Other than culture, which also plays a large part in this, many people in Japan live alone. And, as opposed to the West, that means living in a space optimized

Other than culture, which also plays a large part in this, many people in Japan live alone. And, as opposed to the West, that means living in a space optimized for one person. It is neither convenient nor pleasant to accommodate guest(s) either for the person living there or for the visitor. You want a party, AND privacy ? Rent a large private karaoke room with service that will bring you anything you want and nothing to clean yourself afterwards, make as much noise with as many people as you want. Quiet space to chill, study, or work in company ? A myriad fantastic cafes. Family stuff ? Famires to the rescue. Etc. The vast majority of these places are clean, safe, cheap, and within walking distance of wherever one lives -- if not, nothing beats Japanese trains and other means of public transportation. As for community, if the above isn't enough, just compare the streets of Japanese cities with those of Western cities and tell me in which ones you will find small children going about safely ( or adults for that matter ), and which ones are covered with litter, cigarette butts, people yelling in public, and idle cars or disturbing filthy traffic everywhere. Which ones suggest to you "don't disturb your neighbours, be agreeable, enjoy being here" and which ones scream "no one gives a f*ck about you, get out of the way" ... We could go on, and compare individualistic societies and collective thinking ones, but that's a long conversation.