That's definitely a big part of it, I think. There's a distinct 'process' that you have to go through when dealing with JP companies, and it involves a ton of formalities, keigo, appeasement, and doing your best to not diverge from that scripted routine. You usually have your one point of contact, and they also have their one point of contact within different departments, so many times anything out of the ordinary ends up becoming a convoluted chain of you asking, them asking, their contacts asking, and then the answer coming back through that chain. Most of the time it's considered an imposition or a bother, which is why it isn't exactly looked upon fondly.