After 24 years of working hard and doing right, she made the two minute mistake of stealing a pair of swimming trunks that cost her everything that she had going in her life. She didn't have t o go to jail, but the evening newspaper carried stories about her that told of her actions and excuses. People came to her home to look at her in disgust, which ruined her reputation. In other words, a person's actions in Japan mean more than the nature of the actual person. This boils down to performance, and the pressure that is put on those in the culture to perform well, or pay the consequences.
Culture is a complex thing to study for a group as large as a country, like Japan.
It is difficult to narrow down the study to only a few aspects of the society, and be able to infer something about that society by looking at these aspects. Religion, specifically Buddhism, Confucianism, and Shintoism, to me is the most important aspect of Japanese culture, because it extends into almost every other facet of daily life. It also sets the framework for the other aspects of culture. The hierarchical system in Japan and the importance of Basho in that system also affects life in Japan. Finally, the performance oriented nature of the Japanese, and their emphasis on the actions of the members of the society and their responsibility for their actions, is the last major concept of culture that I feel distinguishes the Japanese.