Interpretation at the Tokyo War Crimes Tribunal: An Overview and Tojo’s Cross-Examination

2010 ◽  
Vol 22 (1) ◽  
pp. 57-91 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tomie Watanabe
Keyword(s):  
World War Ii ◽  
War Crimes ◽  
Japanese Culture ◽  
Simultaneous Interpretation ◽  
Simultaneous Interpreting ◽  
The Us ◽  
Japanese Residents ◽  
Address System ◽  
War Crimes Tribunals

The Tokyo and the Nuremberg War Crimes Tribunals were two major international military tribunals organized immediately after World War II. Interpretation at the Nuremberg Trial has been described in a number of papers and books and is considered the origin of simultaneous interpretation. However, with regards to the Tokyo Trial, only the inadequate quality of interpretation has been mentioned in history books and political science publications, and this on very few occasions. This paper begins by offering an overview of the interpretation at the Tokyo Trial through interviews and the records of the proceedings and then analyzes a particular instance of interpretation, namely the cross-examination of Hideki Tojo, who was tried for his significant role in WWII as Minister of War and Prime Minister, and who was finally sentenced to death by the court. The Tokyo Trial was the first instance of an IBM Public Address System (simultaneous interpreting equipment) being installed with an interpreter’s booth in Japan. However, we must recall that it was actually consecutive interpretation that was provided through the use of the IBM system and the booth. Therefore the Tokyo Trial is the origin of the use of simultaneous interpretation equipment, but not the origin of simultaneous interpretation skills in Japan. The records of the proceedings show that twenty-seven Japanese served as interpreters. They were selected on the basis of their good command of English but were definitely laymen in terms of interpretational skills. In order to supervise the Japanese interpreters, four monitors were appointed by the Allied Powers. The monitors, who were second generation Japanese residents in the US, worked for ATIS (Allied Power’s Translation and Interpretation Section) during WWII and were then considered to have a good knowledge of the Japanese language, culture and history. Furthermore, the Language Arbitration System was established to address intractable translation issues related to Japanese culture and pre-war systems. The quality of the interpretation, as far as Tojo’s cross-examination is concerned, can be considered fairly good, if we consider that interpreters and monitors worked together as one unit in the interpretation service. The analysis of the interpretation based on the monitors’ interventions in Tojo’s cross-examination indicates that the monitors were concerned with the accuracy of the English interpretation in court and with the understandability of the Japanese interpretation for the accused and worked to ensure a fair trial.

Listeners’ perception of the quality of simultaneous interpreting and perceived dependence on simultaneous interpreting

Interpreting ◽  
2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrew K. F. Cheung
Keyword(s):  
Online Learning ◽  
Hong Kong ◽  
The Other ◽  
Simultaneous Interpretation ◽  
Simultaneous Interpreting ◽  
Source Language ◽  
Hong Kong Cantonese ◽  
Negative Feelings ◽  
English Group

Abstract With the rise of the use of English as a lingua franca (ELF), the number of conference speakers and attendees who use English is increasing. Simultaneous interpreting (SI) into and from English may be provided at conferences to meet the needs of individuals with differing levels of English ability. This paper reports on the findings obtained from two sets of experiments that explored the link between listeners’ perceived dependence on SI and their perceptions of its quality. The first set of experiments was conducted onsite and the second using a remote simultaneous interpreting (RSI) setting. Native Hong Kong Cantonese-speaking participants were divided into two groups: one with Russian as the source language (SL) (Russian group) and the other with English as the SL (English group). Both groups listened to the same prerecorded simultaneous interpretation into Cantonese performed by a non-native interpreter. In the onsite setting, the Russian group perceived the non-native-accented interpretation more favorably than the English group did. This suggests that in onsite settings, perceived dependence on SI may be associated with perceptions of its quality; the greater the perceived dependence on SI, the higher the perceived SI quality. However, no significant differences were found between the two groups in the RSI setting. Factors such as the inaudible SL in the background, similar levels of perceived dependence, negative feelings about online learning and tensions in the state-society relationship may contribute to the similar quality perception ratings across the two RSI groups.

