Japan is a fascinating country with a rich history and culture. Known for its technology, natural beauty, and unique traditions, Japan offers a wide range of trivia topics to explore. From ancient temples and castles to modern technology and pop culture, there's something for everyone to discover. Here are some of the most interesting Japan trivia facts that you may not know.
First, Japan is home to many ancient temples, shrines, and castles, many of which are now UNESCO World Heritage sites. These include the famous temples of Kyoto, such as Kinkaku-ji and Ginkaku-ji, and the Himeji Castle, also known as the "White Heron Castle" because of its white exterior.
Second, Japan is renowned for its traditional art forms, such as calligraphy, painting, and flower arranging, and for its unique cuisine, including sushi, ramen, and tempura. These art forms and cuisine are deeply rooted in the culture and have a long history in Japan.
Third, Japan has a strong economy and is known for its cutting-edge technology, from electronics to transportation systems. This is evident in the country's high-speed trains, called Shinkansen, and the famous bullet train, which connect major cities across the country. Japan is also a major player in the global automotive industry, with brands like Toyota, Honda and Nissan being household names around the world.
These are just a few examples of the many interesting and unique trivia facts about Japan. With so much to discover, it's no wonder that Japan continues to be a popular tourist destination and a source of inspiration for many.
163 Japan Trivia Questions Ranked From Easiest to Hardest (Updated for 2024)
- Relax, breathe, and tell me: a Japanese sect of Mahayana Buddhism shares what Z-word name with a state of calm attentiveness?
Answer: Zen
- Originally given the Japanese title “Puckman”, what 1980s arcade game was inducted into the Guinness Book of Records as the "Most Successful Coin-Operated Game" in 2005?
Answer: Pac-Man
- The longest-term export between the U.S. and Japan is the shipping of LNG from Alaska. LNG stands for what type of cleaner-than-coal energy?
Answer: Liquified Natural Gas
- Made by fermenting rice that has been polished to remove the bran, what Japanese alcoholic beverage comes in “junmai” and “ginjo” varieties, and may be served cold or hot?
Answer: Sake
- The Chunichi Dragons, Hanshin Tigers, and Hiroshima Toyo Carp all play in what country's professional baseball league?
Answer: Japan
- Attu and Kiska are two islands in Alaska that were occupied by Japanese forces during World War II and are part of what chain of islands comprised of more than 300 small volcanic islands?
Answer: Aleutian Islands
- The wise owl on the label could tell you: Hatachino Nest Japanese Classic Ale is brewed in cedar casks previously used to brew what rice-based alcoholic drink?
Answer: Sake
- Traditionally arranged carefully atop a tatami mat, the futon originated in what Asian nation?
Answer: Japan
- The high-speed Maglev train of Japan sounds like something out of the wizarding world of Harry Potter or the power source of a sci-fi hovercraft. “Mag” stands for “magnetic,” but what is “lev” short for?
Answer: Levitation
- Days after the assassination of former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, who continued to lead his party after stepping down, the Liberal Democratic Party was victorious in July 2022 elections in what country?
Answer: Japan
- Here’s a haiku for you! “Kimigayo” is / the national anthem of / what Asian nation?
Answer: Japan
- What term is the popular phrase (in English) to describe the Japanese train known as the Shinkansen?
Answer: Bullet train
- Also known as "lean manufacturing," just-in-time manufacturing is a hyperefficient process pioneered by what Japanese automaker in the 1960s?
Answer: Toyota
- Located on the south of Honshu and the northern shore of Osaka Bay, what K-word Japanese city gave its name to a type of beef and a famous Los Angeles Laker?
Answer: Kobe, Japan
- One of the less frequently mentioned horrors attributed to the Axis Powers, the Maeda Point Ghost of Death still freaks out American soldiers serving on what Japanese island that anagrams to WAIN OAK?
Answer: Okinawa
- In which Japanese city, whose name is an anagram of Japan’s capital, was an international treaty signed in 1997 relating to reduction of greenhouse gas emissions?
Answer: Kyoto
- Set in what is now the island of Honshu, the White Hare of Inaba, who rewards the hero Onamuchi for his kindness by helping him marry a princess, is an ancient legend from what East Asian nation?
