Japan has a fascination with mascots, and there are thousands of them representing everything from cities to prisons.

Sword Art Online, created by Reki Kawahara in 2009, is a popular anime and light novel series that takes place in a virtual reality MMORPG world.

The Japanese women's national soccer team, also known as the Nadeshiko Japan, won the FIFA Women's World Cup in 2011 and has been a dominant force in women's soccer.