Japanese has rapidly become one of the professional world’s most spoken languages, so it stands to reason that any organisation that wants to grow more rapidly should seek out professional Japanese translation services. Whether you’re promoting a product, translating your website content, or holding a conversation in person, using a professional native Japanese translator will make a huge difference to your organisation’s success.

Expanding Internationally Requires More Than Machine Translations

When you’re considering expanding your business into the Japanese market, you’ve probably already identified that language is going to be a barrier to your success. It’s no wonder, then, that so many business owners look first to machine translation apps due to their low cost and speedy turnover time. However, it’s important to be aware of the pitfalls of this method. Machine translations are done by computers and therefore has some serious limitations.

Typically, a machine translation will be done word-for-word with no attention to context and this usually means that the resulting copy is poor and cannot be used professionally. If you’re serious about breaking into the Japanese market you’ll need to use a professional Japanese translator to ensure that your content is accurate.

The Importance Of Localisation For Expansion

Not only does your translated content need to be accurate, it also needs to be properly localised if your expansion plans are to be a success. Simply translating text on a word-for-word basis without considering context will result in copy that lacks the necessary nuances that a native reader would expect to see.

A skilled Japanese translator will be able to not only change your text into their native language but will also be able to make it suited to the Japanese market with an appropriate tone, suitable cultural references and terms that will build up trust in a Japanese audience. Essentially, localising your content will help to create the same feeling in your content in Japanese as existed in the original while appealing to a Japanese aesthetic.

Japanese Language Difficulties

Although translation and localisation are very important when entering any foreign market, they are especially vital when trying to break into Japan. This is because Japanese is an especially challenging language to learn, while the Japanese culture is also complex and very different to that in the west. For example, there are no less than three different writing styles in Japanese, and those styles will be changed to suit different target audiences.

Furthermore, there are also three levels of politeness which should be used depending on the formality of the situation. These are things that only a professional translator can succeed in getting right when converting your original content into Japanese. Since there are lots of speech styles to pick from, it can be all-too-easy for someone who lacks the necessary expertise to create a translated text that is disconnected from your brand image, or even worse, to cause accidental offence. It’s clear, then, that using a professional Japanese translation service is the best solution if you’re ready to expand your business. With the right expertise at your disposal you can achieve the rapid success you desire.