In spite of the growing volume of research on Asian Americans since the late 1960's, very little examination in the mental health field has been done of specific groups of Asian Americans. To compare the mental health treatment characteristics of Japanese in Japan and Japanese Americans in the United States, 27 Tokyo therapists and their 120 clients, and 42 American (West Coast) therapists and their 128 clients were studied. Chi-square and t-test analyses of the demographic data and treatment characteristics showed that contrary to previous findings, there was not a high premature drop-out rate by Japanese American clients when treatment was conducted at Asian American community mental health centers and in private practice. Japanese clients in Japan had more treatment sessions than Japanese American clients. Japanese Americans had more practical problems, e.g., transportation and language, and presented special problems related to environment, cultural conflicts and racism. American therapists used more non-traditional techniques then Japanese therapists. The results confirm that Japanese American clients have problems and needs different from clients in Japan, requiring different treatment approaches. (JAC)