'Japanese weird' is nothing but confirmation bias. Because you only hear about the outliers, stories strange enough to make their way all through the ocean. There are myriads of ultra-bizarre things happening around you, but most likely you view them as isolated events and don't have a label for them. Whereas you do have one label for Japan, and whenever you encounter something unusual you confirm this bias - while ignoring other things. Next time ask yourself questions such as: is this commonplace in that country? is this considered unusual by the locals as well? is this considered normal in cultures other than mine?
Most likely the journalist will not answer these for you - bad journalists often rely on stereotypes and biases to appeal to your feelings of shock.