Answer: Japan
- The first woman to hold federally-elected office in the U.S. was Jeannette Rankin, a Representative from Montana. Rankin was famously the only member of the U.S. House to vote against a declaration of war against what Asian nation in a 1940s vote?
Answer: Japan
- What powerhouse Japanese consumer electronics company created franchises like "The Legend of Zelda" and characters like "Waluigi?"
Answer: Nintendo
- Traditional Japanese beers like Sapporo and Asahi are unusual in that about a third of their grains come from what crop, added to more typical grains like barley?
Answer: Rice
- Since Soviet invasion at the end of World War II, the nations of Japan and the USSR (and later Russia) have disputed ownership of what archipelago between Hokkaido and the Kamchatka Peninsula
Answer: Kuril Islands
- What tennis star, whose last name is the same as the Japanese city where she was born, won the women's singles competition at the 2021 Australian Open?
Answer: Naomi Osaka
- The name of which small, covered, two-wheeled vehicle derives from the Japanese word "jinrikisha", meaning "human-powered vehicle?”
Answer: Rickshaw
- Which country has officially declared six dog breeds, including the Shiba and Akita, as national monuments?
Answer: Japan
- What 2021 Disney+ series allows seven Japanese animation studios to bring their unique perspectives to the Star Wars universe, through short films? It is a plural word for seeing something concrete through a dream or trance.
Answer: Star Wars: Visions
- The Japanese yachtsman Kenichi Horie was the first person to use solar power to cross what body of water in 1996?
Answer: Pacific Ocean
- Manti in Afghanistan, Pierogi in Poland, and Gyoza in Japan are just some examples of the countless varieties that can be found throughout the world of what foodstuff?
Answer: Dumplings
- What is the four-letter word for the paste made from fermented soybeans and barley or rice malt which is commonly used in Japanese cooking? This term can also be used to describe a type of soup thickened with the paste.
Answer: Miso
- What collection of ideograms was first created by Shigetaka Kurita for the use on Japanese mobile phones in 1999? This collection quickly ascended in popularity as they were included on more and more mobile operating systems.
Answer: Emoji
- Travelers to Japan can journey from Kagoshima to Hokkaido on the Shinkansen, more colloquially known in English by what two-word term?
Answer: Bullet Train
- Due to the work being done by Ishikawajima-Harima Heavy Industries, a Japanese company, the attachments added to which New Zealand landmark in the late 1960s became known as "Nippon clip-ons"?
Answer: Auckland Harbour Bridge
- A May 2023 conference called "The Land of the Rising Sun Meets the Nation of Rising Innovation" will cover partnership opportunities for ventures between Israel and what Asian nation?
Answer: Japan
- "Japanese arrowroot" is an alternative name for what climbing plant, which is so invasive in the Southeastern U.S. it's been called "the vine that ate the South?"
Answer: Kudzu
- According to the Organisation Internationale des Constructeurs d'Automobiles in 2018, China was the world's largest manufacturer of motor vehicles with 28 million produced. Next up was the United States with 11 million vehicles. What Asian country was in third place with nearly 10 million vehicles produced?
Answer: Japan
- The best-known work of Japanese artist Hokusai is "The Great Wave off Kanagawa," part of a larger series called "36 Views of" what famous volcano?
Answer: Mount Fuji
- Which Japanese carmaker designed the Miata sports car according to the principle of jinba ittai, AKA "oneness of horse and rider”?
Answer: Mazda
- October 2021 elections saw the Liberal Democratic Party, led by Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, lose 23 seats but maintain its relative majority status in what country?
Answer: Japan
- Japanese-American businesswoman Frances Hashimoto combined two delicious desserts when she filled what Japanese sticky rice product with ice cream?
Answer: Mochi
- You can wriggle your way into a monthly subscription with no sharing hassles, courtesy of a Seattle-based scooter service named from what Japanese word for "eel?"
Answer: Unagi
- A ship that sailed perfect due west after leaving San Fransisco harbor would make landfall just south of the city of Sendai in which country?
