Japanese Convenience Store Clerk Dissertation by JET Alum
Academic, Graduate School, Interview/Profile, Japan Trends, Translating/Interpreting, Writers 
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I recently learned about an interesting JET alum named Gavin Whitelaw (whom I’ve never met) whose doctoral dissertation at Harvard’s Reischauer Institute involved 18-months of “observant” participation as a convenience store clerk in Japan. Through his writing he then “sought to describe the lifeworld of these stores and understand their cultural significance as industrial system, social arrangement, and personal practice.”
In August 2008, Gavin began working in Tokyo on a new collaborative project through the Asian-Japan Research Center. The project focuses on “the role popular culture plays in the formation of Asian identities” and “the impact of Chinese and Japanese trends in other Asian societies.”
Click here to read Gavin’s introduction with regard to the project. If I can get in touch with him, perhaps we can post a link to his unique dissertation in the near future.
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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 Tsukiji auction controversy I discussed here recently, one segment of the news took the pulse of different Japanese attitudes towards foreigners visiting the country. All of the respondents seemed to attribute any trouble they have experienced to cultural differences and not poor manners on the part of gaijin. 
The first spot was the discount store Daiso in Asakusa, where several signs clearly spell out what is not acceptable behavior in the store. For example, a comfortable looking low counter was a place many foreigners had been resting their weary legs. As this is not what Daiso intended the space for, it had to create a sign reading “Don’t sit on the counter.” Another problem the management encountered was Read More
Translation “checking” question and answers
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A Japanese native-speaker recently asked about rates for “checking” a translation. She was translating a resume and references for a client and her husband (an English native-speaker) was going to check her translation. The client asked how much she charges for checking, and she wasn’t quite sure how to respond.
JetWit put the “checking” question out to the Writers Interpreters Translators (WIT) Group and received the below responses. Feel free to post additional thoughts/advice in the comments section below:
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I wouldn’t charge less than 50% of my rate to translate the piece in the first place since, frankly, checking is a huge pain in the ass.
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Editing is typically 30-40% of your translating rate.
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Is the question about a Quality Manager or translation quality control type of position? Are they asking for one project or as a full-time job? Depending on that, the rates will be different. However, it is best to keep in mind that quality managers for translation companies usually don’t get paid very well, even though it’s a lot of tedious work!
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I usually charge 10 yen per word. This may seem like a lot, but the work usually involves a lot of retranslation. Checking can mean that you are supposed to confirm the contents. If the translation is poor, it can be a nightmare.
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Yomitime JetWit article translation (by Joel Dechant)
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Back on January 15, JetWit posted a link to its first media hit, an article that ran in Yomitime, a free Japanese-language weekly publication. Below is a translation of the article into English generously provided by professional translator/interpreter Joel Dechant (CIR Kagoshima-ken, 2001-04) at the request of JetWit. (FYI, Joel actually translated it very quickly. I just forgot to post it until today.)
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Two Men Work Behind the Scenes for the JET Program, Publish Newsletter on Japan
By Kinoue Imai Weinstein
Translation by Joel Dechant (CIR Kagoshima-ken, 2001-04)
The original article ran in Japanese in Yomitime, a free Japanese weekly newspaper 1/9/09
The Japan Exchange and Teaching (JET) Program is a Japanese government-sponsored program under which fresh university graduates from English-speaking countries are invited to teach English in Japan’s junior and senior high schools. Started in 1987 with 848 participants, the program’s American alumni association alone now boasts 5508 members, approximately 1000 of whom are in New York. One alumni, Steven Horowitz (age 38) began publishing a quarterly newsletter, JETaaNY, in 2002. The 24-page[1] newsletter covers recent JET alumni developments and news about Japan. Horowitz recently handed off his editor-in-chief duties to Justin Tedaldi (age 29) who plans to expand and enrich the newsletter.
The reason for starting the alumni association and holding the occasional gathering after returning to the States, says Horowitz, was “because our experience working in Japan when we were younger is an important part of our identity, and of course because we wanted to be friends with people who we had something in common with.” Read More
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I recently learned of the existence of the Society for Writers, Editors and Translators (SWET) (www.swet.jp), a Tokyo-based group that seems to share a lot in common with JetWit and the Writers Interpreters Translators (WIT) Group–except that SWET has been in existence for 25 years! (Read the full history of the group here.)
