A young male cat named Love has taken the oath of office as "honorary stationmaster" at the train stop here.
一隻名叫「愛」的年輕公貓已宣誓就任此處一座火車站的「榮譽站長」。
 |
| 圖左為新站長Love，圖右為老站長Bus / Left: Love, right:Bus |
The cat, age 1 year and 8 months, took over the role at Aizu Railway Co.’s Ashinomaki Onsen Station from his predecessor, Bus, who has been forced into retirement at the approximate age of 17.
這隻1歲8個月大的貓咪取代前任站長「巴士」，接任會津鐵道蘆之牧溫泉站榮譽站長。年約17歲的「巴士」已被迫退休。
Bus was deemed unsuitable for the job because, due to her age, she was catnapping frequently while "on the job" at the station. But the veteran feline staff member will continue to live in the station building.
年事已高的母貓「巴士」因常在車站「當班」時打盹而被視為不適任，但這隻資深貓員工將繼續住在車站內。
Love started serving as an "apprentice to the stationmaster" last summer by greeting passengers on the platform with his cute face.
「愛」在去年夏天從「站長學徒」做起，在月台上以可愛的貓臉送往迎來。
Love was "handed" a letter of appointment from Aizu Railway President Tadashi Oishi amid applause from fans from inside and outside the prefecture who attended the special ceremony on Dec. 24, 2015.
在來自福島縣內外、參與2015年12月24日的這場特別典禮的粉絲掌聲中，會津鐵道社長大石直將一封任命信「交給」「愛」。
文章取自自由時報◎張沛元