Could the mindset of Japan be related in part to the idea of a strong long-term social contract between employee and corporation that exists in Japan? I read somewhere that in Japan, corporations are expected to take care of the employees in an almost familial sense, and in return, employees are expected to give their life energy to the corporation. I would be willing to wager that employee turnover in Japanese companies is lower than in the United States, and that quitting and working for a competitor for a higher salary would be seen as betrayal.
If this is the case, perhaps having a Megacorp job in Japan makes an employee feel protected and safe in a way that doesn't exist (any more) in US Megacorp jobs. I recall in 2008, Toyota bragged about not closing factories or laying people off, and saying how they care about their employees. This is in spite of Toyota factories being without unions, and it probably being more profitable to have layoffs during the economic downturn.
The situation in Japan is that all individualistic thought is progressively destroyed in the early years at school. When kids are thought not to ask any question or to challenge the professor, it is unlikely you will end up with an environment where entrepreneurs will flourish and thrive. The society in Japan is also very effective in making sure everyone fits the same mold.
This being said, there is still fascination for entrepreneurs in Japan. There is one TV program I watch every week, called "Canbria Kyuden" (Palace Cambria) discussing exclusively stories of Japanese entrepreneurs based on new market insights. They review large and small corporations alike and this is a very famous program here in Japan. It is probably "edgy" in a way, but I guess the interest/public is there as well.
The gist of your comment is correct, in the sense that a megacorp job in Japan is safer than a job at an American one.
However, the principle of lifetime employment in Japan has been slowly eroded in the past couple of decades. Toyota's employees still enjoy lifetime employment, but most of the manufacturing needed to make a car gets done by Toyota subsidiaries or subcontractors. These employ people on a contract basis, and they can stop renewing the contracts at any time. E.g. while Toyota was bragging about not laying off employees, their subcontractors were slashing jobs. Lots of workers were unemployed; the government kindly invited Brazilian workers to go back to Brazil and not to come back.
By the way, Toyota employees do belong to a union. It wouldn't be easy for Toyota to have a layoff. For comparison, JAL (Japan Airlines) got sued after laying off people, even though it was basically bankrupt.
I think you're right, and I think it's all about culture.
In the west, there's the aspiration of the self-made man. Western culture values individual freedom, personal satisfaction and people who get rich in no time.
In Japan, they value hard work and communal values come before the individual's. So it's more desirable to join a large organization or work on the public sector, and work until you retire.
There are supposed to be two threads in Japanese society. One that comes from the values of peasant farmers, which emphasizes communal values, and one which comes out of the old feudal power structure, which emphasizes personal loyalty over all else. I suspect that both of those would tend to work against the aspiration of the self made man.
Employee turnover is very low compared to the US. There is absolutely a feeling of safety in your employment, which is just one of the reasons why suicides spike in the spring at the end of the fiscal year. Pay grade generally scales with years spent at the company, so there is little chance or incentive for younger employees to rise too efficiently.
If this is the case, perhaps having a Megacorp job in Japan makes an employee feel protected and safe in a way that doesn't exist (any more) in US Megacorp jobs. I recall in 2008, Toyota bragged about not closing factories or laying people off, and saying how they care about their employees. This is in spite of Toyota factories being without unions, and it probably being more profitable to have layoffs during the economic downturn.