Job: Large J>E Translation Project
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Here’s a big translation assignment, courtesy of WIT member and NY JET alum Marc Carroll. If you apply to work on the project and you heard about it through JetWit, please make sure to let them know, as indicated in the text below.
Yoroshiku and ganbatte.
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*Please do not repost this message on any other websites.*
SUBJECT: Large Japanese into English Translation Project
Transperfect Translations is recruiting translators to work on a large-volume, Japanese-into-English translation project for a multinational electronics firm.
Subject matter includes technical translation, general company literature, legal documentation and internal correspondence.
This project is scheduled to run from mid-April through the end of June, but may possibly run longer.
All translators are required to sign confidentiality and independent contractor agreements. Once signed, sample files can be sent for preview and the scope of work will be explained.
Interested parties send should a response with CV and rate information to cv@transperfect.com.
Please also be sure to include in the subject line, “JetWIT Translator“.
*Please do not repost this message on any other websites.*
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WITLife is a periodic series written by professional Interpreter/Translator/Writer Stacy Smith (Kumamoto-ken, 2000-03). Recently she’s been watching Fujisankei’s newscast in Japanese and sharing some of the interesting tidbits and trends together with her own observations.
Following up on the recent J-News Mini-Roundup posted on jetwit, the unemployment craze is also having an effect on the kinds of jobs new Japanese graduates want to apply for. According to a survey by Recruit of 5810 college students and 2099 grad
uate students from the class of 2010, travel industries come out ahead while manufacturing jobs were left in the dust. The financial and insurance industries also came out strong, occupying five of the top ten spots. Central Japan Railway Company (JR Central) took the top spot after being 4th last year, and in 2nd was East Japan Railway Company (JR East). All Nippon Airways (ANA), which had claimed the top spot last year, trailed at 3rd and Mizuho Financial Group came in 4th.
The largest descents were those of Read More
JET Alum Zach LeNarz has set up a Facebook group called “JETAA Law” for JET alums who work in the legal profession, are in law school or are in any other way connected with the law. (If the link doesn’t work for any reason, just do a search for “JETAA Law” on Facebook.)
So go ahead and sign up. No contract, waiver or non-disclosure agreement required. :-)
By Kirsten Phillips (Niigata-ken, 2005-08)
Through dangers untold and hardships unnumbered…
A newly arrived ingénue sits on the 2nd floor of a local coffee dive in her adopted 田舎 dwelling. Birds are chirping. Squid is drying. All seems right with the universe.
Without warning, the earth trembles.
Delicately ejecting the coffee just inhaled a mere moment ago, our ingénue dives Bruce Willis style under the nearest table, taking out an entire shelf of neatly-stacked, carefully-categorized dog-earedまんが.
Her Japanese companion raises an eyebrow. She hasn’t even put down her cup.
“Uh…大丈夫?”
“No!” Ingenue blurts, biting down on a freshly polished nail to stay the hysteria. “This is it! Doomsday! The roof’s gonna cave, we’re all gonna perish-”
“ええじゃん? A little one like this?…” The owner, a puckish man named Kurochan, laughs as his establishment sways to and fro.
That was my first earthquake ever. Read More
The Release of the Golf
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J-News Mini-Roundup is a recurring feature written by Friend Of JET, Jon Hills, who maintains the blog for Hills Learning (www.hillslearning.com). Hills Learning is a NY-based language learning services company offering customized and personal Japanese language learning options.
All three main newspapers ran headlines this morning about the release of the new Volkswagen Golf. Each journalistic style gives the reader a different image of what kind of car is coming to the market. The newspapers, however, did all focus on the ability of the new car to have better gas mileage.
- Nikkei – (Glamorous) What’s very interesting about the Nikkei’s description is it cleverly overlooks the VW being an imported car, where as Yomiuri and Asahi focus on the fact that it’s a German car. It starts off with “Volkswagon Group Japan” has made an announcement. The Nikkei then starts into the description with phrases such as “equipped with a new form of engine”, “technology of a high quality car” and “the parts have been actively pioneered to increase a feeling of high class.” It makes you wonder who Nikkei’s sponsors are…
- Yomiuri – (Economical) Yomiuri is the only newspaper that uses the term “hatchback” to describe the golf. I’s 5 person capacity makes you think more about a family vacation than “high class”. Also when describing the gas mileage of the new model, they claim “while driving on the road the car’s gas mileage has been developed to have 16 kilometers to the liter.” Nikkei describes gas mileage development as “gas consumption performance.”
- Asahi – (Safe) Asahi was the only newspaper to mention that the VW has airbags, and in fact mentions it in the title right along with “gas mileage”. It also gives an estimate for gas mileage (in kilometers) per liter of 16.2 to 16.8, which was higher than both what the Yomiuri and Nikkei predicted of a flat 16. Still not convinced it’s the safest car? They then go onto describe Volkswagon has sold 26 million cars worldwide since 1974, and particularly in Japan they’ve sold 510,000.