Answer: Japan
- According to Japanese legends, folding one thousand origami versions of what bird will grant an individual a wish from the gods?
Answer: crane
- What 2001 Hayao Miyazaki film, in which 10-year-old Chihiro's parents are transformed into giant pigs, remains the second highest-grossing film of all time in Japan?
Answer: Spirited Away
- In Arkansas, the Rohwer Camp operated from 1942 to 1945 and at its peak interned 8,475 prisoners. What common ancestral country did all of these prisoners share?
Answer: Japan
- When his family disappeared during Thanos’ snap, as seen in “Avengers: Infinity War” and “Avengers: Endgame”, Hawkeye began killing criminals under what new name? The was also used to refer to a samurai without a master during feudal Japan.
Answer: Ronin
- Born and raised in Seattle, which Japanese American, eight-time Olympic medalist short track speed skater has a first name that might remind you of the Moon Landing (even though it’s not spelled the same way)?
Answer: Apolo Ohno
- Winner of the Best Foreign Film Oscar and nominated for Best Picture, "Drive My Car" is a 2021 film directed by Ryusuke Hamaguchi that was made in what country?
Answer: Japan
- When it was established in 1869, the Republic of Ezo was the first attempt to establish which form of government in Japan?
Answer: Democracy
- In Japan, only qualified chefs who have trained for at least three years are allowed to prepare the dish "fugu". This is because fugu is made from what poisonous animal, thus can be fatal if incorrectly prepared?
Answer: Pufferfish
- What Japanese automaker uses the expression "Zoom-Zoom" which describes the "emotion of motion" it claims is inherent in its cars? Obviously, the word later became more associated with a video technology company.
Answer: Mazda
- The Mukden Incident was used by what country as a pretext to invade China in 1931?
Answer: Japan
- What is the name of the Japanese snack food first sold in 1966 initially described as a "chocolate covered biscuit stick?" There are now additional flavored coatings such as almond, strawberry, milk, green tea, banana, and coconut.
Answer: Pocky
- Certain species of red algae seaweed of the genus Pyropia are used to make what dried Japanese seaweed, which is probably most widely known for being wrapped around sushi?
Answer: Nori
- In 2023, China banned the import of Japanese seafood after the latter country's controversial announcement that they would discharge wastewater from what prefecture's nuclear power plant?
Answer: Fukushima
- Invented in the mid 1990s by Masahiro Hara from the Japanese company Denso Wave, the QR code system today is used by hundreds of millions of consumers. What does QR stand for?
Answer: Quick Response
- It is known as "The Tigers of Money" in Japan, and Dragon's Den in the UK - what is the American version of this reality TV show called?
Answer: Shark Tank
- Who's a good boy? The much-Comic Sans'ed doge meme features Kabosu, a dog of what fluffy Japanese dog breed?
Answer: Shiba Inu
- A gift of 53 trees to the U.S. in 1976 became the basis for a national museum of what Japanese artform, located today in Washington, D.C.'s National Arboretum?
Answer: Bonsai
- During 2021's UN Climate Change Conference in Glasgow, activists dressed as Pikachu to protest the continued use of coal by what Asian nation?
Answer: Japan
- Consisting of thinly sliced ginger that has been marinated in sugar and vinegar, gari is part of the cuisine of which Asian country?
Answer: Japan
- Kabosu, a female Shiba Inu from Japan, achieved internet (and cryptocurrency) fame as the face of what four-letter meme?
Answer: Doge
- Imane Anys, whose millions of followers love to watch her play League of Legends and Fortnite, is better known by what name that's a portmanteau of her name and a Japanese game franchise?
Answer: Pokimane
- You probably won't find books on Keto or Atkins at Japan's national library, even though it's named for what four-letter legislative body?
Answer: Diet
- In 2021, Bandai issued an R2-D2 edition of what handheld toy, whose name is a blend of the Japanese words for "egg" and "watch"?
Answer: Tamagotchi
- In ancient Japan, what was the name of the hereditary military nobility and officer caste that served the daimyo and played a crucial role in Japanese feudal society?
