News On Japan

Tourists to Japan are fueling a boom in personal translation devices

Aug 08 (Japan Times) - Takehiko Fujita wouldn’t be able to do his job selling eye drops and pain relievers without his pocket translator.

Instead of an app, language dictionary or call-in translation service, the clerk at a Japanese drugstore uses Pocketalk, a ¥25,000 device made by Sourcenext Corp. that looks like an oval puck. The gadget translates phrases to and from 74 languages, helping Fujita communicate with customers from around the world.

Tourists are flooding into Japan, with 31 million people visiting the archipelago in 2018, triple the number six years earlier, according to the Japan National Tourism Organization. Businesses are struggling with visitors looking to shop, eat and move around — a situation that will probably worsen during next year’s Tokyo Olympics. Seeking to tap into demand, electronics maker Fujitsu Ltd. and office supplier King Jim Co. are challenging Pocketalk’s 94 percent market share with their own products.

“I’m not worried anymore,” said Fujita, who works at a Takeya store in Tokyo’s Okachimachi area. He used to rely on Google Translate to talk to customers, but now he picks up the Pocketalk dangling from his neck to chat with people. “I can speak to people who… come from foreign countries and might not understand me.”

While smartphone apps remain a popular — and common — translation tool, Pocketalk has carved out its own niche. Dedicated for just one purpose, the gadget has a sensitive microphone, and accesses machine translation and voice-recognition software from Google, Baidu and others, improving accuracy. More than 500,000 Pocketalk units have been sold since it debuted in 2017.

News On Japan
POPULAR NEWS

The impact of rising prices is being felt at summer festivals, with essential items like ice shavings and goldfish scooping seeing significant price increases.

Japan's Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare have announced the average life expectancy for Japanese people last year, with women having an average life expectancy of 87.14 years, and men 81.09 years, both about half a month higher than the previous year.

Theft of air conditioner outdoor units has surged as Japan's heatwave continues, leaving some businesses unable to run critical cooling systems.

As power harassment allegations against the governor of Hyogo Prefecture continue to swirl, it has been revealed that another prefectural employee has passed away, with the prefecture delaying a formal announcement of the death by 3 months.

Osaka has topped the 'Japan Urban Power Rankings' for the fourth consecutive year. Conducted by Mori Building's think tank, the ranking evaluates 136 cities across Japan in six categories, including economy, culture, and environment.

MEDIA CHANNELS
         

MORE Society NEWS

A manager of a men's concept cafe in Tokyo's Akihabara district has been arrested on suspicion of violating the Employment Security Act by introducing female customers to illegal men's massage parlors to pay off high bills.

A Japanese man has been detained at a Thai airport for attempting to smuggle over 200 more scorpions, spiders, and other insects than he declared.

Osaka has topped the 'Japan Urban Power Rankings' for the fourth consecutive year. Conducted by Mori Building's think tank, the ranking evaluates 136 cities across Japan in six categories, including economy, culture, and environment.

Osaka's Minami district, a prominent entertainment area in western Japan, is experiencing a significant shift in its host club industry. Every night, patrons and hosts engage in strategic interactions, but recently, a noticeable change has emerged: an influx of host clubs from Tokyo's Kabukicho district.

Japan's total population stood at 124.88 million as of January 1 this year, a decrease of over 530,000 from the previous year, further accelerating the trend of a declining birthrate and aging population.

The number of raccoons captured in Tokyo is on the rise. These animals, increasingly making homes in residential areas, have even been found raising their young in attics.

The last three 'UFO-style' traffic lights in Japan, which appear to hover like UFOs, will be removed by the end of this month due to aging.

In an effort to curb street solicitation, commonly known as "tachinbo," in Osaka's Umeda district, police and local authorities have decided to install new street lights and implement other measures. This decision aims to address the issue of illegal prostitution activities that have led to over 20 arrests in the past year.