This assembly of essays takes readers on a rich survey of various concepts and issues relating to Japan. The essays are in a pro versus con format, so that readers benefit from more than one perspective. Across four chapters, readers will explore whether Japan reconciles its past with its present, how modern living conflicts with tradition, the global role that Japan should play, and what the domestic issues of Japan are. Essay sources include Robert D. Retherford, Naohiro Ogawa, Mariko Sakai, Shozo Nakayam, Atsushi Ishii, and Ayako Okubo.