Translation Blunder? Japanese Minister Blames ‘X’ for Diplomatic Discomfort

A Japanese minister criticized Elon Musk’s social media platform ‘X’ last Friday over automated translation errors that nearly triggered a major diplomatic embarrassment, suggesting he did not know the identity of the person he had met. Japan’s Trade Minister Ryosei Akazawa reassured reporters that he is well aware of Bangladesh’s current PM. However, in an auto-translated version of his post, accompanied by meeting photographs, Bangladesh’s ousted PM Sheikh Hasina appeared instead.

‘This is indeed a serious issue,’ Mr. Akazawa told reporters. ‘It could leave the people of Bangladesh with the impression that Japan’s Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry does not even know who the current PM of Bangladesh is.’ In his original Japanese-language post on ‘X’ on October 28, which included several photos, Mr. Akazawa noted that he had met with visiting PM Tarique Rahman of Bangladesh. However, the platform’s auto-translation incorrectly rendered the English translation to suggest that Mr. Akazawa claimed to have met with Sheikh Hasina, who has been living in exile in India following a mass uprising in 2024.

The situation became further complicated as Mr. Akazawa fell victim to ‘X’s translation glitches on multiple occasions. He said a similar error occurred on Thursday when he posted about his online meeting with Kuwait’s Oil Minister Tareq Al-Roumi, where the auto-translation said he had held discussions with Qatar’s Energy Minister. Mr. Akazawa added that his post about a meeting with U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick was also mistranslated and used an incorrect name. ‘I have experienced this three times,’ he said, calling on ‘X’ authorities to rectify the translation system.

Source: Dawn Online.