KIRAMEKI

The CEO & Representative DirectorWilliam A. Lise

Lise comes from an engineering background, has real-world industrial and management experience, and has decades of experience in providing translation and interpreting for a wide spectrum of clients on four continents.

After his first encounter with Japan and the Japanese language decades ago, Lise returned to the US, obtained a degree in electrical engineering, and joined what was then Western Electric, working in that company's millimeter waveguide and fiber optics laboratories.

Lise subsequently established and managed the Japan branch of a major US manufacturer of electronic test and measurement products.

In the late 1970s, he pivoted to translation as a full-time activity. Almost all of his translation work has been technical and other commercial/industrial or legal translation.

Lise was a founding member and multi-term president of Japan Association of Translators and established the forerunner of Kirameki Translations, Inc., which continues to provide Japanese-to-English translation for industrial and legal matters.

There are many paths people follow to become a language professional. Lise's path was a long and winding one.

Exemplary Publications and Presentations

Chapter 5 of Morita, Y. ed. Japanese Patent Translation Handbook. Alexandria: American Translators Association, 1997. Original | Revised

"Getting from Tier Two to Tier One in Japanese-English Translation"
This was Lise's presentation at the Thirtieth International Japanese/English Translation Conference (IJET-30) held in Cairns, Queensland, June 29-30, 2019. Japan Association of Translators. Original

"Japanese-to-English Patent Translation" Conference Proceedings, Nineteenth International Japanese/English Translation Conference (IJET-19) held in Okinawa, Japan, April 12-13, 2008. Japan Association of Translators. Original

"Japanese/English Deposition Interpreting" 16th International Japanese-English Translation Conference (IJET-16), held in Chicago, June 4-5, 2005. Japan Association of Translators. Original

Translation Career Presentations at the behest of the Council of Local Authorities for International Relations (CLAIR) for participants in their JET Programme considering a career in translation.

Panel discussion (How Can a Translator Earn More Money) Proceedings of the Ninth International Japanese/English Translation Conference (IJET-9), held in Yokohama, Japan, May 23-24, 1998. Japan Association of Translators.

"Symbols, Abbreviations and Layout Issues in JA-EN Translation"
Eighth International Conference on Japanese/English Translation and Interpreting (IJET8) held in Sheffield, UK, June 19-21, 1997. Japan Association of Translators. Original

"Japanese-English Translation of Patent Documents for Filing in the US"
Seventh International Japanese/English Translation Conference Proceedings (IJET-7) held in Yokohama, Japan, May 18-19, 1996. Japan Association of Translators. Original

"An Introduction to Japanese-English Deposition Interpreting"
6th International Japanese-English Translation Conference (IJET-6) held in Vancouver, Canada May 26, 1995. Japan Association of Translators.

"An Investigation of Terminology and Syntax in Japanese and US Patents and the Implications for the Patent Translator"
Proceedings of the Fifth International Japanese-English Translation Conference (IJET-5) held in Urayasu, Chiba, Japan, May 28-29, 1994. Japan Association of Translators. Original

Numerous other translation articles since 1985 in the JAT Bulletin, the former official monthly publication of the Japan Association of Translators.