Shonen Jump, a weekly manga magazine published by Shueisha, has been a major influence on the development of anime and manga culture in Japan, and has produced many popular anime series such as Dragon Ball, One Piece, and Naruto.

Japanese automakers are known for their strong focus on safety and have been leaders in developing new safety technologies such as automatic emergency braking and lane departure warning systems.

The Great East Japan Earthquake of 2011 and subsequent tsunami devastated Japan's northeast coast and caused the Fukushima nuclear disaster.