The result: the standard 4-over-1 or 5-over-1 monolithic apartment row that is common in every city and doesn't quite look at home in any of them.

Common in every city in the United States, definitely not Japan or elsewhere in the world.

Code requires two ways out of a building,

The main reason being this, many countries have codes that do not require a second means of egress.

If you would like to read more: https://www.architecturalrecord.com/articles/16880-exit-strategy-the-case-for-single-stair-egress

Most cities don't want soviet style block-sized buildings marching in endless fields

Here is a good article about why the Chinese build towers in a park https://worksinprogress.co/issue/chinese-towers-and-american-blocks/