Japan doesn't have an aversion to playable characters that are bestial. They might not be the main character in the games that they show up in, though they still play prominent roles.

Mareg in Grandia 2:



Kimahri in FFX:



Breath of Fire 2 had multiple non-human characters:



Final Fantasy VI had Mog:



There's a lot of others, though I don't want to spam the thread with too many images.