The team would be happy to answer questions or discuss matters prior to receiving a formal request.

1. Send an email request

1.1 Email subject

Provide a summary of the request in 20 characters in Japanese or 10 words in English.
Examples: “Notification about XXX,” “Regulations on ZZZ”

1.2 Email content

The body of the message must contain all of the following details:

1.3 Attached documents

Follow the guidelines below when attaching source files, reference materials, and glossaries to the email.

• Source documents must be sent in one of the following formats: Microsoft Word (*.doc/*.docx),Rich Text (*.rtf), or text file (*.txt). Excel and PowerPoint files must be converted to Word files.
• The main body of source documents should not include text that does not require translating/editing. Supplementary information should be written using features such as the ‘comment’ function.
• For an editing request, send the original Japanese documents in addition to the English documents.
• Sending glossaries of preferred terms, past translations, and other reference materials helps improve the quality of translation.
• Files must be titled so that source documents can be distinguished from reference materials.

1.4 Request for updating translated documents

• If a request involves updating documents that were previously edited/translated by the team, revised areas must be indicated clearly and revision history provided.

1.5 Request for editing/translating parts of documents

• Send documents in their entirety.
• Highlight parts that require translating/editing (in both English and Japanese documents).

2. Receive a request code

If the request is accepted, the team sends an email response with a unique code tagged in the subject line. The code is used to identify the request and must be kept in the subject line in subsequent correspondence.

The code is usually issued within a few days of sending a request. If you do not receive reply or code, please email soudan.english@jim.titech.ac.jp.

• The team aims to:

  • Build a glossary of translated terms and phrases to support the Institute’s ongoing internationalization.
  • Provide English documents that are both clear and accurate.

  To achieve these aims, the understanding and cooperation of requesting parties are essential.

  Requesting parties should respond to the team’s queries regarding source documents with additional reference materials where necessary. They should also note that translations might not follow the source text exactly. Words and phrases may be omitted and additional information inserted. If a literal translation is necessary, please consult the team in advance.

• Editors and translators may leave comments in the edited/translated documents.

  It is important that requesting parties read comments and respond accordingly, if required.

• Edited/translated documents should be considered as suggestions by the English Document Support Team.　

  Requesting parties are responsible for finalizing the returned documents. They are not in any way required to adopt the team’s suggestions. Bear in mind that editors and translators do not have complete knowledge of the Institute’s vast operations, and it is up to the requesting parties to check for accuracy of content.
  Should there be any problems with the quality of returned documents, please notify the team so that it may review the documents and make amendments where necessary.

Turnaround time for requests

A piece of text on a single A4 page can take two days to complete if it contains only general content requiring little background knowledge. However, the time required is often longer due to the following factors:

• The team is handling a large quantity of documents and cannot begin working immediately on your request, or the task is lengthy and requires a significant amount of time and resources.
• Documents include specialized content, which requires three to four days to translate per page (standard A4 size).
• Points in the document need clarification, in which case time must be allocated for correspondence with the requesting party.

Once a translation is returned, it must be checked for accuracy before being finalized.

When scheduling document translation, allow plenty of time so that your deadline can be met.

Note: The number of days involved in translation does not include Saturdays, Sundays, national holidays, and Institute holidays.

Advance requests

By making a reservation for upcoming administrative tasks and large-scale projects, we are able to schedule and prioritize them to ensure each is allocated sufficient time and resources.

The team requests that all finalized documents be returned to us, regardless of whether our suggestions were adopted or not. These documents will be archived for future reference.

The team is staffed with experienced Japanese translators and editors from the US, UK, and Canada, with diverse educational backgrounds and professional experience.

We also have dedicated translators at the Human Resources Division and Student Services Department, where demand for English document support is high. Human resources is available in English at the HR Support Desk.