Field Trip to Tokyo Public Prosecutor's Office and Trial Sit held by TUFS

February 20, 2018

On Friday the 15 ^th of December, an event was held by the TUFS Center for Multilingual Multicultural Education and Research, consisting of a field trip to the Tokyo District Public Prosecutor's Office, and a sit in on a trial. This event was held in collaboration with the Tokyo District Public Prosecutor's Office as an event for TUFS undergraduate, postgraduate and exchange students. 11 students participated.

First the students visited the Tokyo District Court, where they sat in on to two trials conducted through interpreters, and listened to a commentary while looking at records on the history of modernization of the judiciary in The Ministry of Justice Museum.

After this, the group moved to the Tokyo District Public Prosecutor's Office, and an explanation of the work of prosecutors and investigative interpreters was given by Deputy Director Ueno of the Public Safety Division. Mr. Ueno discussed the responsibilities of the Public Safety Division in dealing with investigations into foreigners, such as how an interpreter must be involved in investigation proceedings, how the demand for interpreters is increasing every year, with 10,000 cases requesting interpreters in the current fiscal year alone, and how interpreting is a 'communication-saving' job that requires speed, fluency, and accuracy. The participating students listened carefully while taking notes, and asked questions such as 'how do you choose an interpreter for languages with many interpreter candidates available?', 'Should a translation reflect the prosecutor's way of speaking?' and 'are cultural differences in reactions taken into account?'

At the end of the trip, students visited an imitation interview room, and learnt about considerations made by interpreters as to not appear on camera during interview recordings.
Based on the Memorandum of Collaborative Cooperation signed between the two institutions, the TUFS Center for Multilingual Multicultural Education and Research will continue relations with the Tokyo District Public Prosecutor's Office.