Let us put Philippines aside for a while because they have much more Spanish impact on them more than Eastern Asian culture.
As for Japan, Chinese, and Korea, they all have their own language which is similar to one another. Anyone who knows the language may disagree, but language professionals are able to tell that they originate from one single root.
For example, Korean and Chinese characters are similar, except that the Korean letters are more curvy. Most or all squares becomes circle in the letters. The meaning of those letters may differ too.