Today's episode takes us to Osaka, Japan, 1994 where a routine bank robbery turned hostage situation spirals into tragedy when a single word - just one word - gets lost between languages. What should have been a peaceful resolution became a cautionary tale about the deadly consequences of miscommunication. Get ready for "The Osaka Incident" - where cultural nuance and linguistic precision meant the difference between life and death. Osaka in 1994 was a city of contrasts - gleaming skyscrapers piercing the sky while narrow streets below buzzed with the energy of Japan's economic powerhouse. It was just another busy Thursday at the Sumitomo Bank branch in the Tennoji district, until Kenji Yamamoto walked through the doors at 3:42 PM.

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Disclaimer: This series of podcast episodes is purely a work of fiction. Any characters, names, places, or events mentioned are entirely made up and are not based on real people, places, or experiences.

Welcome to Criminal Translations: Crimes Lost (and Found) in Translation, a new series within Localize This!

I'm your host, Harry Windsor, and over the next few episodes, we'll dive deep into cases where a single mistranslated word, a cultural misconception, or a linguistic error changed the course of justice forever.

In today's criminal justice system, where split-second decisions can determine someone's fate, the role of accurate translation isn't just important – it's crucial.

These aren't just stories about crimes; they're cautionary tales about what happens when justice gets lost between languages.

Today, we begin with a chilling case that haunted the courts for over a decade: The Misheard Confession. A story where a simple linguistic nuance meant the difference between freedom and imprisonment.

On a cold November morning in 2003, in the quiet suburbs of Rochester, New York, Maria Santiago was found dead in her corner grocery store. The 64-year-old grandmother had been brutally attacked during what appeared to be a robbery gone wrong.

The tight-knit Hispanic community was shaken to its core. Maria wasn't just a shop owner – she was a neighborhood matriarch who helped recent immigrants find their footing in their new American home.

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In today's episode, we're going on a journey through the latest and greatest in translation technology. We'll test drive Meta's ambitious new smart glasses, explore how artificial intelligence is revolutionizing the way we communicate across languages, and even dive into how game developers are turning the complex world of translation into compelling gameplay. So stick around - whether you're a tech geek, a language enthusiast, or just someone who's curious about how we're breaking down language barriers in 2025, this episode is for you. locallinguists.com