Literally every country has a countryside problem. From US to Russia to Asia to any country in Europe.

Name the country and I will easy find the spots where it is not vibrant and modern, and then say "did you visit those?"

Say, I heard France has great cuisine, but I had street food in Paris and it was meh.

Doesn’t change facts about Japan‘s problems. In certain parts they are just less visible.

Avoiding cherry picking does in fact change facts.

It doesn’t change facts. Cherry picking change the perception of facts, like your visit of Japan