This is not a Japanese-only thing. It is a thing so common in America that there is a named test to detect it -- FizzBuzz [+] -- and this test, or one like it,

This is not a Japanese-only thing. It is a thing so common in America that there is a named test to detect it -- FizzBuzz [+] -- and this test, or one like it, actually catches many people out. [+] c.f. Any of the following and note that they're from the nation of, ahem, conventional engineering culture: http://imranontech.com/2007/01/24/using-fizzbuzz-to-find-developers-who-grok-coding/ http://imranontech.com/2007/01/24/using-fizzbuzz-to-find-dev... http://blog.codinghorror.com/why-cant-programmers-program/ http://blog.codinghorror.com/why-cant-programmers-program/ http://www.globalnerdy.com/2012/11/15/fizzbuzz-still-works/ http://www.globalnerdy.com/2012/11/15/fizzbuzz-still-works/ I would note that a common theme in these posts is "I thought it was a myth but then I tried hiring and the boogeyman sprung to horrifying life."