Question: if japense society rules doesn’t allow for being direct, how disrespectful is saying 「いいえ！」 out loud, compred to somewhere else like US, and when is it acceptable to be “that direct”?

I searched on the web, and apparently japanese uses はい more often than いいえ choosing to use other “kinder sounding” alternatives.

For example, if a store clerk asks you “ do you need something”? Is it not acceptable to use いいえ compared to 大丈夫, or

You can only use いいえ in yes-no questions? Is being vague about a situation better than saying it out loud clearly?

\*\*Meaning are you expected to know the “hint” japanese give you, unless they absoulutely have the need to say what theyre actually thinking out loud?\*\*