Garlic has a bad rap (in Japan) mostly because "not being smelly" is social etiquette in Japan (probably due to having packed trains and such). Here are some tidbits about Japan and their obsessions with "not smelling bad"
Asian people "generally don't get smelly armpits", but there are some who do due (this is genetic). In Japan the treatment of having smelly armpits is actually fully covered by medical insurance and there are multiple medical procedures that were developed for this.
Japanese people like neutral or nature smells (lavender etc). People in Japan rarely wear perfume or cologne.
Japanese people take a crap ton of baths, and it's normal in mid-high tier houses to have high tech bathtubs that auto-fill and auto-heat at a set temperature at the push of the button (from a wireless controller in the kitchen).
(Personal Anecdote) - My friends in Japan will say no to eating garlic if they have a date with their significant other that day (or day after). (This happened at Jiro Ramen where they can REALLY pile on the garlic).
That being said, Japanese people still of course eat garlic, but are way more selective on how much and when they eat it.