A Universal Procedural Framework for War Crimes Tribunals

2012 ◽  
Vol 14 (2) ◽  
pp. 85-116
Author(s):  
Elijah Oluwatoyin Okebukola
Keyword(s):  
Process Evaluation ◽  
Ad Hoc ◽  
War Crimes ◽  
Model Framework ◽  
Procedural Law ◽  
Substantive Law ◽  
War Crimes Tribunals ◽  
The Relationship

Abstract Notwithstanding the uniformity of war crimes substantive law, applicable procedural rules vary from jurisdiction to jurisdiction. In the case of ad hoc tribunals, the applicable rules may not be known until the tribunal is established. Consequently, there is uncertainty and incoherence in war crimes procedural law. Furthermore, the quality of applicable rules is dependent on the varying experience, knowledge and intentions of the framers of the procedural rules of each tribunal. This article makes the case for a universal procedural framework that can serve as an instrument for evaluating and creating war crimes procedural rules. Amongst other things, such a framework will bring about certainty and coherence in war crimes procedural law. In devising the model framework, the article adopts the Benthamite approach to the relationship between substantive law and procedural law and also relies on some aspects of the process evaluation theories of Robert Summers and Michael Bayles.

The Quality of Justice

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Diane Orentlicher
Keyword(s):  
International Criminal ◽  
International Criminal Tribunal ◽  
War Crimes ◽  
The Other ◽  
Former Yugoslavia ◽  
Other Hand ◽  
The One ◽  
War Crimes Tribunals

The author’s interviews with Bosnians generated a lengthy catalogue of frustrations with the performance of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY). Notably, Bosnian criticisms of the ICTY’s performance are widely echoed by international scholars and practitioners. Yet Bosnians who were interviewed, particularly Bosniaks (Muslims), are overwhelmingly glad the Tribunal was created because it provided justice, however flawed, for atrocious crimes. This chapter elucidates performance-related sources of Bosnians’ satisfaction with the ICTY on the one hand, such as landmark judgments, and disappointments on the other hand, including sentencing patterns and controversial verdicts. The chapter’s findings offer myriad practical lessons for other war crimes tribunals.

scholarly journals The Relationship between Simultaneous Interpreters’ Speed of Speaking in Persian and the Quality of their Interpreting: A Gender Perspective

2016 ◽  
Vol 6 (3) ◽  
pp. 11
Author(s):  
Poorandokht Hasanshahi ◽  
Mohsen Shahrokhi
Keyword(s):  
Native Language ◽  
Male And Female ◽  
Simultaneous Interpretation ◽  
Simultaneous Interpreting ◽  
Proficiency Level ◽  
Significant Difference ◽  
Neurological Processes ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
The Brain

<p>This research sought to investigate the relationship between two complex ways of communicating, i.e., speaking and simultaneous interpreting which manifest complex linguistic and neurological processes undertaken with an incredible speed in the brain. The current study aimed at testing whether there was any significant difference between male and female interpreters’ quality of simultaneous interpretation in relation to their speed of speaking in their native language. To this end, a number of thirty participants were chosen based on their proficiency level out of fifty simultaneous interpreters. To test the research hypotheses both descriptive and inferential statistics were used. The results revealed that there was not any significant difference between male and female interpreters with regard to their quality of simultaneous interpretation. Moreover, with regard to the speed of speaking there was a difference between genders; finally, there was no association between interpreters’ speed of speaking and their quality of interpretation.</p>

Feasibility and Clinical Implications of Remotely Guided Ultrasound Examinations

2020 ◽  
Vol 91 (7) ◽  
pp. 592-596
Author(s):  
Quinn Dufurrena ◽  
Kazi Imran Ullah ◽  
Erin Taub ◽  
Connor Leszczuk ◽  
Sahar Ahmad
Keyword(s):  
Clinical Utility ◽  
Regional Wall Motion ◽  
Subjective Assessment ◽  
Clinical Implications ◽  
Pilot Studies ◽  
Objective Quality ◽  
The Us ◽  
Regional Wall Motion Abnormalities ◽  
Wall Motion Abnormalities

BACKGROUND: Remotely guided ultrasound (US) examinations carried out by nonmedical personnel (novices) have been shown to produce clinically useful examinations, at least in small pilot studies. Comparison of the quality of such exams to those carried out by trained medical professionals is lacking in the literature. This study compared the objective quality and clinical utility of cardiac and pulmonary US examinations carried out by novices and trained physicians.METHODS: Cardiac and pulmonary US examinations were carried out by novices under remote guidance by an US expert and independently by US trained physicians. Exams were blindly evaluated by US experts for both a task-based objective score as well as a subjective assessment of clinical utility.RESULTS: Participating in the study were 16 novices and 9 physicians. Novices took longer to complete the US exams (median 641.5 s vs. 256 s). For the objective component, novices scored higher in exams evaluating for pneumothorax (100% vs. 87.5%). For the subjective component, novices more often obtained clinically useful exams in the assessment of cardiac regional wall motion abnormalities (56.3% vs. 11.1%). No other comparisons yielded statistically significant differences between the two groups. Both groups had generally higher scores for pulmonary examinations compared to cardiac. There was variability in the quality of exams carried out by novices depending on their expert guide.CONCLUSION: Remotely guided novices are able to carry out cardiac and pulmonary US examinations with similar, if not better, technical proficiency and clinical utility as US trained physicians, though they take longer to do so.Dufurrena Q, Ullah KI, Taub E, Leszczuk C, Ahmad S. Feasibility and clinical implications of remotely guided ultrasound examinations. Aerosp Med Hum Perform. 2020; 91(7):592–596.

