Japanese writer Hayashi Nobuyuki has written a thoughtful article on Steve Jobs and Japan, covering both the professional and personal influences that helped shape Jobs's path through life and with Apple. The piece has been translated into English, and it's worth a read.
Jobs considered himself a practicing Buddhist most of his adult life, and was a student of the Sōtō Zen monk Otogawa Kōbun; Otogawa even served as the "spiritual advisor" for NeXT. Apparently, Jobs's enthusiasm for Zen study once led him to threaten to retreat from the world and ensconce himself in a Sōtō temple in Japan.
Jobs's affection for Japanese culture and cuisine even led him to 'bend' his strict vegan diet when it came to sushi; he was
