During 2006, Trevor W. Harrison lived, worked, and traveled in Japan. Written on the cusp of several notable events that shook Japan while he was there, this work begins with an overview of Japan’s history and politics, from post-World War II up until the present day, then examines the reality of Japan’s geographic location within Asia, as well as its political and economic ties with the West. Trevor W. Harrison is a professor and chair in the Department of Sociology at the University of Lethbridge in Alberta, and editor of Return of the Trojan Horse: Alberta and the New World (Dis)Order .