I agree with you. There is no other genre in which we distinguish by region of origin and I don't think JRPG and WRPG are any different. WRPGs should be games that offer freedom of choice in story and character customisation whilst JRPGs should be considered games with strict storylines, pre-defined characters and turn-based/command driven combat.
The problem stems from the origins of the two genres. Go back far enough and we just had RPGs. Western developers who had more experience with D&D style (table-top) games focussed on making the genre more like traditional D&D style choice (traditional role-playing). Meanwhile Eastern developers used their experience of adventure games to focus on telling a story and developing memorable characters that already had their own personality. I suppose this split occurred in the early 90s.
What we have are two very distinct genres yet, due to their names, people still think of them by country of origin rather than taking into account the history of how the genres divided.
Western developers can develop JRPGS (http://www.joystiq.com/2012/09/12/these-western-developed-jrpgs-deserve-your-time/), and Eastern developers can develop WRPGs as evidenced by Demon Souls and Dark Souls.
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