How we built and automated our new Japanese GitLab Docs site

This post details the implementation of a new localization infrastructure for GitLab's product documentation, specifically for Japanese. It describes the adoption of 'docs-as-code' principles for translated content, including placing `doc-locale/ja-jp` folders alongside source Markdown files. The post outlines an AI-assisted translation workflow with human post-editing, the technical challenges of preserving markdown syntax, implementing English fallback mechanisms, and dynamically adjusting navigation with anchor IDs. It also highlights the extension of CI/CD pipelines to test localized content and the use of a centralized translation request system to orchestrate the workflow. The goal is to keep localized documentation synchronized with English updates and provide a scalable foundation for future language expansion.