Since it was first published in 1984, the focus of the Japanese for Busy People series has always been to teach Japanese for effective communication.

As suggested in the title, this is a concise course for busy students who want to learn natural, spoken Japanese as efficiently as possible in a limited amount of time.

The new Japanese for Busy People: Revised 4th Edition is made up of three volumes: Book I, Book II, and Book III. Book I is available in both romanized and kana versions, similar to the Revised 3rd Edition.

The Romanized Version uses romanized Japanese throughout, with kana in the Target Dialogues of each lesson.