To the me of 10 years ago who dreamed of a 'Translation Konjac' on a Pomera: The answer note gave me
Ten years ago, I was in a house surrounded by nature.
Compared to my home in the city, it was bone-chillingly cold, and a heater was essential in the room.
Perhaps seeking warmth, stink bugs, ladybugs, and even giant house centipedes would appear, and I still remember the surprise and slight resilience I felt as I realized this is what it means to live with nature.
The communication environment in this house was tethering using a Rakuten Mobile smartphone.
I was afraid of the three-day data limit, and since the speed would drop if I used too much, I refrained from watching videos.
Thinking back, those were days that made me realize how grateful I am for the unlimited internet that is taken for granted today, and how much I unconsciously rely on the internet in my daily life.
In a room on the second floor, in an environment different from my usual one, I was typing on my beloved Pomera keyboard when I suddenly let a strange fantasy grow.
“Wouldn't it be interesting if I could automatically translate articles written in Japanese into foreign languages (English, Korean, Thai, Vietnamese, Chinese, etc.) and publish them, just like Doraemon's 'Translation Konjac'?”
At the time, I had heard stories of overseas YouTubers and professional gamers active on a global scale, earning incredible amounts of money.
I also clearly remembered a TV program about a small, modest cram school in Japan that became a huge hit as soon as it expanded overseas.
“Couldn't the same be said for blog-like articles?”
“If we could overcome the language barrier so that foreigners could read them, maybe Japanese-style blogs could suddenly become popular around the world.”
It was an impossible story for someone like me with no language skills, but I was dreaming of such an overseas version of a blog.
Perhaps the extraordinary atmosphere surrounded by nature and insects sent my thoughts a little further away.
I had noted down the text above 10 years ago.
Ten years have passed since then.
I want to give the me of that time the answer.
Surprisingly, now, on note where I write articles, that day's fantasy has become a reality.
What is note's automatic multilingual support?
It is a feature where AI automatically translates articles published in Japanese into English. When accessed from overseas, the page is automatically displayed in English, and it also appears in overseas Google search results, so it is a system that delivers articles to the world without any special settings.
The Japanese articles I write can be delivered to readers all over the world, crossing language barriers.
There is no need for special language skills or the tedious effort of making full use of translation software.
The era where someone in an unknown country reads my writing has truly arrived.
The clumsy words and fantasies I typed on my Pomera 10 years ago have been brilliantly connected by the evolution of technology and have become a reality.
Now, I no longer fear data limits, and I continue to write every day while mastering those fantasies from back then as real-world tools.
Looking beyond Japan to the world. Through note, we are already standing at that starting line.