I feel that Germany's cars are best in the world .And about Japan is famous for electronic .
Japanese food
Instant noddles
Japanese cars
Anime & Manga
Digital watches & calculators
Electronics in general
Robots
Toto toilets (with seat warmer, bidet, etc.)
VHS video tapes
Video Games
Martial arts (judo, karate, kendo, aikido...)
Karaoke
J-pop
Japanese women
Hentai & AV
Purikura (photo stickers)
Japanese men
I feel that Germany's cars are best in the world .And about Japan is famous for electronic .
lena
I think that what the Japanese best offer us is an understanding of culture, more than anything material. What I mean is--Their culture is one of the past and future. An impecable sharing of the two. Walking through Kyoto, I saw office buildings next to an ancient temple. This mesh of new and old is something that all cultures should embrace. America is too set on moving foreward, that they forget about the past. The key to a good future is understanding what preceeded it.
the greatest thing to come out of japan for me personally was final fantasy 7 that game change my sad little life but japan has made so many amazing contributions to the world i think it would be impossible to narrow it down to one.
I want to say anime and video games because all the best are Japanese. Not true for the other choices. Korean electronics are now as good and cheaper than Japanese ones (women too ? ) .
I would choose Electronics and all those household items that have made their way into peoples homes in the last 30 years.
Other countries may now be producing electronic goods cheaper but it was Japan who led the way first.
Water water everywhere, and all the boards did shrink,
Water water everywhere, and not a drop to drink.
Samuel Taylor Coleridge.
Gonna have to disagree on the video games.
Japanese games have good titles: Final Fantasy, Devil May Cry, Mario ect but I've found the japanese game industry has a huge fault in that they stick with what has worked in the past and milk it to death. They come out with a gem every now and then but American and European games have rapidly been getting better and more original where Japan continues to ride off the popularity of older titles.
I just have one thing to say to the japanese gaming industry. Please let Final Fantasy die. Let it retain what little dignity it has left and send it out to pasture, it's done it's time.
cars, robots, and video games. Nissan Skyline R34 GTR is amazing. What the robots can do in Japan is INSANE and video games. Ever herd of FF7? yah.... very big.
I actually am of the opinion that Japan's greatest contribution to the world was to show that "coloured" people can rival and beat the white Europeans militarily. I speak of course of the Russo-Japanese War and World War 2.
I think that even though many people were obviously disappointed by Japan in the end, Japan opened many people's eyes to the reality that Europeans are not superior or whatever. I think it helped to completely change the post-war face of the Earth.
Hibatchi Barbeques have been around in Australia since I was a bub..
The small floor type with the griddle grill plate that take charcoal.
Did I know they were Japanese?
I think that Bowlingual and the Meowlingual should soon be listed as great Japanese contributions to human kind. That device translates dog or cat voices into human language ! Dogs also have their own fashion show in Tokyo. A Japanese company also start pet allowance for its employees ! Needless to say that pet translation and pet care are a big business in the country of the rising sun !
Subaru are an awesome car brand in my opinion, nothing can really beat the Legacy in terms of price, comfort and safety.
That's not the only thing Japan contributes, however. Their research and comittment to advancing technology has brought upon many great creations such as LCD monitors, DVD discs, and more recently Blu-Ray.
Yes they produce a ship-load of anime and manga but I can't say it's the greatest thing to come out of Japan (call me old if you will).
なつみ를 사랑해!
Peace, Love, Unity, Respect
~---------------------~-~-----------------------~
it's a privilege to be able to call yourself a Sciencemologist
I think much of everything that has come from Japan has its on uniquen-ness about it. I couldnt label just one thing as the 'greatest' because I love so much of it, well everything.
Actually I was thinking of 'The Complete Manual of Suicide' written by Wataru Tsurumi. For living in Japan, it might be very useful.
lol@the boxes I can click on.
Japanese food
They make some of my favorite food in the world. But I don't really think of food as a thing especially great among world contributions.
Instant noddles
This is just another food choice. Personally the best instant ramen I've ever tried is Nong Shim ramen, from Korea.
Japanese cars
Hmmm...Japan does have many good cars. And transportation is ok I guess. I dunno, still not good enough. Perhaps not even a better contribution than food.
Anime & Manga
Certainly not. I like a great many of them too. I would say this is a nice, but greatly overrated part of Japanese culture.
Digital watches & calculators
The most expensive, most prized watch I own is Seiko, but no. Not even close.
Electronics in general
Even more of a contribution than automotive in my opinion. I'm not sure. It's a contender.
Robots
Not their best electronic achievement, but pretty cool. It's a no though.
Toto toilets (with seat warmer, bidet, etc.)
Amusing, and somewhat useful. But definitely no.
VHS video tapes
Ah yes, Japan invented VHS. This is pretty cool. Maybe a contender, maybe. Millions around the world watched VHS and was the major video medium form until DVD. I'm reluctant to say yes though for the same reasons I said no on anime and manga.
Video Games
Like automotive and other electronics, this is something Japan has become known for, they produce at least half of the games out there. Still though, this is almost exactly the same as anime and manga, so a definite no.
Martial arts (judo, karate, kendo, aikido...)
