Contest entries are now closed.
There were 33 applicants in the Japanese to English Division and 40 in the English to Japanese Division of the Fourteenth Annual JAT Contest for New and Aspiring Japanese/English Translators. Five fiinalists will be announced in late December.
Contest Guidelines
This contest is open to anyone with less than three years’ experience as a professional translator. JAT membership not required. Previous entrants (except winners) are welcome to enter again.
Download the Japanese-to-English source text from here
Download the English-to-Japanese text from the Japanese page (Click 日本語 at the upper right corner of the page).
Submission of entries JAT Translation Contest Entry Form
* Read the following instructions carefully before accessing the Entry Form.
- Submit your translation as an MS Word .doc file, an MS Word.docx file or a plain text file via the online entry form.
- Your file should only contain the translated text.
- Do not write your name or comments anywhere in the file.
- Name your file as follows ("contest", "j" or "e", "first name" then "family name" with a single space in between) in all lower case letters:
Japanese-to-English category: contest e your name (e.g., contest e john smith)
English-to-Japanese category: contest j your name (e.g., contest j hiroshi suzuki)
- Submissions will be confirmed by return e-mail to be sent in early November.
- You can enter both categories but only one entry per person is allowed in each category.
Disqualification
You may be disqualified if:
・Your entry application is incomplete,
・Your file name is incorrect.
・Your entry is received after the deadline,
・You enter under someone else’s name,
・You submit work done by someone else, or
・You are dishonest about your qualifications (the contest is open to anyone with less than three years’ experience as a professional translator).
Contest Schedule
2017
October 1 (Sun.)
Source texts and Contest Guidelines available for download
October 31 (Tue.)
Submission deadline (24:00 JST)
Late December
Five finalists announced on the JAT website
2018
Early February
1st- and 2nd-place winners announced on the JAT website and by direct e-mail to the winners,
winners' and finalists' translation and judges' commentaries placed on the JAT website
June 30 (Sat)
. Award ceremony at IJET-29
Judges
Preliminary
Japanese-to-English: Nora Heath, Ko Iwata, George Bourdaniotis
English-to-Japanese: Miyako Dubois, Kiyoshi Chimasu, Naoko Uchida
Final
Japanese-to-English: Ken Wagner, James Davis, Ruth McCreery
English-to-Japanese: Mayumi Adachi, Yukari Ishihara, Kiyoshi Fujimura
Judging
- Entries will be judged in two stages in accordance with evaluation criteria set by the judging panel.
- Entries are anonymized during the judging period. We will assign an ID number to each entry and notify you of your ID number in early November.
- The ID numbers of the five finalists will be announced on the JAT website in late December, 2017.
- The names of first and second place winners and finalists will be announced in early February, 2018.
- The winners' and finalists' translation and judges' commentaries placed on the JAT website.
- The decision of the judges is final. No appeals or contesting of the results will be accepted.
Copyright
- All submissions become the property of JAT and will not be returned.
- JAT retains the copyright to all submitted entries.
- JAT reserves all rights to publicize the winners’ names, winning entries, photos and likenesses, and background information on its website and mailing list and in electronic or printed publications.
Awards in Detail
JAT will pay the following for the first place winner:
・Registration for the 29th International Japanese-English Translation Conference (IJET-29).
・Round trip economy travel from the winner’s home to IJET by the most direct route, including air, train, bus and personal vehicle.
・Hotel for three nights standard accommodation at or near the IJET venue.
Receipts are required for all reimbursements.
Travel arrangements and details will be discussed with the winners in advance of purchase.
The second-place winner is entitled to free registration for IJET-29.
All finalists are entitled to one-year complimentary JAT membership.
For further information please contact [email protected].
Past contests
(Source texts, winners' and finalists' translation and judges' commentaries of the past 13 contests)