Japan has always been a country of extremes, probably even before Commodore Perry came through and crushed the buildings back in the 1800s. Either dudes working themselves to death, or working hard at not working (video games, anime etc.). Being extreme doesn't help though in an era of globalization and transparency where being called out for being over-the-top happens all the damn time, and you have no real military or economic power to back people down from breathing down your neck.
The irony of it all is that the position China's in on the global stage is where Japan could've been if they had tried to unify Asia against the European imperialists, but instead they chose to turn into one of the enemy and tried to cut in on a piece of China during their rape and pillage campaigns. It's as if Karma caught them with a flying Bruce Lee kick n shyt haha