元(日本駐在の)外資系証券アナリスト Former Tokyo-based stock market analyst

Long thread on Japanese to English financial translation here:

https://www.proz.com/forum/off_topic/365317-in_my_craft_or_sullen_art_ja_en_financial_translation.html

After a successful two-decade career in the financial markets in Japan, including many years covering the automotive parts (Denso, Aisin Seiki, Toyota Industries, Bridgestone, etc.), machinery (NTN, JTEKT, NSK) and electronic parts industries (inc. Murata, Kyocera, TDK, Rohm), I established a linguistic services company in 2013 and now work full-time as a Japanese-English freelance translator (passed JLPT N1 / 日本語能力試験N1合格).

Please note: absolute confidentiality is integral to the way I work. I do not disclose the names of my clients, either agency or direct, and therefore I do not offer references.

Anonymized sample of some recent interesting projects, last updated 2024-11-30. [Please note that almost every week I translate, in part or in whole, financial summary reports (決算短信), integrated reports (統合報告書), notices of convocation for AGMs (株主総会招集通知), IR briefing materials (決算説明会資料), securities reports (有価証券報告書), ESG, sustainability, other corporate governance documents and press releases, but I seldom mention these specifically. The companies involved are drawn from a wide range of sectors, including semiconductors, J-REITs, banks, chemicals, automotive, electronics, FMCG, machinery, materials, and pharmaceuticals.]

