[Crispy]

Maybe they can do a better job of striking a balance between people's ability to be whistle-blowers and people's ability to destroy firms for personal profit than the US is.

It's possible. If there's anything the Japanese are good at, it's compromising.

[kamome]

I think this phenomenon is a very healthy development in Japan. Consumers have been screwed so badly in Japan through price fixing, etc., because the elites are so sealed away from the general populace. It's the same mentality among bureaucrats. The more they get exposed, the better it is for society. And a law that protects whistleblowers from retaliation by their employers is a wonderful deterrent against corporate unlawfulness/political graft.

[cstaylor]

What is the reason for this difference between Japan and the United States?

Of course, much can explained through cultural and historical differences. Many of the early Americans were hunter types, while the early Japanese were farmers. Speed was of the essence for hunters in pursuing their prey and dealing with dangerous animals, hence they prized the speedy transfer of information, and did not question how this information was obtained.

On the other hand, farmers must protect themselves, and value the importance of community.

It became an ingrained habit for them to place the survival of their communal society above all else. Blowing the whistle on wrongdoing would have destroyed communal order and meant certain ostracism for the whistle-blower

No, no, and no. This is philosophy, not pseudo-scientific psychobable-covered racism. Japan, historically a cultural sattelite of China, inherited Confucion thinking:
- Youngers must obey elders
- Wife must obey the husband
- Younger son must obey Older son
- Children must respect their parents
- All must respect the State
Americans, being primarily European children of the Enlightenment period, believed that people were equal by the natural laws provided by God (over the years the accepted definition of "people" has changed in the Declaration of Independence) Practically speaking, that meant every person had a God-given right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.

Comparing the two systems, for good or ill, is beyond this arbiter's training, but it has absolutely nothing to do with the jobs that people once had, and more to the inspirations that fueled their minds.

You can read the full text of the Declaration here.