This is a great discussion. I commend Douglas Burke for the going a step further than I did and getting the comparison numbers of Japanese runners vs American.
This being said, the USATF has made the decision on what the qualifying times are. It can be debated until "the cows come home" if it is fair or whatever. But it appears to be a done deal.
Like a previous poster, I was a late 70's, early 80's runner (who didn't get close to the 2:19:04 qualifying time, but pursued it anyways). Being well before social media was established, I remember runners accepting the qualifying times, training like hell and finding races that would give them the best opportunites to qualify. Remember, in 1980 and 1984 there was only a one year window to qualify (Boston to Boston)and only marathon times were accepted.
Now as runners, coaches and fans, we need to figure the best way to get ALL the best runners to the starting line for an exciting 200 runner plus 2016 trials (like 1984). As stated in a number of posts earlier, the half marathon could probably be the easier route. So what can be done? While I am currently an NAIA coach that does have a national marathon (with a 1/2 marathon standard), I would hope that some NCAA coaches (which I acknowledge does have a much larger pool of faster runners)would allow their athletes to run a half marathon post xc season when athletes are typically at or near peak form and the weather is more condusive to fast times (Remember Luke Puskedra running 1:02 this year at Houston).
As stated earlier, there were a number of races a generation besides Boston, Chicago and New York that runners flocked to in order to run fast (Eugene comes to mind immediately as does the course which would now be illegal across the lake in New Orleans). That being said, there is time to organize a group of marathon and half marathons to cater to up and coming American distance runners to provide opportunities to run fast times.
I firmly believe we have the same talent to have a huge number (much like Douglas Burke's described number of 195 Japanese men who have run sub 1:05 in 2012 for the half).
As Jim Estes said, the bar has been raised, so now I see we have two choices---give up and decide it is too tough or throw caution to the wind and go after the times.