Shohei Ohtani’s Japanese Interpreter Under the Microscope

Interpreting, ethics, and the importance of professionalism in language access

Given that language professionals often work behind the scenes, it’s uncommon for the outside world to take an interest in what interpreters do. Ippei Mizuhara, the now fired and disgraced former interpreter for Los Angeles Dodgers superstar player Shohei Ohtani, has been thrust into the spotlight and is finding it rather hot, facing a possible maximum of 30 years in prison for alleged bank fraud. 

Because of this story, more people than ever are learning about the exciting and important work interpreters do, but accusations that Mizuhara engaged in theft to fund his gambling addiction may throw public suspicion on interpreters and their work.

What do interpreters do?

Often mistakenly called “translators” in the media, interpreters use their fluency in two or more languages to facilitate communication between speakers who would otherwise not understand each other in settings that range from the courts to the operating room and even to the major league dugout. In the translating and interpreting industry, translators write, interpreters speak, and some people do both.

Becoming a competent interpreter requires a good deal of training. Being able to speak two languages does not make someone a good interpreter any more than having two hands makes someone a good pianist. Interpreters need to not only perfect their  language and terminology skills, they must also train their long- and short-term memory, note taking skills, and especially study and adhere to strict codes of ethics.

Interpreter ethics protect their clients

Organizations that use interpreters frequently, such as courts and hospitals, are generally familiar with the role of interpreters and their professional codes of ethics. For example, in most situations, the following standards apply, among others.

Interpreters should remain impartial and avoid conflicts of interest 

Interpreters aren’t supposed to be their client’s pal. That applies in two ways: (1) Interpreters should not get too personal with their clients, and (2) Organizations shouldn’t hire friends and acquaintances as interpreters. Furthermore, a client’s family member shouldn’t be used as an interpreter. 

Interpreters must limit the scope of their practice 

In other words, interpreters should participate only in matters involving the interpreting assignment. They shouldn’t provide counseling, legal or medical advice, or otherwise be involved in the client’s personal matters.

Interpreters must not work outside their scope of expertise

Interpreters who are not specialists in engineering, law, medicine, finance, or almost any other specialized field should not take interpreting assignments involving those subjects. Those jobs should be referred to another interpreter with the right expertise.

There are still other tenets in these ethical codes involving things like accuracy, honesty, professional demeanor, and more. When you consider those principles, it’s easy to see where things could go wrong if an interpreter does not know or apply these best practices, or if the hiring entity creates a situation that ends up requiring the interpreter to violate them.

What do Major League Baseball (MLB) interpreters do?

According to The Athletic, since 2016, all MLB teams have been required to have two full-time Spanish language interpreters on staff. These interpreters are on the teams’ payroll and are hired for their fluency in English and Spanish and deep knowledge of America’s pastime. They often are former players themselves, but may not have past professional interpreting experience or formal interpreter training. This is the case of Manny Navarro, one of the Spanish interpreters for the Tampa Bay Rays.

MLB interpreters help players understand what’s going on during practice, communicate with other players and the media, and otherwise ensure they can meaningfully take part in everything their English-speaking teammates do. This is the very definition of language access. In some cases, however, they wind up doing much more, including finding housing, buying food or clothes, acting as a tour guide for players’ friends and family, and reportedly even acting as medical interpreters for players’ spouses when they give birth in American hospitals.

But as The Athletic also points out, it isn’t so straightforward for players who speak languages other than Spanish, such as Shohei Ohtani, a native Japanese speaker. For the Los Angeles Dodgers, a team with only one other Japanese speaker (Yoshinobu Yamamoto), hiring an interpreter isn’t so clearcut, and the MLB does not have rules governing the use of interpreters in languages other than Spanish. Ippei Mizuhara, for example, reportedly got his start interpreting for English-speaking players on the Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters, which is part of the Nippon Professional Baseball League in Japan. Mizuhara then was hired by the Los Angeles Angels when Ohtani signed to the U.S. team and followed him to the Dodgers as well.

