choiwaruoyaji comments

Posted in: He is so overconfident and yet so logically unconvincing that my interpreter friends and I often joke that if we translated his words as they are, we would end up making ourselves sound stupid. See in context

As you can see, others of us in this thread don't share your opinion.

What's that got to do with anything?

-1 ( +1 / -2 )

Posted in: He is so overconfident and yet so logically unconvincing that my interpreter friends and I often joke that if we translated his words as they are, we would end up making ourselves sound stupid. See in context

For me it is a question of professionalism.

A real professional does not make public comments like this.

Say, if after President Obama's speech at Hiroshima, we had Japanese translators making public judgement calls about him and his speech:

"He is so insincere and he used weasel words to avoid making a clear apology."

Or a Japanese translator commented on Hillary Clinton:

"She is so boring and talks like a lecturing school ma'am."

Such public comments would be highly unprofessional.

Also there is a risk that the translator would be seen as having an ideological bias and is hence unreliable.

Maybe I'm old-fashioned but IMHO a real professional quietly and efficiently does his or her job and doesn't make public judgements or comments... a doctor doesn't comment publicly on his patients, a lawyer would never comment publicly on his clients, an accountant does not publicly judge the companies he is working for, etc...

In the Japan Times it mentions that Tsuruta is a university teacher.

Presumably she is teaching her students like this... after you have finished doing your translation work, try to make comments in the media about the speaker and his/her content... let everybody know how you feel about him/her.

If so, her students should ignore her advice.

For me, with these comments about Trump, she has shown herself to be very amateurish and also arrogant and egotistical.

0 ( +1 / -1 )

Posted in: He is so overconfident and yet so logically unconvincing that my interpreter friends and I often joke that if we translated his words as they are, we would end up making ourselves sound stupid. See in context

Cleo (and Strangerland) I think you are completely missing my point.

Tsuruta is making comments such as:

He is so overconfident and yet so logically unconvincing

I am saying I do not need such comments from a mere translator.

Why has she become the arbiter of what is logically convincing or not?

I do not believe it is her role as a translator to judge the person and his/her content.

We can make up our own minds.

-3 ( +1 / -4 )

Posted in: He is so overconfident and yet so logically unconvincing that my interpreter friends and I often joke that if we translated his words as they are, we would end up making ourselves sound stupid. See in context

That's pretty much exactly the job of a translator.

I think you are completely wrong.

A more professional and honorable translator, Kumiko Torikai, speaks later in the Japan Times article:

"As an interpreter, your job is to translate the words of a speaker exactly as they are, no matter how heinous and what an outrageous liar you find the speaker to be... You set aside all your personal emotions and become the speaker yourself. It’s a really tough thing, not being allowed to demonstrate your own judgment about what is right and what is wrong. And that’s why I quit.”

There you have it from an emeritus professor.

Interpreters/translators (of the professional sort) should not make judgments about what is right or wrong... their job is to just translate the content.

But maybe we have different ideas about translators/interpreters.

Presumably, if you hear an interpreter translating someone in a language you don't know, after the translation is finished you need the interpreter to tell you, "Oh, he's an idiot and he's talking nonsense" or else "Now this is a great guy... he is obviously talking the truth".

Presumably you want to be told what to think about the speaker and his/her content.

As for me, I don't need those extra comments.

I can make up my own mind.

And I don't believe it is the role of the translator/interpreter to make such comments.

-2 ( +1 / -3 )

Posted in: He is so overconfident and yet so logically unconvincing that my interpreter friends and I often joke that if we translated his words as they are, we would end up making ourselves sound stupid. See in context

It's funny. Many people are missing the point.

What this unprofessional translator has done is to try to assume the role of judge and jury of the content and of the speaker.

That's not her job.

Nobody is interested in her opinions as a mere interpreter.

Her job is to translate the words as best she can. Only that.

People can decide for themselves on the speaker and his content. Her judgemental views about it are not needed, and it is unprofessional for a translator to comment publicly like this.

