Press release about IMIA Japan Representative:
http://tinyurl.com/5gkapv

April 2009 - Article in Japanese in Sankei (major Japanese newspaper)
about IMIA and Medical Interpreting in Japan
http://sankei.jp.msn.com/life/body/090425/bdy0904250756000-n1.htm

Japanese Medical Interpreters Article
http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/dy/features/culture/20090428TDY16001.htm

IMIA President visits Japan
The visit to Japan was of a different nature as the IMIA was invited to speak about the profession and education of medical interpreting and the organization's recent efforts. Izabel Arocha, representing the IMIA, and Oscar Arocha, representing Boston Medical Center, were dignitaries of Gumna Prefecture, which is establishing a public medical interpreting program for its linguistically diverse populations, mostly from Brazil and Peru. Currently most medical interpreters in this prefecture are volunteers. Izabel presented on the profession and mostly on the specialization of medical interpreting, and Oscar presented on the technologies available for language access. Both presented on more than one occasion to different groups in the country. Our Japanese hosts were excited to forge ties with the US. The IMIA was pleased to announce that Kazumi Takesako, IMIA member and pioneer in Japan in the field of medical interpreting, had been appointed our IMIA Japan Representative.

The 18th Biwako Forum for International Medical Services
http://www.mcv.zaq.ne.jp/epaby001/tenbou.html

Japan Association of Medical Interpreters (JAMI)
http://jami.hus.osaka-u.ac.jp/

On the job with Mayumi Lincicome, Interpreter
(The Boston Globe, March 28, 2010) When Toyota’s president, Akio Toyoda, testified before Congress last month about dangerous defects in many of the Japanese automaker’s popular vehicles, a crucial person was at his side: an interpreter, who carefully translated his apologies and explanations. The translator’s job, interpreting Toyoda’s statements from Japanese to English, was vital because Toyoda’s words had to be translated correctly, keeping in mind their cultural context.
http://www.boston.com/jobs/news/articles/2010/03/28/interpreters_help_bridge_cultures/

Remote Interpreting Takes off in Japan
http://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/english/movie/feature201112020816.html

JAT published the JAT Pharma Handbook for people translating pharmaceutical-related material. It is a very helpful tool for medical interpreters as well. To get a copy of this please email Fred Uleman at fuleman@gmail.com.

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Kazumi Takesako is the IMIA Japan Chapter Chair. To contact her please email IMIAJapan@imiaweb.org. 

As a representative of IMIA Japan and a current student of the PhD course of Human Sciences Dep. at Osaka University, Japan, Kazumi TAKESAKO has been conducting a research on medical interpretation. Based on professional experiences as English-Spanish-Japanese interpreter, she serves as the secretary general of Japan Association of Medical Interpreters (JAMI), the first nation-wide initiative to advance the profession in Japan. She also chairs the Committee “Tele Medical Interpretation” of Japan Telemedicine and Telecare Association  (JTTA) and has been advocating for volunteer interpreters in medical settings. She has been working hard to have medical interpreting as a profession in Japan.
 


Chieko Sakihana is the IMIA West Japan Chapter Chair.

Chieko Sakihana is currently working as English-Japanese interpreter as well as English speaking nationally licensed tour guide. During her long experience of taking care of foreign visitors to Japan, she realized the importance of medical terms and professional medical interpreting services because tour guides very often accompany the guests to the hospital when they have medical problems or get hurt in order to help them as interpreter. To know the language is not enough to interpret between patients and medical providers. She herself has been auditing medical interpreter course at Osaka University, so that she can give better training to younger licensed tour guides. There is no certification in this field in Japan, yet, except Examination of Proficiency in English for Medical Purpose designed basically for providers, which she already passed. She joined IMIA to study Medical Interpreting even further and promote IMIA among her colleagues in interpreting and guide services and hopes to help establishing robust foundation of the professional medical interpreter. She wishes to be of a help for the first IMIA meeting held in Japan next year.


Yuko Sakata is the IMIA East Japan Chapter Chair.

Ms. Sakata was born and raised in Mexico with a Mexican father and Japanese mother. She obtained a Master degree in Public Health from Boston University, and during her stay in the U.S. she worked as a freelance medical interpreter for Spanish and Japanese speaking patients. Ms. Sakata was trained at Cross Cultural Communications Inc. for Spanish and Japanese. She worked at many hospitals in Boston such as Mass Eye and Ear, Brigham and Women's Hospital and Cambridge Health Alliance among others. She has worked as a translator at a medical translation company in Japan and now works at a clinical research company. Ms Sakata is eager to share her experience as a medical interpreter in the US and now a foreigner living in Japan as well as assist Ms. Takesako in creating new medical interpreter job opportunities in Japan.


Cecil Watanabe is the IMIA Japan Administrator.

Cécile is a French native, living in Japan for 27 years. As a French Registered Nurse and thanks to her language ability (French-English-Japanese, fluent and Spanish-Italian, conversation), she joined a Japanese medical assistance company and worked as a medical coordinator and interpreter for 5 years. She now is working on her own, mostly doing medical repatriations. She joined the Japanese Association of Medical Interpreters from the beginning and will be happy to gather information on medical interpreting, activities by volunteers and/or NPOs, events for central & local governments and their media coverage, to post it on the IMIA Japanese site. She will also bring her support to IMIA Japan’s operational affairs for PR in Japan.