The average Guardian reader never heard of that private company and definitely never heard of that much smaller private company. "Company in Japan" is also long

The average Guardian reader never heard of that private company and definitely never heard of that much smaller private company. "Company in Japan" is also longer than simply "Japan". Plus there's still some latent orientalism at play. But while the government of Japan likely isn't particularly involved in this project, states still like to claim tech advances (or gimmicks) happening in their country. There's a reason you often see politicians at opening ceremonies even when their government contributed nothing to what is being opened.