Foreign tourists get high-tech help in Tokyo's giant train station
Listen to Story (Singaporean accent)
Since Japan changed its Covid-19 pandemic rules in April this year, international tourism has increased a lot.
To help confused foreign tourists find their way around busy train stations, Seibu Railway is testing a new translation window. The device, called VoiceBiz, lets people talk to a station attendant through a microphone. The words are translated into Japanese and 11 other languages on a clear window between them.
Kevin Khani, a German tourist, found the window helpful. He said the translations were accurate and he felt safe because he knew there was a human on the other side of the clear screen.
Seibu Railway installed the window at its Seibu-Shinjuku station for a three-month trial. About 135,000 people pass through the station every day, including many tourists.
Ayano Yajima, a sales and marketing supervisor at Seibu Railway, said the goal of the window is to improve communication between people who speak different languages.
The device was also tested at Kansai International Airport in Osaka earlier this year. Toppan, the company that developed VoiceBiz, wants to sell it to businesses and government offices in Japan.
Shinjuku is a good place to test the translation window because it has many train lines and a big bus station. It’s also the busiest train station in the world.
Isabelle and Marc Rigaud, French tourists, used the translation window to try to find their way from one train line to another train line.
"It's very Japan," Isabelle said.
Vocabulary19 words
- Pandemic
- when a disease or sickness goes all over the country or world
- Tourism
- traveling for recreation/fun; the business of providing services like transport, places to stay, or entertainment for people who are on holiday
- Confused
- feeling unsure or not understanding something clearly; Not knowing what to do or where to go
- Foreign
- from another country; something from outside of your country; belonging or connected to a country that is not your own
- Find your way
- To know how to get to a place; solving a problem
- Test
- to do something to learn if it is safe, works correctly, etc.; try out
- Translation
- changing words or sentences from one language to another language
- Device
- electronic equipment like watch, camera, phone, etc.
- Attendant
- A person who helps other people;
- Accurate
- Correct; exact
- Install
- to put something in place so that it is ready to use; to set up for use or service
- Trial
- a test; an experiment; the process or action of trying something
- Pass through
- to go from one side to the other, like passing through a door to enter a room
- Include
- to contain; incorporate; to be part of; to have something smaller as a part of it;
- Supervisor
- a person who manages and oversees the work of others; manager
- Goal
- aim or purpose; objective; target; something you want to achieve or complete
- Improve
- to make something better
- Develop
- to make into something more advanced; to improve; to grow something to become better
- Government
- the group of people who have the authority to make and enforce laws and manage a country or region; the people/group that manage and operate a country
Fill-in-the-blank listening
Play the audio again and fill in the missing words as you listen.
Since Japan changed its Covid-19 _____ rules in April this year, international tourism has increased a lot.
To help confused foreign tourists find their way around busy train stations, Seibu _____ is testing a new translation window. The device, called VoiceBiz, lets people talk to a station attendant through a _____. The words are translated into Japanese and 11 other languages on a clear window between them.
Kevin Khani, a German tourist, found the _____ helpful. He said the translations were accurate and he felt safe because he knew there was a human on the other side of the _____ screen.
Seibu Railway installed the window at its Seibu-Shinjuku station for a three-month trial. About 135,000 people pass through the _____ every day, including many tourists.
Ayano Yajima, a _____ and marketing supervisor at Seibu Railway, said the goal of the window is to improve communication _____ people who speak different languages.
The device was also _____ at Kansai International Airport in Osaka earlier this year. Toppan, the company that developed VoiceBiz, wants to sell it to businesses and government offices in Japan.
Shinjuku is a good place to test the translation window because it _____ many train lines and a big bus station. It’s _____ the busiest train station in the world.
Isabelle and Marc Rigaud, French tourists, used the translation window to try to find _____ way from one train line to another train line.
"It's very Japan," Isabelle _____.
Discussion questions
- Have you ever experienced difficulty communicating with someone who speaks a different language? How did you handle it?
- Do you think translation devices like VoiceBiz are useful for international tourists? Why or why not?
- What are the advantages and disadvantages of using a translation window?
- What other technologies do you think can help improve communication between people from different countries and cultures?
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