[rayiner]

Japanese bathing habits might reflect their different genetics: https://medicalchannelasia.com/less-body-odour-in-south-kore... (“Several studies have shown a strong correlation between the ABCC11 gene variant and East Asian populations. Research conducted by the Journal of Investigative Dermatology found that 80-95% of Koreans and Japanese carry this gene variant. In contrast, only about 2% of Europeans and 3% of Africans possess the same variant. This genetic difference helps explain why people from South Korea and Japan tend to have lesser body odour.”). It’s possible that they are less likely to have bacterial activity overnight result in body odor compared to other populations.

[samatman]

This is also the dry earwax gene, which makes a certain intuitive sort of sense.

It dramatically reduces the amount of lipids in sebum, which is what odor-producing bacteria in the armpits feed on. It's also a recent mutation which has been highly selected for, despite being recessive. Comparable to lactase tolerance.