon Hai Precision Industry)收购夏普这桩具有里程碑意义的交易宣布一天之后，日本的公平贸易监管机构发布了关于政府援助企业的指导方针。这或许并非巧合。尽管这一次日本企业被外企收购不可避免，但INCJ等政府基金已开始在物色下一宗大交易。

The guidelines are aimed at preventing distortions to competition caused by state aid. It comes after criticism that the government bailout of Japan Airlines following its 2010 bankruptcy had unfairly strengthened the carrier compared with ANA Holdings, its main rival.

这份指导方针旨在防止政府救助扭曲了市场竞争。此前，人们批评说，2010年日本航空(JAL)破产后得到政府的救助，不公平地增强了其相对于主要竞争对手全日空航空公司(ANA Holdings)的实力。

State assistance to the volatile airline industry is not unique to Japan. It has occurred repeatedly across the world, and some efforts have proven woefully ineffective, as in the case of Alitalia, the struggling Italian flag carrier that is 49 per cent owned by Etihad Airways, the Abu Dhabi-based airline.

由政府为动荡的航空业提供支持的并非只有日本。世界各国都在不断地发生这样的事，有些做法已被证明是完全无效的，比如苦苦挣扎的意大利主要航空公司意大利航空(Alitalia)。目前，总部位于阿布扎比的阿提哈德航空(Etihad Airways)持有意大利航空49%的股权。

By contrast, JAL reduced headcount and also rationalised its fleet of aircraft, and it has become one of the most profitable carriers in the world, giving the government a significant return on its money.

对比之下，日航进行了裁员，也精简了旗下飞机阵容。该公司已成为世界上盈利能力最强的航空公司之一，给日本政府带来了丰厚的投资回报。

But critics say Japanese government assistance to JAL — totalling nearly Y1tn ($9bn) through a combination of capital injection, loans and debt waiver — was far too generous and resulted in it becoming far stronger than its rival.

但批评人士表示，日本政府对日航的支持太过慷慨——通过注资、提供贷款和免除债务，总额接近1万亿日元（约合90亿美元）——导致该公司的实力比对手强了很多。

Latest financial figures show JAL’s net profit was twice that of ANA. JAL’s equity ratio — a measure of capital strength — stood at 56 per cent compared with ANA’s 36 per cent. ANA, Japan’s largest carrier in terms of revenue, had interest-bearing debt 9.4 times bigger than JAL.

最新财务数字显示，日航的净利润是全日空的两倍。日航的股东权益比率——衡量资本实力的指标——为56%，全日空则为36%。作为日本营收额最高的航空公司，全日空的附息债务规模是日航的9.4倍。

Given six years have elapsed since JAL filed for bankruptcy protection, it appears late to undo the competitive advantage the carrier enjoys. Mr Abe’s government has tried to favour ANA in the allotment of new landing slots at airports.

自从日航申请破产保护以来已过去了6年，这时撤销该公司享有的竞争优势似乎为时已晚。安倍政府已设法在分配新的机场降落时段时对全日空有所照顾。

ANA has also taken stakes in Asian airlines, even as JAL remains restricted on making investments until March 2017. ANA is also seeking to look beyond its domestic rival to become a globally competitive carrier.

全日空还入股了多家亚洲航空公司，而日航仍受到2017年3月之前不得进行投资的限制。全日空也把目光投向国内对手之外，希望成为一家具有全球竞争力的航空公司。

Still, Kazuyuki Sugimoto, chairman of the Japan Fair Trade Commission, worries that cases such as JAL’s bailout lead to “moral hazard” because company management feel they can count on the government to come to the rescue, while competent rivals are left comparatively weaker by their own lack of state aid. Japan’s new guidelines call for state assistance to be temporary, minimal and limited to situations where private investors are absent. More transparency is called for in assessing the impact of state aid on competition.

尽管如此，日本公平贸易委员会(Japan fair trade commission)委员长杉本和行(Kazuyuki Sugimoto)担心，救助日航之类的案例会产生“道德风险”，因为公司管理层会觉得他们可以指望政府伸出援手，而能力强的竞争对手则因缺少政府支持而处于相对弱势的地位。日本新出台的政府援助企业准则提出，政府援助应是暂时和最低限度的，并且仅限于私人投资者缺席的情况。准则中要求，在评估政府援助对竞争的影响时，要更加透明。

The Japanese commission used comparatively strict EU rules that limit state support in compiling its guidelines. Yet the blueprint still lacks sufficient teeth to enforce the conditions on state assistance to help ensure that rivals are not disadvantaged.

该委员会在编制这份准则时，采纳了欧盟较为严格的限制政府支持的规则。不过，这份指导大纲仍缺乏足够的效力，以执行有关政府支持的条件、帮助确保被支持者的竞争对手不会落入不利境地。

Without effective safeguards against state intervention, the Sharp deal may turn out to be an exception rather than a turning point for companies choosing between overseas buyers and the cosy hands of the government.

在缺乏有效防范政府干预的措施的情况下，就企业如何在海外买家与政府温暖的手之间进行选择来说，夏普收购案或许只会是一个例外，而不是一个转折点。