IIS

What IIS does

IIS (株式会社アイアイエス / IIS Inc.) is a Tokyo-based private Japanese translation company founded on August 25, 1984, with over 28 years of operating history as of the latest source data. The company provides specialized multilingual translation services across 40+ languages in five core categories — patent, science and technology, legal affairs, finance and IR, and environmental translation — alongside design/DTP/printing services and a separately monetized line of 22 industry-specific terminology glossary CD-ROMs (priced ¥3,300–¥22,000 each). Its customer base consists of Japanese enterprises (corporate legal/IP departments, finance/IR teams, R&D divisions, patent offices), foreign companies operating in Japan, and government offices, served through direct enterprise sales via phone, email, and fax with project-based per-document or per-page pricing and a cash-on-delivery policy for first-time clients.

The company's underlying technology stack comprises two proprietary systems: a Translation Work Management Database used to coordinate projects across a distributed network of 1,039+ registered translators, and the patented Multilingual Website System (MLWS) — protected by Japanese Patents 4011268 and 3979621 and US Patents 7,130,792 and 7,139,696 — which enables a single master website to display content in multiple languages by leveraging a multilingual database. IIS has also accumulated approximately 4 million terms across 22 industry glossaries, with a flagship General Technical Glossary covering 150 fields in Japanese-English. The company has recently added a System Development Services line, primarily focused on science and technology, signaling modest vertical extension beyond translation.

IIS operates with a lean internal team (15 staff noted) that coordinates its broader translator network, has registered capital of ¥20,000,000 (with Japanese-language sources citing ¥10,000,000), and maintains its headquarters at K&H Building in Nakano-ku, Tokyo. The firm is privately held and founder-led by Representative Director Hidemasa Tokieda (時枝 英政), with no external institutional investment, no M&A activity, and no public listing. Revenue and detailed financial performance are not publicly disclosed, and the company relies primarily on its multilingual website (in 7 languages) and direct inquiry channels as its marketing surface, with limited social media presence.

Name

IIS

Legal name

IIS., Inc.

Website

https://iis-inc.co.jp

Company type

Private

Founded year

1984

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

IIS is a Tokyo-based Japanese translation company founded in 1984, providing specialized multilingual translation across 40+ languages for patent, technical, legal, finance/IR, and environmental documents, serving Japanese enterprises, foreign firms in Japan, and government offices via direct sales.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Translation Services

NAICS

Translation and Interpretation Services (541930), Computer Systems Design and Related Services (54151)

SIC

Service Industries For The Printing Trade (2790), Services-Computer Integrated Systems Design (7373)

akta.pro primary industry

Translation & Transcreation Services (Script/Dialogue Adaptation) (MPAHAFAD)

Keywords

• Patent translation services
• Technical document translation
• Multilingual translation services
• Terminology glossary databases
• Translation design production

Headquarters

HQ city

Tokyo

HQ country

Japan

HQ region

Asia

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Operations, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Translation Services: Core revenue stream covering patent translation, science and technology translation, legal affairs translation, finance and IR translation, environmental translation, and general translation across 40 languages. Revenue is generated on a per-document or per-word/page basis. Pricing follows a standard page rate (400-character manuscript paper for foreign-to-Japanese; A4 double-spaced 23-line for Japanese-to-foreign). No special fees are charged for document difficulty or delivery date.
2. Industry Glossary CD-ROM Sales: Sale of 22 industry-specific terminology glossaries on CD-ROM, ranging from approximately 1,450 to 17,870 terms per glossary. Pricing ranges from ¥3,300 to ¥5,500 (tax included) per glossary. The flagship 'General Technical Glossary' (Pdic version) contains 3.7 million words in 150 fields and is priced at ¥22,000 (tax included). Sold via email order to [email protected], with Japan Post Letter Pack Light delivery.
3. Design and Production Services: DTP, design, and printing services for multilingual materials including corporate brochures, annual reports, CSR reports, PR magazines, catalogs, instruction manuals, overseas periodicals, and websites. Services are provided in Japanese and multiple foreign languages, covering everything from design presentation to final finishing touches.
4. System Development Services: Newly added service area focused primarily on science and technology system development. Staff numbers are still building; the company aims to expand into business area system development in the future.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

IIS is a Japanese translation services company that provides multilingual translation across 40+ languages in five specialized domains: patent, science and technology, legal affairs, finance/IR, and environmental documents. In addition to translation, IIS delivers integrated Design and Production services (DTP, printing, web design) and sells 22 industry-specific terminology glossaries on CD-ROM. The company also offers the proprietary Multi-Language Website System (MLWS) for multilingual website management and newly added System Development services focused on science and technology.

