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.

Japan's victory over Russia in the Russo-Japanese War of 1904-1905 was the first time an Asian power had defeated a European power in a modern war.

The 16th century saw the rise of Oda Nobunaga, Toyotomi Hideyoshi, and Tokugawa Ieyasu, who were instrumental in unifying Japan under a centralized government.