Japan: Searching for the Dream (2015)

Japan finds itself at a crossroads between its past and its future. An aging population accompanied by a shockingly low birth rate, the world's highest rate of suicide and a nearly two decade long recession point to a societal collapse. Filmmakers Mark Joseph and William Paul McKay along with noted researcher George Gallup Jr. set out on an unprecedented journey to examine the heart and soul of Japan through groundbreaking research conducted by Gallup. What emerges is a self-portrait painted by the Japanese themselves of the hopes, dreams and challenges facing this great nation. Which way will Japan go? Will it continue its plunge into modernity or reverse course and pursue a more traditionalist path? Will a society steeped in nominal religious affiliation experience a spiritual transformation? What do the Japanese people believe and why? All of these questions and more are explored in this intriguing documentary.