I have been studying Japan for 35 years, carefully. Most non-Japanese people I talk to immediately denounce the proposition that the Japanese are terribly honest. But I never stop finding surprising examples that confirm my observation and the observations of 4th Century Chinese visitors who wrote about the Japanese honesty.
One friend in Tokyo is a CPA and corporate treasurer who just became a consultant. Her job is to install financial controls for the up-coming Japanese version of Sarbox. Everywhere she turns she finds resistance except at international companies. Japanese executives always resist her, saying 'why would you hire anyone if you don't trust them?'
On the other hand, Japanese executives who have dealt with overseas operations totally support financial controls because the have been burned regularly by foreign employees they totally trusted.