What does fluent mean to you?

[Samurai_Jerk]

I'll have to go with Kanchou. People never stop saying your nihongo is jouzu. I work with a guy that is fluent enough to cold call in Japanese and people think he's a local till he says his name. But once they hear it they can't stop going on about how great his Japanese is.

[ttjereth]

[kusai Jijii]

I work with a guy that is fluent enough to cold call in Japanese

SJ,
please, oh for fucks sake PLEASE dont tell me you are a FUCKING HEADHUNTER!:smashpc:

[Iraira]

[Jack]

[Kanchou]

Better at E>J than J>E is fairly rare for a native English speaker. In most cases you are generally translating or interpreting into your native language, and (imo anyway) that generally tends to be simpler for most people as well.

Translation ability is definitely something separate and in addition to fluency, and I'd have to say interpretation is yet another degree above and away from even translation. Interpreters make so much money that it's bordering on the ridiculous, but after doing it for 3 years my desire to continue to do it is non-existant and I really think they deserve the money.

I once read somewhere that interpreting has the second highest burn-out rate of all professions, with accounting or some such being first. I should try to find that article again somewhere.

If you take the JLPT level 2, I'd stop there. It's such a hassle and expense to take the test in Japan (unless you happen to live next to one of the testing centers) and honestly I've never had a problem with writing JLPT Level 1 Proficiency and then proving it via an interview rather than having the stupid little postcard certificate. I know people who had the certificate and have been turned down for jobs at the interview stage however. If you actually have the ability then I don't think the JLPT is terribly important.

The reason I'm better at E>J is probably because English is an easier language to translate, in general, than Japanese... I can form Japanese in my head all day when it comes to English. But even if I kind of understand what they're saying in J-talk, that doesn't mean I can put it into English that will make sense, or even be correct (without time to think about it). That, and sometimes I don't know WTF my boss is talking about.


Also, where did you work as an interpreter/translator? I'm looking to find a place to do the same job as now, for at least twice the money (I make $10 an hour now... yeah, that's not a typo), and full-time hours, and in Japan (ideally). Any ideas as to where I can find a basically full-time job doing interp/trans for at least 2000 an hour?

From what I understand, simultaneous interpreters can make between 300 to 800 (dollars) a day, but that's not exactly a fixed salary... and I'm not a simultaneous interpreter (which takes special equipment and training anyway, I believe) what can a staff INT/TRL expect to make?

It seems like most of the listings want Native Japanese (which I can understand somewhat...)...and I'm not in Japan and don't have a visa so that makes finding work here somewhat harder.

I've applied for work as a freelance at-home translator, but the people at that company apparently can't review a translation within a month... which makes me wonder if they're legit. (the translation was BACCHIRI if I must say so myself).


Finally, I think JPLT can be somewhat important, at least when it comes to being able to prove you've got the skills before you even get the interview... or at least as a benchmark for yourself for what they're looking for.

[Iraira]

I'm looking to find a place to do the same job as now, for at least twice the money (I make $10 an hour now... yeah, that's not a typo), and full-time hours, and in Japan (ideally). Any ideas as to where I can find a basically full-time job doing interp/trans for at least 2000 an hour?

$10/hr?!?!?!? WTF? The stoner with the 58 nose rings working at Hot Topic makes that much.
If your translations are spot-on, try to find something professional (translations for law offices, patents, etc), as those pay more.

[Kanchou]

I started working here (literally here..at this very moment) since before I graduated and before I had any real experience doing the job (hence the low pay), but when talk of a raise came up, they suddenly decided my interpretation wasn't up to snuff (because I occasionally don't know WTF my boss is talking about).

I've been here for about 14 months... and they don't even want me more than three days a week (plus I want to go back to Japan), hence my need for more substantial employment.

I'd be lost without electronic documents and online dictionaries, though.

[Iraira]

I started working here (literally here..at this very moment) since before I graduated and before I had any real experience doing the job (hence the low pay), but when talk of a raise came up, they suddenly decided my interpretation wasn't up to snuff (because I occasionally don't know WTF my boss is talking about).

I've been here for about 14 months... and they don't even want me more than three days a week (plus I want to go back to Japan), hence my need for more substantial employment.

I'd be lost without electronic documents and online dictionaries, though.

No one knows what their bosses are actually talking about, unless the boss is buying after work.

