The whole TVs comment is my kinda problem with Japan, technologically they are advanced yet socially not. I would love to visit one day but I can’t abandon my principles and visit while it’s so homophobic and sexist.
And yes I am quite interested in the eras of samurai etc.

Japan socially behind the times? They do tend to force more of a social life onto the people in Japan through stigma, to be geeky, to be an "otaku" to sit at home watching TV and playing videogames all day would have other people ostracize you, you must make social connections in reality
Japan has of course, historically been Buddhist or Hindu, a mix of the two somewhere, only the jehovah - abrahamic religions (Islam, Judaism, christianity, so basically all the religion we are most familiar with in the west) have any text describing homosexuality as something comparable to sin, Japan as far as I know doesn't have much of a history prosecuting gay/bi/queer people, whenever I see Japanese games and media though, the lack of inclusion doesn't scream that they are homophobic, it really gives me more of an impression that gay people aren't prominent enough in their society for them to care about inclusion.
The sexist thing I dont think i can argue against, as they have more of a tradition of men owning everything - the companies, most of any inheritance etc while women are expected to marry a man that is carrying a decent salary from a secure job
One of the things I'd like to write is a cyberpunk samurai western, so I do think I'd go one day but I'd want to be a bit independent with the language first