Editorial Policy

Who writes JP Sheet content?

All JP Sheet content is written and edited by our in-house team of Japanese auction industry specialists. Between us we have 44+ years of combined experience importing, exporting and verifying Japanese vehicles — split between 23 years of direct import-export operations and 21+ years dedicated to auction sheet verification.

We do not accept guest posts. We do not publish content from freelancers or content marketing agencies. Every author has direct, hands-on experience with the systems they write about — they can read original Japanese auction sheets, distinguish a Grade 4 from a 4.5R with photographic evidence, identify damage codes by sight, and have personally inspected vehicles at major Japanese auction houses.

You can see the people behind the content on our Authors page.

How do we research our content?

Every technical claim on JP Sheet is verified against primary sources — the live Japanese auction database that powers our verification service, not secondary blog posts or aggregator sites.

How do we fact-check before publishing?

Every article passes through two reviewers before going live:

• Technical reviewer — a team member with direct auction-floor experience reads the draft and flags any claim that doesn't match what they've personally seen or what the auction houses currently document.
• Editorial reviewer — checks for clarity, accuracy of numbers, consistency with other JP Sheet content (we don't want one guide saying "21 years" and another saying "20+"), and that every claim is traceable to a primary source.

We err on the side of caution. If we are unsure about a statistic, we either confirm it from a primary source within 24 hours or we cut the claim from the article. We would rather publish less and be right than publish more and be wrong.

How often is content updated?

The Japanese auction industry evolves — new auction houses open, grading conventions shift slightly, damage codes get refined. To stay accurate:

• Quarterly reviews — every guide and blog post is read by a team member at least once every three months
• Triggered reviews — when an auction house changes a grading convention, a new damage code appears, or a regulation changes, any affected guides are updated immediately
• Last-updated dates — every guide shows when it was last reviewed, so you can see at a glance whether the content is current
• Major rewrites — significant changes (e.g. a complete restructure or substantial new information) are noted in our changelog

What is our corrections policy?

If we publish something wrong, we want to fix it fast. Here is exactly how we handle corrections:

1. Anyone — customer, competitor, casual reader — can report a factual error by emailing [email protected] with subject "Editorial Correction".
2. We acknowledge within 48 hours. Even if we end up disagreeing, you'll know we read it.
3. We verify against primary sources. If the correction stands up, we update the article — usually within 48 hours of acknowledgement.
4. We note the change. Material corrections get a "Corrected on [date]" note at the bottom of the affected article.
5. We credit the person who flagged it (with their permission) — name and a link they choose. This applies even to corrections from competitors.

Minor fixes — typos, broken links, formatting — are corrected silently without a notice. Substantive factual corrections always get acknowledged on the page.

Are we independent? Do we have conflicts of interest?

Yes, independent. No undisclosed conflicts. Specifically:

What is JP Sheet's AI policy for content?

Honesty here is important — readers should know what's written by a human and what isn't.

• No AI-generated articles. Every guide, blog post and explainer on JP Sheet is written and edited by named human team members.
• AI may assist research. Like other modern editorial teams, we may use AI tools to help find sources, summarise long technical documents, or check spelling and grammar. The words you read are written and approved by a human.
• Our chatbot is AI. The customer-support chatbot on our site uses an AI model (Google Gemini). It is clearly identified as a chatbot. Its responses are based on a curated, human-reviewed knowledge base — not unconstrained AI generation.
• Translations are human + AI hybrid. Our $5 Translation service uses professional translators with AI assistance. Customer-facing translation reports are reviewed by a human before delivery.
• Verification reports are not AI-generated. Auction sheet verification reports pull data directly from the Japanese auction database — the numbers and damage codes you see are recorded by the original Japanese inspector, not generated by us or by AI.

Where do our sources come from?

Our primary sources include:

• Live auction databases from USS, JU (Japan Used Car Network), AUCNET, TAA, JAA, HAA and 200+ other Japanese auction houses we connect to
• Dealer inventory panels (100+ Japanese dealer networks)
• Salvage and accident stock networks (50+)
• Private stocks (150+)
• Japan Used Motor Vehicle Inspection Council (JUMVIC) for current inspection standards
• Japan Customs publications for export regulations
• Government export certificate frameworks as published by the Japanese Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism

We do not rely on third-party blogs, content aggregators or scraped data as primary sources. Where we reference an external claim, we cite the original publication and date.

Why don't we always show individual author bylines?

Most articles are written collaboratively by our team rather than by a single author. Where one specific team member led the research, we attribute the article to them. Where multiple team members contributed substantially, we attribute it to the JP Sheet team and list the contributors on the Authors page.

We never use fictional or AI-generated bylines. Every name attached to a JP Sheet article is a real person on our team.

How do I report an editorial issue?

For corrections, attribution requests, or any editorial concern:

• Email [email protected] with subject "Editorial Correction"
• Include the URL of the page in question
• Explain what is incorrect and (if possible) your source

We acknowledge every submission within 48 hours. We respect the time of people who flag errors — we treat your message as a contribution, not a complaint.