[xYinniex]

well, actually, I've seen MANY MANY translators who translate haruki Murakami's works and they are GOOD. But many of them are professors majoring in japanese communication/Literature.

It's freelance work , as MMM said, and like artists, you work your way up and it will be very hard. there is no easy way to do it really, if you are not a native because of the many dialects.

A certificate in a foreign language doesn't necessarily mean translation degree, it could be one of the paths you take, heck, i have a GCSE in italian, on a certicate. and I only know basic italian. A translation degree requires ALOT of focus on literature so if you did do alot of literature in your foreign language diploma, and you aced it, then yes, you would have potential to be a translator.