Abstract
In recent years, the demand for English subtitles of Japanese films has increased with the
increase of Japanese films aimed at overseas markets. However, since English subtitles of
Japanese films have not attracted much attention in academic research, only a few
investigations have been conducted regarding the translation and translation process of
English subtitles. This paper intends to explore factors that influence the translation of
English subtitles of Japanese films from the viewpoint of subtitling process and audience. The
analysis of translation of culture-specific items (CISs) of the film Sen to Chihiro no
Kamikakushi reveals that more than half of the CISs in the film are ‘standardized’ in English
subtitles. This can be attributed to the diversity of audiences of English subtitle s, and to the
process of internationalization in localization model. Further research is needed to see if this
tendency is applicable to English subtitles of other Japanese films, and to examine factors in
the target culture that influence the translation of Japanese films.
