Japanese Language Shop
Japanese Language Shop offers a variety of services that require the language and the cultural understanding of both the UK and Japan. It not only provides a single service like translation or interpretation, but takes an interdisciplinary approach like interpretation and translation, or translation, interpretation and consulting combined. It was renamed after its former company Japan Translation & Research established in 2009.
Keiko Kato
Keiko is a Japanese linguist who was trained as a cultural anthropologist (Ph.D. in Anthropology, Washington State University), working as a translator, an interpreter (DPSI Level 6 interpreter), and a Japanese tutor (Teaching Japanese as Foreign Language certificate). For her, “research,” “translation,” “interpretation” and “teaching the Japanese language” are four aspects of her goal: contribute to improving the communication between Japanese and English speakers. Keiko offers all these services, sometimes combining several of them.
Experience
Keiko is trained as a cultural anthropologist. As part of her MA and Ph.D. projects, she explored the culture of “necktie-alcoholics,” the Japanese drinking culture where several million high-risk drinkers are generally treated as “non-problematic.” Afterward, she worked as a translator and established Japan Translation & Research in 2009. The contents of translation include pharmaceutical/medical market research, cosmetics, business presentations, business letters, etc. Her service not only includes translation but also work that requires transcribing, interpretation, summarization, etc. Her experience of going through education outside of Japan also led her to receive inquiries related to education (e.g. How can I find an appropriate school?), and how to settle in the UK (How can I set up a bank account?) and help them. She is also a tutor for the Japanese language. Since 2018, she has been working on “Tango” (the mnemonic device for retaining Japanese vocabulary) after realizing that one of the toughest hurdles for English speakers acquiring Japanese is memorizing vocabulary. Since her services became significantly more than just translation & research, Japan Translation & Research was renamed to Japanese Language Shop indicating the various services related to both UK and Japanese language and culture.