Past commissions
Here is a summary of some of the work I have done over the past two decades, although it is by no means a comprehensive list. I created this page partly for interest's sake, but also to serve as a guide for potential clients as to those fields with which I feel comparatively comfortable or where I have some experience. It is not entirely representative as I focused on the variety of work handled rather than detailing the (somewhat monotonous) patents etc. which form a large part of my work.
I have left out the names of most of the companies etc. involved, but in the majority of cases these could be supplied if requested. Incidentally, my clients to date have been located in about 24 countries, principally Europe (including of course the UK), Japan, North America and Australasia. A separate list gives more details of those items translated for publication.
2004
Technical translation
Two air conditioning manuals (120,000 characters: 11-person team)
Bluetooth device manuals
Milling chuck specifications etc. for High Court patent case
Semiconductor press releases
Lubricating oil patent
Car / motorcycle deregistration certificates
Arranged interpreting for reflexology conference
Double glazing / conservatory brochure
Japanese typesetting (DTP)
Toyota F1 Racing brochure (56 pages)
Hormone injection device brochure (60 pages)
Tourist guide to Chester
Olympic broadcasting support info
Artwork for 'world music' CD covers
Children's names for tattoo
Digital radio brochure (translation too)
Legal/financial translation
Sole interpreter at UK/Japan APA (tax) negotiations
Stock acquisition contract
Investor relation press releases for pet food superstore
Interpreting for investigation into tax evasion
Management consultancy presentations & course documents (66,000 words: 7-person team)
Creative
"The Way of the Ninja", published by Kodansha International
Nintendo game manuals for F-Zero (racing), Kirby, Hamtaro and Mario (action)
Lake District hotel websites
UK playwright's website
Liverpool tourism brochure
2003
Technical translation
Patents about resins, spectacle lenses, steel strip, steel girders, nonwoven fabrics, etc.
AutoCAD drawings for semiconductor manufacturer
XML help system for car manufacturer
PlayStation 2 and Xbox "Soul Calibur II" game manuals
Manuals for battery charger and intake vacuum synchroniser
Research paper on hydrogen odorants in fuel cell vehicles
Semiconductor-related press releases
Typesetting (including translation into Japanese)
HM Customs & Excise VAT Notice to travellers
Brochure for potter
Digital radio brochure
Over 100 business cards (worth over US$7000) for one company
Brochure for fashion gloves
Pullquotes for glossy magazine article on Japan
Artwork for falconry magazine
Websites
Website to sell David Beckham's car to Japan
Website to bring Japanese tourists to the Cotswolds
Government / legal / financial
Tax documents, company accounts, pay slips, contracts, leases, etc.
Insurance documents relating to a hijacked aircraft crash
Marriage certificates, birth certificates, death certificates
Letters to potential heirs
Arranged interpreting for Japanese analyst's visit to UK
Other
Research and translation relating to recovery of stolen car
Car log books for second-hand vehicles imported from Japan
Part of award-winning novel; awaiting publishing contract
Market research for sports shoe adverts, golf courses, etc.
Japanese voiceover for satellite communications Flash movie
Interpreting at Ninja Grandmaster's last seminars outside Japan
2002
Media
Translation (and typesetting) of English football chants, taunts, slang and the like into Japanese and Korean for various UK organizations (banks, newspapers, software houses, airlines, PR agencies) in connection with the World Cup.
English subtitles for various Japanese gangster films, by Kitano Takeshi (Beat Takeshi) and others.
Translation of video interviews with Japanese artists
Teaching Japanese rude words to some rap stars (!)
Editing and translation of Japanese side of Penguin's Peter Rabbit website
Technical
Operating procedures and specifications for a silicon wafer plant
Brochures, software, help files and documentation for various telecomms companies
Coordination of interpreters for an international Vodafone conference
Patents about razors, titanium-coated mica sheets, organic electroluminescent elements, etc.
Government / legal
Interpreting in tax negotiations
Translation of numerous contracts, company accounts, etc.
Procedures for reuse of demilitarized U.S. air force equipment
Translation of private correspondence for an individual whose wife had been refused entry to the UK; on appeal (using my translations) this decision was reversed.