The Unassailable Self: Freud's Image Among Post-war American Intellectuals

2017 ◽  
Vol 19 (1) ◽  
pp. 55-75 ◽  
Author(s):  
Katherine Jenness
Keyword(s):  
World War Ii ◽  
Cold War ◽  
External Force ◽  
Sigmund Freud ◽  
Human Being ◽  
World War ◽  
The Us ◽  
Post War ◽  
The Cold War ◽  
The Way

This paper explores the way American intellectuals depicted Sigmund Freud during the peak of popularity and prestige of psychoanalysis in the US, roughly the decade and a half following World War II. These intellectuals insisted upon the unassailability of Freud's mind and personality. He was depicted as unsusceptible to any external force or influence, a trait which was thought to account for Freud's admirable comportment as a scientist, colleague and human being. This post-war image of Freud was shaped in part by the Cold War anxiety that modern individuality was imperilled by totalitarian forces, which could only be resisted by the most rugged of selves. It was also shaped by the unique situation of the intellectuals themselves, who were eager to position themselves, like the Freud they imagined, as steadfastly independent and critical thinkers who would, through the very clarity of their thought, lead America to a more robust democracy.

La “neutralidad” chilena en la Segunda Guerra Mundial (1939-1943): Un análisis historiográfico con énfasis en la literatura sobre las relaciones Chile-Japón

2016 ◽  
pp. 95
Author(s):  
Pedro Iacobelli Delpiano
Keyword(s):  
World War Ii ◽  
Vice President ◽  
Second World War ◽  
Power Dynamics ◽  
Diplomatic Relations ◽  
World War ◽  
International History ◽  
Roosevelt Administration ◽  
The Us ◽  
Second World

ResumenLa literatura sobre la historia internacional de Chile durante la Segunda Guerra Mundial ha centrado el debate en torno al juego de presiones ejercidas por los Estados Unidos hacia los gobiernos radicales de Jerónimo Méndez Arancibia y Juan Antonio Ríos Morales para conseguir que Chile se sumara a la política continental contra las fuerzas del Eje. La neutralidad chilena fue interpretada como una actitud traicionera por los estadounidenses y en un triunfo por los países del Eje durante 1941 a 1943. Este artículo introduce el debate y busca presentar las posibilidades historiográficas al incluir a Japón, tanto como actor relevante en la política chilena como receptor de la “neutralidad” chilena en el periodo.Palabras clave: Chile, Japón, Segunda Guerra Mundial, Estados Unidos, historiografíaThe Chilean “Neutrality” in World War II (1939-1943): A historiographical analysis focused on the literature of the diplomatic relations between Chile and JapanAbstractThe literature about Chile´s international history during World War II has heavily laid on the power dynamics between the US and the Chilean radical governments of vice-president (interim) Jerónimo Méndez Arancibia and president Juan Antonio Rios Morales. Since the Roosevelt administration sought to secure the rupture of diplomatic relations between Chile and the Axis powers, Santiago´s refusal to break relations was understood as treason by the US and as a diplomatic success by the Axis powers during 1941-1943.This paper delves into the historiographical possibilities in including Japan, either as a relevant actor in the Chilean politics and as receptor of the newsabout Chile´s neutrality.Keywords: Chile, Japan, Second World War, United States, historiographyA “neutralidade” chilena na segunda guerra mundial(1939-1943): uma análise historiográfica, com ênfase naliteratura sobre as relações Chile-JapãoResumoA literatura sobre a história internacional do Chile durante a Segunda Guerra Mundial tem-se centrado no debate em torno ao jogo de pressões exercidas pelos Estados Unidos aos governos radicais de Jerónimo Méndez Arancibia e Juan Antonio Rios Morales, para conseguir que o Chile pudesse se somar a política continental contra as forças do Eixo. A neutralidade chilena foi interpretada como uma atitude traiçoeira pelos norte-americanos e uma vitória para os países do Eixo durante 1941 a 1943. Este artigo introduz o debate e procura a presentar as possibilidades historiográficas ao incluir ao Japão, tanto como um ator relevante na política chilena como o destinatário da “neutralidade” chilena no período.Palavras-chave: Chile, Japão, Segunda Guerra Mundial, Estados Unidos, historiografia

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