The 1995 Tokyo subway sarin gas attack by the Aum Shinrikyo cult shocked Japan and led to increased scrutiny of religious groups.

In Japan, there is a cat island called Tashirojima where there are more cats than people.

Mobile Suit Gundam, created by Yoshiyuki Tomino in 1979, is a popular anime series that helped to popularize the mecha genre of anime, which features giant robots.