Japan is a really rigid country that values stability, hierarchy and following rules above all else. There is a reason why their economy has been stagnant since 1990.

And yeah, the houses might be cheap, but they are also tiny and most Japanese cities are ugly as sin. Not a great example IMHO.

> There is a reason why their economy has been stagnant since 1990.

There are many many reasons that go into explaining an economic outcome.

Reducing everything to a perceived cultural difference is wrong and intellectually uncurious.