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NEWSLETTER- the JAPANALYZER

February, 2004

Market Snapshot - Japan
Fueling the fuel cell debate

Each month the Japanalyzer takes you inside one of Japan’s IT industries- showing you who’s who and where the market is heading. This month we focus on developments in the Japanese consumer electronics industry that may finally lead to the introduction of fuel cells as an alternative to conventional dry-cell batteries. Several companies in Japan have announced and even demonstrated, in some cases, mobile devices operating on fuel cells, which provide power by combining hydrogen with oxygen. Invented in 1839 by British scientist William Grove, the fuel cell generates electricity yet releases only one by-product, a harmless water vapor. The oxygen comes from the air and the hydrogen can be produced in a cell from methanol or other fuel such as natural gas. The main advantage of the fuel cell (aside from the reduced environmental impact) is battery life- from 5 to 10 times that of today’s Nickel Cadmium and Lithium Ion batteries.

Japanese consumer electronics companies, by some estimates, are up to 5 years ahead of their American and European counterparts in the development of fuel cell technology. Virtually every such company in Japan has a prototype. Toshiba, for example, unveiled a prototype laptop battery (the world’s first) in March of 2003 that weighs 900 grams and contains 1.5 oz. of fuel. Later in 2003, Toshiba also introduced the world’s smallest fuel-cell battery for mobile gadgets such as PDAs and phones that holds 25cc of high concentration methanol, providing up to 20 hours of use (6 times current lithium batteries). In June of 2003, NEC demonstrated its own prototype fuel cell battery for a laptop, which it says is scheduled to be commercially available in 2004. By 2005, NEC says its battery will provide 40 hours of power. Not to be outdone, Hitachi announced in December of 2003 that is also working on a methanol fuel cell battery for portable devices.

Fuel cell technology has become so popular in Japan that companies that rely on the battery power in mobile devices to provide service are already incorporating the technology into future plans. NTT Docomo, Japan’s largest mobile operator and pioneer of 3G services announced in June of 2003 that it will launch mobile handsets with fuel cell batteries by 2005, maybe as early as 2004. Users will carry a cigarette lighter-type fuel container to refuel the battery. Replacement fuel would be sold at convenience stores throughout Japan. Mobile carriers such as Docomo are expected to be one of the major proponents of fuel cell technology because of the current limitation with dry batteries when using 3G services. Today’s fully charged mobile phone yields just 70 minutes of 3G videoconferencing. The use of a fuel cell with a 3G phone, on the hand, makes the service realistic.

Once fuel cells gain acceptance in the Japanese market, they are expected to proliferate rapidly to the US and Europe, provided the regulatory and logistic hurdles can be overcome. For example, methanol is a regulated drug and would require law changes to be made widely available. According to research firm ABI, other issues still to be resolved are water management, volumetric energy density and completeness of packing. Yet according to ABI, fuel cells are inevitable: they are expecting 200 million units to be shipped worldwide by 2011.

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This Month's Bridge Builder
Featuring the real voice of IT across the Pacific

February, 2004

Translating what’s interesting about technology
Mr. William Clemens, Technical Translator, Nikon Precision Inc.

Images derived from the word “translator”can vary; some might say he is a person whose foreign language skills are high, or one who is interested in learning foreign languages, and others would say she is an expert in a certain language and culture through her actual living experience. However, if a language can be considered to be tool for communication, the proper definition for a translator can be thought of as “a person who is capable of using a language as a tool.” Regardless of the type of business, as long as it requires a tool to produce something, results of the final product are mainly dependent on quality of that tool. In the case of translators, it is essential for them to have a thorough knowledge of the foreign language. They must have an excellent ability to describe it in their native language. In addition, languages are living objects – they’re constantly changing over time and by environment. In particular translators working in a specific field are required to polish their tools by constantly learning and acquiring knowledge. For this month’s Bridge Builder, we interviewed Mr. William Clemens who works for Nikon Precision Inc. here in the Bay Area as a technical translator.

Q. Please tell us about your background. What was it like working in Japan? Perhaps you can share with our readers some insight into life as an American in Japan.

A. I lived in Japan for more than seven years, all together. The first two years were a challenge, and then I made it my own and had a great time. I went to Japan right after college to teach English in junior high school, on the JET (Japan Exchange & Teaching) Program. I figured I would stay for a year, but ended up staying much longer!

Q. How did you get involved with translation work and how did you develop the technical skills required?

A. I started translating after I had been in Japan for a few years. I saw it as a way to both learn more Japanese and get paid for doing it. At first, it was very difficult to do it, because I didn't have a technical specialty to work from. You have to do a lot of research, a lot of reading, and have a lot of interest in learning about the subject.

Q. As the person known to be "bilingual" inside a Japanese company, do you find that your work extends to other areas such as interpreting and facilitating?

A. I do provide interpretation at meetings and conferences, and numerous people come to me with questions about Japanese terms and documents that they face in their work. I also get lots of questions from Japanese about how to say things in English. I work for an engineering company, so what really matters is engineering results, in terms of recognition within the company. Still, there are many individuals who recognize that I can offer them crucial support.

Q. What are your thoughts on the many Japanese/English translation tools available on the market today (machine translation, Trados, etc.). What works the best for you?

A. We use Trados, and it makes a positive contribution to our productivity. However, it is just one tool, and not a silver bullet. It is still important to have a strong quality control system for ensuring that translations are correct and terminology is consistent - you can't just assume that the technology will take care of it. What is really key for maximizing the utility of a tool like Trados is making sure that documents are created in a consistent way. If one person writes a document in Word, and an engineer writes essentially the same thing in Excel (engineers love to write in Excel), then Trados or any other tool will not save you much work.

Q. What are your aspirations for the future? What is the typical career path for someone such as yourself that is highly skilled in translation and bilingual interaction?

A. I don't think there is any typical career path! Which is a good thing, because translators generally like to follow an independent course anyways.

Thank you Mr. Clemens. Mr.Clemens can be reached via email at wclemens@nikon.com.

Previous Interviews

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IC Card World 2004
March 2-5, 2004, Tokyo Big Sight (Tokyo International Exhibition Center)
A leading exhibition for the Japanese smart card and smart tag industry. Exhibits feature smart cards, card systems, smart tags, applications, and peripheral equipment. This sixth IC CARD WORLD will be a radically expanded event, with an expanded exhibition, the latest information via seminars and workshops, and other programs.

The 3rd International Keitai Forum
March 17-18, 2004,Kyoto Trade Fair Center Pulse Plaza
An exhibition of Asia and the Mobile Phone with the theme Practical Changes Towards A Ubiquitous Society- aimed towards development of the mobile phone industry through collaboration in Japan, China, and other Asian markets.

Wi-Fi Planet Conference & Expo Japan 2004
April 20-21, 2004, Shinjuku NS Building (NS Event Hall)
JupiterMedia/IDG’s exploration of WLAN technologies for the Japanese market, endorsed by the Wi-Fi alliance.

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