The other side of the Japanese coin - and I have seen this apply to the mega Corps who use the Six Sigma approach - is that it may lead to "closed" solutions.

ie flexible and continuous perfection of particular solutions within a particular framework or paradigm.

But the "disruptive" solutions also necessary for our planetary survival come from the Chaos outside these frameworks, and that requires a more individualistic and less collaborative mindset.

How to bring these together - that is the problem - and IMHO it is the consensual protocols I observe emerging (Japan now has LLP's, albeit restrictively applied....) which will enable the chasm between Japan and the West to be bridged, I think...

"The future is already here -- it's just not very evenly distributed" William Gibson