Japanese grammar is extremely modular, each word carrying with it another word called a relational that lets everyone know how that word is meant to function in a sentence, (e.g. as a noun, an adjective, etc.) and the main verb is put at the end. This means that you can change the order of words in a sentence without changing the meaning.
To think in Japanese is to think in a language that is inherently easier and less limiting to combining the process of words, thoughts, and ultimately ideas into new forms.
It is no wonder that the Japanese have taken to building and developing small, efficient, modular electronics; it is a very natural way of thinking for them.
German grammar is similarly constructed in that the main verb is at the end of the sentence. German also has the ability to combine chains of thoughts into one word.
Instead of stringing adjectives and modifiers next to nouns, they can be incorporated to form one word. This word is the whole concept and vice versa.
It takes a language like German or Japanese, which possesses very modular abilities and flexibilities, to be able to link different concepts together into one whole, new concept so easily and effectively. To think in German is to make use of this aspect, and curiously the Germans are also known for their excellence in engineering and science.
The fact is that the language form allows you to put thoughts together in certain ways, and this can affect how you view the world.
When you lean a new language, you are not just learning a new vocabulary and grammar, but a new, or at least slightly different, way of thinking.