Losing Your Cool?!

How “Cool Japan” gets lost in translation, and how to make sure it doesn’t

The Harvard Club of Japan is pleased to present the next event in our ongoing exploration of emerging themes for Japan Inc. 2.0.

 

Entertainment translator Alexander O. Smith will draw on over fifteen years experience localizing games, manga, and novels into English to show how translation is holding back some of the “coolest” properties Japan has to offer, and how a different attitude toward translation could be the key to breaking out of the Japanophile niche into wider markets. 

 

 

Event details: 

Date: September 24, 2014

Time: Doors open at 18:30, talk from 19:00

Location: Roppongi Hills Club

Admission: 5,000 per person, including standing buffet and cash bar

 

Please register by September 21 using the RSVP form on the upper right of this page.    

 

To register multiple members of your party, please input the name of each person separately into the reservation system. For "organization", you may indicate their relationship to you, their company, or other affiliation, as most appropriate.             

 

For any problems with registration please e-mail HCJ Events Director Jonathan Harlow at: jonathan@jonathanharlow.com

 

Please note that no-shows and cancellations after September 21 will be invoiced. Your understanding and cooperation are appreciated. 

 

 

Speaker profile: 

Alexander O. Smith is a cofounder of publisher Bento Books and the founder of translation agency Kajiya Productions. He has been translating video games, novels, manga, and lyrics from Japanese to English professionally since graduating from Harvard University with a M.A. in classical Japanese literature in 1998. After working at game developer Square-Enix’s Tokyo offices for four years, he went freelance and is now based in the hills of Kamakura, Japan.