Yes, the difference between Japanese and English makes it a nightmare to translate between the two languages. But the real struggle is to satisfy the domestic readers' expectations of a foreign text.
This is the challenge faced by translator Cathy Hirano. In Eight ways to say you, Hirano argues that Japanese readers and English readers have opposite ways of thinking about a text: while English readers expect writers to present their points clearly in an introduction-body-conclusion structure, Japanese readers are accustomed to writers who conceal their opinion and instead try to "create a rapport" by appealing to the readers' emotion.
Hirano's insight is enlightening. It seems to explain the frustration that I have always had with translating Japanese videos. Because of subtlety, I often had a hard time understanding the video creator's intention until I finished translating every sentence spoken in the video. At the same time, I feel that Hirano's observation does not capture the realms of English and Japanese literature in their entirety. I don't believe all English readers prefer a fictional text to be written like an academic essay.
Another challenge Hirano faced was translating for readers unfamiliar with Japanese culture. A solution she found was to add descriptions that would enhance the readers' understanding of cultural aspects important to the narrative. This was also a strategy I used in my video translations whenever I imagined a foreign viewer would not understand some culture (especially Internet culture) specific to Japan.
But don't overdo it!
Hirano added descriptions sparingly after consultations with the original authors and editors. On the other hand, I gave myself too much freedom of adding too many descriptions to the point that captions were often flooded with annotations that obstructed the viewing experience.
-Marcus
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