In 1998 SWET members collaboratively published the Japan Style Sheet as a guide for professional translators
The other day I had the pleasure of meeting Ruth Stevens, one of the founders of SWET who now lives in the NY area. She introduced me (via email) to Lynne Riggs, the co-founder and current organizer of SWET, who in turn introduced me to SWET webmaster Sako Eaton.
Needless to say, we were all happy to learn of each others’ existence, and I wanted to make sure to let all the JET alumni and Friend of JET readers out there know about SWET (which, amusingly, has “SWET Shirts” for sale on their website).
In addition to a terrific website, SWET also has an e-mail list and RSS feed that are free. You can also sign up for SWET membership for 5,000 yen or $50/year which entitles you to receive their newsletter containing various info and articles that do not appear elsewhere.
I look forward to future collaboration with the SWET folks. (You’ll notice there’s already a sidebar widget for SWET with the RSS feed from their site.) And I encourage any readers to suggest and help implement additional ideas to help foster collaboration as well.
Job: Interpreter (E->J) for Outdoor Research (Seattle area)
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Via JETAA Pacific Northwest:
Needed: (Must fill ASAP)
Interpreter (English- Japanese) – familiarity with the garment industry a plus but may not be required! Must be fluent in both Japanese & English to act as interpreter for business meeting between Outdoor Research (www.outdoorresearch .com) staff and their Japanese contact to explain new line of products for sale & distribution in Japan.
Dates: February 2nd & 3rd – if available please provide full day, 8 hour & 12 hour rates
Contact: Mr. Alex Kutches 425-345-9554 / alexk @outdoorresear ch.com
Job: Bilingual Proofreader – Japanese (NYC)
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Via Craigslist New York. I’m posting this, though I’ve grown cynical enough to think it might be a sketchy post. Maybe b/c there’s too little information in the post. If anyone does pursue it, please share your experience.
Bilingual Proofreader **Japanese** (West Village)
Reply to: job-1008867982@craigslist.org [?]
Date: 2009-01-26, 5:37PM EST
If you are a seasoned(2-3 years) proofreader and are fluent in Japanese, please send in your resume for immediate consideration and start working asap.
WIT Life #22: Consumers’ What’s Hot and What’s Not 2008
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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.
The start to a new year always invites reflection on the previous one. Some of this delving is not so pleasant (i.e. 2008 fourth quarter earnings), but looking at other aspects such as best sellers from the year can be very enjoyable. The magazine Nikkei Marketing Journal annually examines the latter and uses sumo rankings for its classification system. 
They came up with 36 items for last year, and appropriate of 2008’s declining economy a theme running through the list was low price and good value. For example, the top rankings of Yokozuna East went to clothing store Uniqlo and Yokozuna West went to Seven Premium Top Valu, an in-house discount brand from the retailer Aeon (i.e. Jusco). Ozeki East was captured by Read More
Job: Japanese Business Development Manager Needed (DC area)
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Via JETAA DC from a JET alum who works at the Japan-America Society and received the below request:
FW: Japanese Business Development Manager needed
Microstrategy Inc. is currently recruiting for a bilingual (English/Japanese) person to fill a Business Development Manager position in McLean, Virginia.
Basic Function: The Business Development Manager will be responsible for setting up appointments for MicroStrategy Account Managers and Account Executives, and preferred resellers, within both existing and prospective accounts. The BDM will position MicroStrategy’s products and services to key decision-makers within accounts, with the goal of scheduling presentations/product demonstrations for our field staff. Read More
Good Translators Website: Honyakuhome.org
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I just learned about what I think is a great resource for Japanese -> English translators and posted it on the Translation Agencies & Relevant Websites page.
Honyaku Home – Website: http://honyakuhome.org/ and Google Group: http://groups.google.com/group/honyaku/
It seems to be a well-established site for Japanese translators with very good information and resources. Then again, I’m not a translator myself so hard for me to judge. Anyone else out there want to confirm my sense?
