I think Freedom has more to do with your State of Mind than which "nation" you happen to reside in.
As far as peeing in public goes, one of my wife's most vivid memories of the Paris subway was the smell of urine.
I'm not sure if you're aware of one HUGE advantage of being an American living and working overseas called the Foreign Earned Income Exclusion. For 2017, in a nutshell, your first $102,100 are exempt from income taxes. You can't escape FICA but I believe that things like housing, cell phone and a certain amount of your food is deductible as well.
Along with all of the freedoms you listed above that you enjoy in Japan, you have the added advantage of knowing you're also starving the Beast.
There is a thing called residential taxation which only tax you if you live in the country for a significantly amount of days (183 days in most cases) and territorial taxation where you are only taxed for the income earned in that specific county. Some countries don't tax you.Period. USSA and one other country is barbaric and uncivilized enough to have a citizenship based taxation which is higher than communist china's if you add the state tax. Then they give you tiny breadcrumb of little of $100,000. Try expatriating into a civilized citizenship. No offence, just keeping you informed :-)
nomadcapitalist.com
internationalman.com
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_taxation
I've already gotten dual citizenship, for me and both my kids.
They'll have options.
Haha. Beautiful memories. That kind of stuff sticks with you, doesn't it?
As for the income exclusion, yeah, I'm aware of it. Actually file it every year. I don't see it so much as an advantage as much as a pathetic slave motion I must perform to avoid paying two rabid nation states tribute, with my money, which should be none of their business.
All the same, I appreciate it.