Our core translators

Our lead translators—JTS principal Jim Lockhart and six core translators doing Japanese-to-English, and former JTS co-owner Naoko Ikemi and two translators doing English-to-Japanese—work as a team to carefully craft translations.

We want you to know who we are so you’ll know who’s behind the product you get. Every one of us is an accomplished translator, adept at comprehending our source languages as well as writing and editing in our target languages with skilled-native competence. Add to that our research capacity and scrupulous, personal commitment to fidelity of content, and you’ve got a formula for solid, no-nonsense translations that will do the job you need them to do.

This is not to say that JTS does not work with other translators. We do, as the requirements of specific projects neccessitate. But these people, too, are without exception professionals with commensurate competence. And to ensure quality, most of our deliverables pass over the desk of one or more of our core people.

Japanese-to-English

Yuri Sakashita was raised and educated in Hong Kong, the UK, and Japan (Sophia). She began her career translating in-house at a Tokyo translation outfit and subsequently worked on the equity-report production teams of several UK-based securities houses. Yuri has over 35 years’ experience translating and editing equity reports, all sorts of business documents, media articles, and corporate-communications materials. She has been translating for JTS since its founding in 1992 and is one of the company’s co-owners.

Steve Venti hails from the US Northeast but went to college in California. Although his original training was as a civil engineer, he also has degrees in music composition (BA, UCSB) and advanced Japanese studies (MA, University of Sheffield) and came to translation via the English-teaching route. Also a skilled interpreter, Steve now resides in Tokyo but has lived in Mie and Tochigi Prefectures as well, giving him over 30 years’ experience living and supporting a family in Japan. He has been translating public-relations and corporate-communications materials, media articles, and documents for JTS’s clients in architecture, engineering, and construction (AE&C) since 1997.

Jeremy Angel was born and raised in the UK. His background spans environmental issues, public relations, biology, cultural anthropology, sociology, TV script narration, and photography, and he has over 15 years’ experience translating documents concerned with these areas as well as media articles, ad copy, business documents, and a range of natural science papers. Jeremy has a BA in zoology (Oxford) and a postgrad diploma in social anthropology (London School of Economics). He has lived and worked in Japan for over 30 years and now resides in Nagano Prefecture. Also a published author—in both English and Japanese—and travel photographer, he has been translating and editing for JTS since 1999.

Jenny Harry is a UK native with extensive experience in medical publishing, corporate communications, and marketing consulting for the pharmaceutical sector. She has been translating for over 30 years, nine of them in Japan, and focuses on equity research; technical business documentation; and pharmaceutical, bioscience, and medical documents, including clinical trial documentation. Jenny has a BSc Hons in genetics, has passed the level 1 Japanese proficiency exam, and has NAATI accreditation as a J-to-E translator. She has been associated with JTS since 2001 and from her office in Australia provides us with translations for our equity-research and corporate-communications clients.

Eric Betts hails from Canada and now resides in Australia. Eric has been translating professionally since 1984, six of those years in Japan—first freelance, then for a major Tokyo think tank. From 1990 till 2008, he worked as an equities strategist and head of research for the Australian arm of one of Japan’s premiere securities houses, where he had editorial oversight for all the company’s research publications in English and Japanese. Eric has been translating and editing equity reports, public-relations and business-communications materials, media clippings, magazine articles, and product brochures for JTS since he returned to freelancing in 2012.

English-to-Japanese

Hiroyuki Nishimura is a native of Hyogo Prefecture and graduate of the Nada High School. He then went on to the University of Tokyo but dropped out to pursue his true passion—chess. A four-time all-Japan champion, he was motivated to learn English so he could improve his game and communicate with opponents he played around the world. Nishimura-san has been associated with JTS since its 1992 inception and translates public relations materials, business documents, media clippings, and articles for business and general-interest magazines at his Tokyo home office.

Hitoshi Yamamoto was born and raised in Asakusa, Tokyo. He graduated from Tokyo University of Foreign Studies in 1983 with a degree in Portuguese and has been translating professionally for over 30 years. He is a member of several amateur vocal ensembles performing primarily early music a cappella and a semi-professional performer on the recorder in his spare time. In addition to translating and editing corporate communications materials, business documentation, and articles for business and general-interest magazines for JTS since 1994, Yamamoto-san regularly works at a Tokyo modern art museum translating exhibit plaques and visitor information.

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