Can one make a living being a translator in Japan? -

I m learning Japanese and I would love to live in Japan as a translator for Americans. Would I make good pay?

The short answer is yes. Here is some reality from experience. I have a BA in Japanese, along with 5 others from my graduating class. we spent 4 years studying the language and had most of our upper division studies in translation and interpretation. Only one of us is in the translation business. The one that still works in that industry mostly translates documents in the insurance business. There is more work in document translation than there is in real time verbal translation. Most of the translators that I have worked with were usually Japanese women. Men tend to move on to something else. I suggest to pair your Japanese studies with a practical skill, such as accounting, business, computers, math or science. As for the rest of us, we all went different ways, business, tech industry, academia and health care.

Very good pay. I would reccomend that you learn Japanese and get a job in the judical courts in Japan. They need people to translate for them when Americans are in the court. You can also start your own translating services..bascially you get paid to translate for and follow around buisness people or rich travelers. You can even work at the American Embassy. Thats a really great idea you have! Good luck with the Japanese language!

Yes-you need a speciality though to make a decent living at it. There is not much money in literary or general translation. Legal, financial, automotive, pharmaceutical, etc.-take your pick.

You can make a living almost anywhere in the world as a translator.

It will take years for you to get to the level of a native.