Japan has contributed much to the world of martial arts, however, I believe China has contributed more. Perhaps a contender.
Karaoke
Absolutely not. Not even close.
J-pop
My first true celebrity crush is a Jpop singer. My biggest celebrity crush is Jpop singer. She is and always will be, someone I care about deeply, even though I don't even know her.
However, J-pop is no different than Video Games, Anime or Manga. Other than that it contains real people. So I will say no again
Japanese women
HAHAHAHAHAHAHA
omgwut. NO!
I admit there are many pretty women from Japan, but this is no contribution by any stretch of the world. It's actually quite laughable that I could vote this if I wanted to.
Hentai & AV
Oh man, more lols. This one is as bad as the Japanese women one. I'm no moral anti-porn person(with the exception of my anti-misogyny perspective), but this is even less of a contribution than anime, manga and videogames.
Purikura (photo stickers)
Perhaps even less contributory than the thing before it, adult media. Their photo stickers are cute, but come on. This is no where close to Japan's biggest contribution.
Japanese men
See Japanese women.
I don't mean to insult OP with this list, but some of these choices were just funny to me. And most of them I wouldn't view as Japan's biggest contribution or anywhere close. I'd probably have a hard time brainstorming myself, though, and wouldn't have made a much better list perhaps.
By the list, I was a bit stuck between martial, electronics in general and VHS. But I ended up going with electronics in general.
I would have to say that the Japanese were fundamental in shaping all the nations of Asia through trade or conflict. (Maybe not as much so as China influenced Japan, but the Japanese have influenced China as well.) I do not mean to be disrespectful or callous, but the implications and consequences of some of Japan's military struggles with the eastern world set the foundations for the people's of those nations to rise up against oppression and tyranny. At least, that's the way I look at it. Every act, no matter how violent, can have unforseen positive consequences down the road. Every cloud has a silver lining, so to speak?
Ah, but you meant something tangible. In all honesty? Nihonto. The Japanese sword is a marvelous instrument as well as a piece of functional art. Think of how deeply the katana, tachi, daitō, and wakazashi just to name a few have shaped Japan and even more so, what we and the rest of the world see in modern culture. I also like to look at how the Japanese adapted to using the early period chokutō, or chinese swords.
I mean, one of the three imperial regalia is the Kusanagi-no-Tsurugi.
But I see it as a "contribution" to the world because it can be appreciated, and because of all the old Samurai films it inspired, not to mention contemporary films use it and have crafted an entire lore around it.
The nihonto gave George Lucas the idea for the lightsaber (and the Samurai
gave him the idea for Jedi.)
Japanese art is what inspired me to become an art/antique appraiser, so I can hopefully own my own business. So I definitely think the nihonto is a valued contribution.
Woo, first post!
instant noodles here. if japan hadn't invented it, god knows how I would have gotten through my university years... those endless nights playing network games and shouting across the hostel... getting fined in the process.
Japanese food
Instant noddles
Anime & Manga
Digital watches & calculators
Video Games
Martial arts (judo, karate, kendo, aikido...)
J-pop
Hentai & AV
Purikura (photo stickers)
hmmm...i think that's more..but it's enough for now
Japanese art / sense of beauty (wabi -sabi) is missing :/
How about, how about... bukkake? Rofl, just joking.
Tbh, in my subjective opinion it would be anime, not manga, because I find manhwa to be of the same quality, and masterpieces like Angyo Onshi are by far superior (though rather rare). Also, bondage (although I don't know to what degree this can be considered a Japanese invention, so im merely guessing here).
lol... considering the absurdity of a few choices, might as well.
But seriously... anime and manga are Japan's GREATEST CONTRIBUTION TO THE WORLD? Wow, I guess it shows where the posting audience is coming from... I wold have voted something like anti-nuclear movement or something instead of "hentai/av." Something that contributes to the world, instead of just stains on a sheet.
-Emoni
"Been there, done that, came back, going again."
I've just voted Electronic in general, but I think that the VHS was a real BOOM in the industry of cinema.
A new way for Film Companies to earn money after showing the movie for the first time in a Cinema.
The VHS video recorder. Easier and cheaper than the celuloide films.
七転び八起き。「ななころびやおき」
Always rising after a fall.
Completely agree with you Emoni.. I prolly would've said things like sense of beauty and balance (wabi/sabi, zen), technology, achievements in artificial intelligence, medical science, food etc. Something that has a more wider effect on people, something that has really shaped the world and will perhaps continue doing so. And I do hope people have other things in their world than just manga or anime....
Last edited by Chipi; Feb 23, 2009 at 23:16. Reason: typos!
Would it be weird if I said Mario and the NES? You know, the video game.
I know there's been other, most definitely greater, contributions but the invention of Mario and NES really revolutionized the gaming industry. Without it we wouldn't have had the great leaps in entertainment technology, and digital graphics that we have now.
Mario and the NES really tuned people into the potential of the video game. Without you, Japan, I wouldn't have ever had the chance to play Fallout 3, Final Fantasy 7, Call of Duty, Castlevania, Shadow of the Colossus and many other great video games that pushed the boundaries of creativity and technology.
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