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Bad breath (口臭, kōshū) has superstitions around bringing bad luck or causing disharmony — especially in group situations like meetings or ceremonies.
In Shinto and Buddhist traditions, cleanliness (including oral cleanliness) is closely linked to spiritual purity. A person with bad breath might be considered spiritually "impure" or "unclean", not just physically unpleasant.
We have to agree that halitosis can quicken decision-making in a business meeting without the culprit having to say a word. That's true of course in any society, but Japanese culture in particular places a high value on harmony. So this is not really a superstition - just a near-universal repulsion of bad breath.
As for spiritual purity, if it were true that the physical halitosis had an influence on one's spirituality, then a physical antibacterial mouthwash could purify the spirit.
If that were true, then that would explain the high cost of pharmaceutical products!