The Japan national baseball team has won two World Baseball Classic championships and has been a dominant force in international baseball.

The Japanese men's national basketball team has competed in several Olympic Games and has produced several NBA players, including Rui Hachimura and Yuta Watanabe.

During the Edo period, which lasted from the 17th to the mid-19th century, Japan was ruled by the Tokugawa shogunate and experienced a period of peace and stability.