In the US, there's an informal hierarchy of what kinds of cuisine can be "fancy" and demand an above-average price. French, obviously, and most other Western European cuisines can be fancy. Which isn't to say that there can't be a cheap pizza or pasta restaurant, but if you look at the range it will be above average. Japanese food - sushi especially - can successfully be expensive, more so than other East Asian cuisines like Thai and Vietnamese. There are regional variations here - if there is a regional interest in it, you can have more expensive restaurants of a particular cuisine - I'm talking more average across the US.
In the US it seems to follow the economic characteristics of the supporting population. So while there is expensive gastronomic cuisine in Mexico City, the great majority of Mexican food (not including chains) is working class cheap. Same for Vietnamese and most Thai.
Italian seems more bimodal, you have cheap pizza joints and sandwich/sub/hero shops and you have the white tablecloth places. Japanese is either $$ or $$$ (in rest pricing parlance). But rarely do you get cheap Japanese or cheap Korean though Korean rarely goes to $$$. (maybe LA has super fancy ones) Indian mirrors Korean. I think they kind of loosely mirror the economics of the population that brings the cuisine and those that give it their patronage.
Sashimi/sushi slot nicely into $$$+ pricing range because the small portions and emphasis on presentation are very similar to the aesthetic often found in high end gourmet restaurants, which tend to serve things that are beautiful, tasty, and tiny.
At least where I'm from there's bimodalism in Japanese cuisine if you count sushi rolls, which can be had dirt cheap (pretty localised/internationalised though). I like cheap sushi here because the cheap sushi game is usually locked down by koreans, so the rolls end up being this blend of kimbap and sushi rolls.
Dunno about Korean restaurants in the west though, have only been to Korean restaurants in Korea.
edit: Wish I was from/lived some place with nice cheap Italian sandwich shops etc, that must be amazing.
To edit further, I think western consumers' perception of a country (as well as what you said about the country's population) affects price as well
It’s also interesting to compare one food’s country in its one country. In Japan there is local food option ranging $-$$$$. This is not true of France, where $ is kebab or Mc Donalds. $$ is in most cases from frozen food which is a shame, thus I do not count it as a real option. $$$ starts to have meals from fresh food. Of course $$$$ exists as well, yet it may be disappointing quantity wise.
I agree, and as people get more established this can change. There are a couple $$/$$–$$$ Vietnamese places in Minneapolis now and I saw one in London recently.
