The Muromachi period, which lasted from the 14th to the 16th century, was a time of great artistic and cultural achievement, including the development of tea ceremony and the Noh theater.

The sushi conveyor belt, invented in the 1950s, revolutionized the way sushi is served in restaurants and made it more accessible to the average person.

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