LISA: Could you outline The Economist Japanese online service offered by EIS?

Rie Takeishi: Primarily, it is a service to distribute full Japanese translation of the main articles in The Economist via the Web.

LISA: What is the current level of subscription? Are most subscribers in Japan?

Rie Takeishi: The service was only launched on the 18th of April this year and is at the very earliest stage of attracting subscribers. However, so far they are distributed nation-wide in Japan. We are also receiving positive comments and enquiries from Japanese nationals living overseas.

LISA: There have apparently been several unsuccessful attempts in the past to publish The Economist in Japanese. Could you tell us how EIS - a relatively young Fukuoka-based firm - managed to win the contract?

Rie Takeishi: The Economist has a world-wide circulation of 800,000 copies and is considered the "must read" among opinion leaders. However for many Japanese, its sophisticated style of English makes it very hard to understand. In this day and age of progressive globalization, we believe that enabling Japanese leaders from various sectors to access The Economist articles in Japanese will be highly valuable.

The Economist Japanese online service is a leading project supported by Fukuoka prefectural government as part of its Gigabit Highway Plans. When we found out about this scheme to create an Information Superhighway infrastructure in the Fukuoka region, we were in negotiations with The Economist, and the local government saw our business as a borderless effort to use cutting-edge communications technology, fitting nicely into the context of their scheme. We decided to go along with this since I am from the area and the nature of our business does not require a base in Tokyo. There are also emerging advantages such as the gradual shift to region-based society. And Fukuoka is Japan's gateway to our Asian neighbours. So we are proud to be based in Fukuoka.

LISA: Newsweek has been publishing its paper-based Japanese version since 1986. By comparison, The Economist has gone straight to the online world in Japanese and thus seems closely focused on the Internet as a mode of delivery. Is this something The Economist wanted originally or did it emerge from discussions? Has there been any suggestion for producing a paper-based version in Japanese?

Rie Takeishi: In our view, providing speed and searchable articles in a digital environment are vital factors for information magazines such as The Economist. That is the reason behind using state of the art Internet technology so information is delivered in a most speedy and efficient manner. This was our proposal and The Economist agreed.

LISA: Conventionally one would have expected to see a translation firm placed in the center of such a contract since it is a matter of producing a new language version of a foreign magazine. Your organization is primarily a content provider with an IT background, so translation is part of your services rather than your core business. How then do you handle translation quality assurance?

Rie Takeishi: As I mentioned earlier, the style of English as used in The Economist is very difficult to understand for most Japanese readers. So, we aim at delivering accurate translation by hiring highly-experienced top-tier specialist translators in Japan, plus editors who have a long track record in the business sector.

LISA: Could you take us through the actual process of how The Economist articles become web-accessible in Japanese for Japanese readers?

Rie Takeishi: We receive the English content via the Net every Thursday. We hold an editorial meeting on Friday evening, and then translation and editing have to be completed by the following Wednesday when the translation is uploaded to the Web.

LISA: How is the translation team structured in terms of geography, make-up and handling tight time constraints?

Rie Takeishi: We have contracted a team of five translators based in Tokyo and the same members translate each time.

LISA: Newsweek, for example, has articles specific to the Japanese version in addition to the original English articles. How about The Economist?

Rie Takeishi: We consider that to be one future possibility, depending on reader feedback.

LISA: The Economist already has its own well-established site (www.economist.com), but the design of the Japanese language site (www.eis-world.com) is quite different. Is this because of the focus on the Japanese readers? Newsweek also has its Japanese site (www.nwj.ne.jp) where one can see a lose link with its English version - for example, the site shows the English cover of the original Newsweek. They seem to be stressing the sameness of the two versions. By comparison, The Economist Japanese online site is highly text-oriented and does not display the original cover of The Economist. Could you explain the key factors behind the design of the Japanese site?

Rie Takeishi: While we aim to increase The Economist's appeal, the site is our own. We designed the site to retain the originality of EIS and also with succinct style of contents as the main focus. We will continue to improve the site by incorporating reader feedback.

LISA: As the i-mode phenomenon suggests, the linkage between the Internet and mobile phones is rapidly being established. Is The Economist Japanese online site planning for mobile access?

Rie Takeishi: Given the volume of the content of The Economist, we are not considering mobile options at this stage.

LISA: Lastly, could you tell us the most challenging aspect of launching The Economist Japanese online service and how you have met (or are planning to meet) these challenges?

Rie Takeishi: The hardest hurdle has been to work out how to produce accurate Japanese translations in a timely manner from highly original and rather difficult Economist content. We are proud to have developed the unique skills to meet this target. Our goal is to apply our knowledge to other mainstream magazines and newspapers and establish ourselves as a creator of an Internet site which is considered to be the "must read" for opinion leaders from a broad range of fields.