• About 150,000 characters of internal regulations for a major international financial group, covering multiple areas, completed over a period of more than three months, with delivery by installment. This required careful scheduling and bursts of frantic activity, given that I needed to fit it in with commitments to other clients. Delivered on time.
• Two legal agreements between a multinational brand and retailers in Japan. Demanding and complex, and the optical character recognition (OCR) of one of the documents was much poorer than it appeared at first glance, which dramatically reduced my productivity, but we got there in the end.
• An entire integrated report for a specialist pharmaceutical/chemicals company, which was a follow-up from the previous year when I performed the initial translation for them. 
• Urgent request to translate the transcript of an internal panel discussion for a major auto manufacturer, which was full of idiomatic and sometimes highly technical Japanese (and often very interesting). Despite a very tight schedule I delivered on time and as promised.
• A small but rapidly growing Japanese company, listed on the stock market not long ago, made the decision to have its website and IR materials translated into English to better convey its potential to investors. I was asked to translate seven time-sensitive projects over the course of a month, totaling around 65,000 characters, with various unplanned additions and changes. Everything was delivered on time, despite me needing to work on other pre-booked projects (some large) for different clients in parallel to this meta-project. Result: happy client, happy end client, and a dramatic improvement in information flow to investors. Glad to be able to help.
• In general, I get an awful lot of repeat business due to end clients coming back again and again for press releases or quarterly earnings reports which, while much appreciated, can be difficult to negotiate because (a) these documents are innately time-sensitive and (b) the length of the relationship creates the expectation that you will give them preferential treatment rather than working on a first-come, first-served basis.
• An extensive and rather glossy history of a prominent Japanese company that is the leader in its field - effectively a condensed and often technical summary of the development of that industry since 1950
• More internal audit reports for overseas subsidiaries of a Japanese multinational
• Entire integrated report for company working in specialized sub-field of medicine
• Interesting technical document on advanced optoelectronic parts for automotive use
• An entire annual securities report (有価証券報告書), well over 100 pages, required for due diligence by a company other than the issuing company 
• Detailed confidential report on on-site internal audit of overseas subsidiary
• Confidential internal documents on strategy and other matters for a major global retailer
• Fairly technical materials for university spin-off working in the advanced optics / materials / quantum computing space
• Press release covering acquisition by listed supplier of components used for fluid control
• Internal report on website optimization for global parts supplier
• Legal documents for innovative share repurchase system rarely used in Japan
• Documents specifying details for carbon credit system
• Internal competitions/awards materials for global FMCG company
• Highly technical research paper on modelling of hydrogen fuelling for vehicles
• Description of newly built cutting-edge governmental facility
• Very technical summary of R&D for new car engine series used in flagship models.
• ESG report for major supplier of high-valued-added metal products.
• Technical paper from a major auto manufacturer on the use of machine learning in an automotive application: random forests, support vector machines, KNN regression, multilayer perceptrons, and so on.
• Website translation & copyediting for supplier of luxury goods - a welcome change from my normal fare.
• Catalog entries for major supplier of automotive, industrial, and factory automation components.
• Brand-building proposal by Japanese consultancy for Chinese tech hardware company trying to improve its standing in the Japanese market.
• Technical documents for a retail forex broker looking to expand outside its home market of Japan.
• Just been through the busiest six weeks of my career, consisting of mainly of financial statements, corporate governance declarations, and ESG reports. Clients seem to like the combination I offer: high-quality translation backed by specialist knowledge, rock-solid reliability, and proactive use of CAT tools (mainly Studio and Memsource).
• How do you audit a company when working remotely? With a lot of tools and a good dollop of caution, appears to be the answer according to the series of technical accounting articles that I just translated for an industry body. Interesting.
• Completed an entire Quality Management System manual for a machinery company looking to expand overseas, so the text was very focused on the ISO 9001:2015 standard and its Japanese equivalent.
• Translation of feedback from the channel (distributors and system integrators) in Japan for a major European tech firm. The Japanese used by the respondents varied from terse to flowery.
• Parts development and supply agreements for global vehicle group
• Comments by industry body on proposed changes to international accounting code of ethics
• Product descriptions for supplier of advanced materials for electronics, etc.
• Materials for government-funded technology research organization
• Manuals for big-data software for a very large multinational: ETL, bulk loading, bcp, data integration, SQL format files, model-building, R/Python interfaces, etc.
• Translation of quantities of historical AGM and other materials for orientation / education of newly appointed non-Japanese directors
• Internal data analysis / data science / visualization website for large conglomerate
• Stewardship report for prominent investment company
• Governmental agency documents related to survey
• Government regulations pertaining to vehicle type designation/approval
• Detailed forensic report into vehicle fire incident
• Large (public) investigation into operational issues at major financial entity
• Translation of technical support website for global automotive OEM
• Technical conference materials for leading global automotive OEM
• Research paper on wi-fi security and encryption protocols
• Human resources materials for use in performance evaluation for FMCG multinational
• Semi-annual report for high-profile Japanese REIT (JREIT)
• Paper on social impact investing / socially responsible investing for governmental body
• Accounting discussion of approaches to extended external assurance and other audit issues
• Presentation on innovative combined audio/text interface using augmented reality technology
• Translation of website for major distributor of specialized equipment
• Various documents related to research on combustion characteristics of alternative fuels (i.e. non-fossil fuels) for use in industry, with focus on reducing CO2 emissions
• Manual on how to deal with infectious diseases and infected persons (to be used at a prestigious Tokyo university)
