It's not that they tried to beat America at its own game, it's that the Americans laid the groundwork for "the game", put the Japanese on that path, and the Japanese did their thing with it. That's why Japan and America have such a close relationship, but not necessarily say ... Japan and the UK, despite the UK being pretty much like the US 98% of the way (yes, yes, we all hem and haw about how different the on-the-ground customs are b/t the US and UK, but that pales in comparison to the shared Anglo-Saxon value of free market economics and innovation, the Protestant work ethic, and the bizarre love for line/"queue" forming).

Well I mean, the Americans rebuilt Japan like they did Western Europe; but with Japan, the countries also sought to intertwine each other culturally. Why do you think the Japanese play baseball, of all the sports in the world to adopt? (don't say "they like football! that's like england!", people like soccer in the US, too).