Product overview

IIS (株式会社アイアイエス) is a Japanese translation company founded in 1984, offering multilingual translation solutions across 40+ languages. The company operates as a unified service portfolio combining five core translation service categories (Patent, Science & Technology, Legal, Finance/IR, and Environmental), supported by Design & Production services, a proprietary Multi-Language Website System (MLWS) platform, and 22 industry-specific terminology glossaries distributed via CD-ROM. The company employs approximately 15 staff members and collaborates with about 900 registered translators domestically and internationally.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• MLWS (Multi-Language Website System): IIS's proprietary multilingual website system that allows displaying content in multiple languages from a single master website database.
• 業界別専門用語集 (Industry-Specific Glossary Series)

Products and services

• Patent Translation Services Specialized translation of patent applications, prior-art documents, office actions, and patent-related technical literature for Japanese and foreign patent filings. Intended for corporate IP departments, patent offices, and patent law firms.
• Science and Technology Translation Translation of instruction manuals, safety data sheets, test reports, technical standard manuals, and certificates for technology-intensive industries. Targeted at manufacturing companies, R&D departments, and research institutions.
• Legal Affairs Translation Translation of legal documents such as articles of incorporation, employment regulations, board and shareholder meeting minutes, contracts, memoranda, and certificates. Designed for corporate legal departments and law firms.
• Finance and IR Translation Translation and design services for financial reports, earnings briefings, financial statements, annual reports, stock and bond prospectuses, and other investor relations materials. Targeted at corporate finance and IR departments.
• Environmental Translation Multilingual translation of CSR reports, environmental financial reports, and compliance documentation including RoHS and REACH materials. Aimed at companies with environmental management and sustainability disclosure obligations.
• General Translation Document engineering translation for general business materials using process controls based on document type and customer instructions, with quality control through in-house and external proofreaders including native speakers.
• Design and Production Services DTP, design, and printing services in Japanese and multiple foreign languages for corporate brochures, annual reports, CSR reports, PR magazines, catalogs, instruction manuals, overseas periodicals, and websites, covering everything from design presentation to finishing.
• Industry-Specific Terminology Glossaries (CD-ROM) Collection of 22 CD-ROM glossaries covering industries such as steel and metal, automotive, electrical/electronics/semiconductors/IC/LCD, mechanical-electrical, glass/paper/pulp/building materials, industrial robots, bio/biochemistry, powder/quantum engineering, energy, environmental, medical (cardiac pacemaker), patents, finance/accounting/insurance/securities/banking, advertising/marketing, quality control, management/administration, sales/distribution, HR/general affairs, nanotechnology, and medicine.
• MLWS (Multi-Language Website System) Proprietary multilingual website platform that allows a single master website to display content in multiple languages using a multilingual database, enabling easy maintenance of multilingual websites and reuse of past translation data for translation efficiency.
• System Development Services Custom system development services primarily focused on science and technology domains, with future plans to expand into business-area system development.

Quantifiable outcome

• Over 28 years of experience and proven track record in multilingual patent and technical translation
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers3 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Lionbridge Technologies: Major global language services provider offering translation, localization, and AI data services to enterprise customers worldwide. Overlaps with IIS in technical and multilingual translation delivery, though at far larger scale and broader geographic footprint.
• RWS Holdings: Global leader in translation, localization, and IP services with a particularly strong patent translation practice (formerly SDL). Comparable to IIS in patent and technical translation services, but operates at global scale across enterprise and legal markets.
• LanguageLine Solutions: Large-scale provider of translation, interpretation, and localization services to enterprises, government, and healthcare. Comparable as a broad incumbent in the language services industry, though more weighted to interpretation than document translation.
• Fujitsu Translation Service: Translation offerings embedded within Fujitsu's broader IT services portfolio for enterprise customers in Japan. Comparable to IIS in targeting Japanese enterprise translation demand, though offered as part of a much larger technology services platform.

Direct peers

• Welocalize: Global translation and localization services firm with strong technical, legal, and patent translation capabilities. Comparable to IIS in domain-specialized multilingual services for enterprise and IP clients.
• Translations.com: Large multinational language services company providing multilingual translation, localization, and interpreting services across industries. Directly comparable in service model and customer segments to IIS.
• Honyaku Center: One of Japan's largest dedicated translation companies, offering multilingual, patent, technical, legal, and IR translation across many language pairs. Directly comparable to IIS in service mix, Japanese enterprise focus, and patent specialization.

Regional players

• Cygnus Translation: Asia-focused translation and localization company serving Japanese and regional enterprises. Comparable to IIS in serving Japanese corporate customers with multilingual technical and business translation needs.
• EC Innovations: Asia-headquartered multilingual localization services provider serving global enterprises across Asian and Western languages. Comparable to IIS in multilingual enterprise translation, with stronger Asian-market localization capabilities.

Others

• FIT (Japan Federation of Translators): Industry body representing translators and interpreters globally with strong Japanese membership. Comparable as an ecosystem participant relevant to IIS's translator recruitment and professional standards positioning.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about IIS