It largely depends on the genre nowadays. Vivi22 explained why they were brutal back in the day but nowadays, I feel the question of difficulty depends on the genre of games. Oddly enough I think making challenging games is probably one of the few strengths Japan has over Western developers. Companies like Capcom, Atlus and From Software are still not afraid to release games that can be completed with a simply rental, it takes dedication.

RPGs are not difficult because the audience expectations has changed, in Western RPGs it's exploration and world building and in Japan, it's all about telling the story. Now WRPG's get away with it cause the exploration and craftmenship of the world make up for the simplistic gameplay and general ease. JRPGs have suffered because telling a good story is no longer an exclusive niche for them. It's hard to promote being the story game when you can get just as good or nowadays, better writing from other genres. Games like MGS, Uncharted, Assassin's Creed, and even a few FPS titles can offer both a well told story with a fleshed out cast of characters and offer deep and fun gameplay. Course, these series may suffer the same fate of JRPGs if they follow in their footsteps of making their titles more about the story than the gameplay.