I think you're right, and I think it's all about culture.
In the west, there's the aspiration of the self-made man. Western culture values individual freedom, personal satisfaction and people who get rich in no time.
In Japan, they value hard work and communal values come before the individual's. So it's more desirable to join a large organization or work on the public sector, and work until you retire.
There are supposed to be two threads in Japanese society. One that comes from the values of peasant farmers, which emphasizes communal values, and one which comes out of the old feudal power structure, which emphasizes personal loyalty over all else. I suspect that both of those would tend to work against the aspiration of the self made man.
In the west, there's the aspiration of the self-made man. Western culture values individual freedom, personal satisfaction and people who get rich in no time.
In Japan, they value hard work and communal values come before the individual's. So it's more desirable to join a large organization or work on the public sector, and work until you retire.