Why are there so many "...と思う" in Japanese?
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Indeed, Japanese people often use "...と思う." in daily conversation. You may think it is "I think", which feels unnatural. But this is normal for the Japanese.
"...と思う." Mainly expresses the speaker's guesses and thoughts. Although translated as "I think", there is a sense of "uncertain" in it.
And why is there a feeling of "guessing" in it?
Mainly for fear of offending others. And actually this is a feature of this language.
You know that so many 「思う」 "I think" might sound unnatural or even childish[1].
And you should hear more of "思うけど" instead of "思う" in everyday life. The more confident expression is "思うよ".
Examples:
- 六時に出発すれば間に合うと思います。I think it will be in time if I leave at 6 o'clock.
- お歳暮の贈り物に一番人気があるのは商品券だと思います。I think the most popular gifts for year-end gifts are gift certificates.
Although these two sentences are translated as "I think", there is a feeling of "uncertain" in them.
The advantage of this is that it will not embarrass you when others make negative opinions. (It is very rude to point out the mistakes of others directly, especially in Japan. You have to be in a very gentle way.)
In other words, if the other person says "...と思う", you can directly point out the mistake. But if the other person's tone is very affirmative, rather than such "uncertain", then you cannot directly point out the other person's mistakes.
References:
[1] https://hinative.com/en-US/questions/972930
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