Japanese Social Stress

"...American and Japanese respondents rank-ordered a list of "sources of daily stress (hassle)." The Japanese list strongly featured human (interpersonal or social) relations, whereas the American list focused more heavily on financial concerns. The differences suggest not only where people focus their attention, but also where they find their pleasure: if sociality (or the making of money) did not have some rewards, people would put less effort into it and so feel fewer stresses associated with it. In the case of Japanese society, then, sociality brings important satisfactions, but it also can hook people with undesirable obligations beyond their personal ability to control."

Takie Sugiyama Lebra: The Japanese Self in Cultural Logic (2004)