Japanese audio to text: what to check before you publish

Quick answer

Set Japanese as the spoken language, transcribe the recording, and review proper nouns, digits, English terms and speaker changes while listening to the original. Use CER alongside WER when comparing systems.

Common review points

• Names and organizations: the same pronunciation can map to multiple kanji. Confirm against the speaker’s preferred spelling.
• Numbers: check dates, amounts and units; one digit can alter a decision.
• English mixed into Japanese: brand and product names may be rendered phonetically.
• Overlapping speakers: a confident paragraph can still merge two voices.

How to test a tool

Use a clip from the setting you actually work in: a Zoom call, an interview or a lecture. Create a short human reference. Count both word and character edits, recording your normalization rules. Do not compare vendor percentages unless the same recordings and scoring method were used.

If your work is Japanese meeting notes rather than verbatim transcripts, see our Japanese guide to meeting minutes. It starts from the decision and follow-up workflow, not from an English template.