The statement that MOST accurately represents the major difference between the Japanese and European feudal systems is:
In Europe, feudal lords protected peasants in exchange for part of their crops. In Japan, feudal lords protected peasants without asking anything in return.
This captures a central aspect of the economic relationship in European feudalism, where serfs or peasants typically provided a portion of their agricultural output to their lords in exchange for protection and land use, contrasted with the Japanese system, which was more focused on loyalty to the lord without a similar economic obligation.