• Stewardship report for major asset management entity, focusing on concrete steps taken in various industries to support principles for responsible investing (PRI)
• Proofreading of cryptoasset discussion transcript (mostly in English)
• Documents on advanced iron ore reduction processes/technology in steel making - interesting
• Technical evaluation of gas refining / separation manufacturing products and processes
• Materials on multi-agent systems, ant colony optimization, game theory (prisoner's dilemma etc.)
• Position paper on regulation of crypto-assets and related derivatives (cryptoassets being a new label for cryptocurrencies)
• Large rules and regulations document for major accounting organization
• Customer satisfaction surveys for tech company active in Japan
• Governmental monetary agency reports
• C-suite management presentation materials for insurance company
• Confidential management reports (for internal use) at securities company
• Internal regulations for asset management company, governing insider trading, broker requirements, trading operations and so on
• Translation of highly sensitive whistle-blowing emails for Japanese branch of multinational company
• Fact book for major university working to attract foreign students
• Paper for governmental institution on productivity and work-related stress
• Comments on international technical standards for accounting industry organization
• Pitch book for M&A proposal by financial firm to Japanese tech company
• Insurance forensic investigation report into vehicle fire - long and quite technical.
• Materials for internal meetings for large Japanese bank with global ambitions.
• Manual for new internal operations subsystem at very large Japanese FMCG company.
• Translation of a large presentation on the state of the cryptocurrency (or 仮想通貨/virtual currencies, as they are referred to in Japanese) market, including bitcoin, Ethereum, Ripple etc., as well as the Japan Cryptocurrency Business Association.
• Translation of parts of service manual for major automotive OEM, revisions of same
• Various reports written by a firm's Japan market fund managers for their clients
• Documents related to Basel III - processes for dealing with RDA, FRTB, NSFR etc.
• Translation of report related to base erosion and profit shifting (BEPS), transfer pricing and international taxation
• Translation of highly technical internal communications for luxury auto manufacturer engineers, often in obscure or colloquial Japanese, often several times a week over the space of two years.
• Internal report on serious corporate governance issues at overseas subsidiary
• Overseas (multiple country) brand analyses for auto manufacturer
• Presentation materials for managers at major multinational strategy conference
• New work proposal for technical ISO standard involving vehicles etc.
• Internal HR guidelines for major auto parts manufacturer
• Internal engineering documents related to motorcycle product recall
• Fund manager / portfolio manager updates on markets and stocks (many)
• Failure mode and effects analysis (FMEA) documents for auto parts
• Large piece of Japanese statute related to the insurance industry
• Corporate social responsibility (CSR) report for semiconductor-related firm
• Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) R&D paper on methods for reducing NOx during lean combustion, for global auto OEM
• Very technical Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) R&D paper for major auto company, on ductility of automotive adhesives
• Translation of manual segment for advanced packaging machinery
• Planning materials for global auto firm's advertising strategy
• Bilingual editing of manuals for automotive diagnostic equipment
• Technical paper on automotive lighting
• Specialist document on transfer pricing issues
• Many financial, CSR and annual reports for Japanese companies
• Financial reports, day after day after day, for some of Japan's largest companies
• Many financial filings and shareholder-related documents for multiple firms
• Documents laying out terms for a merger between two large listed companies
• Data center operations discussion
• Risk assessment materials for machinery manufacturer
• Documents for supplier of advanced steel coatings
• Biannual report for one of the world's largest monetary institutions
• Long-term planning/strategy documents for globally dominant engine supplier
• Notice of convocation of AGM for major food company
• Internal report on semiconductor device developed for auto market
• Meeting minutes for automotive arm of world-famous electronics company
• Multiple financial reports and presentations for listed company (precision instruments and office automation)
• Test results and analysis for component for use in hydrogen vehicles
• Tire marketing materials for major global supplier
• Engineering description for advanced all-wheel drive system
• Financial presentation for train company
• Summary of a fascinating but highly technical paper on the use of machine learning to optimize the design of parabolic antenna reflecting surfaces
• Contracts and terms of use for an e-commerce firm
• Financial reports for automotive parts supplier
• Set-top box (STB) technical specifications for global communications infrastructure firm
• Filings/presentation materials for major precision machinery supplier (many)
• Internal materials for Japan arm of European auto company
• Policy documents for a government ministry
• Long-term marketing strategy for sports car brand
• Marketing materials for luxury European auto brand in the Japanese market
• Technical research documents on combustion in direct injection engines
• Hydrogen fuel cell vehicle materials for major global automotive player
• Highly technical documentation for LTE/4G cellular base station test tool
• CSR documents for globally significant electronics company
• Clean diesel/green diesel Japan market analysis
• Accounting regulations for automotive company
• Corporate identity documents for major non-bank financial firm
• Specialist automotive engineering consultancy profile
• Investor relations materials for major listed company
• Risk management documents for leading banking group
• Notes on development of high-performance tires
• Manual for consumer electronics equipment
• Marketing materials for major tire manufacturer (several)
• Proofreading, translation of financial documents (multiple)
• Support materials (racing) for top auto company (4,000 characters)
• Instruction manual for industrial dispensing components
• Many financial statements and invitations to shareholder meetings
• Small automotive pieces for a major truck and bus manufacturer
• Patents on optical disc and on power insulator technology
• Market reviews and reports by various institutional investors
• Multiple highly technical papers on hybrid vehicles (HEV/EV) for the Society of Automotive Engineers written by engineers at one of the world's largest auto manufacturers
• The entire text of a detailed and very technical 50-page Japan Industrial Standard (JIS)
• Enterprise software technical marketing materials for one of the world's largest IT companies
• Periodical on the repo market for a governmental monetary entity
• A technical article on medical devices featuring board members of a major listed company
• A complex economics piece on labour market theory for a government ministry

