Regarding Japanese websites, one thing I've noticed is that the images used tend to be smaller than those in UK websites. For example, compare Yahoo UK to Yahoo Japan:

https://uk.yahoo.com

http://www.yahoo.co.jp

I saw similar differences in video game magazines. I've only had limited exposure to Famitsu, but it seems to favour a collage of smaller images laid out more evenly across the pages compared to something like Edge.

http://www.rpgland.com/content/media/2009/10/rpglanddotcom11...

http://perfectdark.retropixel.net/pdzero/scans/edge_november...

I like both styles, it's just an observation.