Mission Statement
Our mission is to support international residents in Sapporo by bridging language and cultural gaps in healthcare by providing trained medical interpreters to ensure equitable access to medical services comparable to that of Japanese citizens. We are also committed to creating a more accessible environment in medical settings for English speakers in Japan and to facilitating communication between medical providers and patients through education and other methods.
Who We Are
Our organization began in April 2009 as a volunteer group called Sapporo English Medical Interpreters’ Group (SEMI). It was founded by a group of 13 women, led by Megumi, who had previously worked as a medical interpreter in the United States. The other members came from diverse backgrounds, including two dentists, a pharmacist, a conference interpreter, an air traffic controller, multiple English teachers, licensed guide interpreters, homemakers, and city volunteers.
In 2019, SEMI took a significant step forward by becoming an official Non-Profit Organization and changing its name to SEMI Sapporo. This transition enabled us to collaborate with various organizations and broaden the scope of our activities.
In 2020, following the establishment of the Medical Interpreters by ICM (International Society of Clinical Medicine) certification system, eight SEMI Sapporo interpreters were proudly certified. Since then, 11 more SEMI Sapporo interpreters have been certified (as at August 2025). To this day, we continue to hold regular study sessions to improve our skills, reflecting our ongoing commitment to providing high-quality services.
Achievements
The total number of interpretations provided by SEMI Sapporo since its inception has steadily increased― reaching 5,000 interpretations in 2018 and then doubling that number in approximately half the time by surpassing a significant milestone of 10,000 interpretations in 2023. This is a testament to SEMI Sapporo’s growing recognition within Sapporo’s international community.
Aiming to improve the medical industry’s provision of medical services in English, SEMI Sapporo has been organizing medical English training sessions for doctors at Tenshi Hospital since 2009. This initiative has been effective, and has contributed to increasing the number of doctors able to communicate in English.
As part of our ongoing journey to create a more inclusive and comfortable society for international residents, SEMI Sapporo has partnered with the Sapporo International Communication Plaza (SICP) on several occasions to provide instructors at SICP organized events.
For example, we have sent our interpreters to serve as instructors at maternal and child healthcare seminars for international residents organized by SICP to help deepen the understanding of maternal and child healthcare in Sapporo. We have also dispatched SEMI Sapporo members to act as instructors at medical interpreting workshops for healthcare providers– also organized by SICP– facilitating more equitable access to medical services in Sapporo.
Our Supporters
Grants
SEMI Sapporo is supported by Sapporo Nisshin Electronics Co., Ltd. as a beneficiary of Sapporo’s “Support Hot Fund” in fiscal year 2025.
We are also subsidized by the Nakajima Foundation and supported by JASSO.
Proofreaders
We are supported by many volunteer proofreaders from all over the world. Thank you very much to the following people for their time and input:
Adrian Hooker, in Australia
Brian Nielsen, Australian, Hokkai Shoka University
CA Edington, American, Permanent Resident in Sapporo
Daniel Beaudette, in Canada
David Thiedemann, Canadian in Japan
Dylan Rose, Canadian living in Sapporo
HIKARU Nomura, Japanese in Sapporo
J.B. Hardwick
Jessica Wakefield, in USA
Krista Coy, in Toubetsu
Marika Ohtani, Briton in Niseko
Mark Holloway, New Zealander in Sapporo, Health Hokkaido
Marla K. Otani, American in Sapporo
Marlaina McElheny, in USA
Michael Mielke, Canadian in Sapporo, Little Tree English School
Naomi, in USA, Addiction Medicine Fellow at Stanford Health Care
Peng Pheng Tan, Malaysian in Sapporo, Hokkaido University
Richard Jones, American in Sapporo
Russell Miller, visiting scientist, University of Tokyo
Sari Hirata, Japanese, Hokkaido International School
Sulimon Sattari, American in Sapporo,Hokkaido University
Teresa Sem, in USA
Thomas Domingo, American in Muroran
Medical English Consultant
Special thanks to our medical English consultant who always joins our study meetings to give medical and English advice: Deborah S. (Harris-Love) Fujimaki BSW, BSN, RN, CCR
NPO SEMI Sapporo