The Hakone Ekiden, a long-distance relay race held annually between Tokyo and Hakone, is one of the most prestigious races in Japanese college athletics.

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

Akira, directed by Katsuhiro Otomo in 1988, is a classic anime film that helped to popularize the cyberpunk genre of science fiction.