As is always the case, aren't they a stark minority though?
The average middle aged Japanese family salaryman seems to be firm and stable middle class in return for a lifetime of slogging through long, bureaucratic, workdays where he seldom sees his family (and his family, him).
I specifically use the term "him" because this seems to be overwhelmingly a male phenomenon. On the other side of the equation, the wife and kids rarely see the husband/father.
A literally lifelong solid career that some in the West might envy - at least for the stability, but probably not the long hours.
Barring exceptional circumstances, you probably will never become wealthy, but you will probably never dip below middle class either.
Your wife and kids (again, the salaryman concept is probably overwhelmingly a male phenomenon) will enjoy a stable, solid, financial foundation, in return for rarely seeing their husband/father - relatively speaking, at least from the perspective of what the West sees as acceptable work-life balance.
