This document summarizes the findings of a year-long study that used case studies of specific schools in Japan to collect qualitative data on the Japanese educational experience. From 1994-95 the Case Study Project (a component of the Third International Mathematics and Science Study) collected information from interviews with students, parents, teachers, school administrators, and education officials, as well as through classroom observation. Topics investigated in the Case Study Project were education standards, dealing with differences in ability, the place of school in adolescents' lives, and the training and working conditions of teachers. The project examined elementary, middle, and high schools in the northern, middle, and southern parts of Japan. Specifically, the study sections are: (1) "Introduction" (Gerald LeTendre); (2) "Development and implementation of education standards in Japan" (Douglas Trelfa); (3) "Individual differences and the Japanese education system" (Hidetada Shimizu); (4) "The role of school in Japanese adolescents' lives" (Gerald LeTendre); (5) "Teachers and the teaching profession in Japan" (Carol Kinney). Within that broad framework some issues that were addressed include the effects of a unified curriculum, teacher work patterns, the role of schooling in social stratification, individual differences and concepts of ability, the role of the family, and foundations in preschool and elementary education. Statistical tables include information on general school enrollment trends (1996), standard number of school hours in Japanese schools, and subjects required of Japanese students. Includes an example floor plan of a Japanese high school, daily schedules for various high school students, and a weekly schedule for an elementary school. (MJP)