[ttjereth]

The reason I'm better at E>J is probably because English is an easier language to translate, in general, than Japanese... I can form Japanese in my head all day when it comes to English. But even if I kind of understand what they're saying in J-talk, that doesn't mean I can put it into English that will make sense, or even be correct (without time to think about it). That, and sometimes I don't know WTF my boss is talking about.


Also, where did you work as an interpreter/translator? I'm looking to find a place to do the same job as now, for at least twice the money (I make $10 an hour now... yeah, that's not a typo), and full-time hours, and in Japan (ideally). Any ideas as to where I can find a basically full-time job doing interp/trans for at least 2000 an hour?

From what I understand, simultaneous interpreters can make between 300 to 800 (dollars) a day, but that's not exactly a fixed salary... and I'm not a simultaneous interpreter (which takes special equipment and training anyway, I believe) what can a staff INT/TRL expect to make?

It seems like most of the listings want Native Japanese (which I can understand somewhat...)...and I'm not in Japan and don't have a visa so that makes finding work here somewhat harder.

I've applied for work as a freelance at-home translator, but the people at that company apparently can't review a translation within a month... which makes me wonder if they're legit. (the translation was BACCHIRI if I must say so myself).


Finally, I think JPLT can be somewhat important, at least when it comes to being able to prove you've got the skills before you even get the interview... or at least as a benchmark for yourself for what they're looking for.

I work/worked freelance, for a large foreign financial company and for a city office. The city office job isn't open and jobs as a staff interpreter within a company are few and far between. You can work freelance and through agencies (alot of translation agencies also handle interpreters) and make a lot more than $10 an hour... seriously, you are being raped. Everyone I know still doing interpretation makes roughly $300-500 US per HALF day (consisting of up to 5 hours) and $200 per hour after that.

I'm not sure what distinction you are making with "simultaneous interpretation", since all those fancy classifiers seem to differ by individual opinion, but most people I know essentially interpret after the speaker has spoken a line or two. If you are talking about interpreting as the speaker talks using a mic that only people in certain areas/rooms or with headsets can hear, that is generally done through an agency or company of some sort since the equipment can be ridiculously expensive.

What is your honest Japanese level? You haven't taken level 2 yet, but are you at least at level 2 proficiency (can you breeze through the test)?

If you aren't capable of interpreting in some insane situations (example with the financial company I worked at, being called to the office at 3 in the morning to interpret a bad quality audio conference call with the New York, Delhi and Singapore offices and being able to understand the sometimes harsh accents of the speakers from those place over the shitty speaker phone) than you aren't going to be able to earn big money. If you work through an agency and fuck up a job they send you on, they won't ever use you again. This obviously goes for direct clients as well, and for staff positions you won't even get a foot in the door if you can't interpret well enough to get through the interview.

Staff positions will vary greatly depending on where you work, but you're generally not going to be looking at more than a max of say $60,000 a year salary, and you are generally going to have other duties (not too many situations require a full-time interpreter, and those that do generally also require some other very specialized knowledge, like engineering).

For translation, if the agency is going to take a month to review your trial, it generally means they aren't in need of any more translators at the moment. They will eventually get around to it, and put you on their list, then when they can't get ahold of any of their regulars for a job they'll contact you.

On top of that this isn't the busiest season at the moment, I've had the better part of this month free myself. Things should start to pick up in March with the end of the fiscal year. Summer always seems to be the absolute busiest season for me, with at least June through early August being a practically non-stop work, eat, sleep, repeat for 3 months situation, and I make better than half my yearly income in those 3 months.

If you're worried about whether the agency is legit/straight (and there are plenty of them that will jerk you around and screw you over, not in the good ways either) then PM me the name of the agency and I'll let you know if myself or any aquantainces have worked with/heard anything about them or if they are on any of the black lists I know of (for non-payment and such).

If you're looking to work through agencies though, apply to a ton of them, seriously as many as you have time to do. I don't know any freelancer who only works with one agency. I have 7 regulars and a handful of sporatic agency clients myself.

[ttjereth]

$10/hr?!?!?!? WTF? The stoner with the 58 nose rings working at Hot Topic makes that much.
If your translations are spot-on, try to find something professional (translations for law offices, patents, etc), as those pay more.

