I've seen this topic a few times. As an American, the only time I've had a jarring experience with fake smiles is when I visited the Japan section of Disney's Epcot. It was a really bizarre experience watching the cashiers be overly cheerful. I've never been to Japan so I don't know if it's normal behavior or more of a performance for tourists.
There is a selection bias there: Disney chooses naturally smiley people to put there as a public face. You're not seeing a random or representative sample, you're seeing outliers. The specific people you see in this role behave that way normally and not as a performance. That doesn't indicate anything about any broader population or culture.
I've only been to Japan once but aggressively cheerful is definitely a mode of business there. It feels even more forced and paper thin than what you would get in the US and I can't help but feel it boxes you into playing a certain character as customer too.
Yeah, I get a vibe of too nice , too formal from certain scenarios with employees from Asian and Middle Eastern countries. Colleagues in Singapore and Japan come to mind for me and also my interactions with Air Emirates employees. It stresses me out, and I wonder how much pressure they must be under to put on such a cloyingly polite affectation.
