Academic Paper Translator (English ↔ Japanese)

Google Drive Sharing Link

Google Drive PDFs require the file to be shared as "Anyone with the link" (リンクを知っている全員). Try these methods in order:

Method 1: Download via Bash and read locally

Extract FILE_ID from the link and download with curl:

# Extract FILE_ID from: https://drive.google.com/file/d/FILE_ID/view
curl -L -o /tmp/paper.pdf \
  "https://drive.google.com/uc?export=download&id=FILE_ID"

Verify the download is a real PDF (not an HTML sign-in page):

file /tmp/paper.pdf  # Should say "PDF document"

If confirmed as PDF, read it with the Read tool:

Read file_path="/tmp/paper.pdf" pages="1-20"

Method 2: Google Drive MCP (if available)

If google_drive_search and google_drive_fetch MCP tools are available, note they only support Google Docs, not PDFs. For PDFs, always use Method 1 or ask the user to download locally.

If download fails (sign-in page returned, access restricted):

The file's sharing settings likely need to be changed. Ask the user: "PDFにアクセスできませんでした。Google Driveでファイルを右クリック →「共有」→「リンクを知っている全員」に変更するか、ローカルに ダウンロードしてパスを教えてください。"

Step 2: Detect Language and Confirm Direction

• English paper → default output is Japanese
• Japanese paper → default output is English
• Always honor explicit user requests for direction
• If ambiguous, confirm with the user before proceeding

Step 3: Structural Analysis

Before translating, identify and map:

• Title and author list
• Abstract / 要旨
• Keywords / キーワード
• Section and subsection headings
• Figure captions (Figure 1, Fig. 1, 図1)
• Table captions and headers
• Equations and mathematical expressions
• Footnotes and acknowledgments
• References / 参考文献
• Appendices / 付録

Step 4: Translation Rules

General Principles

1. Academic register:

   • EN→JP: Use である体 (da/dearu style). Do not use です/ます体.
   • JP→EN: Use third-person passive/active voice. Avoid first person singular; use "we" if original uses 我々/本研究では.

2. Accuracy over fluency: When precision and naturalness conflict, prioritize precision. Academic readers expect exact meaning.

3. Sentence-level fidelity: Translate sentence by sentence. Do not merge or split sentences unless grammatically necessary.

4. Paragraph structure: Preserve paragraph breaks exactly.

Technical Terminology

On first occurrence, provide the original term in parentheses:

• EN→JP: 「光合成（photosynthesis）は…」
• JP→EN: "Photosynthesis (光合成) is..."

After the first occurrence, use only the translated term.

Established translations: Use standard accepted translations. Read references/terminology-patterns.md for the core term list organized by field (physics, chemistry, biology, earth science).

No standard translation: Keep the original term with an explanatory translation in parentheses.

• EN→JP: CRISPR-Cas9（クリスパー・キャスナイン）

Abbreviations: On first use, expand in both languages:

• EN→JP: 「DNA（デオキシリボ核酸; deoxyribonucleic acid）」
• After first use, abbreviation alone is fine.

Species names: Keep Latin binomial nomenclature in italics (Escherichia coli). Add common name translations where appropriate.

Chemical formulas and units: Keep as-is (H₂O, CO₂, Fe³⁺, SI units). Do not translate or convert.

Mathematical Content

• Preserve all LaTeX and mathematical notation exactly as-is
• Do not translate variable names, function names, or equation labels
• Translate only the surrounding explanatory text
• Example: "where $k_B$ is the Boltzmann constant" → 「ここで $k_B$ はボルツマン定数である」

Figures and Tables

• Translate captions fully
• Convert reference conventions:
  • EN→JP: "Fig. 1" → 「図1」, "Table 2" → 「表2」
  • JP→EN: 「図1」 → "Fig. 1", 「表2」 → "Table 2"
• Translate textual table content; keep numeric data as-is
• Insert placeholder for images: [Figure N: (translated caption)]

References Section

• Do NOT translate cited work titles — keep in original language
• Translate only the section heading (References → 参考文献)
• Keep author names, journal names, volumes, pages as-is

Author Names

• Do not translate author names
• JP→EN: Use romanized forms if available

Field-Specific Notes

Read references/translation-guidelines.md for detailed guidance on:

• である体 usage patterns
• Passive voice conversion rules
• Pronoun handling (English "it"/"they" → explicit Japanese subjects)
• Common pitfalls in EN↔JP scientific translation

Physics: Keep notation (ℏ, ψ, Φ, ∇). Hamiltonian → ハミルトニアン (katakana).

Chemistry: Follow IUPAC nomenclature conventions. Translate common names; keep systematic names.

Biology: Gene names in italics, protein names in roman. Taxonomic names always in Latin italics.

Earth Science / Astronomy: Keep coordinate systems and astronomical designations as-is.

Step 5: Section-by-Section Translation

For each section:

1. Read the source section completely first
2. Identify all technical terms
3. Translate heading, then paragraph by paragraph
4. Track terms for the glossary
5. After completing, review for consistency with prior sections

For papers over 15 pages, process in batches to manage context limits.

Step 6: Output Format

Output path: If the user specifies a save directory (e.g., "~/Desktop/translations/ に保存して"), use that directory. Otherwise, save to the current working directory.

Create the directory if it does not exist:

mkdir -p /path/to/specified/directory

Filename: {original_filename}_translated.md (or paper_translated.md if the original filename is unknown)

Output Structure

# [Translated Title]
# [Original Title]

**Authors**: [Author names as in original]

**Original Language**: [English / Japanese]
**Translated to**: [Japanese / English]
**Source**: [filename or URL]

---

## Abstract / 要旨

[Translated abstract]

---

## Keywords / キーワード

[Translated keywords with originals in parentheses]

---

## 1. Introduction / はじめに

[Translated content]

## 2. [Translated Section Title]

[Translated content]

[... all sections ...]

## References / 参考文献

[References in original language, heading translated]

---

## Terminology Glossary / 用語集

| English | Japanese | Notes |
|---------|----------|-------|
| term    | 訳語     | Field/context |

Glossary Guidelines

• Include all technical terms from the paper
• Both English and Japanese forms
• Notes column: subfield, non-standard translations, context
• Sort alphabetically by English term
• Aim for 20-50 entries (more for terminology-dense papers)

Quality Checklist

Before delivering, verify:

• All sections from the original are present
• Title appears in both languages
• Technical terms have original-language annotations on first use
• Mathematical expressions preserved unchanged
• Chemical formulas and units unchanged
• Figure/table numbering matches original
• References are not translated (only heading)
• Consistent terminology throughout
• Academic register maintained (である体 for JP)
• Glossary included at the end
• Output file written as .md

Error Handling

• PDF unreadable: Ask user for alternative format or re-upload
• Language other than EN/JP: Inform user this skill supports EN↔JP only
• Ambiguous terminology: Flag in glossary notes + add translator's note: 「【訳注: …】」or "[Translator's note: ...]"
• Missing content in PDF: Note as [Section content not available in source PDF]