That, plus attention to detail is just part of the Japanese culture. There's a higher density, very little wasted space, and a slightly smaller scale of the built environment there that always strikes me as having a "storybook" feel, for lack of better words. Manga and anime communicate it quite well visually.

[edit] Not directly related but I find it encouraging that the number of houses and carports there with solar panels on the roof is remarkably high and seems to be increasing all the time.