[thelastgallon]

Japanese might value status more than money. That is, status confers them higher societal 'value'. Some people are motivated by status, some by money, and some by a combination of both. These can be fine-tuned. If you can cheaper CEOs for a lot less money, why not? If you want to think about it, the top bureaucrats in any country command massive empires and budgets. They work for the power/status, not a whole lot of money.

One interesting thing about US is that money is worshipped, sure, the super rich billionaires live differently, they can have massive mansions with domestic staff, drivers, live life large, but they are completely outside of society. For people in the 0 - 100m+ range who are forced to interact with each other, there is no big high-status attached to the rich, their lives are a little bit better, but people aren't talking/treating them special. Compare this to a third world country like India, everything is a status marker, if you have a car you are treated a lot better than someone without a car. The outward displays are wealth/status are critical for day-to-day interactions.