Wow, I am surprised to see this question being reborn so to speak.
I think Japan has some very Western surface tendancies, but it certainly is not Western. Clothing, music, buildings, etc take on Western forms in many cases, bu the thinking behind them is very Asian indeed.
Ask a Japanese friend about;
What are you optimistic about?
How does religion play a role in your life?
What is your attitude to strangers?
The often typical answers will give you some idea of the differences between Japan and a Western country (though even this distinction is a bit vague with there being obvious differences between Western countries).
Well, to say "Japan is Western" or "Japan is Eastern" is not a helpful statement.
If you come in and say "Japan is Western because of Capitalism and distinctly Western sympathies politically!" then you are ignoring centuries of Confucian and Buddhist influence, lots of political and economic trade, and the origins of the modern Japanese race.
If you say "Japan is Eastern because of Confucianism and Buddhism!" you are ignoring most of modern Japanese history, which has been interpreting Western culture and often replacing or erasing home-grown culture in favour of it, the blatant political sympathies Japan has for Western nations, and the way Japan culturally rejects the rest of Asia to the present day.
If you say either one, you ignore the most fundamental "Japanese" aspects of Japan that are not tied to either a stereo-typical Eastern or Western ideology. Elements like
Shinto, literature styles, myths, and legends go by the wayside by trying to put Japan in a box of either the "East" or the "West."
In Japan, there is a large canon of literature that focuses on the question of "What makes up Japan?" To a discerning Japanese person, there are large chunks of Japanese culture that were based mimicking China for the first part of its history and then a large chunk imitating America and Britain in the second half. In a lot of literature, there is the trope of the man or woman who breaks down at the end, feeling alone and lost in the world asking "Who am I?" While I tend to disagree and find a richness in the unique Japanese literature and religious texts, it is a trope that is prevalent enough that most Japanese people would recognise it. It's even worked its way into some children's films (Metropolis, if I recall).
The fact that this trope exists at all really should tell you that this question is not a helpful one and, indeed, causes more strife than solving problems.
Ask someone in Norway those questions. I have, actually, because I was curious.
What are you optimistic about?
They answered that they are optimistic about going to school and raising a family. -
I imagine these feelings are universal.
How does religion play a role in your life?
It doesn't at all. -
One could argue that this is a more "Japanese" answer.
What is your attitude to strangers?
I love meeting new people! -
This isn't particularly stereotypically "Eastern" at all, but if my friend had been an introvert I'm sure they would have answered differently.
Labels (provided they are self-imposed) are good and should be there to give us strength rather than to help others see you the way they want to see you. When you hear label you think it as something that should be assigned by someone else, but really it is something you should assign yourself (this is an identity). Japan has serious issues with this and does not allow hybridized identities in its national discourse (Okinawan-Japanese, Ainu-Japanese, etc) - don't disallow them the ability to be "Eastern-Western" in their national identity if that is the way that it tends to fit. Right now they're having serious social identity problems because of this disparity between a neglect of hybridized identity and the inherently hybridized nature of their cultural history - but let the Japanese media do that to themselves, don't try to make it worse.