The main thing that sets the Japanese apart: a boundless respect for other people and for their personal space. Nobody shoves you (not even in a packed subway car). Nobody raises their voice at anyone. Every single interaction between people is polite and considerate. It seems the thing a Japanese person fears most in the world is making someone else uncomfortable.
Let me give you a simple example that illustrates it perfectly. The announcements in subway cars. Instead of our “Give up your seat to pregnant passengers” (as if, without the announcement, I wouldn’t give up my seat to a pregnant woman — but then I heard it over the loudspeaker and suddenly came to my senses)… instead of messages like that, they ask you: “Please don’t use your mobile phone — you might make others uncomfortable.”
Not once in two weeks did a single Japanese person take a phone call in the train car in front of me. None of the “I’m on the subway, let me call you back! I said I’m on the subway! The subway!” Same thing in cafés and other public places. No calls. Sit and browse Yahoo all you like, but do it quietly and don’t bother anyone.