Patent translation pays a ridiculous amount of money but although a lot of crap translators and translations get through in Japan, you'd better be really goddamn capable to do patent translation.

Legal (other than like contracts and simple things) also pays well, but is still pretty damn difficult.

In my experience the best paying field, which unbeleivably most agencies are happy to let translators from outside the field handle, is medical and pharmaceutical related translations.

[ttjereth]

I started working here (literally here..at this very moment) since before I graduated and before I had any real experience doing the job (hence the low pay), but when talk of a raise came up, they suddenly decided my interpretation wasn't up to snuff (because I occasionally don't know WTF my boss is talking about).

I've been here for about 14 months... and they don't even want me more than three days a week (plus I want to go back to Japan), hence my need for more substantial employment.

I'd be lost without electronic documents and online dictionaries, though.

You're outside of Japan then? If so, half the crap I posted is irrelevant, and you'll have a hard time getting a lot of Japanese comapnies and agencies to give you work outside of Japan. They like to be able to call you up (without paying international charges and during normal Japan time working hours) to have you accept work immediately, respond to any problems etc., meet deadlines, and in order to avoid paying out ridiculous amounts of money in bank transfer fees as well as avoid complications with taxes.

[Kanchou]

Well, is there a way to get a visa as a freelancer in order to work in Japan?

[ttjereth]

Well, is there a way to get a visa as a freelancer in order to work in Japan?

Get married to a Japanese, be adopted, etc. There are tons of threads on visas here, do searches for "visa", "work visa" and "self sponsoring".

I assumed (silly me) that you were in Japan when I posted my first answer. I'm not sure about getting a visa as a freelancer because by the time I went freelance I was married and then I got permanent residence, so I have no clue whether or not it's possible.

[Kanchou]

I'm afraid none of my Japanese female friends are that into me...

lol

And I can't see getting adopted...

OTOH, if *some* company is willing to sponsor you for an "approved activity," you can get a visa, correct?

(like a translation firm, or I could always get an English job and jump ship...)

[Iraira]

Patent translation pays a ridiculous amount of money but although a lot of crap translators and translations get through in Japan, you'd better be really goddamn capable to do patent translation.

Legal (other than like contracts and simple things) also pays well, but is still pretty damn difficult.

In my experience the best paying field, which unbeleivably most agencies are happy to let translators from outside the field handle, is medical and pharmaceutical related translations.

Medical stuff kinda makes me nervous. I don't wanna make a mistake and someone dies an agonzing death on the operating table without me being there to videotape it. But, compared to translation for "non-business" fields, these are the ones that pay the bills.
Heard that the ship all the manga and cultural translation stuff off to the Phillipines where it is partially translated dirt cheap, then the interested parties from other countries can buy it, complete the translations on their own, basically filling in the blanks to fit their culture better than if it was 100% translated in Japan for, say Germany. (I just woke up, so I'm not sure if I'm making any sense at all....another reason for me to stay away from the medical translation, ne).

[Kanchou]

If I can't make a living translating manga/anime... MY LIFE IS MEANINGLESS

Also, I wouldn't touch medical stuff without being fully insured (or bonded, or whatever). Especially considering a lot of the dictionaries I use are full of submissions by random internet people (including myself).

I wonder if I can bribe one of the directors of the Japanese parent company of the place I work for into sponsoring me? LOL (it's the least they can do considering what I'm getting paid)

[Charles]

If I can't make a living translating manga/anime... MY LIFE IS MEANINGLESS

Translation: "If I make my living translating manga/anime... MY LIFE IS MEANINGLESS."

[Kanchou]

I was kidding

Although I certainly wouldn't mind making a living off of it, since besides being the reason and means that I learned Japanese in the first place, at least I'd have a job that I enjoy (although people say making a job out of a hobby always ruins the hobby for you). And even then it takes several tries, except for the basic stuff. OTOH, a lot of the time they don't know what know what each other mean in the first place, AND it's a somewhat specialized field (although that's not really an excuse for me at this point).

I apologize, I didn't see your big post on Page 4 until just now.

60,000 a year for a staff position? DAMN.

How many agencies do you think I'd have to work for to have enough freelance to work to make 30? or 40? (assuming I can get a visa)

Microsoft was apparently hiring people for part-time work at 2000 an hour, which is basically $40,000 a year, and that's only if you get to work full time.


