Honyaku Services is a Bangalore translation agency that works only with Japanese and English. For more than 20 years we have helped Indian and Japanese companies understand each other, whether that means a 500-page operation manual, a pharmaceutical patent, a recorded interview with a surgeon, or a meeting between your Bangalore team and a Japanese client.
We do not translate Spanish, German or French on the side. Everything we do is Japanese to English, English to Japanese, and Hindi to and from Japanese when you need it. That focus is why we can take on large projects that other agencies turn down or pass along to someone else.
Why Indian and Japanese companies choose us
Human translators, not machine output. Machine translation is everywhere now, and it is fine for getting the gist of an email. It is not fine for a design specification, a financial statement or a patent, where one wrong term can cost you a deadline or a contract. Our work is done by people who understand the subject, the context and the tone, and who check each other’s work.
Native Japanese translators. A native speaker catches what software and non-native translators miss: idioms, the right level of politeness, and the way a sentence should sound in a business setting. If you are comparing agencies, ask five things: which language pairs they cover, whether the translator knows your field, what quality checks they run, how fast they deliver, and how they protect your files. We are happy to answer all five before you send us anything.
Speed on large projects. We recently delivered 51 documents, 81,763 words in total, in 20 working days, with a large team that kept the terminology consistent from the first file to the last.
Other agencies trust us with their Japanese work. At least 60 translation agencies around the world outsource their Japanese projects to us. If you are an agency that needs a dependable Japanese partner, we can work under your name.
Fair pricing and a free sample. We offer competitive rates and customised packages for large volumes. If you are not sure about our quality, ask for a small free sample before you decide.
Confidentiality. We can sign an NDA before you send us sensitive documents, and every member of the team signs a confidentiality agreement.
We train the next generation. We run training and mentorship for new Japanese translators and interpreters, so the quality of the team does not depend on a few people.
Japanese PDF, scanned and hard copy translation
Japanese content often arrives in the worst possible shape: a locked PDF, a scan of a printed page, a photocopied book. We translate all of it into English, and English into Japanese, and hand it back in a format you can actually edit.
- Large Japanese PDFs. Technical reports, product catalogues, software specifications and compliance documents, translated into English or the other way round, with formatting, diagrams and data kept intact for professional use.
- Scanned and non-editable files. Hard copies, scanned images, AutoCAD drawings and image-based text are not a problem. We combine OCR (optical character recognition) with expert human translation, so the software reads the page and a person makes sure the English is right.
- Printed books and manuals. Japanese books, technical manuals, training guides and academic publications are translated with the original tone, context and formatting preserved, so the English reads the way the author intended.
- PowerPoint presentations. We translate Japanese decks both ways for business meetings, training sessions, seminars and international client presentations, including annual reports, business proposals, investor decks and project updates. Slide text and captions are translated and the layout stays consistent. A well-translated deck can decide whether a Japanese client takes you seriously.
Operation and user manuals. This is where we do some of our most detailed work, across four main industries:
- Automotive: repair manuals, service guides and technical drawings.
- Pharmaceutical and medical devices: clinical manuals, drug usage guides and compliance documents.
- IT and software: installation guides, software documentation and release notes.
- Electronics and manufacturing: equipment manuals, safety instructions and engineering documents.
Large-volume projects, from 500-page PDFs to thousands of pages
Most agencies are happy to translate ten pages. Fewer are comfortable with five hundred. We regularly translate Japanese PDFs of 500 to 1000 pages, and larger sets of manuals, agreements, software documentation and research papers. A Japanese operation manual is harder than it looks: the text is full of technical terms, the layout has to survive the translation, and the diagrams often contain Japanese too. This is how we handle it:
- Consistency. The same term is translated the same way from the first page to the last. Translation memory and CAT tools help us keep terminology and style steady across thousands of pages.
- Layout. We convert the PDF into an editable format such as Word or InDesign and rebuild the pages with our desktop publishing (DTP) skills, so the English manual looks like the original, with tables and graphics in place.
- Images and diagrams. We translate the text inside images, or replace the images where needed.
- Local adaptation. Units of measurement, currency and other local references are adapted to the people who will read the manual.
- Final read-through. Where it matters, native speakers read the finished manual to confirm it is clear and easy to follow.
We agree objectives and delivery dates with you at the start and send regular progress updates, so a big project never goes quiet.
We also do machine translation post-editing (MTPE). If speed and budget matter more on a particular project, our native Japanese post-editors take machine output and turn it into natural, accurate text. If every word counts, we recommend full human translation, and we will tell you honestly which one suits your file.
