A review and conceptual analysis of the literature on the characteristics of students in Japan and of the factors influencing those characteristics was conducted. Information from both English and Japanese sources about cognitive, non-cognitive, and behavioral characteristics of students and factors influencing them was sought regarding students from both elementary and secondary levels and for special populations of dropout, gifted, learning disabled, and private education students. Beyond the literature analysis, a judgement was made concerning the quality and credibility of each citation source. Two major bibliographic sources were searched: ERIC and the Social Science Citation Index; popular accounts, best sellers, the press, major books, and comparative studies were also examined. Japan emerges from these studies as a multi-dimensional society with elements that are both unique and comparable to other modernized and industrialized nations. What does not emerge from these studies, however, is any clear indication or data to explain the inordinately high levels of achievement of Japanese students. Twenty-one pages of references and 13 tables complete the document. (BZ)