Yes this is true and it might possibly be true for the rest of East Asia. Software is considered intangible and thus low value that anyone can do, whereas hardware is a real "thing" that you can hold in your hands, and is therefore more prestigious. Well, this way of thinking has made things into the current state.

This was and partly is the attitude you can find in german non-software businesses where software is gaining more and more influenxe. For example car manufacturing.