By Kirsten Phillips (Niigata-ken, 2005-08)
Japan is known to the world at large for its countless and enduring cultural contributions from the over-appreciated 茶の湯 to the oft overlooked (but sorely missed) heated toilet seat. However, there is one thing I’d like to scrawl into every guide book; one nuance of Japan that I’d like forever engraved in the minds of curious tourists: Excess noise.
What exactly is meant by excess noise?
It’s not something one cannot become desensitized to in time. But it is yet another reminder you are no longer in Kansas.
いっらしゃいませ！For the timid/under-informed, this customary holler of welcome and professional integrity is as intimidating as a car honk. Haplessly wander into any establishment in Japan and you will have to grow accustomed to multiple people welcoming you with bellowing. At least you know you’ve got their attention? But I’ve heard some dudes get creative with their shouting. Almost made me want to inch away from all that tempting スルメ they were peddling。
Let’s not even get into election time, shall we? Oh man, oh man.
Jingles. It seems like everything in Japan from coal to second hand stores has a mind-numbing jingle to it. I bet they even have a jingle for jingles! Augh! I pitied the dudes who had to work at Off House the recycling center. I have witnessed the slack jaws and desperate gazes of Disney employees trapped in their kiosks and made to listen to the Pocahontas soundtrack on an endless loop. So, too, was the fate of the Off House worker. But the fun did not stop there. Oh no.
“Why is the food singing at me?” I wondered aloud as I stared at the onigiri. Read More
Job: English to Japanese Translator (Toronto, ON)
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JetWit job poster Stephen Palanik (Fukushima Ken, 2004-08) learned of the following employment opportunity being offered through Pasona Canada and thought it might be of interest to former JETs in the Toronto area. Stephen is a translator based in Hamamatsu city, Shizuoka Ken, and he will be periodically posting job listings and event information for JET alumni.
Pasona Canada is currently accepting resumes for the following professional opportunity on behalf of their client in downtown Toronto.
Job Title: ENGLISH TO JAPANESE TRANSLATOR
SUMMARY: Reporting to the Head of the Japan Desk in Toronto, the successful candidate must be knowledgeable about world financial markets, industries and macro economy. He or she must work quickly and accurately, and write Japanese in a clear style. The successful candidate will also be committed to producing news more quickly than the competitors. The desk forms an important part of the organization’s 24-hour news translation service for Japanese-language clients. Read More
Via the Society for Writers Editors and Translators (SWET) e-mail list. Several workshops/discussions/presentations that seem to be very useful for writers and translators in Japan:
SWET News, April 8, 2009
For details on the following upcoming events, see below:
1) April 21 (Tues)–SWET OPEN FORUM: Wordsmithing in Japan (Tokyo)
2) May 16 (Sat)– WRITING MULTICULTURAL FAMILIES (Tokyo)
3) May 17 (Sun)–SWET KANSAI: THREE POETS IN JAPAN (Kyoto)
4) June 23 (Tues)–WRITING NEWS ON JAPAN with Elaine Lies (Tokyo)
5) July 18 (Sat)–SWET (Kanto) Summer Party – details pending. Read More
Job: Document Review – Houston, Texas
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JetWit job poster Stephen Palanik (Fukushima Ken, 2004-08) found the following employment opportunity on the Honyaku E <> J Translation List and thought it might be useful to former JETs in the Houston area. Stephen is a translator based in Hamamatsu city, Shizuoka ken, and he will be periodically posting job listings and event information for JET alumni.
Note: The following opportunity is an update to an earlier post on JetWit. The original document review job has been filled in Austin, TX, but the same company is now looking to fill the same job in Houston.
The client is a law firm that has an intellectual property matter that has generated a million documents which are stuffed into 500 boxes in their Houston office. Rather than having someone review the documents page by page at this time, they would like someone fluent in Japanese to thumb through each box and just identify the type of documents. One box may just be invoices, another might be reports, etc.
They have estimated that if it took approximately 30 minutes per box, the project would take about 2 months to complete. Ideally, they would like someone to devote a full time schedule to the project, but they may be open.
They are in a hurry, and would like to hear back from anyone who’s interested as soon as possible.
Interested parties should send an e-mail to Holly Coe.
Unemployment Craze Reshapes Economy in Japan
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J-News Mini-Roundup is a recurring feature written by Friend Of JET, Jon Hills, who maintains the blog for Hills Learning (www.hillslearning.com). Hills Learning is a NY-based language learning services company offering customized and personal Japanese language learning options.
The news stories this morning told of a drastic restructuring of the Japanese economy. All eyes are on the electronics and auto industries, and the effects they have on the job market.
- NHK (Frustrated Voices of the Unemployed) NHK News stated that because of the massive layoffs in the auto and electronics industries, recruitment agencies are getting too many applicants to handle. Hello Work, the recruitment agency created by the Federal Government, had about 20,000 applicants in one day in Fukushima. “I waited 3-4 hours in line to see someone” stated a job-seeker. NHK asked “Did you find any jobs?” “There are no jobs anywhere.”
