If, like me, when you bought your Toyota MasterAce etc,
you also aquired a Japanese manual or handbook,
fear not. Simply log on to http://babelfish.altavista.com/tr
It's a free translation service, covering several languages, including Japanese. You can scan the pages of your foreign manual, and offer them up for complete page translation. Then simply print out, and there you have it, an English manual/handbook. - (#1900) Kevin Savage, 18 Jan 02

I'm assuming you haven't tried this yet. These on-line translators are anything but 100% accurate, neither are most OCR packages. The Japanese language has 3 alphabets, so multiply up the possible errors that can creep in to the process and you can guess what the end result will be. Add on to this time and on-line costs for scanning and uploading and I think you would be better off buying a JPNZ translation for 20+ quid.
And no I didn't get a handbook with the vehicle on purchase, I'd say you were the exception rather than the norm but better than nothing. - (#1902) Ian Dunse, 18 Jan 02

Interesting that this should appear today, I was just about to post a message requesting the loan of a Jap. manual for perusal, as mine didn't come with one. Any offers? - (#1903) David Miller, 18 Jan 02

I havn't the time to translate my manual, but with just the right bribe, I can get my 14 year old son to do it for me !
I have a Japanese motorcycle racer friend and I tried a letter translation to him.
He thought it brilliant, so as it's for free, it must be worth a go... - (#1907) Kevin Savage, 19 Jan 02