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?
World Nov 1, 2019
Brexit translates to 'challenge' for European Union interpreters
English as a common language has in recent years scaled the heights of the European Union's 24-floor Tower of Babel, but will Brexit loosen its grip? London's political influence in Brussels may be slipping, but the language of Shakespeare is still in constant use. It was ...
Business / Tech Oct 16, 2019
Translation by the numbers: Facebook AI puts words into multidimensional spaces
Designers of machine translation tools still mostly rely on dictionaries to make a foreign language understandable. But now there is a new way: numbers. Facebook researchers say rendering words into figures and exploiting mathematical similarities between languages is a promising avenue — even if a ...
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 ...
National May 28, 2019
Archive to tell story of Beate Sirota Gordon's pivotal role in fight for gender equality in Japan
by Keiji Hirano
Documents related to Beate Sirota Gordon, the American translator who played a major role in the formulation of the Japanese Constitution's gender equality protections, are being archived in a project exploring the development of women's rights. The initiative, which aims to demonstrate the role women ...
National Apr 3, 2019
"Forgotten Center" instead of "Lost and Found" is just one of the mistranslations discovered on websites that may puzzle foreign tourists in Japan, the government said Wednesday, urging the operators to fix such problems as soon as possible. With the country readying itself for a ...
National Apr 3, 2019
Japan assures world that Reiwa is all about 'beautiful harmony' and has nothing to do with 'command'
by Tomohiro Osaki
The move is intended to dispel what the ministry considers erroneous reports overseas that the new era name has connotations of “command” or “order.”
National Mar 19, 2019
by Satoshi Sugiyama
Punctual trains. Rat-free platforms. A high standard of cleanliness. The Japanese commuter railway system is known for efficient, sanitary and high quality service. But creating an accurately translated website offering train information may not have been a top priority for Osaka Metro Co. The operator of ...