Urgent Japanese translation
Sometimes the deadline is tomorrow. For urgent jobs we can often deliver the same day or the next day, depending on length and subject. Our team works in real time on defect reports, software development documents, change requests (CRs), and business and technical reports, so your Japanese counterparts are not left waiting. Tell us the deadline and we will say straight away what is realistic.
Files we work with
Send us the file in the format you have. Besides the PDFs, scans and PowerPoint files covered above, we handle:
- Word: formatting is preserved. Good for contracts, agreements and manuals.
- Excel: cells, headers and, where applicable, formulas are translated, and the structure stays intact. Good for financial sheets and price tables.
- Other formats: HTML, XML, RTF, ODT, OpenOffice, Outlook data files and image files.
We deliver by email in Word or the format you need, or as a printed hard copy by courier.
What we translate
Technical and IT documents. Requirement definitions, functional and design specifications, test cases, flowcharts, architecture and deployment documents, API documentation, screen layouts, investigation reports, security and privacy policies and cloud contracts. We work with software companies and Japanese product design teams.
Automobile, electronics and manufacturing. Parts specifications, embedded software documentation, production process manuals, drawings and blueprints, electrical schematics, quality manuals, work instructions, and test and validation reports, for Japanese automobile parts suppliers and electronics makers in India and abroad.
Pharmaceutical and medical. Clinical trial protocols and reports, investigator brochures, regulatory submissions and safety reports, SOPs, validation reports and batch records, patient information leaflets and labels, marketing material, and journal articles. On the medical side: device technical files, instructions for use, hospital SOPs, discharge summaries, and surgeons’ accounts of their experience. Our translators know the terminology and the regulatory expectations in Japan and India.
Patents and R&D. Japanese patent specifications and claims, office actions, prior art and litigation documents, with a strong focus on pharmaceutical and technology fields. We also translate R&D reports and technology transfer documents.
Legal and corporate. Contracts, NDAs, service and master service agreements, shareholder agreements, MoUs, powers of attorney, court judgments, affidavits and company registration documents.
Financial and commercial. Financial statements, balance sheets, audit and annual reports, settlement reports, invoices, purchase orders, letters of credit, insurance policies and claims, medium-term management plans, corporate strategy papers and M&A due diligence material.
Personal, immigration and HR documents. Passports, driving licences, residence cards, bank statements, pay slips, employment and experience letters, offer letters, tax documents, birth, marriage and divorce certificates, family registers, police clearance certificates and resumes.
Websites, software and video. Website localisation from HTML, product UI localisation, Japanese software testing, and Japanese-to-English subtitling.
Business emails and proofreading
Business emails. An email to a Japanese client says more than its words. The wrong level of politeness can make you sound careless or cold. Our native translators handle your emails both ways with the right honorifics, tone and etiquette, for negotiations, customer support, project coordination, supplier correspondence and HR. For regular email work, see our Japanese email translation page.
Proofreading. Already have a translation that does not sound right? Our proofreaders check grammar, style and fluency and follow your glossary or style guide, either on its own or together with translation.
Interpreting, transcription and voiceover
Japanese interpreters in Bangalore. We provide interpreters with industry experience for business meetings, technical discussions, client calls, conferences and teleconferences, on site or remotely, and for short-term assignments in and around Bangalore.
Interviews, negotiations and hiring. Our interpreters know both Japanese and Indian business culture, which matters in negotiations, meetings and interviews. We also interpret online and video interviews, so companies hiring Japanese-speaking professionals can assess candidates in real time.
Japanese transcription. We turn Japanese audio and video recordings into English text, and English into Japanese, in any file format. That includes interviews, meetings, lectures, market research audio, doctors’ recorded interviews and medical dictation.
Japanese voiceover. Our native Japanese speakers also record voiceovers.
Business Japanese training and JLPT preparation
We train corporate teams in Japanese, on site and to the needs of the project. The course covers speaking, listening and reading at a basic to intermediate level, and we track progress as it goes. Our trainers are experienced Japanese language professionals who also translate and interpret, so they teach the vocabulary people actually use at work, along with business etiquette and customs in Japan.
We also prepare students for the Japanese Language Proficiency Test (JLPT). The test has five levels, from N5 (basic) to N1 (the highest), and checks language knowledge, reading and listening.
How a project works
- Review. A Japanese language specialist reads your text and consults a subject specialist if needed.
- Glossary. We build a glossary for your assignment so the same term is always translated the same way.
- Translation. A translator who knows your subject does the work.
- Editing and review. A second person edits and checks the document.
- Final check and delivery. We do a last check and deliver in the format you asked for.
Certified translations
We provide certified translations for bank statements, contracts, academic certificates, immigration documents, government submissions, and legal, corporate and official documents.