Since 2006 · Los Angeles · Interpreting
Japanese interpreters in Los Angeles.
California court-certified Japanese interpreters for depositions and hearings, on-set interpreting for Japanese productions and talent, and business interpreting for the trade work that runs through Los Angeles. Register handled correctly, on and off the record.
About
Testimony, trade, and getting keigo right
A surprising amount of Japanese commercial litigation runs through Los Angeles. Automotive, gaming, and trade disputes involving Japanese companies regularly land in depositions here, and those are demanding rooms: full days of technical testimony, exhibits in two languages, and attorneys who will challenge a rendering on the record. We staff them with certified interpreters who have done that exact work before, because Japanese is one of California's designated certified languages and courtroom or deposition assignments require the state credential.
Japanese adds a layer most languages do not: keigo, the honorific register built into the grammar itself. A Japanese witness may answer with a level of politeness and indirectness that is entirely normal in Japanese but reads as evasive, or overly agreeable, if rendered carelessly in English. A skilled interpreter carries the actual content of the answer into the record without inflating or flattening it. On a transcript that gets read back months later, that difference matters.
The other half of our Japanese practice is production. Japanese talent, directors, and crews work in Los Angeles regularly, and on-set interpreting is its own discipline: fast, quiet, aware of where the camera is, and able to keep a bilingual set moving without becoming part of the scene. Press days and junket interviews for Japanese film and gaming releases round that out.
There is community work here too. Little Tokyo is one of only three remaining historic Japantowns in the United States, and it anchors institutions that generate steady interpreting needs. The Japanese bench in Los Angeles is solid, and most requests are staffed within the week.
Where this work happens
Where LA needs Japanese interpreters.
Court & Legal
California court-certified Japanese interpreters for hearings, trials, and attorney conferences.
02Depositions
Certified Japanese deposition interpreters for cross-border commercial litigation, built for full-day technical testimony.
03Medical & IMEs
Independent medical exams and patient appointments in Japanese, precise and strictly neutral.
04Broadcast & Press
Junkets, premieres, and on-camera interviews for Japanese film, gaming, and television talent.
05Conferences & Corporate
Simultaneous Japanese for conferences and consecutive for negotiations, board meetings, and site visits.
Business & Community
On-set production interpreting, business meetings, community events. Scheduled directly, no layers.
By setting
Japanese interpreters for every setting.
The same vetted Japanese roster, staffed by format. Pick the setting closest to your job:
Court
Certified interpreters for LA Superior and federal court hearings, trials, and arraignments.
Learn more →Deposition
Certified deposition interpreters for law offices, arbitrations, and examinations under oath.
Learn more →Conference
Simultaneous booth teams, equipment, and a technician for multilingual conferences and summits.
Learn more →Broadcast & On-Camera
Camera-ready interpreters for red carpets, live broadcasts, fight nights, and press junkets.
Learn more →Medical
Medical interpreters for independent medical exams, patient consults, and clinical settings.
Learn more →Simultaneous
Real-time interpreting through a booth, earpiece, or whisper setup for live multilingual events.
Learn more →Interpreters in other languages:
Why Strommen
A vetted roster, not a marketplace.
Founder-vetted, every one
Strommen is not a marketplace. Garrett Strommen has run this roster personally since 2006. Every interpreter we send has been vetted by the founder, and most have worked with us for years.
Court-certified where it counts
For legal settings we staff California court-certified and registered interpreters: the credential LA Superior Court and federal courts actually require, not a self-declared specialty.
NDA-bound as standard
Two decades of film, TV, and legal work means confidentiality is the default. Our interpreters sign NDAs routinely and are used to pre-release material and sealed matters.
LA-anchored, worldwide
Based in Los Feliz, staffing Los Angeles daily, and on location nationwide or abroad when the job travels. Travel is billed transparently on the quote.
Get a quote
Book a Japanese interpreter.
Send the event date, location, language, and a quick description of the format. We quote per project and usually respond the same business day.
Japanese has a solid interpreter pool in Los Angeles, and we can usually staff a request within the week. Specialized deposition and on-set work benefits from extra lead time. Half-day and full-day blocks cover up to 8 hours, with no coordination fees and no deposits.
FAQ
Japanese interpreting questions.
Are your Japanese interpreters court-certified?
For legal work, yes. Japanese is one of California's designated certified languages, so courtroom and deposition assignments require an interpreter who has passed the state court certification exam, and that is who we send. For production, press, and business settings, the controlling qualification is experience in that environment, so we match on that instead.
What is keigo and why does it matter in testimony?
Keigo is the honorific register of Japanese, a system of politeness and deference built into the grammar. A witness using it may sound indirect or highly agreeable in ways that are normal Japanese, not evasion. An interpreter who handles keigo well renders the actual content into plain English without distorting the witness's meaning, which protects the record.
We are deposing a witness from a Japanese company. What should we plan for?
Plan for a full-day block, technical vocabulary, and possibly a check interpreter hired by opposing counsel, which is common in Japanese commercial matters. Send us the case subject in advance so we can match an interpreter with the right industry background. Multi-day depositions are routine for our certified Japanese interpreters.
Can you interpret on set for a Japanese production or talent?
Yes. On-set interpreting is steady work for us: Japanese directors, actors, and crews working in Los Angeles, plus press days for film and gaming releases. It calls for speed, discretion, and set etiquette as much as language skill, so we staff it with interpreters who have production experience, not just strong Japanese.
How fast can you staff a Japanese interpreter, and what does it cost?
Most requests are staffed within the week from a solid local pool. We quote per project in half-day and full-day blocks covering up to 8 hours, with certified legal and simultaneous conference work billing at a premium over general consecutive. No coordination fees and no deposits. Specific certified interpreters book up, so earlier is better.
Do you also translate Japanese documents?
Yes, through our translation team, which is staffed separately from interpreting. Contracts, patents, certificates, and court filings in Japanese all go through the written side of the house. See our translation services page or send the document for a quote. For litigation that needs both, we coordinate the two.
Ready when you are
Need a Japanese interpreter?
Date, location, language, format. We come back with a short list and a quote.