Update: There’s now a widget in the sidebar on the right with links to the latest translation job listings from HonyakuHome.org. (If you can’t see anything in the sidebar, it’s probably b/c you’re using Internet Explorer rather than Safari or Mozilla Firefox. Try clicking on the title for any post on JetWit and I think the sidebar will suddenly be visible.)
WITLife is a periodic series written by professional Interpreter/Translator/Writer Stacy Smith (Kumamoto-ken, 2000-03). She watches Fujisankei news in Japanese (to keep her interpreting skills sharp) and shares with us some of the interesting tidbits and trends as well as her own insights.
For many foreigners visiting Tokyo, an early morning trip to the legendary tuna auction at Tsukiji fish market is a must. However, last year the metropolitan government decided it had had enough of rowdy tourists disturbing the auctions and forbid them to enter the area during this time. Restriction began in April with the closing off of certain sections, and it escalated to complete denial of access for the one month period between December 15, 2008 and January 17, 2009. This tourist destination that receives as many as 500 visitors a day distributed flyers and put up signs in Chinese, English, Japanese, Korean and Russian declaring the ban. 
The reasons the conflict escalated to this point were multifold. Aside from what was cited as general gaijin rudeness, there were some actions that were particularly upsetting to the auctioneers and other employees. For example, visitors would pose Read More
MAX is Back!
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NY-based staffing firm MAX Consulting is once again posting job listings on the sidebar of JetWit.com. (Scroll down a bit to see the MAX job box.)
18 new job listings have just been posted (though the job box only shows the 10 most recent). To see the complete list of job listings, go to http://jetwitmaxjobs.wordpress.com.
Job: Public Relations Coordinator for Japanese Consulate in San Francisco (Temporary)
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Via the JETAA Northern California Jobs/Career email list:
http://www.sf. us.emb-japan. go.jp/archives/ PR_e/2009/ pr_09_0121. htm
The Consulate General of Japan in San Francisco has an opening for a temporary Coordinator for Public Relations in its Japan Information Center (JIC), as a substitute for the staff who will be on maternity
leave beginning February through the month of July.
Details for the terms of employment will be discussed upon interview.
Position: The Coordinator for Public Relations works closely with consulate officers and other local staff to promote greater interest in and understanding of Japan and Japanese culture in Northern California and
Nevada. S/he also works with the JIC Director to handle Japan-related press and public affairs issues that arise within areas served by this office. In addition, as a staff member of the Consulate, applicants must
be willing to work as a part of a team, sharing responsibilities and occasionally working overtime for evening/weekend programs as needed. Read More
More Translation Agencies
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Marc Carroll (Gifu-ken, 2001-03) emailed to remind me to include his company, Transperfect, following a recent post about translation agencies. I’d already listed Transperfect (though not translations.com) on the Translation Agencies page, but I thought it was worth listing them in a post as well.
FYI, Marc used to be a project manager for Transperfect. And now he works for Translations.com which is a division of Transperfect. And it’s also worth mentioning that their offices are in the same building as the new CLAIR-NY/Japan Local Government Center offices.
Translations.com (http://www.translations.com/)
Provides Website localization, software localization, GMS (Globalization Management System) software products, and enterprise-level, professional translation services.
Transperfect: (http://www.transperfect.com/)
Provides a full array of language and business services, including Translation, Interpretation, Linguistic Validation, Transcription, Typesetting & Graphics, Multicultural Marketing, Voiceovers & Dubbing, Subtitling, Staffing Solutions, Document Management, Court Reporting, Virtual Data Room Services
Japanese Jobs in the U.S.
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I just stumbled upon a website called Top Language Jobs that has a section just for Japanese language jobs in the U.S. They seem to have a number of postings from Bloomberg among other places, so a little different than the normal offerings that I’ve found so far. (They also have a section for jobs in Japan, but it said there are currently no listings.) In addition to listing the link below, I’ve also listed it in the Useful Jobs Site Links page of the Professional Profiles/Job Resources section of JetWit as well.
They also have an RSS feed for the category, so I’ve set up a widget over on the sidebar on the right that shows the most recent job listings from the feed.
Feel free to take a look and share any comments on the usefulness of this site. I know virtually nothing about the company that’s running this site other than that they seem to cover a very wide range of languages and countries.
