In another comment you wrote: “I don't even want to know my neighbors exist”. Since Japan is a more collectivist society, you will be acutely aware that your neighbours exist at all times. Heck, not only your neighbours, but every individual around you at work, in public, etc. and constantly be reminded by your fellow Japanese that you better “behave” and conform according to the perceived norms or get glared at disapprovingly or – worse – even ostracised. At least to my eyes, this is where you find the source of the societal phenomena you seek – not the police or another central authority.
One thing that struck me walking around Osaka was a 7-11 that had parking like an American style one would with parking in front.
Driving into Kagoshima (bullet train was out due to landslide so we drove down) you're gonna see basically single family style dwellings all the way down hill into the city where it gets instantly dense but for only about 15 city blocks. Was dead AF at night. In a city like that you can own a car no problem and commute in. And that's how most Japanese live. Don't get it twisted. Japanese folks enjoy privacy as much as anyone else. Tokyo is the exception, not the rule. And even in Tokyo they will go to retreats out in the mountains regularly.
Tokyo is a great model for proper zoning in high density urban areas to prevent high costs but it's not how you live everywhere
I usually only monitor posts for a few hours after I make them, but before I “move on”, you wrote: “And that's how most Japanese live. Don't get it twisted”. That is not a particularly friendly way to respond to a person, especially as I can not see how I anywhere have even hinted towards a suggestion that all Japanese live “on top” of each other. Perhaps you thought my point about “knowing your neighbours” was about privacy? I can assure you that it was not the case (which hopefully becomes apparent if you reread it in that light) and that what I wrote about Japanese society (in my experience) is equally applicable to the large cities and out “in the country”. If you want to dig further into this on your own with me “gone”, there is plenty of reading about “wa” which is pretty much what I describe. Although I fully admit that seeing the implications and complexity of the concept took me many years.
