Are Japanese women too patient?

Yesterday, it was reported in a TV show that a lot of middle-aged Japanese women try to overcome climacteric disorder only by being patient even though there are many medicines to ease their symptoms.　The phrase "being patient" reminded me of two of the following stories.　

The first one is about my Japanese friend.　Many years ago, she gave birth in Sydney. According to her, her delivery was expected to need a special technique, so the hospital asked her if other doctors and residents could observe her delivery. She accepted the offer. Because of this, her delivery started in a large operating room while being watched by many doctors. 

While she was struggling with an acute pain during her delivery, she tried to hold up as much as possible and didn't yell out. A lot of observers seemed to make her feel like she wanted to hold up better than usual. Despite her bearing the pain, a nurse beside her started slapping her cheek. Although she was surprised by it, she was struggling so hard to give birth that she couldn't ask why. After the delivery, it turned out that the nurse had assumed at the time that my friend had been unconscious since the nurse had never seen patients not yelling out during the delivery.

The next story is about mysterious Japanese women's behaviors. I'm sometimes asked by Western men why their Japanese girlfriends suddenly express outrage without clear reasons. They don't understand why at all and don't know how to deal with their girlfriends. The blasts sometimes lead to a break up.

As you may know, some Japanese women still don't say anything when they feel frustrated with what their boyfriends did.  They just try to let it to go away or accept it while being patient. Some try to imply that they don't want it instead of saying no verbally. Some hope that their boyfriends can notice what they are thinking before they say it. However, these approaches often make the frustration grow, and the women end up erupting in rage.

Today, more and more Japanese people clearly express themselves. It's generally said that they have become less patient. However, they still tend to be patient based on Japanese culture. I think that keeping it bottled up is good, but it's more important for Japanese people to release frustration and try to solve problems before they are stretched thin.