Typesetting (including translation into Japanese)
Countless business cards (over 40 for one company)
Brochures for English wool, Scottish cashmere and Japanese suits
Other
Japanese menus for various airlines
Terms and Conditions for various companies and also prize competitions
Over 1000 jargon expressions etc. for the Chartered Management Institute's multilingual "Dictionary of Business and Management" (ISBN 0-7475-6236-9; see also www.ultimatebusinessresource.com).
J<->E translation, editing and writing (even some Spanish-> English translation) for a book about the Bujinkan Martial Arts: ISBN 84-85278-30-5 (but not yet widely available)
Delivered three presentations at Oxford University, for the ITI (Institute of Translation and Interpreting) Japanese Network's annual course. My topics were the problems faced when translating gangster films, a comparison of the Japanese translation of Harry Potter with the original English, and a review of software tools for the Japanese translator.
Corporate keywords for display on the head office "lightbox"
Dogfood marketing analysis (German -> English)
Countless car logs (for import to the UK), family registers (for residence applications), business letters, contracts, articles of association, and so on
2001
Government work
Speeches and correspondence etc. for Tokyo Metropolitan Government, including keynote address
Investigations into tax & duty evasion
Japanese typesetting
Translation and typesetting of Japanese and Chinese Duty Free brochures for Northwest Airlines
Translation and typesetting of tourist brochures, trade mission information packs and other promotional materials
Dozens of business cards for companies such as Unilever, Tesco, The Royal & Ancient Golf Club, Eversheds, and so on ...
Legal & financial
Japanese PowerPoint presentations for OM Technology (each translated overnight for following day, over a couple of weeks)
Credit card processing regulations & specifications
Company accounts / regulations
Software licenses, contracts, etc.
Technical
Numerous chemical and engineering patents
Japanese railway statutes
Regular e-mail magazine about intellectual property
Computer / Internet
Chinese and Korean websites for Walt Disney
Japanese websites for Wales, Druck, Abbey National, and more.
Editing and compilation of Japanese help files & user guides for metrology system (using Robohelp)
Miscellaneous translation
English catalogues for "Dreaming in Pictures" and "Landscape and Abstraction" exhibitions, Frankfurt (from German)
Book about the history of Pokemon
Miscellaneous non-translation
Coordination of two weeks' interpreting for pachinko operators visiting U.K.
Coordination of interpreting for international conference on architecture
Coordination and web site creation for ITI Japanese Network
Assessment of other Japanese translators
1999-2000
Government work
Interpreting for UK-Japan negotiations on Social Security Agreement
Analysis of Japanese sportswear market
Investigations into tax & duty evasion
Translation of PowerPoint presentations for Japanese official visitors
Speeches and correspondence etc. for Tokyo Metropolitan Government
Japanese typesetting
Translation and typesetting of Japanese and Chinese portions of Duty Free brochures for two major airlines
Translation and typesetting of Japanese brochures and other promotional materials for textiles manufacturer, fine chemicals manufacturer, ink manufacturer, civil engineering consultants, etc.
Labels for whiskey bottles and chocolates exported to Japan
Welcome message for Japanese restaurant
Dozens of business cards: quickest turnaround 17 minutes ...
Legal & financial
Company accounts / regulations
Software licenses, contracts for supply of electronic components, etc.
Contracts relating to scriptwriting, film direction, TV advertisements, etc.
Documentation for divorce cases, etc.
Insurance investigations (including over 60,000 characters in one week, to do with the Sumitomo Copper scandal)
Technical
Brochure for coal-fired power station
Safety specifications
Dozens of Excel files relating to car design strategies
Articles from car magazines (test drive reports etc.)
Printer sales manuals
Quality Control forms
Paperwork for UK university's polymer research (funded by Japan)
Formal estimate for construction project in Japan
Several chemical and engineering patents ... for some reason mostly about ice-cream ... and one about pianos!
Computer
Localization into Japanese of Sterling Software's Eureka Portal (including software code, help files, manual etc.)
Translation into Japanese of long manuals for CODA mainframe accounts system
Translation (German to English) of SQL documentation
Translation into Japanese of video about tape backup systems
Translation into Japanese of CAD-related computer help file
Editing and compilation of Japanese help files for industrial machinery system (using Robohelp)
Translation, editing and compilation of PC-based Japanese marketing research survey
Several brochures for inkjet printers, laptops, etc.
