Japan suffers from a cultural problem, mainly that you're judged by how much you work. It's like the Puritan work ethic, where idleness and not working was seen

Japan suffers from a cultural problem, mainly that you're judged by how much you work. It's like the Puritan work ethic, where idleness and not working was seen as sin. The penalization or reward curve seems to be highly asymmetric. If you work hard, you're barely getting rewarded - it's what is expected. But if you slack even a bit, you'll get penalized harshly. This leads to fear-driven management, where employees will put up with all kinds of bullshit, as well as just looking like they're working, in fear of getting sacked or limiting their career opportunities.