Joining a translator association in Japan
Thread poster: Alex Farrell (X)
Alex Farrell (X)
Alex Farrell (X)  Identity Verified
Japan
Local time: 03:21
Japanese to English
Jul 24, 2008

Hello everyone. I am considering joining a translator association in Japan in order to broaden my employment opportunities as a freelancer. The two major ones I have found are JAT (Japan Association of Translators) and JTF (Japan Federation of Translators). I am leaning towards JAT because its site is bilingual, JTF's site has broken links (in particular to the English version of the site that doesn't seem to actually exist), and JAT membership is considerably cheaper (10,000 yen/year as opposed... See more
Hello everyone. I am considering joining a translator association in Japan in order to broaden my employment opportunities as a freelancer. The two major ones I have found are JAT (Japan Association of Translators) and JTF (Japan Federation of Translators). I am leaning towards JAT because its site is bilingual, JTF's site has broken links (in particular to the English version of the site that doesn't seem to actually exist), and JAT membership is considerably cheaper (10,000 yen/year as opposed to a 10,000 yen joining fee on top of the 20,000 yen annual fee at JTF).

If anyone is familiar with JTF, could you enlighten me on why it is more expensive than JAT and what its advantages are? Of course I can read Japanese, but it is nice if the association I join has information in English as well since it is my native language and hence I can read it faster. Also, I have read what the JTF site itself says about the benefits of membership, but I'd like to hear some personal experiences.

In particular, I'd like to know how each association has helped freelancers find work through having a profile at their site, networking with other members etc., and whether membership was worthwhile for this purpose.

Thanks in advance for the information.

- Alex
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Rod Walters
Rod Walters  Identity Verified
Japan
Local time: 03:21
Japanese to English
Used to be a member of JAT Dec 19, 2008

Did you join anything in the end?

When I was getting started as a freelancer, I joined JAT and was a member for a couple of years. I don't think I got a single job through their directory. They pestered me about voting which wasn't an urgent priority of mine.

I did benefit slightly from reading the articles on there, especially about patents, and I still use a tool I got from there for finding double-byte characters.

But, that doesn't really justify the pri
... See more
Did you join anything in the end?

When I was getting started as a freelancer, I joined JAT and was a member for a couple of years. I don't think I got a single job through their directory. They pestered me about voting which wasn't an urgent priority of mine.

I did benefit slightly from reading the articles on there, especially about patents, and I still use a tool I got from there for finding double-byte characters.

But, that doesn't really justify the price beyond the first year.

I have had real jobs from the Trados directory, and I think from Proz too.

It would be nice if this corner of Proz could be developed into something more active and useful...
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Alex Farrell (X)
Alex Farrell (X)  Identity Verified
Japan
Local time: 03:21
Japanese to English
TOPIC STARTER
Haven't joined...yet Dec 22, 2008

Nope, haven't joined anything yet, though I am a finalist in this year's JAT translation contest, so if I win I guess it would be weird to accept a prize but then say I'm too cheap to become a member.

Thanks for sharing your experience, Rod. It's good to know I'm not denying myself any enormous opportunities. My schedule's pretty busy anyway. But I think I'll join sometime just to see if I can make any worthwhile contacts there...when I get around to it.


 
Juan Perello
Juan Perello  Identity Verified
Chile
Local time: 15:21
Member (2005)
Japanese to Spanish
+ ...
A "little bit late" but, did you finally join? Nov 17, 2016

Hi Alex
I was looking for opinions on the JTF and came across this post.
It looks they are on a half-price campaign right now, so it would be nice to hear any experience, with them or JAT, for that matter.

Best regards


 


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Joining a translator association in Japan






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