Internet
Japanese website for Walt Disney
Japanese e-commerce website for Champs-Elysees
English website for Japanese car component manufacturer
Japanese website for Abbey National, the first UK bank to go multilingual in this way
Japanese e-commerce website for the Coffee Tree Company
Japanese website for Thor Lasers
UK slogans for Altavista advertising campaign
Martial arts
Interpreting at international seminars in Germany, USA and UK (in front of 500+ participants from 20+ countries)
Correspondence to and from the Grandmaster of the Bujinkan Dojo
Translation of certificates for alternative medicine practitioners
Media research etc.
Background information for Japanese magazines on Prince Edward's marriage and Lord Menuhin's death
Coordination of feature for Japanese magazine on alternative work patterns in the UK
Miscellaneous translation
Video about Bermondsey Market (as a Christmas present!)
Video interviews with Japanese football stars
Directions to foreign star appearing in Japanese advertising video
Academic paper on history of Western dress designers in Japan
Last poem of a young philosopher who threw himself off the Kegon Falls
English catalogue for "Work in Africa" exhibition, Frankfurt (from German)
Translation (from American into English!) of corporate jet brochure
Transcription / translation of taped simultaneous interpreting from opening ceremony of new automobile factory
Notes for German experimental composer's CD
Lists of mountain vegetables with potential health benefits
Script of Egyptian Son et Lumiere video
Japanese parts of hotel's in-house hypertext guest information system
Translation of perfume advertisements for major French fashion house
Japanese advertisements for Spanish fashion house
Miscellaneous non-translation
Assessment of other Japanese translators
Coordination and web site creation for ITI Japanese Network
File conversion for various translation agencies
1998
Translation into Japanese (and typesetting etc.)
Marketing booklet and slides for a leading UK bank
Part of brochure for major London art gallery
Captions for video about Tower Bridge
Company history for perfume research organization
Brochure for English language school
OHPs for UK firm touring Japan to study productivity
Dozens of business cards
English typesetting of certificates for Japanese school of etiquette
Legal & financial
Contracts (employment, technical services, confidentiality, leases)
Company accounts
Tax returns
Property valuations
Japanese will, family registers etc.
Lawyers' correspondence (questions on Brazilian law, litigation relating to Yakuza intimidation, etc.)
Notarized translation of company president's CV
Financial reports and investigations
Government work
Speeches and correspondence for Tokyo Governor and his staff
Brochures for Tokyo Metropolitan Government (and Chuo City) about Industry & Labour, long-term strategies, etc.
Work relating to tax and customs & excise
Technical
Patents (petrol additives, exhaust gas treatment devices, image encoding methods, playing cards, etc.)
Press releases from Japanese Ministry of Posts & Telecommunications
Academic and government investigations into photosensitive epilepsy
Academic report on gas turbines
Hundreds of diagrams for a camera shutter design
Test procedures and results for various chemicals
Gypsum specifications
Interpreting at UMIST and University of Kent for research contracts funded by Japan
Registration documents for Japanese vehicles imported to the UK
Car reviews from German magazines (German -> English translation)
Operating manual for anti-wrinkle beauty kit
Computer
Translation of software help file into Japanese
Editing and compilation of Japanese help file (using Robohelp)
Onscreen messages etc. for Playstation game
Japanese translation of software manual for Swiss bank
Manual for car manufacturer's internal ordering systems
Translation (from American into English) and copywriting for US computer manufacturer's advertisements
Internet
English half of website for Japanese car component manufacturer, including historical / cultural sections
Japanese pages (inc. graphics) for web site offering English tuition
Interpreting at negotiations to set up international trade promotion web site
Martial arts
Interpreting at international seminars in Italy, Sweden and USA (in front of 500+ participants from 20+ countries)
Calligraphy for certificates and group stationery etc.
Correspondence to and from the Grandmaster of the Bujinkan Dojo
Media research etc.
