[JTM]

The act of gift exchange is definitely still a long held tradition that is adhered to and is almost like protocol when working with business partners, co-workers and bosses. When going on trips (especially to foreign countries), bringing back gifts for family, friends and mates at work is almost a given (considered by the Japanese "joshiki"/common sense). Sometimes even the cost of the gift may need to be consideraed especially when giving gifts to "sempai" (superior).

The long working hours and Japanese "samurai" mentality when it comes to work and that is often times exaggerated in movies is thankfully a thing of the past as many "salary man" (office workers) don't work as hard or long as their predecessors and in fact work comparable hours to those of their counterparts in US or Europe. As with any country, you do have your overachievers and/or dedicated workers who still put in the long hours but many are starting to spend more time with family or social obligations and so we don't see as many "giving up their life" for work. The younger generation in particular are opting not to be "tied" with one company for the rest of their life and are more willing to work for different companies to get more upward mobility.

As for "juku" (cram schools), Japanese kids still go to those to improve upon various studies (usually English or Math) to prepare for High School (and college) entrance exams but I think the trend now is more for private tutors or other self-directed type of studying. Most of the Juku are private/company establishments so the tuition for those schools are a bit pricey and depending on the ambitions of the kids, some opt to go through other avenues to study for the exams. At the time when Juku schools thrived in the 80s and 90s, there was no internet, so studying was a bit more rough but now with computers and the internet it is a bit easier for students to find the help they need to help them prepare for those high school and college exams.