The overall atmosphere of aesthetic awareness in a company is more important than individual rewards. Americans focus on individual battles, Japanese focus on accommodating the other.
Japanese are not comfortable with the “over-lawyerly, vigorously analytical” way of dealing with problems. They value vague expressions. While Westerners criticise Japanese for being opaque or deceiving but the same sentences that they would criticise, Japanese would understand perfectly.
Example: This is illustrated in the advertising industry – commercials which promote an image or feeling, rather than focusing on a ‘hard sell’ are the norm, and comparative advertising is considered relatively taboo (it was banned until the late 80′s).
Source: Hayashi, S. (1988). Culture and Management in Japan.