Arisa Kajiyama graduated from a Master of Arts in Japanese Interpreting and Translation (MAJIT) in 2015. Since then she has been working as a freelance translator/interpreter. She shares with us her journey over the past two years from a master’s student to interpreting for the Premier of Queensland.
"I started working as a freelance translator during my studies and worked on translations of things such as press releases, marketing materials, internal business documents and presentations by PR professionals.
After a practice run as a volunteer interpreter on a round-the-world cruise organised by a Japanese NGO, I started my career as an interpreter. My past clients include Australian business owners and government officials.
One of my recent jobs was for the Lord Mayor of Brisbane Graham Quirk and his business delegation’s trade mission to Tokyo. I interpreted their presentations and speeches in front of audiences of up to 200 people. I also had an honour of interpreting for the Premier of Queensland Annastacia Palaszczuk during her trade mission to Japan. This trade mission included a historic visit to Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum, where I interpreted the explanation of the exhibition by the museum director.