I would have to say I probably wouldn't pay MYSELF 60,000 a year as a translator, since a lot of times I have to get the Japanese side to seriously dumb down what they're saying (or rather, simplify it severely, or change the wording so it makes sense in English).

E>J basically goes without a hitch, except people STILL don't get that they need to speak LESS than a paragraph each time (even when I tell them repeatedly). Either that or they (the Japanese) bitch when I can't translate the conversation of two native English speakers (who aren't going to stop for me to translate when they're talking amongst themselves). Or my boss bitches because I only translate the last part because that's the only part I can remember (which is a problem with the limits of human short-term memory more so than my lack of ability).

When I was in Japan (about three years ago), I remember I was on the "pass line" for Level 3 type questions, and somewhere below the failing line for Level 2, but I don't think it would be an exaggeration to say that my Japanese is 300% or more what when I left (especially reading/writing, and general vocab).

Given that I've been "studying" the language from about 2000 to 2004 (not in a classroom), study abroad from 2004 to 2005, and translating from late 2006 to now (and always speaking J-talk with J-people who are here, since 2005), I'd say I'm above average... my former Japanese professor (of economics, not Japanese) says I'm 例外, so I guess I'm special

[Greji]

I'm afraid none of my Japanese female friends are that into me...

I got a high mileage one I can give you for free, or maybe a couple of draft choices...

[Kanchou]

Can I get one still in the wrapper?

If not mint condition, gently used?

[Greji]

Can I get one still in the wrapper?

If not mint condition, gently used?

Well, that leaves mine out!

[ttjereth]

Medical stuff kinda makes me nervous. I don't wanna make a mistake and someone dies an agonzing death on the operating table without me being there to videotape it. But, compared to translation for "non-business" fields, these are the ones that pay the bills.
Heard that the ship all the manga and cultural translation stuff off to the Phillipines where it is partially translated dirt cheap, then the interested parties from other countries can buy it, complete the translations on their own, basically filling in the blanks to fit their culture better than if it was 100% translated in Japan for, say Germany. (I just woke up, so I'm not sure if I'm making any sense at all....another reason for me to stay away from the medical translation, ne).

I stay away from medical translations for similar reasons (I know I'm not qualified) and I just really don't like doing them. I spend more time looking up bizarre bacteria and pharmaceutical names than doing the actual translations...

Most manga I know is done in whatever country it is being aimed at. Usually the Japanese rights holder leases the overseas rights (or in some cases just the rights for one particular country) to a foreign company, and they handle all the translation themselve. Of course there are now a few Japanese subsidiaries where they translate and publish the parent company's products themselves. I've never heard of stuff being shipped to the Phillipines, but every company seems to have a completely different way of doing things, so who knows. It would kind of surprise me to find that they actually gave enough of a shit if translations "fit their culture better than if it was 100% translated in Japan". If that was a major concern, the majority of the Japanese->English market wouldn't be held by Japanese translators with extraordinarily low rates...

I do console (X-Box, PS3, DS, etc.) games and have done a few movies and anime (generally only preliminary scripts which are then rewritten overseas by writers who don't speak Japanese), so not that everything gets shipped off overseas anyway.

[ttjereth]

Translation: "If I make my living translating manga/anime... MY LIFE IS MEANINGLESS."

Not only meaningless but poor. My experience has always been the more interesting/fun a translation is the lower it pays, the more boring/monotanous/tedious it is the more it pays.

Game translation, which can be quite fun, pays the least out of any of the work I do, which is why most of my life is instead spent translating consumer electronics manuals and the like...

[Kanchou]

Yeah, but if you're freelance... work is work. And (relatively) enjoyable work is... well, at least somewhat enjoyable.

I've translated at least 2-3 episodes of anime already, so I guess I can say I have 3 years experience

Still, how many different places would you have to be freelancing for in order to make at the very least the equivalent of an entry-level full-time graduate job? ($30K)

I figure you'd need to find at least one "sugar daddy" who pays well and has a lot of work for you...

I wouldn't mind being doing translation during overnight business trips, either... (in Japan at least)


And you can get a visa if you can convince any company to sponsor you, right? I think I might need to seriously ask the CEO at my job if he can pull some strings for me... The purpose needs to at least resemble the actual job you're going to be looking for, right?

[ttjereth]

[ttjereth]

Yeah, but if you're freelance... work is work. And (relatively) enjoyable work is... well, at least somewhat enjoyable.

