How to translate a Japanese image or scan to English

What a Japanese document looks like in English

Japanese official papers mix three scripts and put the family name first. They also use their own calendar. Check these details in the Word file.

Names

Written in romaji, with the kanji in square brackets the first time, for example Yamada Hanako [山田花子].

Spelling of a name

Romaji has more than one convention. If the person's passport spells the name differently, use the passport spelling everywhere.

Name order

Japanese lists the family name first. Check that the order matches what the receiver expects, and say which part is the surname.

Dates

A date such as 2024年3月8日 becomes 8 March 2024. The day, month and year are unchanged.

Era years

Many records count years by era, such as Reiwa or Heisei. Reiwa 6 is 2024. Check that the era year came through as written, and add the Western year yourself if the reader needs it.

Offices

The name of a city office or ministry is translated, with the Japanese original in brackets.

Seals

A red hanko over printed text is the part OCR reads least reliably. Compare it with the original.

Does it handle vertical text and furigana?

Most certificates and forms use horizontal text, which reads well. Older family registers, letters and some printed notices run in vertical columns from right to left. LoreAI has not been tested on vertical layouts for this page, so check that the sentences in the Word file follow the original column order.

Furigana are small kana printed above kanji to show how to read a name. They can appear as extra text next to the name in the translation. Keep it if it helps the reader with the name, and delete it otherwise. Handwritten entries, such as notes added to a koseki by hand, are read less reliably than print.

How to translate a Japanese photo or PDF with LoreAI

1. Photograph or scan each page. Shoot the page flat and in even light, so small kanji stay sharp. A scan at 300 dpi reads better than a photo.
2. Put a multi-page record into one PDF. One upload is one document, so a family register of several pages goes in as one file.
3. Upload it and choose English. Sign in, upload the JPG, PNG or PDF and set English as the target. LoreAI detects Japanese automatically.
4. Download the Word file. Tables, such as a school transcript or a pay slip, come back as Word tables you can edit.
5. Check names, eras and numbers. Compare every romaji name, era year, address number and registration number with the original.

Koseki tohon and juminhyo for US use

A koseki tohon is a certified copy of the Japanese family register, and a juminhyo is the residence record from the city office. Both list people, dates and addresses in a grid, which LoreAI rebuilds as a Word table.

For an immigrant visa, the US Embassy in Japan asks for an original or certified copy of the koseki that shows the date and place of birth and the parents, with an English translation certified by the translator. It recommends a koseki issued within three months, because a newer one may be requested at the interview[1]. For US passport applications and consular reports of birth, the embassy publishes translation templates, including one for the koseki tohon[2].

USCIS applies the same rule to every Japanese document, a full English translation certified as complete and accurate by a translator who states they are competent in both languages[3].

LoreAI is not a certified translation service and does not sign translations. A person who reads Japanese checks the Word draft against the koseki and signs the certification. The certificate of translation template has the wording.

Questions people ask