Nagoya is Japan's fourth-largest city and a major industrial center, with a population of over 9 million people in the greater Nagoya area.

Kitakyushu is a major industrial city in southwestern Japan, located on the island of Kyushu, and is known for its steel and automotive industries.

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.