I think the fact that they are Japanese that gives it a certain appeal.

They seem to come to a game with a different set of rules and values. And having that minor clash of "Oh, I didn't even think of that" can be interesting. You get to experience someone else's cultural take on what the game provides. Even if it wasn't necessarily by design, they just look at things in a different way.

You can also say the same for some games like Wizardry that were popular in Japan.