Again it comes down to "cultural differences".
Whilst on the surface other countries may appear to have similar (to Oz) systems (legal, banking, airline sop's), once the surface is scratched those systems' differences soon become apparent. (Off on a quick tangent - similar to RFG's and Plas Teek's stories, a gaijin here in Japan had his almost new 4WD rammed by a woman who ran a STOP sign. Although she was totally in the wrong, he had to pay 20% of the damage costs because had he NOT been there, there wouldn't have been an accident!)
Now you also need to understand that the Law in foreign countries is often meted out in inconsistent ways. In Asia (and Japan IS an Asian country, in spite of the fact that they don't believe they are), foreigners are quite often seen as the REASON for the accident/incident - sometimes without even being directly involved!
The system is hardly ever at fault - in fact if a faulty system is in place, then the workers will be expected to work with/around it, rather than admitting that it is the cause of many problems.
And woe betide the person who DOES get caught out.
Asian culture is such that it will make an example of a person, rather than try to fix the problem, and the lower down the chain that blame can be apportioned, the better.
But ALWAYS remember that foreigners are at the bottom of the chain!