Seibu Railway started testing a new translation device at Seibu-Shinjuku Station on Monday as part of efforts to be more welcoming to foreign tourists and those with difficulty communicating.
Developed by printing company Toppan, the Voice Biz UCDisplay is a transparent window-like device that can create real-time translations that appear as text bubbles when two people converse on either side of the screen. It is currently placed next to the express ticket office at the station.
This futuristic device allows users to converse while remaining face-to-face, which means small nuances of body language and facial expressions can be still be conveyed — things that are often lost when conversing through translation apps.