Ken, even if Heisig had used a translator for his academic papers, he specialises in kyoto school philosophy, very little of which is translated into other languages, and most of the academic papers about it are in Japanese. He wouldn't be worth anything as a scholar if he couldn't read the originals, and they require far more than basic fluency to understand.
Usually Japanologist scholars have to be fluent in Japanese to have any sort of credibility, since there's only so far you can get without native sources. A BA, maybe and MA dissertation if you choose your topic carefully and have a lot of native friends to help, but nothing beyond that point.
Ofc, writing academic papers is a whole 'nother monster. I wouldn't be able to write an academic paper in any language but English, but that has more to do with habit and effort. However, you can find his academic papers written directly in Japanese on his academic profile; if he doesn't have a co-author then he probably didn't even ask a native to proofread:
http://nirc.nanzan-u.ac.jp/ja/staff/heis...ed-essays/
Usually Japanologist scholars have to be fluent in Japanese to have any sort of credibility, since there's only so far you can get without native sources. A BA, maybe and MA dissertation if you choose your topic carefully and have a lot of native friends to help, but nothing beyond that point.
Ofc, writing academic papers is a whole 'nother monster. I wouldn't be able to write an academic paper in any language but English, but that has more to do with habit and effort. However, you can find his academic papers written directly in Japanese on his academic profile; if he doesn't have a co-author then he probably didn't even ask a native to proofread:
http://nirc.nanzan-u.ac.jp/ja/staff/heis...ed-essays/
Edited: 2016-06-06, 7:28 am