Case Studies

Behind ROUND ONE’s Simultaneous Japanese-English IR Disclosures | How It Transformed Translation

ROUND ONE Corporation (hereinafter “ROUND ONE”) is a leader in the amusement industry and has expanded its business in the United States in recent years. As ROUND ONE accelerated its global expansion, the mandatory simultaneous disclosure of IR materials in Japanese and English became a major translation challenge. A process that once allowed roughly one week to translate Japanese into English changed completely when simultaneous disclosure became mandatory. The company began to see the limits of its existing tools in terms of cost, reliance on specific individuals, and operational efficiency. To overcome these challenges, ROUND ONE introduced Yaraku Translate, a translation support tool powered by generative AI. We spoke with two employees on the front lines of its translation operations.

Challenges – Tool costs limited the Accounting Department to one account, making translation requests cumbersome – Character limits meant long contracts had to be split into sections for translation – The Glossary feature was not being used, resulting in inconsistent internal terminology

Goals – Use a more feature-rich tool while keeping costs down – Create a multi-user environment and reduce reliance on specific individuals – Cut translation time by 5–10% and focus on core responsibilities – Meet simultaneous Japanese-English IR disclosure requirements with speed and accuracy

Racing Against Disclosure Deadlines: Breaking Through the IR Translation Barrier

ROUND ONE uses Yaraku Translate for a wide range of purposes, but translating IR materials is especially important. To ensure fair access to information for international investors, simultaneous disclosure of IR materials in Japanese and English became mandatory.* ROUND ONE could no longer publish the Japanese version first and release the English version later.

*Starting 2025/04/01, the Tokyo Stock Exchange requires companies listed on the Prime Market to disclose key IR information, including financial results summaries, simultaneously in Japanese and English. 

Although schedules were already tight, translation work now required even greater speed and accuracy.

「“We asked the team at Yaraku, Inc. whether we could start using the tool early because we needed greater speed and accuracy than ever before.”」（Nakahama）

Two IR-Specific Challenges: Limited Review Capacity and Simultaneous Disclosure

ROUND ONE’s IR operations faced two challenges:

– Only three English reviewers in the department – Simultaneous disclosure in Japanese and English

These two issues created significant pressure.

1) Only three English reviewers in the department The Accounting Department has approximately 30 employees, but only three could review English accurately. The department had no choice but to rely on these three reviewers, each with a different strength: grammar, assessing nuances from an IR perspective, or checking the consistency of numerical disclosures and account titles. The shortage of review resources was clear.

2) Mandatory simultaneous disclosure in Japanese and English The time previously available before releasing the English version disappeared, making faster turnaround essential.

The buffer previously available before the English version was released disappeared, making faster turnaround essential.

“First, we needed to produce a first draft of consistent quality in a short time. Then, team members with strong English skills could refine the wording. Without this structure, I do not think we could have met the simultaneous disclosure deadline.”

With Yaraku Translate, each employee can instantly create an initial English draft from the Japanese source and compare multiple translation engines to assess the output for accuracy in numbers, terminology, and meaning. This allows reviewers to focus only on the points that require their attention.

As a result:

• Faster turnaround when revisions are made
• More consistent first-draft quality and a lighter review workload
• Less congestion in the review process previously concentrated among three people
• Greater consistency in the numbers and terminology required for IR materials

Together, these improvements helped ROUND ONE build an internal process for simultaneous disclosure.

Why ROUND ONE Chose Yaraku Translate: Cost-Effectiveness and Versatility

The benefits of Yaraku Translate extend beyond IR. ROUND ONE also uses it to translate contracts of up to 500,000 characters and short emails for day-to-day work. The company had previously used another translation tool, but both interviewees felt it did not suit their circumstances.

「“There were areas where we felt the value did not justify the cost. Adding accounts was expensive, so the Accounting Department received only one account. The character limit was another reason the tool was difficult to use.”」（Hirayama）

Lease agreements for overseas locations can run to 100 pages and 500,000 characters. Having to monitor character limits while translating significantly reduced operational efficiency.

When the contract came up for renewal, ROUND ONE decided to conduct a full review of its translation tools. The team discovered Yaraku Translate through a web search. After comparing similar services, cost-effectiveness and versatility became the deciding factors.

“The number of features available for the price was compelling. We could choose from multiple translation engines, share terminology, and register our own terms in My Company. Those capabilities stood out compared with other services. At the same time, PDF translations may lose their formatting, leave text untranslated, or contain mistranslations, so we look forward to further improvements.” Note: The maximum amount of text that Yaraku Translate can process in a single translation varies by engine and is up to 150,000 characters.

Moving Beyond Individual Dependency to Team-Based Translation

Introducing Yaraku Translate has helped ROUND ONE move away from translation work that depended on specific individuals. Accounts have now been provided to the business division responsible for launching overseas locations, as well as the Legal and General Affairs departments, creating a company-wide foundation for translation. A new division of responsibilities is taking shape: each employee prepares their own first draft, while employees with strong English skills perform the final review.

The clear user interface was another factor that supported the decision to introduce the tool.

「“I personally like the UI. It looks good, and I think that made a real difference.”」（Nakahama）

Because the tool is intuitive, it requires no training, and even employees who are not confident in English can use it without hesitation. This has enabled adoption across departments. Yaraku Translate’s collaborative editing features and accessible user interface are helping ROUND ONE transition to a team-based translation model.

How ROUND ONE Cut Translation Time by 5–10%

The benefits are reflected in concrete results. Using Yaraku Translate even for small tasks, such as translating routine emails into English, has reduced the time spent on translation.

“I believe we have reduced working time by 5–10%. When we used another service, we would paste the translation into a separate website to check whether it was really correct. With Yaraku Translate, we can review the translations shown by multiple engines and confirm that the translation is accurate. We can genuinely feel that the process takes less time.”

Yaraku Translate includes multiple translation engines and displays the output from each one.

*As shown on the right side of the image, English translations from Claude, GPT-4.1, Yaraku Translate, Google Translate, and other engines are displayed. Wording varies slightly by engine.

Because users can compare and evaluate multiple translation results within Yaraku Translate, they spend less time searching again on external sites or checking whether a translation is appropriate. Reducing this verification work makes a major contribution to overall time savings.

Future Plans: Bringing Outsourced Translation In-House

ROUND ONE currently outsources some translation work but plans to bring more of it in-house. The Glossary feature in Yaraku Translate can also reduce inconsistencies in ROUND ONE-specific terminology and expressions tailored to its business.

Take “crane game machines,” for example. Common English options include “crane game machines,” “prize machines,” and “claw machines.” By registering the approved term in Yaraku Translate, ROUND ONE established a process that consistently outputs “crane game machines,” the wording used in its IR materials, regardless of who translates the text. IR materials require consistent terminology and do not allow wording to vary.

“We want the tool to learn our terminology thoroughly so that we can improve accuracy to the point where only minor revisions are needed.”

Through these efforts, ROUND ONE aims to bring more translation work in-house, improve quality, and reduce costs.

Editor’s Note: Toward a True Global Standard Through Translation Technology

What stood out in this interview was that Yaraku Translate functions not simply as a tool for making translation work more efficient, but as a foundation for global corporate communication. ROUND ONE has standardized translation work that once depended on specific individuals in the critical area of investor information, building a process that maintains quality even when responsibilities change. This is a valuable example not only for ROUND ONE, but for other companies as well.