If America fixes problems after they happen, Japanese fixes them before they happen. I've seen one police car since I've been here (police don't carry guns). The few security guards I've seen are either fat or old. There's no need for physical enforcement of law because the citizens are enforced mentally.

Teachers in primary school never intervene when a child is causing trouble. They want the kids to learn how to "harmonize" with each other instead of having to tell them to get along with each other. Then there's the whole senpai-kohai thing where respect is always given to the people above you. Apparently asking questions during class is also strongly discouraged once students enter secondary school. Topping it all off is the ridiculous college entrance exam--memorization of useless irrelevant information like the precipitation of Eastern European cities.

From an American perspective this culture--descendant of Shintoism and Bushido-- seems to suppress individualism. Apparently Western educators are so surprised when they see the schools in Japan that one of them called Japanese education "systematic child abuse". But then again I can't really place my own moral judgements on Japan. It served Japan well during the Meiji Restoration and post-WW2 to quickly industrialize the nation. Besides, Japan's a lot of fun.