Cranberry jam is sold in Japan. / They sell cranberry jam in Japan.

[homotopy07]

(1) Cranberry jam is sold in Japan.

(2) They sell cranberry jam in Japan.

Question: Which is correct?

I think (1) is correct, but I'm not sure if (2) is correct or not.

cranberry jam

 

[grassy]

2 sounds like a perfectly correct sentence to me.

 

[PaulQ]

And, to me, so does 1.

 

[JulianStuart]

This use of "they" is common. From the dictionary:

people in general:They say he's rich

 

[Chez]

They are both perfectly correct. 1) is the passive way to say it and 2) is the active way.

 

[homotopy07]

Thank you all.

 

[homotopy07]

(2) They sell cranberry jam in Japan.

Does this sentence work even if the speaker is Japanese?

 

[sdgraham]

Does this sentence work even if the speaker is Japanese?

Certainly (assuming you're speaking English) and neither does it matter if you're in Japan or someplace else when you say it.
I can equally say, "They sell cranberry jam in Oregon," (I live in Oregon)

 

[JulianStuart]

Does this sentence work even if the speaker is Japanese?

Of course: the truth of the statement is not altered by who says it.
It does allow the possibility of "We sell cranberry jam in Japan" since the speaker can be considered part of "they" - especially if the speaker is in the grocery retail trade

 

[homotopy07]

Thanks, sdgraham and Julian.