I did this until now, but I also think we could build a culture of helping projects like this with voluntary donations. Of course putting a price into this is wrong. However, since I began thinking about how I could share translations for free - both from games and books -, I reached the conclusion that if I want to do this for life, I would need to open donations so people could help me make a living only through this.
Yes, some people run on a strict basis that doesn't allow for any sort of monetary gain, and that's something I respect A LOT

but even if you accept donations or ask for funds I wouldn't complain. Money is the engine of society, without it nothing moves, therefore I can see when someone needs a hand and as I said this takes a lot of time and effort which is never rewarded in your average currency.
Making a living through this? Well I don't think that's possible, I suggest you look into companies that translate works instead of trying to freelance yourself into this as this kind of works is unofficial, therefore you can't assure a safe income. Still you can try and hey let us know how it goes.
I kinda feel bad charging fees for my work because culture should be available for all people. Also, by living from donations, we don't charge from people who can't pay, while people who CAN pay and are willing to can help with any amount they want.
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@Kingace19k said, same way as I did before, you shouldn't feel bad for that my friend! You're doing a great job and all your doing is asking for a little hand, nothing else. it's up to people to decide whether they give you that hand or not. And as you say it's not a requirement, so you have my full support even though I'd prefer otherwise.
I feel that piracy and donations are the true way for us to create a world where culture is available to all and everyone can benefit from this.
Not so much piracy, but donations certainly, hell the church has been doing this since eons why can't we?
Just remember, doing this as a job and as a passion is two completely different things, motivated by uneven causes... but you can go forth with both as long as you know their limits.
Given your background I can see where your ideas come from, I come from a similar place to yours, so I get the feeling

How did you learn japanese anyway? I have friends who have taught me some ways to learn on my own, but I'd like to hear what path you took.
Hope a moderator reads this carefully before deleting this. I'm not against it, I just don't want people to do something without understanding the risks involved.
Didn't knew about that part, very sad then. Still I don't think translations become very popular anyway

thanks for the info anyway, that might come handy in the future as I'd also like to translate some works.