China has a concept of face (面子 mianzi), but this concept is quite absent in Japanese culture, despite both of them being 'Oriental', and what you described rig

China has a concept of face (面子 mianzi), but this concept is quite absent in Japanese culture, despite both of them being 'Oriental', and what you described right now will be quite baffling to a Japanese mind. Sure, Japan has a strong concept of avoiding causing trouble to others, and of respecting your superior by waiting for them to leave, but that's not the main cause for overtime. Excessive worktime (長時間労働) is a very hot topic right now in Japan and I've seen several surveys popping out in TV shows. Here are some I found online: https://jinjibu.jp/article/detl/manage/226/3/ https://jinjibu.jp/article/detl/manage/226/3/ http://www.jil.go.jp/institute/research/documents/research020.pdf http://www.jil.go.jp/institute/research/documents/research02... All this surveys give more or less the same picture: the number one reason stated for working long hours is "Too much work to complete in normal working hours". "This type of job requires overtime by definition" and "I want to do my work properly" come second. Unlike Western tech companies, deadlines only come in the middle, and "Not wanting to leave earlier than my peers or my superior" comes dead last.