- Asahi (Companies Lose Applicants, Move to Safer Jobs) One of the most shocking headlines of the day ran by the Asahi was the details of how many auto and electronics industries were losing job applicants. The paradigm was Toyota, which last year was 6th amongst job applicants, and this year dropped to 96th The Asahi claimed the main reason for the switch was applicants wanted to work for industries that had more secure jobs. Guess which industry job applicants preferred? Financial
- NHK (Political Stimulus to Help the Industry) Politicians responded to the turmoil the auto and electronics industries are having with jobs by adding a part in the stimulus package for them. So is the government’s solution to buy up bad debt or mortgage securities? Nope, instead they’ve agreed to give tax incentives for consumers to buy…TV’s. All schools who do not have T.V.’s will get a special tax provision to encourage consumer electronics spending. Regular consumers get a “green credit” for buying flat screen televisions that are “eco friendly”.
Donald Keene Center presents: Royall Tyler – The Honor of Translating the Tale of Genji
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Via Kia Cheleen (CIR, Aichi-ken 1996-98, ALT 1998-1999), Associate Director at the Donald Keene Center on Japanese Culture at Columbia University. To get on their e-mail list for future events, send an e-mail to donald-keene-center at columbia dot edu.
2009 Annual Soshitsu Sen XV Distinguished Lecture on Japanese Culture
“The Honor of Translating the Tale of Genji”
Royall Tyler
6:00 PM, Wednesday, April 22nd
The 2008-2009 academic year marks the one-thousandth anniversary of that remarkable classic of Japanese literature, Murasaki Shikibu’s The Tale of Genji. In order to commemorate the occasion, the Keene Center has invited the renowned Genji scholar and most recent translator of that work into English, Dr. Royall Tyler, to deliver this year’s Soshitsu Sen XV Distinguished Lecture on Japanese Culture.
Miller Theater, Columbia University (116th Street and Broadway)
Please go to http://www.columbia.edu/about_columbia/map/miller_theater.html for a campus map
Reservations are required by April 15th. To RSVP for a reservation-only event,
please email dcc2119 at columbia dot edu or send a fax to 212-854-4019. Read More
JetWit Blog Beat by Crystal Wong (Iwate-ken, 2002-04) is a recurring item featuring posts from the blogs of various JET alumni. Crystal is a formerEnglish-language writer for Kyodo News. She now works as a media planner in Chelsea and sorely misses all her favorite midtown ramen joints.
Happy hanami season, everyone!
JET alumni Kevin and Aaron seek to educate the masses about Japanese manners on their new blog, iSpeakJapanese. The video covers all the basics that can be a mystery to gaijin, including indoor and outdoor shoes, chopsticks, and tipping as well and a funny tale to boot.
MEF alum Bruce Rutledge, founder of the Chin Music Press in Seattle introduces new members of his staff.
Devon Brown (Tokyo-to, 2002-2004) shares her tips for a hanami picnic this weekend.
Jobs: International Education Programs – via Chronicle of Higher Ed
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Via the Chronicle of Higher Ed’s international program job listings:
4/1/2009
- Western Illinois University (Illinois) : Assistant Director of Study Abroad – Center for International Studies
- Learn more in our Employer Profiles
3/30/2009
- St. John’s University (N.Y.) (New York) : Associate Director of International Admission; Office of Admission (Undergraduate)
- University of Kansas (Kansas) : Director Office of Study Abroad
- University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio (Texas) : Registrar and Director of International Services
Recent publications by JET alum Michael Auslin
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Two recent publications by JET alum Michael Auslin, a professor of Japanese history and politics and currently the Director of Japanese Studies for the American Enterprise Institute in D.C.
The Sick Man of Asia
Posted Date: Monday, April 6, 2009
It might not be possible for Tokyo to maintain the type of global role it has played so far. If that happens, the world may finally understand just how vital that role was. http://www.aei.org/publication29667
Can Japan Thrive–or Survive?
Posted Date: Monday, April 6, 2009
Despite its political sclerosis, economic stagnation, and demographic worries, Japan is a resilient nation that has much to contribute to the world. http://www.aei.org/publication29666
Michael will also be moderating a panel on Tuesday, April 14 at the AEI offices in Washington, D.C. on the topic of “Are Alliances Enough: The Role of the U.S.-Japanese Alliance in Maritime Asia.” The panel is part of an all-day conference titled Protecting the Seas: Maritime Security in the Asia Pacific, America’s Interests, and Asia’s Future.
Job: Japanese Language and Culture Teacher (short-term) – Youth For Understanding (CA)
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Update: The deadline for applying for this position has been extended to April 17.
Apparently, Youth For Understanding has had a good experience hiring JET alums in the past for this position, so they’re looking for JET alums again.
YOUTH FOR UNDERSTANDING USA POSITION DESCRIPTION
Short-Term Position JAPANESE CULTURE AND LANGUAGE TEACHER The Culture and Language Teacher is a paid contract position with YFU, and reports directly to the Site Directors and indirectly to the Assistant Site Director.
Click link for more information and contact info (PDF): http://my.yfu.org/dept/eandt/Orientations/JPDO/Teacher_Position_Description_2009.pdf
