The bullet train (Shinkansen), which began operation in 1964, was the first high-speed train system in the world and is still one of the fastest.

Death Note, created by Tsugumi Ohba and Takeshi Obata in 2003, is a popular manga and anime series that follows a high school student who gains the power to kill anyone whose name he writes in a special notebook.

Japan's victory over Russia in the Russo-Japanese War of 1904-1905 was the first time an Asian power had defeated a European power in a modern war.