She seems arrogant and biased.

-5 ( +0 / -5 )

Posted in: He is so overconfident and yet so logically unconvincing that my interpreter friends and I often joke that if we translated his words as they are, we would end up making ourselves sound stupid. See in context

Chikako Tsuruta has made a big mistake by commenting like this.

In my mind, a professional interpreter would never, ever comment like this... neither on the person whose words they are translating, nor on the contents of what is being translated.

Unfortunately, we can see clearly that Chikako Tsuruta is not a professional.

She is an amateur.

For me, and probably for many people, she has lost all her credibility with these ill-judged remarks.

-4 ( +2 / -6 )

Posted in: Macaque named after British Princess Charlotte wins popularity contest for 2nd consecutive year See in context

The Japanese monkeys always make me laugh.

It's fun to watch their silly antics.

Always enjoy watching Japanese monkeys.

0 ( +1 / -1 )

Posted in: APA hotel chain under fire over book denying Rape of Nanking See in context

Thanks Nick.

1 ( +3 / -2 )

Posted in: Japanese toilets receive new standardised symbols to help foreign tourists See in context

I just hope they keep the color-coding... that always makes everything easy to understand.

pink = ladies = spraying the frontal area

0 ( +0 / -0 )

Posted in: APA hotel chain under fire over book denying Rape of Nanking See in context

(genuine question)

Are all APA hotels called "APA something"?

Do some hotels belonging to the APA group have some other moniker?

I just want to make sure that I never ever stay at any of their hotels.

1 ( +6 / -5 )

Posted in: APA hotel chain under fire over book denying Rape of Nanking See in context

Perhaps APA hotels could leave these books in the bathrooms instead. That would be more convenient for making the most appropriate use of individual pages.

9 ( +17 / -8 )

Posted in: 4 Australian family members found after going missing while skiing in Nagano See in context

I hate it when, after an incident, people start saying things like "they must pay for their rescue".

Some areas are making huge profits from large numbers of tourist visitors. Part of that should be used to provide rescue services.

2 ( +5 / -3 )

Posted in: Love in Japan: Common post-honeymoon stage issues See in context

I think there's a lot to be said for not communicating in a relationship.

0 ( +3 / -3 )

Posted in: Trump denounces Streep as 'overrated Clinton flunky' See in context

I think it's good the way Trump throws it back at people.

-4 ( +3 / -7 )

Posted in: 5,000 sprint for title of 'Lucky Man' See in context

Every year this makes me think of The Verve.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

Posted in: Teacher grabs 3 students by their collars, causing them to faint See in context

I'm with the teacher on this one.

He sounds like a good bloke.

5 ( +6 / -1 )

Posted in: A messy march of folly to Brexit - and beyond See in context

The premise is that the EU has been a wonderful success.

How could the Brits possibly want to leave such a wonderfully successful project?

0 ( +2 / -2 )

Posted in: How do Japanese people feel about kissing in public? See in context

Just have a long deep kiss in public... the world won't end and you'll feel happy.

The funny thing is, some Japanese women (especially hot mature women) are amazingly talented kissers... they really get into it and give it all they've got.

1 ( +4 / -3 )

Posted in: How do Japan’s subway and rail systems compare with other countries? See in context

I was afraid this softball question would leave the Japan bashers without anything to say.

I know foreigners on Japanese TV are only allowed to praise Japan to the high heavens. You know... on the "日本はすごい!" type programs.

Perhaps you could appear on such programs... wide-eyed and brimming with praise for all things Japanese.

But I think this website is more interesting because there is a wider variety of opinions.

Regarding the stations... most IMHO are brutally functional and ugly.

Most of the larger stations are subsumed into large shopping complex buildings, which themselves are often very ugly.

Smaller stations IMHO have been built mainly for functionality and at minimum cost.

