The Japan Foundation, an incorporated administrative agency, is Japan's only institution dedicated to carrying out comprehensive international cultural exchange programs. “Wochi Kochi” is the web magazine, ran by the Japan Foundation, that shares information on topics including Japanese culture, language, history and art with the world. Urban Connections have translated and edited English articles for Wochi Kochi for many years.

Translating a wide range of topics into engaging English.

The web magazine shares a wide range of information on Japan across the globe, including interviews and contributions from professionals at the forefront of cultural exchange, and reports on international exchange programs from all over the world, in line with each issue’s featured theme. Urban Connections chooses the most qualified translator depending on the topics covered, and the translation is then proofread, edited, and polished by native English speakers. One contributor gave us the following comment.

“I think this is a great translation, thank you very much. When I read the whole thing in English, I felt the weight of the words even more than I did when I wrote it in Japanese. Thank you for translating this into such wonderful English.”

Translation that takes the reader into account

“Wochi Kochi” is read not only in English-speaking countries, but widely across Asian countries where English is not the primary language. For this reason, Urban Connections makes sure that the English we use in the translation is easy to understand by everyone, and suits the reader’s needs.

A prompt response, that helps clients feel at ease

Publishing a single article can require multiple rounds of edits. Urban Connections endeavors to respond quickly to our clients and make adjustments in-house as soon as we are contacted. We continue to make adjustments until we receive the client’s approval, while checking that the correct nuances are conveyed, and the translation matches what the client is aiming to communicate. We make these adjustments as quickly as possible, to ensure the translation is ready in time for publication. Based on this, our customers often comment:

“Thank you for completing this so quickly”.

The team supervising this project are responsible for ensuring that the appeal of Japanese culture is conveyed accurately, therefore contributing to exchange with people around the world.