A common Japanese review pattern is a short compliment followed by a soft contrast. The decision sits in the second clause: fragrance too strong for morning use, the pump that leaks, the shade that does not match. Translation engines keep the words and flatten the weight. An overseas brand manager scanning English then ranks the product as “mostly fine”.
Volume and sentiment scores inherit the same flattening. A polite complaint is scored closer to neutral than to negative. If your Japan decision is based on those scores alone, you will underweight the attribute that is actually killing repeat purchase.
Ask for three things, in English you can circulate: the original Japanese line, what it is doing socially (praise, hedge, refusal), and the implied request. That is enough to rewrite a landing page. A spreadsheet of star ratings is not.
