I would say that the average Japanese is more worldly not because of their own insight but more because of the rigidity of the culture and the import/export of American/European (Western) culture into the country.

Every Japanese essentially grows up in the same exact manner as his/her peers:

* primary school (elementary, middle, high school)
* higher education (university/college)
* full time work

There is some variation between the sexes but generally that is how it goes for most Japanese. The difference with western culture is that generally each level of school beyond the previous is harder and more worthy than the previous level. In Japan there is an exception: high school is actually harder than college/university.

The university system in Japan is pretty much as backwards as you can get. Admissions is the most important aspect of Japanese University. Graduation is pretty much guaranteed and companies hiring new employees fresh out of college base their decision on the name of the university, not based on the individuals accomplishments during university. This means University entrance exams basically become the standard to which all Japanese are judged. As such once a Japanese student reaches his final year in High School, 100% of their effort is devoted to studying for college entrance exams and nothing else.

Oddly, after entering a university, most Japanese will treat college as an "extended vacation". The reason behind this is: companies will only pay attention to your university's name (so your employment has already basically been decided upon admission), graduation is basically guaranteed regardless of performance, and Japanese work place ethic enforces overtime as standard not optional. So most Japanese students will take university time as their "time off" and allow themselves to be consumed with all things fun Japanese and non-Japanese.

One major way of extending the extended vacation is the option of foreign exchange schools. Many Japanese will use this opportunity as a temporary escape from Japanese culture. But while they may learn a thing or two about other cultures, most foreign exchange students have no other intention other than extending their time away from the pressures of Japanese culture and their own leisure.

The other thing I'd like to address is the notion of the Japanese being "ahead". They are only ahead in the following categories:

* land-use and transit efficiency
* conforming society norms

In nearly every other metric they've fallen behind or are behind. The main reason for this is again the rigidity of Japanese culture and the refusal to experiment. There are several reasons for this but the biggest on is in a society where being unique is punished while the conforming act is never punished, it is always a safe move to conform. This means all employees will attempt to take the path with least resistance (conforming path) even if it is the least optimal.

The second compounding issue is the notion of "ganbare". Ganbare is a conjugation of the Japanese verb ganbaru which means to "try one's best". In Japanese culture ganbare is valued more than outcomes. That is a person that tries his hardest is more valuable than a person that uses little effort but is still successful. This basically authorizes the use of unpaid overtime in order to overcome shortcomings in business. Workers will "ganbare" by putting in more hours in order to overcome any challenges--and usually in this act, they feel supported by society and management. The problem is that we have data that shows that prolonged overtime causes burn out and thus productivity actually decreases despite more hours worked. But when your entire society is basically burned out you're not going to get any risk takers or even any insightful ideas. You instead have a zombie workforce.

I do think Japan can turn around because there are signs of concern and insight among the top ranks in Japan (both government and business) that the status quo is not sustainable. The real question is whether or not they can change some of their core cultural values to adjust to the changing times quick enough.