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

The Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games, originally scheduled for 2020 but postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, are set to take place in 2021.

The Meiji Restoration in the late 19th century saw the overthrow of the Tokugawa shogunate and the modernization of Japan.