Reddit is obsessed with any streotype of Japan even if it is decades outdated streotype such as long working hours or drinking parties because they get easy karma
I can assure you that long working hours is rarer in Japan than 70% of countries in the world exactly because they are taken seriously but reddit love those streotype as they draw upvotes/likes.
Average working hours including unpaid OT is below global average in Japan(1903) already, lower than the US(1976).
Fancy words like working to death or black companies exist, but what is considered illegal working hours and making news for violating labor law in Japan is just average working condition in nearly 30% of countries in the world.
The average yearly working hours in Singapore(2,215h) or Vietnam(2,163h) are considered illegal 'black company' level by Japanese standards, while average working hours in India(2,428h) and China(2397h) are considered working to death in Japan.
Average regular time is 1800-1850 hours in Japan and legal OT cap is 360 hours a year.
Working OT of 100 hours a month or 80 hours of 2 consecutive month are defined as working to death in Japan, average certified working to death cases involving 2300-2500 hours of yearly working hours(including unpaid OT)
Of 169 countries and regions in the list of average working hours by OECD, 53 of them have over 2200 hours of average yearly working hours that would be considered illegal/black companies in Japan.
11 coutnries have average working hours of 2400 hours or more that would be not just violating OT cap but also considred working to death if they apply Japanese labor law.
https://clockify.me/working-hours
Edit: Unreported OT is included in most working hours surveys including OECD, ILO, doda, open work.
The only exception is 毎月勤労調査