Successful financial industry professional
Translation is my second career. I graduated from the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS) of London University with an upper second-class degree in Japanese with Economics in 1993. I spent a year adding to my skills as a management trainee at Big Six accountancy firm Touche Ross, then switched my focus to the financial markets in 1994, moving to Japan in 1995, where I lived until 2013.

Over that 18-year period I built a successful career as an equities analyst in the Japanese stock market, covering electronics and other technology stocks for blue-chip banks such as Schroders, Credit Suisse, KBC and most recently Macquarie Capital. At Macquarie I was an Associate Director covering auto parts stocks such as Denso, Bridgestone, Aisin Seiki and Toyota Industries.

Carningli Partners was established in early 2013 and offers translation, proof-reading and editing services primarily from Japanese to English.

Proven, real-world linguistic competence
My knowledge of the source language is much more than just theoretical. I speak, read and write Japanese fluently, due not only to a degree in Japanese but also to 20 years of work experience and day-to-day life in Japan. The raw materials of my analytical work - listed company reports, filings, presentations, industry newspapers, specialist journals - were all in Japanese and my contact with listed companies on the telephone and in person was conducted solely in Japanese.

On the other hand, my research was written entirely in English. I have a track record in delivering polished, accurate and readable text in English under challenging conditions. Before publication every single item I wrote was carefully checked by both editors and legal staff for readability and compliance to industry standards. I pride myself on having an exemplary record in that regard; attention to detail is ingrained in my work.

In addition to my duties as an analyst I regularly performed translation and consecutive interpreting for investors visiting listed companies in Japan.

Specialist industry knowledge in abundance
During nearly two decades as an analyst I conducted meetings with literally hundreds of companies in many different sectors in Japan and several dozen companies in Taiwan, China, South Korea, Singapore and Thailand. I monitored developments in my sectors closely and routinely researched new developments and technologies as they appeared. As a result I have in-depth knowledge of several industries, including electronics, machinery/factory automation, semiconductors, specialty chemicals and automotive.

Software, data visualization and programming skills
On the technology side I am prepared for anything. I have a full SDL Trados Studio license for those projects that require it. I'm an expert user of Microsoft Word, Excel, Powerpoint and Visio. I have also used many different graphical applications, including Adobe Illustrator. I have considerable experience in data visualization using Tableau and - being a competent coder - the statistical programming language R. I also speak Python, Visual Basic for Applications (VBA), Perl and I have a good working knowledge of HTML. I learn new software applications rapidly.

Motorbikes, cars and code
One major interest outside work is riding and maintaining motorcycles (a modern Honda CRF1000L Africa Twin and a Kawasaki KMX200 from 1989), which gives me an unusually practical understanding of mechanics and engineering terms. Another hobby is software development and I am ranked in the top 5% of users on the StackOverflow Q&A site for programmers, despite not being a professional coder. Outdoors, I enjoy sea fishing (with a Shimano reel, naturally) while my indoor pursuits are wine, reading and cooking, including Japanese cuisine. In addition to Japanese I speak native English, rusty French, reasonable Welsh and basic Mandarin Chinese.

In terms of my character, I'm a thoughtful, serious and determined individual who is always looking for the next thing to learn, the next skill to master. As you'd expect from somebody who has worked closely with some of the largest and most demanding institutional investors in the world, I'm scrupulously polite, professional and reliable.

In terms of my background, I'm a citizen of the United Kingdom, married to a Japanese national and father to two children. I relocated to the United Kingdom with my wife and sons in 2013 in order to be closer to the rest of my family.