Well, thing is, my plans for the future are these: Study english 40 points (swedish universities use a pointbased system. Each semester is 20 points). Study japanese 120 points. Study translation, 40 points. That amounts to 5 years of studying. But the real question is: would someone actually EMPLOY me after that kind of education.
/R
As a Swede who’s been considering a similar education in the past, I’d have to say no. You may remember the much-hyped “professional translator” program offered some years back. Two years later the first of them hit the streets. Very few of them got jobs.
I don’t know much about the need for Japanese-speaking translators, though. Could be a good market there, but I would check it out extremely closely before planning my future. And remember that you won’t be done until 2008. Who knows what’s happened in the business then?
As I understand it, the demand for translators is usually more in a government based position than in a private corporation. Not many large companies hire consultants, because if they do enough business in another country, they’ve got a translator (or more than one) on staff. That means that there could be a job for you, but I’d think that anyone who landed a decent job as a translator would hang on to it, especially if there isn’t a large market, meaning that the job openings will likely be few and far between.
On the other hand, in countries with a lot of immigration (The U.S. for example) translators are often hired on a consultant basis by immigrants or attorneys for immigrants. However according to friend of my wife who translates Russian for a living, this business tends to be cycles of feast or famine, more often the latter. She also works as a bookkeeper part time to ensure the bills get paid.
Just some things to consider.
Translation… aah. This thread couldn´t go on for long until I dropped in to add my 2 cents…
Let´s see now… this translation course, how long is it? You say 40 points, so I assume it´s two semesters. I don´t know how your university works, but isn´t there an actual branch of translation studies? In my opinion, 1 year isn´t enough for a decent translator´s training. It doesn´t suffice to know the languages, you need to study actual translation for several years. If you have that option, go for it.
I study interpreting (final year), and it´s a 9 semester course (same for translation), and most European universities that offer translation/interpeting have more or less the same time span, from 3 to 5 years.
I´m not saying you can´t become a good translator with excellent language skills and a 1-year course, but it´s tough. If you´re really interested in the profession, try to find a university that offers translating (plus the languages, of course) as a full course.
As for the job prospects… the majority of translators work freelance, and there is a very large market for translations. However, there also is a lot of competition.
Some large companies hire in-house translators, but those jobs are few and far apart. The Swedish government and kommuner, however, employ a fairly large number of translators (and interpreters) in the field of immigration and integration. Japanese might not be the language of their choice, though… Have you thought about community interpreting? (i.e. interpreting for immigrants, facilitating communication in dealings with the authorities, hospitals, schools etc.) There is a market for translators there, too, but it´s probably mostly documents and you have to be a certified translator for that.
And then there´s always the European Union… no Japanese there, either…
It´s hard to find actual employment, but if you´re good, you can make a living on the freelance market.
It depends on the language combination, of course, and I don´t know much about the market for Japanese translations.
Have you thought about what kind of texts you would like to translate? I hope I´m not telling you anything new, but the majority of translations are on technical subjects, and translating literature is a very small market.
I don´t want to discourage you, it´s a great job and I love it, even though I personally prefer interpreting. But that´s something you have to find out for yourself.
I think it´s wonderful to work with languages, and if thats something you like, you will probably become a good translator.
And I don´t think the translation market will be drying out anytime soon…
I feel like I´m rambling here, it´s late and I´ve been translating all day 
- hope I helped you a bit, and if you have any questions, I´ll try to answer them.
Good luck with your decision!