Given the rich and intricate technical history of Japanese carpentry, it's not surprising that they're the ones pushing this forward. If you search for "Japanse joinery", you'll be in for a mesmerizing treat of intricacy.
Chinese carpentry is just as if not more intricate. As someone who does small carpentry projects, watching a bunch of guys build a house with wood and not a single nail is like watching pornography for the first time. The dedication to craft and tool is truly mesmerizing.
AFAIK the Japanese benefited from significant joinery knowledge from China circa the Nara period (~700CE). In Japan they rebuild temples regularly using these techniques and have thus kept them alive, and also have old standing examples. However, China lost most examples in the cultural revolution. I have visited what was at the time allegedly the oldest dated example in southern China, a temple north of Ningbo, and while impressive it is nothing on what's in Japan.
That said, this is more about material science than joinery.
With the Sony Clie PDA came a software disc, and it was in a slim ‘jewel’-case box that had the cd tray slide out from the side—and not slide out entirely but hold at the last inch or so. The box was made entirely from cardboard, except for the standard plastic piece that held the disc by the center hole. That's when I knew the Japanese take their origami seriously.
