Springer Nature introduces auto-translation service for book authors in Japan
29 November 2021
First publication of the Japanese to English computer-translated open access book by Springer Nature outlines the history and improvement of nutrition in Japan highlighting the power of nutrition and hope for a healthy future
November 29, 2021 Tokyo
Springer Nature has started offering auto-translation from various languages to English to book authors publishing with Springer Nature. This free service enables authors to write in their native language and publish their books in English. The open access (OA) book “Japan Nutrition” is the first book to be translated from Japanese into English using this new auto-translation service. After a pilot which saw a series of books translated from German, Springer Nature has officially rolled out its auto-translation author service to other languages.
Upon submission of the book manuscript by the author, the dedicated auto-translation team at Springer Nature translates the manuscript into English using the SN Translator which is based on the machine translation program “DeepL”. The author will then review the translated manuscript to ensure it represents a correct translation of the work in terms of content and that the quality of the manuscript is aligned with the standards outlined by the company. Authors can check whether the computer-generated translation has led to unintentional misstatements and if necessary, make the appropriate manual corrections to the text. The following languages are currently the focus of the auto-translation to English: Japanese, Chinese, German, Spanish and Portuguese. Manuscripts prepared by auto-translations will be openly communicated in the distribution of the book and will bear a clear note that the manuscript was generated using the “DeepL” program.
Henning Schoenenberger, Director of Books Publishing Solutions at Springer Nature comments, “We are happy to be able to provide this auto-translation service to authors whose native language is other than English. Many of our non-native English authors have decent English language skills, but prefer to write in their native language either because they feel more comfortable or they simply write faster or both. We believe that this auto-translation service can speed up the book publishing process and have the books readily accessible by the global audience.”
Schoenenberger continues, “Translation of books by means of translation software is an evolving project with respective uncertainties. We hope we can continue to work with the community to improve the workflow and expand the languages for auto-translation, for the service to become a reliable tool of choice to many of our authors. We will continue to further develop tools for book publication and on related technologies, and look forward to work with our authors on exciting new projects.”
The new open access auto-translated book, “Japan Nutrition”, outlines the history of nutritional improvement in Japan since the introduction of nutrition sciences to the country nearly 150 years ago. Japan is known for its longevity and many people would perceive this to be due to traditional Japanese food. However, Japan’s longevity has been brought about after the world war and is a result of continuous efforts by nutritionists to improve nutrition in society. Within the chapters, historical episodes are described, including where malnutrition arising from food shortage was improved through the introduction of nutrition policy and nutrition improvement practices. The author of “Japan Nutrition”, Dr. Teiji Nakamura, President of Kanagawa University of Human Services in Japan, is an active nutritionist, publishing many books on nutrition and is the President of the Japan Dietetic Association and President of the Japanese Association of Nutritional Science Education.
Author of “Japan Nutrition”, Dr. Teiji Nakamura, comments: “The current healthy diet of Japanese people did not exist originally, but was developed as a result of improvements in nutrition and dietary habits based on nutritional science. I have been preparing to write ‘Japan Nutrition’, because I believe that it is important to provide a scientific explanation of how Japan has created a healthy diet for humanity suffering from malnutrition. I was especially driven to write this book as experts around the world have recently started to claim that the eradication of malnutrition is fundamental for achieving the SDGs.”
Nakamura continues, “For creating this book, automatic translation was applied to the Japanese manuscript, which was revised by the author and further checked by a native linguist. This process was less burdensome and more convenient than the previous method of translating the manuscript into English by myself from the beginning. Since this book had social, cultural, and psychological language and concepts, the native checker pointed out some parts that needed revision, which I felt were the limitations of the automatic translation. By publishing Japan Nutrition in English, I hope that this will be read by nutrition professionals around the world, because it describes how Japan, which suffered from hunger as much as Asia and Africa do today, was able to create the world's healthiest diet by successfully improving nutrition in a sustainable manner.”