When you travel to countries such as Germany for example and see beautiful aesthetically designed stations all over the place, the contrast with Japanese stations is stark.

3 ( +4 / -1 )

Posted in: How do Japan’s subway and rail systems compare with other countries? See in context

99.9% of Japanese railway stations have zero aesthetic value.

-2 ( +4 / -6 )

Posted in: American man arrested for smuggling marijuana in candy See in context

The demonization of marijuana in Japan is beyond ridiculous.

6 ( +10 / -4 )

Posted in: We've been invited to open branches and received inquiries from all over the country. See in context

These is something very disagreeable about these cafes.

I think we should move away from keeping owls and parrots as caged animals.

These beautiful creatures are not suitable as pets. We should instead be trying to protect them in the wild.

2 ( +2 / -0 )

Posted in: Defense minister visits Yasukuni shrine one day after returning from Pearl Harbor See in context

Every society, every culture, every nation, just as each person has their own different and unique way of honoring life, death, nature, god or gods and even people.

Sure.

For Japan, in regards to it WW2, military personnel are honored at a shrine run by extreme right-wing nationalist priests, with an attached museum pushing a biased extreme right-wing nationalist version of history and the whole place attracts extreme right-wing nationalist cosplaying weirdos.

So don't worry.

We understand it and put it into perspective.

-2 ( +0 / -2 )

Posted in: Have you ever made a New Year resolution that you actually kept? If so, what was it? See in context

That I would stop wasting time posting on Japan Today.

2 ( +4 / -2 )

Posted in: S Korea allows new 'comfort woman' statue in Busan See in context

As someone pointed out before, if Japan is going to accept and promote Hiroshima and Nagasaki memorials in both Japan and in other countries then it should shut up and accept comfort women statues too.

People are getting tired of Japan's double standards.

The Internet means we can all hear about and discuss Japan's insincere approach to WW2.

0 ( +7 / -7 )

Posted in: Defense minister visits Yasukuni shrine one day after returning from Pearl Harbor See in context

Yasukuni Shrine is the same place as the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. Whether westerners like it or not.

Yasukuni shrine is a very weird place with extreme right wing Japanese doing military cosplay there.

It is run by extreme right wing nationalist priests and also has an extreme right wing museum pushing a biased version of history.

Whether you like it or not, the Japanese have made their main war memorial into a an extreme right wing place with a bunch of weirdos running it and attracting many military cosplaying weirdos.

2 ( +4 / -2 )

Posted in: Defense minister visits Yasukuni shrine one day after returning from Pearl Harbor See in context

Yasukuni Shrine is a very weird place... almost like a circus.

Every time I have been there I have seen weirdo military cosplayers living out their fantasies.

They are extreme right-wing Japanese... with a mentality similar to nazis.

To be honest, it's funny and entertaining to watch these weirdos.

Japan has managed to make its war memorial into a kind of big joke.

The priests in charge of Yasukuni are extreme right-wingers too.

And perhaps the biggest joke is the "museum" next door to the shrine with its ridiculously biased and extreme right wing version of history.

2 ( +4 / -2 )

Posted in: Director Shinkai overwhelmed by success of 'your name.' See in context

If you go and it's rubbish you just have to suck it.

Just spoke to a young Japanese person... he said it was boring as hell... doesn't know why it's popular. Maybe it's more popular for females.

There was a body swap TV show when I was in junior high in the early 90s

Right... it's a hackneyed old storyline... has this movie added something to this old genre...?!

-1 ( +0 / -1 )

Posted in: Director Shinkai overwhelmed by success of 'your name.' See in context

We can't make your mind up, the final decision is still yours

Really?!

And to think... I had no idea.

-2 ( +1 / -3 )

Posted in: Director Shinkai overwhelmed by success of 'your name.' See in context

Stop being lazy looking for answers online.

What are you talking about? It took me ages to type that post... huge effort...

Well, if anyone has seen it I'd be interested to hear their comments...

-2 ( +1 / -3 )

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