Bowing

On TV, we always see Japanese bowing to each another but, is it really true that they bow that much? Yesterday, i saw three people outside Starbucks and after giving out their name cards, they started bowing. It continues for about 5 seconds until one of them sit down. They begun their discussion and after they ended, all of them stood up and started the bow again. This time, it got better with one even bowing so low that his upper and lower body almost forming a 90 degree and the best part, the person holds onto that position for a few seconds before coming up. This action is done entirely on his own will, no one is forcing him to bow that low. This shows how respectful they are towards the others.