A Japanese interpreter who worked on a series of delicate Japan-China meetings says he hopes his language skills can help to improve relations at a time when bilateral ties are pained by a territorial dispute and by tension over conflicting readings of history.
In April 2012, linguist Yuki Izumikawa, 35, an official of the Association for the Promotion of International Trade, was appointed to serve as interpreter in a meeting between the association's chairman, Yohei Kono, and Xi Jinping, who was vice president at that time and is now China's leader.
"I was so worried. What if my interpretation causes further complications," Izumikawa recalls. "I was very nervous — and made a number of trips to the bathroom."