7 interesting Japanese inventions 

7 interesting Japanese inventions 

Image: Wikimedia Commons

There are many things that can be said about Japan. Many historic things, many cultural aspects, and also many development things like inventions. The country has the tenth largest population in the world, and has about 6,852 islands! Apart from these amazing things, Japan is also known to be a country of inventions and innovations. Some of the things will surprise you, some include the game Pokemon, the first LED lights were developed in Japan as well, the jet ski is a Japanese invention from back in 1972 developed by Kawasaki, a Japanese company, another one of the inventions is the car navigation system by a Japanese company, Honda in 1981, the electric rice cooker that we all love is also a Japanese invention! Karaoke, the emojis that we love and use while texting is also from Japan, among others! Here are seven other inventions from Japan!

1. Toyota 

Image: Wikimedia Commons

There are millions of Toyota vehicles around the world. The company also employs hundreds of thousands of people in its various branches. Toyota was founded by Kiichiro Toyoda, in 1937, a department of Toyota Industries, started and run by his father. In 1936, the first prototype was developed for the first passenger vehicle, and the company produced five models, the Toyota Hino, Lexus, Daihatsu, and Rans. There have been many Toyota vehicle models since the first model was produced. The car manufacturer also produces hybrid cars. The company holds stakes in some other automobile companies around the world, and also joint ventures.

2. Ramen

Image: Wikimedia Commons

Momofuku Ando is the person who invented, or rather came up with the tasty ramen! Even the noodles came from Japan! Ramen is a very popular dish, especially in Asia. Momofuku Ando, the Taiwanese-Japanese founder of Nissin Foods, in 1958 invented the instant noodle that we all love to eat when we don’t have a lot of time to focus on cooking other foods! Ramen allows someone to add hot water to it and get an instant meal, without many steps. Ramen gained a lot of popularity in Japan, and then across the world and has almost become a symbol of Japan. This simple meal is also something you need to eat when you visit Japan!

3. Nintendo

Image: Pixabay

One of the best and one of the most known video games were invented in Japan, by Nintendo Co Limited. Most people in the 80s and 90s played the Nintendo Games and many others. The most prominent video game was invented by the company which started off with producing ‘Hanafida’, in 1889, by Yamauchi Nintendo, and made hand -cards which gained popularity, and before long, they had many orders and had to employ several people to do mass production. The company went through many phases, even producing toys at some point and finally, in the 1960s. The company started producing hand-held LCD games in 1980, and then in 1981, the ‘Donkey Kong’ was released by the company. The other games like Nintendo 6 and others soon followed and they gained popularity around the world.

4. The Walkman

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The Walkman, the famous Walkman that people loved back in the day. One of the most interesting inventions in music history, and the Sony Walkman TPS-L2 portable system with earphones, a leather case, and buttons, Sony Corp was introduced to the market. The idea came from the fact that the cassette player that was already in use since 1963, developed in the Netherlands by Philips, was too bulky to carry around. The CO-Founder of Sony Corp Masaru Ibika asked the Executive Deputy President Norio Ohga to design something lighter and portable, and that someone could use headphones with. The Walkman was given a number of names when introduced to different countries, for example, ‘The Stowaway’, and ‘The Sound-About’ but it was eventually patented as ‘Walkman’ thereafter, and that is the name we know now!

5. Video House System (VHS)

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The Victor Company of Japan (JVC) allowed people to watch their favorite movies on over the TV on tape, over and over again. This was back in the 1970s when that was the technology. Even though technology has come and disrupted the VHS, it remains one of the most important aspects of entertainment in history. It changed how people enjoyed themselves and spent their time watching a film on playback. The VHS, developed in 1976 is an analog video recording that had the data saved on tape cassettes in Japan. VCR also changed the television industry, as programs could not be replayed, a change in time zones also meant that people could not re-watch news aired in one area of the world at different times.

6. Judo

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If you are a sports fan, you will know of Judo, a game that resembles Sumo quite a bit. Kano Jigoro created Judo in 1882. Judo is very interesting to watch, a demonstration game. It was not until 1964, that it was included in the Olympic Games. Kano invented the sport as a way to strengthen his feeble body. He started by doing Jujutsu integrating combative forms as well as revised techniques. Juno’s history is intertwined with Sumo, and they are very much alike, except for a few differences in tactics. The martial art sport combines physical, mental, and moral tactics and is very much loved in Japan. It has been adapted all over the world and is played by many people.

7. The bullet train

Image: Pixabay

Traveling at 400 kilometers per hour across the countryside is an absolute sport, for people who love to travel across the country or to different countries on the same continent. We have the Japanese to thank for inventing this amazing mode of travel. The first batch of passengers to use the Shinkansen, or the Bullet Train in 1964 between Tokyo and Osaka, must have really loved the ride because the bullet train is now used across the world! Hideo Shima was the brains behind the bullet train invention. The mechanical engineer’s dad was one of the people who built Japan’s railroad! His experience in designing and producing automobiles which were used during World War II, and he gained lots of experience.