It's an interesting difference. Japan was always relatively iron-poor, so much of their woodworking evolved to use as little metal as possible, hence all the cool joinery. Pull saws take less iron to make than push saws cause they don't have to deal with bowing.

The one thing people need to also take into account is that Japanese workholding is often based on bodyweight, not relying on vices, clamps, or hold fasts. Sitting on the work piece, or putting a foot on it, and pulling to make cuts (or plane wood) works way better with a lower working height.

TL;DR, if you are having trouble with Japanese saws, work lower.