Earlier quoted context omitted.
One is an island nation that's been fairly open, the other had waves of isolationism, famines, and only recently opened up their markets in the late 80s. Private car ownership was not on the table until probably 25 years ago. But to play your game, Switzerland and Italy, especially southern Italy, are very different.
Your counterexample is not even close to being accurate. Italy and Switzerland have much more in common than China and Japan. Italian is even one of the official languages of Switzerland. Switzerland and Italy are both essentially federations of distinct provinces. Both are recognizably Western European. China and Japan are worlds apart, as are China and India.
And going back to the original intent: would you say driving in Zurich and driving in Naples are two distinct experiences?