I've been on a Japanese literature kick for a while now.

For me the characters are the main difference from American literature. The article mentions this briefly, but I find that in the novels I've read (admittedly translated), Japanese novel characters have much more depth. They're flawed people often with selfish motivations, and it's much more reflective of real life.

Plot structure is very different as well with most of these novels not having a true setting > rising action > climax > falling action style plot like American literature tends to have. The books often just end without much resolution at all.

Probably the biggest reason I've been reading them though is that I'm just tired of "young adult" books that have so much popularity here in America. It's like a tag you can throw on to shield your bad writing. It feels like everything popular here is written with 6th grade grammar. Maybe this phenomenon exists in Japan too, but we have the filter that translation provides. Presumably most translated novels are at least somewhat successful and well written, or else they wouldn't have been translated.

For reference, of the translated fiction I've read, I'd recommend -

Lady Joker by Takamura

Devotion of Suspect X by Higashino

Out by Kirino

Breasts and Eggs, Ms Ice Sandwich, and Heaven by Kawakami

Convenience Store Woman and Earthlings by Murata

The Colorless Tsukuru Tazaki and Kafka By The Shore by Murakami

Snow Country by Kawabata

Strange Weather in Tokyo by Kawakami

No Longer Human by Nazai

I am a Cat by Netsuke

The Memory Police by Ogawa