Yeah, I think they're smarter, more atmospheric, more suspenseful than a lot of American ones. It's the 'why' in the Japanese (and Asian) horror that always lands harder--so many American horrors, the killer is just crazy, or has mom issues, or something simple and mundane. A lot of the best Asian horrors have something solid behind them--revenge, justice, something meaty.
I loved Shutter--the Thai version and the Masayuki Ochiai version. Prime example--something dark from out of his past that haunts him, not just some random violence.
Made my own 'spirit photo' like in the movie on their DVD release site:
Shutter
Ended up seeing the photo in a banner ad when I was checking an Evite!