“Solving nutrition issues requires knowledge and skills not only from nutritional science, but also from a wide variety of other disciplines such as agriculture, medicine, home economics, political science, sociology, and environmental studies. I have decided to publish this book as open access so that as many people as possible can read it for free. In particular, I have tried to make it easy to read for students who are planning to study nutrition, and I hope that this book will become a must-read for students,” comments Nakamura.
Nutrition is involved in various ways in our lives and supports almost every field related to medicine. In addition, as the world faces the coronavirus pandemic, it is now known that factors such as malnutrition, obesity, and lifestyle-related diseases are involved in the onset and severity of symptoms related to COVID-19. The world is paying more and more attention to the power of nutrition, with the Tokyo Nutrition for Growth (N4G) Summit 2021 scheduled to be held in December 2021.
About the book
- Book title: Japan Nutrition
- Author: Teiji Nakamura (President, Kanagawa University of Human Services)
- Publication date: November 27, 2021
- URL: https://link.springer.com/book/10.1007/978-981-16-6316-1
This publication is designed mainly for nutrition specialists, nutritionists, nutrition administrators, medical doctors, pharmacists, nurses, physiotherapists, nutrition educators, cookers, nutrition volunteers, health and nutrition food developers, school lunch managers, and etc. Furthermore, students studying nutrition, teachers involved in the education and training of dietitians, and general consumers who are interested in nutrition, diets, and how to improve malnutrition, will find this book useful.
The translation was done with the help of artificial intelligence (machine translation by the service DeepL.com). The present version has been revised technically and linguistically by the author in collaboration with Professor Emeritus Dr. Andrew R. Durkin of Indiana University.
Original book in Japanese
Book title: Japan Nutrition, Daiichi Shuppan, August 20, 2021
About the author
Teiji Nakamura graduated from The University of Tokushima School of Medicine in 1972. He worked as a Clinical Dietitian at Shinjuku Clinic and at St. Marianna University School of Medicine Hospital. He was a research student at the Tokyo University School of Medicine since 1978 and received his Ph.D. in 1985.
From 2003, Nakamura became a professor at Kanagawa University of Human Services. After working as a chairman and dean, he has been the president from 2011 to the present. Also, he is a President of the Japan Dietetic Association and President of the Japanese Association of Nutritional Science Education. In 2013, he became the Chairman of the Study group on a "healthy diet" that supports the longevity of Japanese people by the Ministry of Health, Labor, and Welfare.
About the Nutrition For Growth (N4G) Summit
The Nutrition For Growth (N4G) Summit 2021 will take place on December 7-8, 2021 under the auspices of the government of Japan. The Summit will be preceded by a “springboard” moment, the N4G Kick-Off Event at Goalkeepers Tokyo held on the eve of the opening ceremony of the Olympics. These events will continue the N4G legacy and signal the beginning of a new race toward a healthier, better-nourished future—a race toward a world in which all people, including the most vulnerable, have access to safe, affordable, and nutritious food by 2030.
Report of an expert panel held by Springer Nature in 2021: Building better food systems for nutrition and health
As an official side event of the N4G Summit 2021, Springer Nature has sponsored a free virtual two-day event, “Hungry for change: food systems for nutrition and health” on November 9-10, 2021. The event has involved speakers from worldwide including Dr. Teiji Nakamura, as well as Sir Philip Campbell, Editor-in-Chief of Springer Nature and Dr. Anne Mullen, Chief Editor of Nature Food. The recordings of the event can be viewed on demand from the event website.
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About DeepL
DeepL is a German company that has set itself the goal of eliminating language barriers worldwide through the use of artificial intelligence. Since 2017, it has provided DeepL Translator, a machine translation system that, according to blind tests, achieves the world's best translation quality, on www.DeepL.com. It also provides professional products for companies, organizations, and translators. Over half a billion people have used DeepL's services to date.
The exceptional quality of DeepL's machine translation services is based on proprietary improvements that the team has achieved in neural network mathematics and methodology.
The Japanese translation service has been provided by DeepL since March 2020.
For more information about DeepL, please see their website at https://www.deepl.com/en/press.html
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Springer Nature
Corporate Affairs
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E-mail: ayako.miyazaki@springernature.com
