Japanese society and informed concent

A little while ago here in Japan, informing patients about
all there is to their disease was not so common.

Recently, this situation has changed, and informed consent is now
a standandard in most hospitals.
Doctors explain to patients what they know about the disease,
the options in treatment and their percentages of recovery,
the problems which may occur, and the dangers.
Patients can see what is going on, and have a right to give opinion.

This may sound pretty good,
but my mother (who is a nurse, by the way...) looks at it this way.

The system does not originate in Japan.
It is imported from western societies, where people tend to
be able to state their own opinions clearly.
On the other hand, many Japanese people are not used to choosing
things with their own will, let it be education, religion, or politicians to
support. Many of us have not much experience in having big options
to decide from.
There is an old saying, shiranu ga hotoke, meaning
"He that is not sensible of his loss has lost nothing, and therefore in the
most happy state", which still reflects a way of our thinking.
The saying continues with the words, iwanu ga hana, meaning
"Some things are better left unsaid".
And perhaps you've heard of the phrase,
"See no evil, speak no evil, hear no evil.", which comes from Japan.
I think it's fair to say that in Japan, it is common to look on only the good side
in many situations.

The question is, if such people can simply import the system of informed consent
-which may mean getting bad news and making a big decision at once.
Would it really work like it does in other societies??

I think the concept and its aims are very imoportant things that we must consider,
but there is a need to customize the system to a "Japanese version informed concent"
which can be more easy-going for many of us.

What do you think??