Nothing disparaging jack, you're just missing the mark. You still are. Maybe you work wood that's easy to work, and that's all. If you do, that's fine.
Your paraphrase (thrown in a corner) is also incorrect. For 5 years, I used both types of planes just about equally. Mostly in combination with lie nielsen planes. Proper use of the cap iron ended all of that, as it is slower to do with a japanese plane. To work quickly through what I usually work (mildly figured medium hardness stuff), you either tolerate tearout or you use the cap iron. I can't figure out why I'd spend a longer time doing it with japanese planes. That's it, pretty simple. I wish their use of the cap iron was better set up, but even Odate describes the cap iron on japanese planes being a later-era add on, perhaps to copy western planes.
You could tell us what the other advantages are. Higher cost, or maybe less clearance. They do provide a brighter surface on softer woods, without a doubt. That's about where it stops for me.
I stand to be corrected on the edge holding (re: the comment about blue steel vs. A2), but all there is to do is prove that Brent Beach's actual measurements are not correct. As stan has pointed out, the forged irons are much better quality, but in my experience the forging adds toughness, but the wear from planing across or with the grain (as opposed to end grain) doesn't benefit a lot from forging like impact type of wear does.
Like I said, which is relevant to the OP. If someone doesn't get into japanese tools, they aren't missing anything, and they only have the (apparent here) disapproval of the fringes. Same if someone has an entire kit of japanese tools and no western tools, why bother if there isn't a problem to solve? Someone who has worked competently with both would come to that conclusion.