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Planes like the BF 109 and the Spitfire, you "wore".
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There is actually a good operational reason behind the design choices as a general trend. An aircraft designed to subject the pilot to accelerations are made to be as tight as possible. That greatly reduces fatigue when you have to pull levers, flip switches, and push buttons at multiple times your body weight.
That is why aerobatic aircraft and dogfighters have tight cockpits.
On the other hand, if you are going to spend long hours traveling long distances that also causes pilot fatigue. A roomy cockpit helps to reduce that fatigue from long period giving the pilot room to stretch and move.
England and Germany did not have to cover the distances Japan and the United States required. In Japan, its pilots needed to fly the vast distances of the Pacific. That's why the A6M had a very roomy cockpit and a 1900 mile range.
The United States also had long distances to cover to defend itself.
Fatigue greatly reduces the amount of G forces a pilot can withstand. It makes sense to provide a roomy cockpit if you are anticipating a long flight to even reach the combat zone. If you don't require long flights, then a tighter cockpit would be the order of the day.