A while back we thought we’d made a difference – New Line got to hear about the substandard translations being done for the Japanese versions of the films, and Peter Jackson reportedly asked for that problem to be addressed. Whether it’s a case of Japanese distributor saving face, or a misunderstanding, it seems that nothing is being done after all.

Japanse LOTR fan Herbalist writes, “We were so glad to hear PJ say, “We did change the person (to do the Japanese translation)” on TVNZ. But today the Japanese distributor, Nippon Herald Inc., OFFICIALLY made the announcement: they say that PJ never told them anything of the sort and that they do mean to keep the SAME TRANSLATOR Natsuko Toda.

“In her subtitles we had to see Frodo say to Boromir, “You are a liar!” and dozens of other terrible lines degrading your FotR! And she has never admitted her fault, on the contrary, she openly and repeatedly declares that she did not and would not read Tolkien’s books!

“THE SHAMELESS TRANSLATOR STAYS IN SPITE OF WHAT PJ SAID ! Nippon Herald Inc. insists they have HEARD NOTHING FROM PJ!”

Herbalist goes on to say that she feels that FOTR suffered at the box office as a result, and offers the figures from BoxOffice Mojo as evidence – the numbers for FOTR seem pretty low.