2026/6/22

On Thursday, June 18, representatives from the Institute for Education in International Media (ieiMedia), who are currently on sojourn at Kyoto University of Foreign Studies (KUFS), visited Kyoto City Hall for a Q&A session with International Policy Director Kunimitsu Imai.

Four KUFS students registered in the LinguaLink translation and interpretation human resources database accompanied the ieiMedia members, two of whom served as the primary Japanese–English bidirectional interpreters while the additional two acted as backup interpreters and lent support for difficult terminology (interpreter assistants). They acted as interpreters in a press-conference style Q&A setting.

ieiMedia is an international journalism and media educational institution in the United States, and its students posed questions to Mr. Imai about Kyoto as an international city, hoping to learn more about the city's global policy measures and the current state of its traditional culture. Mr. Imai started things off based on the theme "new challenges for Kyoto, a city that intertwines singular attractions with unique philosophies." He discussed the unique characteristics of Kyoto, the fundamental challenges if faces, its basic plan for the next 25 years, and the city's strategic international policies. Students from ieiMedia followed this up with numerous pointed questions on overtourism, support measures for young artisans in traditional crafting fields, urban redevelopment, and other stark issues faced by modern-day Kyoto.

Based on thoroughgoing preparations in advance, the KUFS students provided precise and smooth interpretations for questions and explanations covering highly specialized topics in areas such as tourism challenges, culture, and urban development. Through this valuable firsthand experience in press-conference-style interview interpretation, the student interpreters achieved great personal growth.

Following the Q&A session, Mr. Imai complimented the students on their outstanding interpretation skills and excellent command of English.


【Related Links】
Exploring Tourism-related Issues through the "Overtourism in Japan: Lessons Learned in Kyoto" Panel Discussion

Back