I do think that the japanese equipment is high quality, but there are US companies that spend more money on R&D than advertising. The big OEMs may spend millions on advertising and signing the popular pro's, but there are still component companies that make quality products at decent prices.
The general public does not know about these things though. They buy what is readily available to them. If their local golf superstore started carrying some high end Japanese clubs more people would hit them and buy them.