I've translated at least 2-3 episodes of anime already, so I guess I can say I have 3 years experience

Still, how many different places would you have to be freelancing for in order to make at the very least the equivalent of an entry-level full-time graduate job? ($30K)

I figure you'd need to find at least one "sugar daddy" who pays well and has a lot of work for you...

There is no answer to the "how many places..." question. It completely depends on your situation. Translation rates vary from 1 yen per Japanese character all the way up to over 100yen per character. I know translators who only make enough to do it part time and I know guys making over $10,000 a month. Every situation is different. If you find one great company with great rates and they are happy enough with you, and you are able to respond to their every whim and take on every job they offer you, then you could make that much with one company, but you never know, tommorow they might find someone who they like just as much as you and who is willing to take a rate 1 yen less than you and then you never hear from them again. Ideally you want offers coming in from as many places as you can get in order to always have options.

I wouldn't mind being doing translation during overnight business trips, either... (in Japan at least)

Translation is dealine work, generally, when you have a job you are locked in your house/apartment cut off from the outside world until it is done. You can end up with more overall freetime than doing a regular 9-5, but you pay for that in that the free time might be in a irregular blocks of a couple of hours here and there. Your schedule isn't set, and there will be times when you will have to work literally for months straight without a day off. You can't just say "I want to make 30,000 a year" and then turn down all work after you reach that amount so you can have tons of vacation time. You have a commitment and responsibility to the companies you work with, and if you keep turning down job offers from them, you'll soon find that they will stop sending them.

I went to bed at 5am this morning after finishing a job, and then woke up at 12:30 to start another (I take little 10 minute breaks here and there to keep myself from going stir crazy, I end up on here and such during those breaks).

And you can get a visa if you can convince any company to sponsor you, right? I think I might need to seriously ask the CEO at my job if he can pull some strings for me... The purpose needs to at least resemble the actual job you're going to be looking for, right?

Again, I don't really know much about the visas. I do know that a company I used work for sponsored one freelancer's visa, but I also know that put him on a very effective leash, forcing him to accept whatever ridiculously low rates and short deadlines the company proposed lest they decide they didn't want to work with him anymore and stop sponsoring his visa. I'm not sure how common or easy it is to find companies who will do that however.

If you're still unexperienced at working in the Japanese translation industry, I'd suggest trying to find an in-house job at a translation agency here first for a year or so to learn the ropes. It doesn't pay much and the hours suck, but you'd be way better prepared in the long run.

[Kanchou]

[Kanchou]

There is no answer to the "how many places..." question. It completely depends on your situation. Translation rates vary from 1 yen per Japanese character all the way up to over 100yen per character. I know translators who only make enough to do it part time and I know guys making over $10,000 a month. Every situation is different. If you find one great company with great rates and they are happy enough with you, and you are able to respond to their every whim and take on every job they offer you, then you could make that much with one company, but you never know, tommorow they might find someone who they like just as much as you and who is willing to take a rate 1 yen less than you and then you never hear from them again. Ideally you want offers coming in from as many places as you can get in order to always have options.

100 yen per character, 300 character per hour, 8 hours a day, 3 days a week... 30 weeks a year.... $216,000 a year!!! SMORGUFLEERF?@L???!

Translation is dealine work, generally, when you have a job you are locked in your house/apartment cut off from the outside world until it is done. You can end up with more overall freetime than doing a regular 9-5, but you pay for that in that the free time might be in a irregular blocks of a couple of hours here and there. Your schedule isn't set, and there will be times when you will have to work literally for months straight without a day off. You can't just say "I want to make 30,000 a year" and then turn down all work after you reach that amount so you can have tons of vacation time. You have a commitment and responsibility to the companies you work with, and if you keep turning down job offers from them, you'll soon find that they will stop sending them.

I don't mean "aim for 30K and cut them off," I simply mean as a baseline for a minimum target income.

I went to bed at 5am this morning after finishing a job, and then woke up at 12:30 to start another (I take little 10 minute breaks here and there to keep myself from going stir crazy, I end up on here and such during those breaks).

That's not an entirely alien concept to me... I spend enough time looking on the internet for things I can't afford to begin anyway, so I could put some of that time to use.

