As a kid playing Pokémon and Super Mario and interacting with other Japanese media I always noticed they had this “happy” kind of quality to the music. Now being in Japan I notice this “sound” to the music everywhere - a kind of soul shared by all the media I interacted with all of the music I am encountering here.
Japan may use the western orchestra and electric guitar and keys as the instruments of their modern music but their cultural system of tetra chord composition seems to be not only alive and well but also the “soul” that unifies their music and provides that uniquely Japanese character I know and love.
