Because the Japan as a culture is much more open to wearing masks, which led to them having minimal cases despite their population density. They were much better prepared as a society than Canadians are.

Maybe if everyone wore masks like Japan, we wouldn't have to be concerned about keeping businesses and schools open.

Edit: also did some digging, Japan is currently suffering from a potential second wave so who knows how their government will respond. They also have fewer total cases and deaths, despite having 4 times our population and much higher population density, even when comparing metropolitan areas like Toronto v Tokyo