While I gave examples of family, my first two paragraphs referred to Japanese society in general. Should have been clearer. > ... expressing feeling is general

While I gave examples of family, my first two paragraphs referred to Japanese society in general. Should have been clearer. > ... expressing feeling is generally considered a good thing in a healthy relationship ... Not sure that can be assumed to be a universal truth. In most cases, in Japan, expressing feeling is sign of a problem. And often one reason ( of many ) for the isolation foreigners can face in Japanese society. While trying to 'express' themselves, they're actually making others feel uncomfortable by doing so, or trying to convey things that have been already understood, no need 'to explain the joke', you're ruining it. Not trying to paint a rosy picture here, anyway, about Japanese ways. There are many problems in Japanese society ( directly related to the topic and mentioned in other comments, the massive and ubiquitous alcoholism and all its terrible consequences, for instance ), and societal pressure reaches levels hard to understand in the West, for sure.