It seems that overall, despite a glamorous life next to world-class athletes, MLB interpreters are left to juggle life in a fairly isolated space. They face an inordinate amount of pressure from players, their families, fans and management as they intuitively define their roles while on the job, oftentimes resolving totally unprecedented situations. Without the proper safeguards and support, it is not terribly difficult to imagine the line between right and wrong quickly widening into a vast area of gray. 

However, as we have seen through this news story, the expectations for interpreters in the MLB tend to be quite different. The line between personal and professional is often blurred, and interpreters are known to join the teams in the locker room, at practice, and in public appearances. Informally, the job description of an MLB interpreter may also include helping the players they are interpreting for to blend with the team and forge bonds across the language barrier, as the Dodgers’ new Japanese interpreter Will Ireton has been known to do, “helping bridge this gap as somebody who they trust and who can actually serve the role as someone who was born in Japan and knows the language and the culture really well.” 

How could the Ippei Mizuhara situation have been avoided?

While it’s impossible to completely screen out a determined scammer, and even the smartest individuals and organizations can be fooled, going back to the ethical principles mentioned above and further principles outlined by organizations like the National Association of Judiciary Interpreters & Translators (NAJIT) and the National Council on Interpreting in Health Care (NCIHC), among others, can point to possible policies and preventive measures.

Impartiality and conflicts of interest

Mizuhara was already Ohtani’s buddy when the Dodgers hired him, and this type of relationship might have been encouraged. This resulted in a situation where Mizuhara was reportedly trusted to help open a bank account for Ohtani and allegedly gave himself full access to it, according to court filings. 

Limiting the scope of practice

It appears that in MLB organizations, interpreters may not have a specifically defined scope of practice and can or may be encouraged to perform a lot of general duties that are beyond those interpreters are expected to have. This informality can also open the door for abuse.

Staying within the interpreter’s expertise

Japanese language services to Ohtani should have been broken up into specialties, rather than being largely handled by one unspecialized person. Considering the size of Ohtani’s salary and how common it has been historically for pro athletes to come to financial ruin from mistakes and lack of guidance, Japanese-speaking professionals, or at least private bankers with separate, specialized interpreters, should have been watching over Ohtani’s finances with adequate checks and balances. If Ohtani still wanted Mizuhara involved, a responsible banker could have advocated that Mizuhara be given read-only access to Ohtani’s accounts. Thus, any transaction would have required Ohtani’s explicit approval. None of this should have been handled by his general interpreter.

The upshot

One unfortunate aspect of America’s monolingual culture is that when matters enter a foreign language, vigilance and quality standards can slip. Once a foreign language is added to the mix, things become mysterious, and American individuals and organizations can get lax, especially if they’re just feeling their way through the situation, as they so often are. Organizations that want to keep their employees safe—including major league sluggers—should draft and adhere to strict professional interpreting policies that include working with qualified providers. If your organization isn’t sure where to start, professional associations like the American Translators Association can help.

By Ben Karl, James Kirchner, Christina Guerrero-Harmon, and Jamie Hartz

About the Authors

Ben Karl, MBA, CT is an ATA-certified translator and English copywriter specializing in corporate communications, marketing, and UX from French and Mandarin into English. He serves on ATA’s Board of Directors, chairs the ATA Advocacy Committee, and sits on the ATA Membership Committee and the Chronicle Editorial Board.

Christina Guerrero Harmon, MA, CT is an ATA-certified translator (English to Spanish) and a certified Spanish court interpreter for the state of California.  She serves on the ATA Advocacy Committee and on the board of NAJIT’s Society for the Study of Translation and Interpretation.

James Patrick Kirchner is a past president of the Michigan Translators/Interpreters Network (MiTiN), a chapter of the American Translators Association. He has translated for over 30 years from Czech, German, French and Slovak into English. He has an MA in linguistics from Wayne State University and a BFA in Fine Arts from the College for Creative Studies, both in Detroit. Before becoming a translator, he worked at major advertising and communications companies.

Jamie Hartz, MA, CT is an ATA-certified Spanish to English translator and transcriber specialized in legal and commercial translations. She currently serves as the Chair of the ATA Public Relations Committee.