Not only about how they are perceived to differ, but also about how they express themselves to the outer world.
My theory is that the Chinese, while being quite different (I knew a chinese person well enough to make a bit of an opinion), are also quite careful to not impose on others (and the Japanese even much more so).
This "discretion" too is a part of asian cultures, just like exuberance defines all nations around the Mediterranean.
Just to say that it is still and always going both ways.

Free at last! Free at last! Thank God Almighty, we are free at last! (Martin Luther King)