Entertainment News Nov 19, 2020
The author said she wants to share the prize with the people of Minamisoma, Fukushima Prefecture, where she now resides.
Books Sep 22, 2020
First South Korean 'comfort women' novel released in English
Kim Soom's 'One Left' tells the story of one former captive who debates whether to go public with her story.
Books Sep 5, 2020
‘Astral Season, Beastly Season’: The ambiguity and conflicting extremes of being a teenager
by Kris Kosaka
Poet Tahi Saihate’s novel centered on adolescence offers an authentic yet compassionate view of searching for meaning and human connections.
Business / Corporate | Regional voices: Chubu Apr 10, 2020
As pandemic hits conferences, Aichi firm launches remote interpretation services
As the business environment continues to be affected by the spread of COVID-19, an industrial painting firm based in Anjo, Aichi Prefecture, has begun offering Japanese-English simultaneous interpretation services remotely using teleconference systems. With more companies canceling international conferences and seminars due to the pandemic, ...
Commentary / Japan Mar 10, 2020
Japan must provide multilingual information on COVID-19
by Keizo Yamawaki
The government should create basic guidelines on how to disseminate information and give consultation services in foreign languages on COVID-19.
National Feb 18, 2020
Health ministry struggles to provide COVID-19 updates in foreign languages
by Tomohiro Osaki
The health ministry is struggling to keep non-Japanese updated on the rapidly escalating situation in a timely manner, hampered by a dearth of staff proficient in foreign languages.
How-tos Jan 16, 2020
Why English translation needs the native touch
by Rochelle Kopp
Japan is a country that prides itself on focusing on the smallest details, so why do incorrect English translations plague signage across the country?
National Oct 4, 2019
One interpreter making a world of difference for Georgian rugby team in Japan
by Sakura Katsurada
Interpreters have been provided for almost every team competing at the 2019 Rugby World Cup, but in a country with a very limited number of Georgian speakers, a 28-year-old man is supporting the squad all by himself. Hayate Sotome, who is assisting the Georgian players ...
National / History Aug 22, 2019
Pioneering Japanese interpreting team opened nation's eyes to disabled athletes at '64 Paralympics
by Ryusei Takahashi
Foreign residents and wheelchairs — much less Paralympic athletes — were a rare sight in Japan in 1964. Preparations to host the Summer Olympics and the second-ever Paralympics were well underway. Stadiums, highways and hotels were being built at breakneck speeds, cutting-edge photographic and timing ...
National Aug 19, 2019
For Japan's medical interpretation industry, tourism boom presents growing challenge
by Magdalena Osumi
During one of her medical-interpreting lessons in July, teacher Yoshiko Ishizaka, 77, brought up the case of a former student who was dealing with schizophrenia. The principal of Tokyo-based International Medical Interpreter Academy used the example to engage her class in a discussion on the ...
Books Aug 17, 2019
Understanding the challenging world of the literary translator
by Louise George Kittaka
English translations of Japanese books have found an enthusiastic audience around the world, and while the author is undoubtedly the star of the show, the translator's role should not be underestimated.
National Aug 7, 2019
Tourists to Japan are fueling a boom in personal translation devices
by Kantaro Komiya
Takehiko Fujita wouldn't be able to do his job selling eye drops and pain relievers without his pocket translator. Instead of an app, language dictionary or call-in translation service, the clerk at a Japanese drugstore uses Pocketalk, a ¥25,000 device made by Sourcenext Corp. that ...