Speaking as someone who spent a brief stint at a Japanese (but more recently multi-national) car company, I definitely felt that the foreign workers were given more leeway and almost expected to deviate from the traditional norms. My manager, who was a transplant from Britain, was much more willing to leave work right around 5:30, even when there were plenty of other workers (mostly Japanese) still around. It definitely won't be viewed favourably, but on the other hand, there is an attitude of "they're gaijin/not Japanese, so naturally they don't follow all our norms."