The 16th century saw the rise of Oda Nobunaga, Toyotomi Hideyoshi, and Tokugawa Ieyasu, who were instrumental in unifying Japan under a centralized government.

Japanese automakers have been leaders in developing autonomous driving technologies, with several companies investing heavily in research and development in this area.

Baseball is one of the most popular sports in Japan, and the country has a professional baseball league with 12 teams.