It's probably more sanitary in Japan, but in the US I could see the guy sitting in the both next to me sneezing directly into the water, licking his chopsticks before attempting (and missing) some noodles.
Tell me you've never spent long in Japan without telling me you've never spent long in Japan. We had a problem during corona where people would remove their masks to sneeze or cough. We have tons of gross people over here.