Year: 2025

“Kaigyo-todoke” or a notification form for opening of business is a document to submit to the tax office when you start a business as a sole proprietor in Japan (the timing of submission could vary depending on situations). I started freelancing in 2012 but I submitted this document in order to officially launch as a business in 2015, so it’s the 10th anniversary of my business!! 🙌

For the first few years, everything I tried ended in vein, and I was oppressed with anxieties also because of family reasons. However, I am now able to say I’ve settled down, finally. 😌

Translation was my only business at first. Interpreting was then added into the scope of my business afterwards. If a project is too large to accomplish alone, I have team members to share workloads or can find interpreter colleagues for my clients. Now we also provide not only translation & interpreting, but also DTP, printing & arranging to send printed materials, simple field research, Expo-related services, cultural consultancy, and more.

Following the emergence and development of AI technologies, so many people around me (especially Japanese people) say human translation and interpreting are outdated business approaches but the ultimate judge of those on quality still requires human beings, while the speedy delivery is also an important element of service quality in this rapidly changing world. With this in mind, I continue to rethink what I can do for my esteemed clients through trial & error and do my best to support them, and I hope to celebrate the 20th anniversary in another 10 years. ✨

Back February this year, I (finally) got 1st grade of a German language proficiency test organized in Japan 💮 (It’s something between C1 and C2 in CEFR)

Honestly it took long (13 years) as I checked when my first try was. I’ve taken it 8-9 times for those years. I should have studied hard and could have passed it at the first, or at the second try, but had a bad excuse (🤣): my everyday translation work might (indirectly) help improve my command of German? Indeed, it did but was not an ideal approach at all. A scope of the test in question and a scope of my work are totally different. But, the scope of the exam is sort of vast and not officially shared so I wasn’t really motivated to prepare for it.

I’m now preparing (really! 😂) for Goethe Zertifikat C2. This wouldn’t obviously be passed without studying hard, so I’m learning with a few dedicated textbooks for writing, reading, vocab & grammar; and Apps for listening and speaking.

German language is a lifelong learning for me📚💪 (just forget about my lacked motivation for this specific exam
😗).

Thank you all participants for joining us at IJET-33 in Fukuoka last weekend. As JAT official account announced after the registration closed, we had more than 200 registrations 👏 and the participants came from not only Fukuoka city but also all over Japan and even overseas. The event was thriving throughout the three days, with a variety of inspiring sessions 🗣️ and networking lunch and banquet 🥂.

It was very nice seeing lots of colleagues again and catching up on our “lost time” because of COVID. I participated in the event from Hiroshima and it was also great that I was able to connect with those who also came from Hiroshima and whom I hadn’t known yet. I also got to know people with whom I interact over social media but haven’t met in person before, and also got connected with new colleagues. Thank you for saying hello to me ✨, and sorry that we couldn’t talk that much as I was one of the organizing committee members and kind of busy for tasks on the days.

I also gave a talk together with Rie Sakaguchi (Thank you!) on the last day. It was very nice to have so many audience and receive questions. I hope our session was inspiring to develop business ideas 💡.

I also appreciate the all session speakers and sponsors who supported IJET-33.

I hereby also would like to thank the all of colleagues who join JAT events including this IJETs. It’s been a very fruitful time for me to serve as a JAT volunteer. At the IJET-33, what made me very happy was that many IJET first-timer, with whom I chatted, shared their wonderful experiences at the event and gave positive feedback. I was also happy to find colleagues for a variety of language pairs (DE, FR, CH, MY…) besides English.

I hope to see you again at next IJETs (and hopefully we have more time to enjoy chatting as I join most likely as a regular participant lol.

Now the event is over so I feel kind of void in my heart… 🙂