Join acclaimed author, playwright, theatre and film director, translator and journalist Roger Pulvers for the IJET-34 keynote speech:
"I GO AS I GO BY MYSELF"
~ Translating the Human Heart ~
Saturday 5 September 2026
Storey Hall, RMIT University, Melbourne
Public tickets are now available for this special keynote event, which forms part of the 34th International Japanese-English Translation Conference (IJET-34).
About the Keynote
Artificial intelligence is enhancing our ability to order and apply data across many fields of human endeavour. Yet in translation it is – and may remain – limited in its handling of nuance, context and depth of emotion.
Why is this? What is it about the nature of language that calls the value of this now universally applied tool into question?
Drawing on a lifetime of cross-cultural work as author, translator, and theatre and film director, Roger Pulvers will discuss whether computers may someday surpass humans in the art of translating, just as they have on the chessboard and the ping pong table.
Is there a realm of language beyond AI's reach? Is there such a thing as a quantum leap into the human heart?
This keynote explores language beyond data – as lived experience, memory, emotion and human connection.
About Roger Pulvers
Roger Pulvers is an acclaimed author, playwright, theatre and film director, translator and journalist who has published more than 65 books in Japanese and English. In 2017 the feature film of Star Sand, written and directed by Roger, had wide release throughout Japan. His two memoirs – My Japan: A Cultural Memoir and The Unmaking of an American – have been praised as forming a unique record of cultural life in Japan in the past fifty years. His latest book is a memoir written in Japanese (『時の一針一針』Stitches in Time).
Roger has worked extensively in film, television and theatre. He was assistant to director Oshima Nagisa on the film Merry Christmas, Mr Lawrence, starring David Bowie, Tom Conti and Sakamoto Ryuichi. He has twice directed major productions at the Adelaide Festival of Arts, and his translation/adaptation of Nikolai Gogol’s The Government Inspector toured Australia in a Bell Shakespeare Co. production.
Roger received the prestigious Miyazawa Kenji Prize in 2008 and the Noma Award for the Translation of Japanese Literature in 2013; in 2018, Japan’s highest honour, the Order of the Rising Sun; and in 2019, the Order of Australia (AM). Over the past 50 years he has translated prose, drama and poetry from Japanese, Russian and Polish.
Event Details
Date: Saturday 5 September 2026
Venue: Storey Hall, RMIT University
Building 16
336–348 Swanston Street
Melbourne VIC 3000
Schedule
* Doors open: 9:00 am
* IJET-34 Opening ceremony: 9:30 am
* Keynote speech: 9:45–11:15 am
Ticket holders are requested to be seated by 9:30 am for the IJET-34 opening ceremony.
Ticket price: A$40
Who Should Attend?
This keynote will be of interest to translators, interpreters, writers, educators, students, language learners, Japan specialists and anyone interested in language, culture and the relationship between humans and AI.
Also at IJET-34
IJET-34 will also host a public screening of the documentary Japarta , which explores the connection between Japanese scholar Minoru Hokari and the Gurindji community in Australia.
Click here to find out more.
About IJET-34
Organised by the Japan Association of Translators (JAT), IJET-34 is a two-day conference that brings together translators, interpreters and editors from around the world who work between Japanese and English.
Tickets
Keynote ticket price: A$40
Click here to purchase
Please note:
* Advance booking is required. No tickets will be available on the day.
* Tickets are non-refundable.
* This event is already included in the registration fee for IJET-34 conference attendees.