Answer: Samurai
- The Fugaku supercomputer has topped the list of the fastest computers in the world since 2020. Reaching such an explosive height makes its name fitting, since it was named after what stratovolcano in Japan?
Answer: Mount Fuji
- Subaru is the Japanese name for the Pleiades star cluster, also known as the Seven Sisters, as it comprises of seven stars. How many stars are in the logo for the car manufacturer Subaru?
Answer: Six (Japanese tradition says one of the seven stars is invisible)
- What “A” dogs of Japanese lineage are known for their large, imposing size, and their general alertness?
Answer: Akita
- What world capital city is served by the airports whose codes are NRT and HND?
Answer: Tokyo
- A popular brand of Japanese mayonnaise, made with cider vinegar and whole egg yolks, is named for what brand of hard plastic dolls?
Answer: Kewpie
- Despite a bellicose reputation, what U.S. President won the Nobel Peace Prize for his role as a peacemaker in the Russo-Japanese War?
Answer: Theodore Roosevelt
- What “T” is a version of HIIT based on a study involving Olympic speedskaters and named after a Japanese professor?
Answer: Tabata
- What Asian country changed its capital in 1868 to its current capital city? Both the pre- and post- 1868 capitals are anagrams of one another. In case you've forgotten over the years, anagrams are words that contain all the same letters but in a different order. And we're looking for the country, not the cities.
Answer: Japan (Kyoto and Tokyo)
- The sole Japanese international school in Costa Rica is located in what city that is the head city of the Moravia canton?
Answer: San Vincente
- Eating Kentucky Fried Chicken on Christmas Day has been a tradition since the 1970s in what nation on the other side of the world from Kentucky?
Answer: Japan
- From 1942 to 1945, Singapore was under the control of what country, which seized control during World War II?
Answer: Japan
- What “S” Japanese House and Garden is located in Philadelphia’s West Fairmount Park, on the site of the 1876 Centennial Exposition?
Answer: Shofuso
- The Dunk Low is a shoe from the Nike x CDG collab with a Japanese fashion label that goes by what French name with initials found in this question?
Answer: Comme des Garçons
- What “M” International Museum, located in San Diego’s Balboa Park, collects and displays folk art, craft, and design? It gets its name from a Japanese term for folk art, coined in the mid-1920s by the philosopher Yanagi Soetsu, among others?
Answer: Mingei International Museum
- Gimme a break! What Hershey wafer-and-chocolate product has been offered in more than 300 flavors in Japan, including adzuki (red bean), wasabi, matcha, and soy sauce?
Answer: KitKat
- In 1997, Cartoon Network started showcasing Japanese animation on weekday afternoons. Home to Space Ghost, Sailor Moon, Johnny Quest, and a robot named T.O.M., what name did the channel give the action-packed programming block?
Answer: Toonami
- Doutor Coffee is a company that specializes in coffee roasting. In which East Asian country was Doutor Coffee founded in 1976?
Answer: Japan
- While Singapore had long been a British colony, which country occupied it during WWII (from 1942 to 1945)?
Answer: Japan
- What Japanese automaker of the Miata and the CX-5 introduced the repetitive "Zoom Zoom" tagline in its U.S. advertising starting in 2000?
Answer: Mazda
- Which brand with an Italian name prides itself as being “America’s favorite brand of pasta sauce” but is actually owned by a Japanese company (Mizkan) and was first sold in New York in 1937?
Answer: Ragu
- Polka dots and mirrored installations called "Infinity Rooms" are both hallmarks of what Japanese contemporary artist?
Answer: Yayoi Kusama
- The worst tornado to ever hit Texas ripped through Waco in May 1953 as an "F5," meaning a category five on what scale named for a Japanese-American meteorologist?
Answer: Fujita
- Nippon Yusen Kabushiki Kaisha is one of the world’s largest shipping companies. It’s part of the Mitsubishi keiretsu and is headquartered in which country?
Answer: Japan
- Geese Howard is a boss character in what alliteratively named, deadly-sounding video game franchise from the Japanese company SNK?
