Comment by motionlessveloc

Japanese salarymen are not at all "encouraged to experiment", they are forcibly relocated to different roles/departments/cities every few years, regardless of interests or skills. Stories abound of art majors being told to go learn programming, which also explains the generally woeful state of Japanese software.

The higher ups take notes along the way. Those who do well get fast tracked for management, where hands on experience in various roles comes in very handy. Those who don't, on the other hand, end up where they can do the least damage.