This study investigates the causes of mistranslation in the case of interpreting Japanese Sign Language (JSL) into spoken Japanese. Twenty interpreters were asked to translate a 45-second JSL video depicting a fictional traffic accident, in which a pedestrian who was peering into his smartphone while walking was hit by a car. Their translations and post-interpretation interviews were analyzed. The results revealed discrepancies among the interpreters regarding three key points: (1) who was holding the smartphone, (2) who was hit by the car, and (3) who was chasing the car. These inconsistencies appear to stem from the lack of understanding of core grammatical features of JSL, such as classifier constructions, role shifts, hand alternation, and topicalization. Furthermore, the findings suggest that some misinterpretations may result from an overreliance on contextual assumptions rather than careful attention to linguistic cues.

This paper reports on an empirical study based on a translation practicum framework that incorporates a metalanguage of translation issues. Recognizing the growing importance of “being able to talk about translation” in translation education, the practicum aims to foster this competence by explicitly integrating metalanguage into revision tasks. Participants revised two English–Japanese translation documents—one without and one with the metalanguage. Their revisions were then compared with expert revisions to assess performance. Data from 16 native Japanese speakers with CEFR B2-level English proficiency were analyzed. Findings indicate that the use of metalanguage has the potential to increase accurate corrections, reduce unnecessary changes, and facilitate improved recognition of translation issues. The paper proposes a concrete approach to incorporating metalanguage into translation revision training. It aims to help learners understand the significance of conducting necessary revisions in a systematic and comprehensive manner, as well as explaining those revisions in an appropriate way.

Mandatory recording of police interviews finally started in Japan in 2019, lagging behind such countries as the U.K. and Australia, though the practice currently covers only 3% of all crimes. Mandatory recording is also what interpreting researchers have long recommended based on their studies on police interpreting. On the other hand, prosecutors in Japan have noted interpreters’ possible reluctance to be recorded due to a fear that their translations, including those with only subtle nuance issues, would later be scrutinized by the defendant. This suggests that unlike researchers, police interpreters in Japan may not necessarily welcome this change. Thus, based on 45 relevant court cases in Japan from 1951 to 2025, this paper explores: 1) whether the introduction of mandatory recording brings any changes in how the courts regard police interpreters’ translation issues, and 2) whether the enabled access to translation details influences the actual trial outcomes.

Promoting “consultation systems for foreign nationals” is one of the key initiatives in the Japanese government’s effort to create “a better environment for foreign nationals”. This paper examines how local governments have operated multilingual consultation services in light of recent developments in the central government’s “measures on foreign nationals”. It draws on the cases of the cities of Isesaki and Ota, focusing on their hiring of foreign residents with proficiency in relevant languages and the scope of their tasks, as well as the use of remote interpreting and speech machine translation systems. Some variance is found between the central government’s approach and the practices of the two cities, especially in how language issues are addressed. With the central government’s greater emphasis on foreign residents’ ability to understand Japanese and the use of AI-based translation, this paper argues for continued human involvement and clearer guidelines in providing multilingual consultation services.@

This paper investigates factors affecting source text comprehension among novice learners of Japanese-Chinese consecutive interpreting. Based on interpreting tests, accuracy rates, and analysis of output texts, the findings reveal that beginners often fail to adequately process cohesive devices such as conjunctions, ellipsis, and reference, leading to incomplete understanding and fragmented target texts. Furthermore, when the density of information increases, participants tend to reach processing capacity saturation, making comprehension more difficult. These results indicate that in introductory interpreting courses, training should not be limited to strengthening linguistic skills but should also focus on fostering discourse cohesion comprehension, enabling learners to grasp logical and semantic relations more effectively. Although statistical significance was not achieved due to the limited sample size, the study provides meaningful insights and a methodological foundation for future research on interpreting pedagogy.

This paper examines the translation theory of Marcus Tullius Cicero and argues that, rather than a mere linguistic transfer from Greek texts into Latin, it should be understood as a broader cultural and political project aimed at cultivating and developing Latin and Roman culture. Cicero rejected overly literal, word-for-word interpretations and instead called for a sense-for-sense approach. This method enabled him to coin Latin equivalents for Greek technical terms and philosophical concepts, such as his rendering of “politeia” as “res publica.” Although these Latin coinages were less precise than literal translations, they resonated more strongly with Roman ways of thinking and cultural values. Cicero’s translation theory would transition from an individual rhetorical exercise to a national project centered on the education of Roman citizens. Drawing on the ancient theory of the three rhetorical styles, Cicero employed the concept of “decorum” to translate the tone of the source text. In this framework, translation became a creative act of cultural assimilation and philosophical re-creation, with the ultimate aim of establishing a Roman tradition of thought that could serve the state.

In recent years, it has become common in the sports world for players, coaches, and staff who do not speak the host country’s language to play active roles. Supporting them behind the scenes are sports interpreters. However, studies on sports interpreters have received little attention. This study investigates the working realities of rugby interpreters in Japan through a questionnaire survey conducted between December 2024 and January 2025 with 15 interpreters out of the 44 employed by teams in the Japan Rugby League One 2023–2024 season. Based on follow-up interviews with 11 of these participants, the paper analyzes qualitative data to explore aspects of rugby interpreting in Japan—such as current practices and challenges—that could not be fully captured through the questionnaire alone.

The purpose of this paper is to explore the potential of Translator Studies in Japan, a field that is currently the subject of active discussion. To this end, the paper will discuss the following three points. Firstly, it will summarize the issues surrounding Translator Studies that have been discussed in recent years. Secondly, it will consider the possibility of incorporating theories and frameworks of Translator Studies into research in Japan. Finally, it will consider the possibility of developing Feminist Translator Studies from the perspective of my research themes of translation and feminism. Regarding the second point, there are already some research projects in Japan that could be considered Translator Studies, and it is proposed that Translator Studies in Japan has potential and social significance. This paper has been written in the hope that the discussion of Translator Studies presented here will be useful in the research of JAITS members.

An executive order signed by U.S. President Trump revoked Executive Order 13166, Improving Access to Services for Persons with Limited English Proficiency (LEP). Despite this change at the federal level, state governments, including state courts, are continuing efforts to secure language access for persons with LEP in order to ensure mutual understanding. In this context, this study aims to descriptively analyze the language access plans developed by selected state courts to explore strategies for language access through translation and interpreting as reflections of judicial translation policies. It subsequently examines initiatives in Japanese local and family courts, based on committee minutes, toward improving communication with non-Japanese-speaking foreigners. The analysis shows that Japanese courts lag behind the courts of California and New York in providing language access, primarily due to the absence of comprehensive institutional plans.

This research analyzes the role of an interpreter in the communication structure of a consultation between a professional and a foreign resident. The consultation transcript was examined using the analytical framework of Sequence Organization within Conversation Analysis. The results indicate that the interpreter can effectively facilitate the flow of conversation—even when additional sequences are inserted into the primary sequence at the professional’s discretion—by adjusting her gaze direction, delivery methods, and structure of interpreted sentences. Conversely, the interpreter’s rendition can have an impact on the flow of the interaction, resulting in additional sequences, if the interpretation does not precisely reflect the intended action of the original utterance.