Answer: Fatal Fury
- Which beverage company based in Japan is rooted in a brewery business dating back to 1888 and has a unique modern-day offering of a frozen beer that it claims stays cold for a half hour?
Answer: Kirin
- Miyagi Prefecture in which Asian country is Delaware’s “sister state?”
Answer: Japan
- Starting in 1934, YKK are a Japanese group of companies who are the world’s leading brand in manufacturing what item, commonly found on clothing items and other products?
Answer: Zippers
- In 2009, what was the name of the first crypto exchange launched in Japan that handled nearly all bitcoin transactions until it was shut down in 2014 (for stealing millions)?
Answer: Mt. Gox
- On February 19, 1942, Franklin D. Roosevelt issued Executive Order 9066, resulting in the deportation to internment camps of tens of thousands of American citizens who had ancestry from what country?
Answer: Japan
- The Leaf is an all-electric vehicle made by what Japanese automaker whose name begins and ends with the same letter?
Answer: Nissan
- Written language in Japan actually combines three scripts: kanji, hiragana, and what’s the third?
Answer: Katakana
- Kaatsu is an exercise method developed (and patented) by Dr. Yoshiaki Sato that means "additional language" in what language?
Answer: Japanese
- In Japan, coffee that’s ready to drink and even available to buy at the right temperature for the current season comes in which metallic receptacle instead of bottles, bags, or pods?
Answer: Can
- According to a Fox Business article, only three new car models have a starting price of under $20,000, including the Mirage hatchback from what Japanese automaker?
Answer: Mitsubishi
- Which rig located off the coast of Russia and Japan near Sakhalin Island is the largest oil platform in the world as of 2023, weighing over 42,000 tons?
Answer: Berkut
- Which Japanese carmaker produces the RAV4 SUV?
Answer: Toyota
- The Battle of Midway between the U.S. Navy and the Japanese Navy was a key turning point in which “theater” of WWII?
Answer: Pacific
- What sea is bordered on three sides by Russia (the Kamchatka Peninsula, Kiril Islands, and Sakhalin Island) and on the south by Hokkaido in Japan?
Answer: Sea of Okhotsk
- Mitsuki Miyawaki is the real name of what Japanese-American singer-songwriter behind albums like Be the Cowboy, Laurel Hell, and 2023's The Land is Inhospitable and So Are We?
Answer: Mitski
- A traditional garden within San Diego's Balboa Park and a large bell on Shelter Island are dedicated to the city's "Friendship" with what Pacific nation?
Answer: Japan
- The International Convention regulating the release of mercury and mercury compounds, approved in 2013, was named after the city of Minamata in what Asian country?
Answer: Japan
- A "three arrow" structure supported the 2010s financial model known as Abenomics, a system of reforms meant to boost the economy of what Asian nation?
Answer: Japan
- Travelers looking for calm and relaxation might want to check out the traditional hot springs and their accompanying inns called "onsen" in what Asian country?
Answer: Japan
- Toyota was named such because the original name taken from the family that founded the company, Toyoda, took more characters to write in what language?
Answer: Japanese
- What brand of Coca-Cola coffee drinks, which was first introduced in Japan and has since been expanded to other Asian markets, is named for the company's U.S. home locale?
Answer: Georgia
- Whose fish owl native to China, Japan, and Russian Far East is also known as Keptupa blakistoni, and is the biggest (living) species of owl?
Answer: Blakiston’s
- From about the 12th century AD to the end of feudalism in the 1860s, what was the title of Japan's military dictators, also the title of a novel by James Clavell?
Answer: Shogun
- After capturing Iwo Jima, the next stop for U.S. forces in April of 1945 was which Japanese island? (Hint: It was called Operation Iceberg)
Answer: Okinawa
- Headquartered in Japan, what “A” sportswear brand is actually an acronym for a phrase translated from Latin to "a sound mind, in a sound body?”
Answer: Asics
- Japan's prestigious Shinshu University is located in which prefecture, which also played host to the Winter Olympics in 1998?
Answer: Nagano
- Playing on the acronym CHEF, the Sakai Learning Management System was named for Hiroyuki Sakai, a star of what Japanese competition show set in Kitchen Stadium?
