Insights
Notes on how Japanese consumers talk, written for overseas teams. These are not translations of the Japanese column.
Star ratings are not a Japan brief
Marketplace stars and sentiment scores summarise volume. Japanese repeat purchase is usually decided in a second clause inside a review or a Q&A reply. As of August 2026.
Read more →Do not paste your global claim onto a Japanese page
Japan still restricts cosmetic and consumer advertising under the Pharmaceuticals Act and the Premiums and Representations Act. Translating a US or EU hero claim is not localisation. As of August 2026.
Read more →You can enter Japan without speaking Japanese. You cannot read it that way.
Overseas brands can sell in Japan through partners. They still need someone who reads Japanese consumer language, or they will localise the wrong attribute. As of August 2026.
Read more →Machine translation loses the Japanese complaint
Japanese consumer complaints often arrive as politeness. Translated verbatim, they read as neutral. Overseas teams then miss the real objection. As of August 2026.
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