Human knowledge as acquired by direct experience (‘experiential knowledge’) or through others (‘inherited knowledge’) is uncertain. In interpreting in particular, many beliefs rest on uncertain factual bases. Scientific research offers conceptual tools, procedures and social norms that help test beliefs and extend knowledge, but its power to do so is variable. It depends on many factors, including features of the object of study and human and other resources available. In interpreting, there is high behavioral variability, human resources are limited and not all researchers are well-trained. Interpreting Studies has produced new knowledge and highlighted uncertainties in certain widely accepted beliefs, but is yet to find answers to fundamental questions practitioners ask. It is argued that simple research methods are basically just as scientific and often at least as powerful as sophisticated methods in the exploration of interpreting. Most interpreting researchers are interpreters themselves and as such, they possess the knowledge that practitioners inherit from their trainers and senior colleagues and the knowledge that they gain directly from the practice of interpreting. Under the influence of regular research, they can be assumed to become more skeptical of received wisdom and more inquisitive.

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This paper investigates the current state of Russian interpreter training in Japan, and includes analyses of syllabi from universities, language schools, and other institutions. It also explores the history of Russian interpreter training in Japan by compiling previous research and audio recordings from symposiums held by the Association of Russian Interpreters. Russian interpreter training evolved along with the beginnings of Russian language education in Japan, and at present, the number of university courses including interpreting training has increased. However, the emphasis of this training still focuses primarily on language enhancement. This study also addresses the role of the Association of Russian Interpreters as a “community of practice” in skill-based training in Japan, as this point distinguishes Russian interpreting training from that of other language pairs. Finally, this paper calls attention to specific issues such as insufficient language mastery, and explores the future possibilities of Russian interpreter training in Japan.

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This article presents an analysis of judicial interpreter roles as have been viewed by judicial and interpreting communities, expanding on Hale’s (2008) five judicial interpreter roles by adding semantic sub-divisions of three key concepts: conduit, agent, and accountability, which are: conduit 1 (verbatim translator), conduit 2 (accurate translator), conduit 3 (one who translates only); agent 1 (one who makes independent decisions), agent 2 (one who exerts power or influence), agent 3 (a legal representative); and accountability 1 (for the content), accountability 2 (for translation accuracy), and accountability 3 (for undertaking the job). The article concludes that the only viable role would be conduit 2, an accurate translator, who must also make conscious translation decisions as agent 1, which, while exonerating the interpreter from accountability 1 (for the content), would still present accountability 2 (for accuracy) and accountability 3 (for undertaking the job) as agent 1, who made conscious free judgments.

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This paper examines how gay and bisexual characters from a short English story are represented by Japanese university students through translation into Japanese. We recruited five students and asked them to translate an excerpt of the short story. The findings are based on the translations, and on subsequent semi-structured interviews. The results suggest that the participants’ representations of gays and bisexuals are strongly influenced by the media. While some participants produced target texts solely based on such stereotypical images, others strived to learn more about actual gay people by utilizing the Internet before undertaking translation. The study also revealed that all participants were influenced by heterosexual and gender binary norms when translating and describing the relationship between the gay and bisexual characters.

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This study analyses the Japanese translation of Our Bodies, Ourselves (The Boston Women’s Health Book Collective, 1984). Our Bodies, Ourselves was an epoch-making text, as it advocated reproductive health and rights, 20 years before the Cairo Declaration defined them. The book has played an important role in women’s health worldwide—it has sold around 4.5 million copies and has been translated into thirty languages all over the world (Bessaïh & Bogic, 2020, p. 520). The Japanese translation Karada, Watashitachijishin (Our Bodies, Ourselves Japanese Translation Group, 1988) is worth exploring because it not only introduced the notion of reproductive health and rights to Japan, but it also provided a voice for Japanese women. Therefore, this study will conduct a comparative analysis of the source and target texts, to investigate the attempts, from a feminist translation perspective, to capture the original in the Japanese version.

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Direct speech is regarded as a standard interpreting style. In Thai interpreting, however, this style can create difficulty when the gender of the primary speaker and the interpreter(s) differs because first-person pronouns and formality-marking particles in Thai correspond with the gender of the person speaking. This study examines how Japanese-Thai interpreters have interpreted Japanese first-person pronouns in court settings. It also investigates how reporting verbs and formality-marking particles are used. The analysis includes the performance of five interpreters from authentic and mock trials, combined with interview data. The results show that only one interpreter used Thai first-person pronouns, and did so in accordance with the gender of the primary speaker. Additionally, two types of formality-marking particle usage were identified across all interpreters: those based on the interpreter’s gender, and those based on the primary speaker’s gender. The latter, however, could be considered to increase the cognitive load of the interpreter.

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This study deals with the issues involved in the recognition of the interpreting profession and explores how lecture-style interpreting classes for undergraduate students can provide opportunities to increase students’ awareness thereof. The results of a questionnaire survey on interpreters’ career development that Shinzaki et al.(2019a, b) conducted revealed that interpreters perceived the poor recognition of the interpreting profession by society as problematic. Because most students are presumably more likely to use interpreters in the future rather than become interpreters themselves, class activities are designed for user education by focusing on the importance of the preparation involved in interpreting. Students’ feedback and a term-end questionnaire demonstrated that students became aware of the issues involved in the interpreting profession including social recognition and could acquire a correct understanding of the profession through collaborative learning.

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This paper aims to report the results of an interpreting course questionnaire conducted after online interpreting courses were introduced at Japanese universities on a large scale in response to the state of emergency issued to prevent the spread of COVID-19. Subsequently, three teaching professionals were interviewed as a follow-up survey of the questionnaire. The aim of this paper is not to discuss the superiority and inferiority of face-to-face and online lessons, but to contribute to the teaching activities of the faculty members who are in charge of interpreting courses across the country in the event that teaching professionals are forced to conduct lessons online.

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