Again, I don't really know much about the visas. I do know that a company I used work for sponsored one freelancer's visa, but I also know that put him on a very effective leash, forcing him to accept whatever ridiculously low rates and short deadlines the company proposed lest they decide they didn't want to work with him anymore and stop sponsoring his visa. I'm not sure how common or easy it is to find companies who will do that however.

If you're still unexperienced at working in the Japanese translation industry, I'd suggest trying to find an in-house job at a translation agency here first for a year or so to learn the ropes. It doesn't pay much and the hours suck, but you'd be way better prepared in the long run.

Well, if you know of at least one freelancer who got sponsored, that is useful information for me.

Thanks for all the info and insights.

[ttjereth]

Also, is it not humanly impossible for someone to translate more than say, 10 seconds of dialog at a time? I mean, the majority of the time the person who just said it couldn't repeat what they just said verbatim to begin with. Unless one of you have extremely acute memory.

Didn't you just say that you typically translate about two sentences at a time? (not run-ons I take it?)

Note your own clarifier there, "typically", "generally", "usually". There are always going to be people who ramble on for minutes at a time and then expect you to translate everything they just said. It's not impossible to translate more than 10 seconds of dialog at a time, and it's a required skill if you want to be a professional interpreter. You don't need to repeat what they said verbatim in the target language, you need to convey the information they want to convey, you don't need to translate every "um", "er", "huh" etc. Even if the speaker doesn't understand a single word of the target language, they are going to understand something is missing if they speak for 3 minutes and you translate for 5 seconds. You can always try to make them understand beforehand that they should insert frequent pauses for the translation, but when you're giving a speech or having a meeting or whatever in your native language, you often "go with the flow" and either forget to insert those pauses for the interpreter, or simply don't in order to avoid losing your own train of thought. It's also generally not a good idea to make requests/demands of your clients.

When I say dumb down, I mean that I have to get them explain it in a way that I can fully understand what they're trying to say, and then say it in a way that makes sense in English. I avoid changing what they're saying, although I occasionally have to think about what they MIGHT be asking, confirm it with them, and then give the American side a very neat, concise interpretation that makes a whole lot more sense. I'm correct a good majority of the time, but I can't just make it up.

I understand what you mean by "dumb down", but the fact of the matter is, if you can't understand the vast majority of what the speaker is saying without having them modify it at all, then you are not ready to be a freelance interpreter. Most freelance jobs are conference type situations, where you will not be able to ask the speaker for clarification, they talk, you interprete, and that is your entire interaction with them.

OTOH, going from English to Japanese is really, really easy (for me). This may be a problem with my ability at understanding Japanese aimed at native speakers... and among coworkers, mind you. But I have very few problems when they say what they mean, in a direct and concise manner. Also, half of the problem is that I simply don't know what they're talking about (in a general way), and Japanese is a very vague language when you don't have all the details.

Half of the problems come not from language issues, but the issue that even though I interpret somewhat plainly, the way the American and Japanese managers think is so different in so many ways that sometimes I have to wonder 「]

This is common in translation and interpretation, translation is easier because you can ask for clarification, or put in a temporary translation with a translator's note saying "I read this as BLAH, is this correct, if not please explain", but interpretation does not have that leeway, that's why interpreters make lots more money than translators, have less hair and a higher rate of ulcers

99% of the time seems unrealistically high, except for someone who is extremely experienced and very highly paid. On the first listen, at least... I would expect anyone to at least eventually interpret 99% of the phrases spoken.

It's not unrealistically high, and again sorry if this sounds harsh, but if you can't handle that, then your expectations are the only thing that are unrealistically high. You cannot make mistakes or ask for clarification in most professional situations. There are plenty of interpreters who don't and won't make those mistakes and if you do, they'll just higher those other interpreters over you in the future. When you are going on an interpreting job, it's nice if the client gives you background information on the topic and such, but the onus is on YOU to do the research and make sure you have the information you need (even if it's just requesting it from the client beforehand) and know the relevant vocabulary and phrases. Most clients don't understand what it is to translate or interpret and they thing of it as some sort of magic power where the person just automatically changes what they said, word for word (basically with no "interpretation" per se) into another language and don't realize what kinds of problems translators and interpreters face. In their language there is nothing wrong with the content, so why would the translator/interpreter need more info? It's fine to have no obvious subject/object in Japanese, just translate it that way into English! etc.