Loch Ness monster
UK salaries and attitudes
"Traditional" health methods
Bizarre UK laws
Article (in Japanese, for Shincho 45) on attitudes to Nature
Miscellaneous translation
Subtitles for Japanese interviews in TV series about advertising
Programme notes for Tooru Takemitsu concert in London
Transcription and translation from Japanese / French / English of tape recording of an inauguration ceremony
Japanese student's application to American university
Security arrangements for Japanese school in South East Asia
Pocket-sized sheet to warn Japanese restaurants that the bearer is allergic to nuts (!)
Miscellaneous non-translation
Hotel and travel arrangements for visitors to Japan
Telephone negotiations with Japanese fans of British motorcycles about purchasing parts
Editing of computer peripheral manufacturer's magazine
Assessment of other Japanese translators (for the ITI and translation agencies)
1997
Japanese typesetting etc.
Video subtitles and a PC-based presentation for a leading UK bank
Business cards for UK designer etc. delivered overnight
Captions for a baseball game
Letter threatening the president of a major Japanese car firm (!)
Government work
Press releases for the Japanese Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications and Tokyo Metropolitan Government
Witness statements from the Sumitomo copper scandal
Tax laws
Diplomatic letters for an embassy in Tokyo
Police report on a truck crash in Germany
Technical
Patents
Quality assurance manual with test standards & regulations
Research into polysilanes & electrolytic networks
Solar power
Computer games
Semiconductors
Underground pipe mapping systems
Japanese terms written in English letters for display on an endoscope
Legal & financial
Lawsuit involving 20+ parties and over 70 million pounds
F1 racing contract
Ocean mapping tender
Economic reports from Nikkei
Company articles of association
Artistic
Letter to the abbott of the Yakushiji Temple from someone building a scale model
Decoding of the inscription on an antique chinese chest
Script in ancient Japanese for an independent UK film
Catalogue for the Edo Tokyo Museum
Part of a book on the designer Tanaka Ikko
Research on calendar designs in each country
Martial arts
Interpreting in Paris, New Jersey & Barcelona
Translation of magazine published in 15 countries
Description of antique sword
Calligraphy
Other
English half of website for Japanese engineering company
Lists of ingredients for dozens of imported foodstuffs
"Operating manual" for a whole building in Ikebukuro
Reviewing of potential translators for a Hewlett-Packard magazine
Imported car logbook records
Publicity material for a local hotel and for some botanical gardens in Wales
Interpreting for a Japanese footballer in an advertising video
Research on Princess Diana for Japanese press and Japanese letters of condolence for English press
Magazine on shipping
Script for a boxing video game
Assorted items from 1990-1996
Interpreting at London Fashion week (for Dentsu)
Translation into Japanese of UKP 6 million buyout contract
Translation into Japanese & typesetting of inwards investment brochure for Thanet District Council
Translation of satellite communications documents for European Space Agency
Translation / copywriting of script for video to promote highly exclusive Japanese golf clubs
Interpreting at High Society parties in London and Home Counties for private Japanese client
Translation of hundreds of documents in the fields of export / import, civil & mechanical engineering (inc. specifications, safety / quality control procedures, installation / operation manuals), oil rigs, banking, insurance investigations, accounts, contracts, patents, computer software, video games, trade missions, promotional materials (inc. real estate, exhibitions, presentations), market research, biochemistry, anthropology, cookery, fashion, photography, business & personal correspondence, etc.
Assorted jobs before 1990
Translation of documents in the fields of advertising (automobile, construction, electronics, fashion, glass, health care, life insurance, music, shipping, sports, tourism industries) & politics, etc.
Wrote advertising copy for Fujiya's prize-winning confectionery "Afternoon"
German <-> Japanese interpreting in Frankfurt for Ban'yu-Inryoku (an experimental drama group)
Interpreting for the Japanese team on the "Trans-Europe Sacred Run"
Translation of subtitles for the films "Yama" and "L'arrache-coeur"
Assistant producer and interpreter for "Woman of Hiroshima" theatrical performances in Tokyo, Hiroshima, Edinburgh and Avignon. Also translated Shimako Murai's play "Himawari" ("Sunflowers").
Co-edited and contributed to various magazines in and around Tokyo
Appeared in various plays, films, TV commercials, etc. in and around Tokyo
Technical adviser for Kikkado Ltd (3D laser mapping)
Worked at Atarashiki-mura, doing agriculture, word processing and magazine editing
Worked at Schloss Elmau, doing sports rental and computer software development