Answer: Iron Chef
- Kamikaze, the term given by Japan to their special aerial attack forces, translates to two words. The first is "divine" or "spirit." What elemental noun is the second?
Answer: Wind
- Mister Donut is a fast-food franchise with 1,000+ locations. Although founded in the U.S., Mister Donut is now headquartered in what Asian country?
Answer: Japan
- Actually kind of terrible at putting people to sleep, the Dreamcast was a video game console model released by what ginormous entertainment company?
Answer: Sega
- Kongo Gumi, a construction company, is believed to be the oldest business (it was formed in 578 AD!) that’s still operating today. What country is it in?
Answer: Japan
- Nitto and Silverstone are both truck tire brands owned by what Japanese manufacturer who has a name only one letter removed from an Asian capital? We are looking for the company's name, not the capital's name.
Answer: Toyo Tire Company
- Drummer Daisuke Inoue is widely credited as the inventor of what past time named for a portmanteau of the Japanese words for "empty" and "orchestra"?
Answer: Karaoke
- In the 2018 Wes Anderson animated film "Isle of Dogs," the dogs speak English, whereas the humans, for the most part, speak what language?
Answer: Japanese
- The Japanese Raccoon Dog (as opposed to the mainland Raccoon Dog) is also known by what Japanese name? These animals are abundant in Japan, even in cities.
Answer: Tanuki
- Japanese chemist Akira Yoshino switched from low yield polyacetylene to a carbonaceous material electrode in 1985, locking in what critical piece of cell phone tech?
Answer: Lithium-ion battery
- "Carve Yourself a Piece of the American Dream" is the subtitle to Ed Valenti's book about the wisdom gleaned from what not-really-Japanese knives?
Answer: Ginsu
- Under Japanese occupation from 1942 to 1945, Singapore was renamed Syonan-To, meaning what thing "of the South Island"?
Answer: Light
- A “nel drip” is a traditional Japanese coffee brewing method that uses which fabric as a filter?
Answer: Flannel
- In the early 20th century, Japanese farmers stunned consumers by figuring out how to grow what popular fruit crop in sturdy, stackable square shapes?
Answer: Watermelon
- In July 2023, who was appointed Head of Sales in the Asia Pacific and Japan, thus strengthening Verkada’s investment in the area?
Answer: Francois Vazille
- What 2001 film from Japan's Studio Ghibli (which was distributed in North America by Disney in 2002) won the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature in 2003?
Answer: Spirited Away
- Produced in Japan and having no relation to coffee despite the sound of its name, Nikka Coffey Grain is a brand of what distilled spirit?
Answer: Whiskey
- What Japanese reality show that made its stateside premiere on Netflix in 2022 follows toddlers as they go on solo errands?
Answer: Old Enough!
- This point could come in clutch! The first main use case for the QR code system was for the manufacturing of what type of product in Japan?
Answer: Automobiles
- What legendary Japanese-born conductor served as music director of the Boston Symphony Orchestra from 1973 to 2002?
Answer: Seiji Ozawa
- First manufactured in 1982, what was the first American-produced Japanese car? The vehicle rolled off the assembly line at the Marysville Auto Plant in Ohio and became the best-selling Japanese car in the United States for 15 straight years.
Answer: Honda Accord
- Policybazaar and ZhongAn Insurance are both technology-based insurance companies that have received large amounts of funding through the Vision Fund which is one of the world's largest venture capital funds and is associated with what Japanese telecom giant?
Answer: SoftBank
- The Blakiston's fish owl is named for naturalist Thomas Blakiston, who picked up the first sample of the species on what second-largest Northern Japanese island?
Answer: Hokkaido
- Four snowy owl owlets—or "snowlets"—named Sukki, Nokki, Lekki, and Tsukki served as the mascots for the 1998 Winter Olympics in what Japanese city?
Answer: Nagano
- Don't get salty if you miss this! Which Japanese printer company started out in 1942 as a company that manufactured watch and clock parts as Daiwa Kogyo Ltd?
