I use day planners, and have since... come to think of it, I started emulating my dad when I was about eight or nine, so that would have been 1968.
That was in Denmark... and looking at your Japanese example, I think people are "busy" everywhere. but in some cultures that busy is extremely structured. Our busy certainly was... everything had its appropriate time, and if something was scheduled for 2-3, you STOPPED at three, even if you were having a good time.
The odd thing is, even as we were busy, we didn't seem to be "running" nearly as much as I experience it now, living in the US. Not sure I can identify how that works...
You're right, people are busy everywhere. I wonder if your sense of busy-ness has changed with age and perspective or if, as you said, the lack of timely closings/endings for events and plans leads to a lot of running around, trying to make up for lost time.
I do find it comforting to be able to say, Well, it's time to go. Let's get together again.