Prayer in Japan

My goal is for this to not turn into a rant, but if it does, forgive me.

I don't get why Japanese people pray. Well, let me rephrase that. I don't get why the typical Japanese person, especially those who are non-christian, pray. Especially when they pray to a vague "Kami-sama," I don't get it.

I understand the need that a person has to pray. Some people try to get by that need through things like meditation or scientific/psychological explanations of how the mind works. In the end though, prayer, specifically prayer directed at the one true God, is the only thing that works. So, with that understanding in mind, who/what do Japanese people call to mind when they are praying?

Is it a buddha, a seemingly fat enlightened one? Is it a Shinto god that is as fickle as the Greek ones of the past? Is it a distant kami-sama? Is it simply a force? Is it a spiritual energy grounded or stuck fast to an area? Or is it somehow the personal Christian God and they just haven't realized it yet? Or, worse-case scenario, are they imagining nothing except a way to manifest their own desires?

The fact is: I don't know. I need to ask people to find out. The problem is, if you thought religion and politics were practically taboo to talk about in America, they are way more so in Japan. I guess it is time for curiosity to kill the cat again.

Go and set the world Ablaze.