This paper, condensed from the plenary address at Compcon Spring 1986, is the author’s personal account based on 18 months in a research organization in Tokyo. It starts with a brief overview of the Japanese software industry and contrasts the links between the industry and universities with that in the United States, and also relates it to Japanese education in general. The paper continues with a discussion of Japanese distinction and separation between planning and implementation phases in solving problems. These activities are further related to Japanese attitudes where the author is impressed by their problem orientation, motivation, and willingness to cooperate, characteristics considered to have particular relevance to producing good software. However, the paper concludes with the view that the characteristics are less useful in handling exception cases and coping with technological and other changes and that flexibility is the best counter-strategy for Japan’s competitors.