Answer: Epson
- What famous 1988 anime, directed by Katsuhiro Otomo, tells the story of Tetsuo, who develops telekinetic powers after a motorcycle accident? It is also the first name of the Japanese director of non-anime "Rashomon" and "The Seven Samurai."
Answer: Akira
- Consisting of Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom, and the United States, G7 is short for what international intergovernmental organization comprised of seven of world’s largest developed economies?
Answer: Group of Seven
- Often served as a breakfast food in Japan alongside soy sauce, onion, and karashi mustard, natto is made by fermenting what legumes?
Answer: Soybean
- At the Tokyo Olympics, France defeated Japan 4-1 to win the mixed teams event in which sport?
Answer: Judo
- In Shinto mythology, Japan's first human emperor is said to be a direct descendant of what goddess of the sun?
Answer: Amaterasu
- The reality TV show Terrace House is a franchise consisting of five series and one theatrical film. The show tracks the lives of six strangers (three men, and three women) that live together in the same house while getting to know one another platonically and romantically. The show developed a cult popularity in the U.S. via Netflix even though it is filmed in what country?
Answer: Japan
- What Nike "T" sneaker was a top seller in 2019, retails for ~$65 on the Nike website, and has a name from the Japanese word for "simplicity?"
Answer: Nike Tanjun
- "Reroll" is a reboot of a strangely addictive, building-a-universe-from-an-adhesive-ball game with what Japanese name meaning "clump spirit"?
Answer: Katamari Damacy
- Which well-known home entertainment brand was started by Fusajiro Yamauchi in 1889 for the manufacture of Japanese playing cards?
Answer: Nintendo
- Even though it was built from Suzuki engines, the Autozam Scrum is a mini truck (or kei truck) that’s exclusive to which other Japanese automaker?
Answer: Mazda
- Talking Heads frontman David Byrne claimed to be inspired by Japanese Noh theater when he created the "big suit" famously featured in what 1984 concert film?
Answer: Stop Making Sense
- What toy was once banned in Japan because the motion of operating the toy was considered indecent?
Answer: Hula Hoop
- A 1986 Diana Wynne Jones novel that was adapted for the screen by Japanese director and animator Hayao Miyazaki in 2004 focuses on an ambulatory edifice belonging to a character with what name, as per its title?
Answer: Howl
- Decades after it become known for its Magic Wand, which Japanese manufacturer created the first 1 TB hard disk in 2007? (Hint: The name combines the kanji characters “sun + rise”)
Answer: Hitachi
- Former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe was assassinated on July 8, 2022. At this time of his assassination, who was the Prime Minister?
Answer: Fumio Kishida
- The work of Japanese-American photographer George Masa, who lived most of his life in Asheville, North Carolina, is considered instrumental in the creation of what U.S. national park?
Answer: Great Smoky Mountains National Park
- What restaurant group, named for the Japanese chef who started it in Los Angeles in the 1980s, opened its first luxury hotel inside Caesars Palace in 2013?
Answer: Nobu
- Which Japanese company established in 1936 is the number one producer of material handling systems in the world (including its Magic Conveyor)?
Answer: Daifuku
- Not all libraries have a code of silence. In 2015, a Finnish library introduced a room for what specific practice that's name means "empty orchestra" in Japanese?
Answer: Karaoke
- Which battle named after the largest island of the Solomon Islands is considered the first major land offensive by Allied forces against the Empire of Japan?
Answer: Battle of Guadalcanal
- What Asian-American activist was the plaintiff in the landmark case which upheld the constitutionality of the Japanese-American internment during WWII? The decision has been called one of the worst ever made by the Supreme Court.
Answer: Korematsu
- The founders of Nike started the business as distributors for what "Tiger" footwear brand from Japan?
Answer: Onitsuka
- There are only about five remaining speakers of what isolate language, spoken by its namesake indigenous people on the island of Hokkaido in Japan?
Answer: Ainu
- Originally published in Japan in 1994 and 1995, "The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle" is a magical realist novel by what Kyoto-born author?
Answer: Haruki Murakami
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About the Author
Eli Robinson is the Chief Trivia Officer at Water Cooler Trivia. He was once in a Bruce Springsteen cover band called F Street Band.
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