1. Innovative
Inventions

2. Mecha (me-ka)
Mecha genre originated in
Japan. The word originates
from the word "meka" which
is a Japanese abbreviation
for mechanical. It is different from stylized
suits like Ironman. Mecha is a "supersized"
robot. It greatly contributes to the
popularity of sci-fi genre.

3. Novels and Time Travel
Genji Monogatari is the first
novel of the world.
Urashima Tarou is the first
story which was about
time travel.

4. Methamphetamine
Meth was first synthesized in Japan in 1894 by
Nagayoshi Nagai. In 1919, crystal meth was
first synthesized by Akira Ogata.
Meth was primarily used to fight fatigue during
the war but it had adverse effects.

5. Shinkansen
Japan was the first country
to build dedicated railway
lines for high speed travel.
Because of the
mountainous terrain, the
existing network consisted
of 1,067 mm (3 ft 6 in)
narrow gauge lines, which
generally took indirect
routes and could not be
adapted to higher speeds.

6. Fire Ball
Fire ball was a weapon experiment
by Japan which was used during
the World War II. It is also called
fuusen bakudan or fire balloon or
fu-go.
Between November 1944 and April
1945, Japan launched over 9,300
fire balloons. About 300 balloon
bombs were found or observed in
North America, killing six people
and causing a small amount of
damage.

7. Instant Noodles
Cup noodles were invented
by Momofuku Ando. It was
first released as Nissin's
Chikin Ramen on August 25,
1958. The Japanese
considered it as a
breakthrough invention of
the 20th century.

8. Karaoke
There is still a debate who
invented Karaoke.
However, most believe that
it was the Japanese. Kara
means "empty" from
Karappo and Oke means
orchestra from Ok-esutora.
Daisuke Inoue invented it
in Kobe, Japan in the year
1971.

9. Monosodium Glutamate
It was discovered by
Professor Kikunae Ikeda
from the seaweed, kombu. It
provides a fifth taste called
umami.