I think you made a great point there, Mark. There is not only a difference in how to teach native speakers of English, but there is a difference in the ESL community also. I would almost argue that there is NO ESL COMMUNITY. I would dare say that within ESL, there is a separate community for each culture and while these communities are sometimes similar, ESL must be tweak in order for it to be successful in that specific community. Meaning, you can't teach English the same way in France as you do in China.
That being said, I believe Japan doesn't fall into this gap of trying to teach ESL from a foreign perspective. I think Japan is rather unique in that they want to teach English from the standpoint of what they think is important, AND that 'importance' is passively controled by the government dictating what needs to be included in a government okayed English textbook. But let's not stop there. I believe the problem is two-fold. Anyone working in Japan's public school sector has received a firsthand experience of the failed English system. I think Japan's posh stance on not accepting any outside advice, even from non-Japanese who know the culture and the Japanese mindset extremely well, is the second reason Japan's English system is a failure.
I might be bold in what I say but that's the great thing about an opinion.
Here's a question for everybody working in Japan: Do you think it is possible for Japan, as a whole, to acquire a competent level of English without giving up a little bit of their own culture?