Perhaps one of the biggest debates in the woodworking world is whether the Japanese or Western style of chisel is better. Most people fervently defend the type of chisel they learned to use when they first started working with wood.
The biggest difference tends to be in the hardness of the steel in the blade. In paring chisels, this is less of a difference because they are all softer and you shouldn’t use any of them with a mallet anyway.
One difference you may consider is the fact that many Japanese chisels are still made by hand in a one-man shop. That means that someone has taken great care to craft the best possible tool. For some woodworkers, that really matters. Better yet, these handcrafted pieces make great gifts.