Global interest in Japanese education and industrial training has grown steadily in the last twenty years. Japanese education and training is fundamental to the highly developed meritocratic system of employment, promotion and social status upon which Japan’s economic success relies. Systems of education in Japan are intensive, highly competitive, and produce a generally superior level of educational achievement comparative to Japan’s global competitors. This collection represents an inclusive cross-section of the most important research and thought on key topics in the study of these systems, such as: * the contribution of Japanese education and training to the economy and culture of Japan today * the lessons Japan has to offer the rest of the world * the Japanese influence on the East Asian approach to education, in comparison with the educational systems of Korea, Taiwan, Singapore and Hong Kong * Japan’s promotion of learning organisations and Knowledge workers for the Information Age. The selection of articles included, written by a range of Japanese and foreign scholars, begins with some telling historical studies and continues with other topics and disciplinary perspectives. Professor Rohlen’s introduction provides a general context for the essays which follow, and represents his own recent thinking on the successes and costs of Japanese education and training from school to office and shop floor.