"Oh, but this is Asia..."
"Oh, that wouldn't work in Asia..."
"You don't understand, in Asia things happen a little differently..."
--- Bullshit.
Everywhere, most people do business with people they like, associate with people they like, like people who think like them, dislike people who don't, care about relationships (but are trumped by significantly more money/better terms, yes even in Japan), and so on.
There's differences between Asia and elsewhere. But it's not that different. Not at all.