Thanks--this was a very clear explanation. I'm familiar with the concept of kikokushijo from some Japanese friends in college--there really are some ways of thinking that are completely foreign culturally and your example is a great way of highlighting that.

I've read that Japan's younger generations are starting to break free from the mold of "lifetime employment" and similar concepts as corporations have begun to show less and less loyalty to their employees as they become more competitive globally, and as Japan becomes more Westernized. Have you seen signs of that? Are the days of the traditional salaryman numbered?

The whole concept of the salaryman has always been fascinating to me. On the one hand, you have Japan, which is probably up there with Germany when one looks up the definition of "efficiency" in the dictionary. On the other, you have this concept of people working insane hours which have been proven to be less productive than when people actually get solid rest, have good work/life balance, etc. in terms of actual output, reduction in errors, and things that generally align with the concept of kaizen.

I have this notion in my head that Japanese corporate culture is extremely inefficient, with people essentially just creating endless bureaucracy and shuffling paper back and forth. Can you comment on any of these things?