One of the easiest ways we recognize Japan and the Japanese people is their technological development that brought us popular video game consoles such as Nintendo and the PlayStation series.

They are not only the producers of these favorite consoles but also a wide range of inventions ranging from the weird or unusual to those that we admit the world could need.

From concepts such as a butter grater for easily applying butter to food or a finger toothbrush for those who seem to misplace their personal hygiene stuff to life-size Gundam models and the bullet trains (Shinkansen), it seems that Japan is the cradle of technology that significantly impacted the world.

We looked back and listed some innovative inventions that helped the world advance.

Walkman (1979)

Before there was such a thing as Spotify on our mobile devices, and even before the dawn of Apple’s iPod, people had already carried their tunes everywhere they went. Thanks to the Walkman, that is.

Walkman

Back then, people could only listen to music through the portable radio, which even meant listening to whatever was playing. However, the idea that people could scroll through a playlist and pick the music they want to listen to while on the go is a step forward for listeners and the music industry.

Fortunately, the Walkman came to light after Sony’s co-founder, Masaru Ibuka, also had this notion of being able to listen to music while traveling on long flights. Thus, the first model of the Sony Walkman was the TPS-L2, released in 1979.

There wasn’t even the concept of wearing headphones compared to the iPod during those times because wearing headphones was then considered rude and antisocial. Still, the Walkman became a huge hit, and soon enough, the belief surrounding wearing headphones diminished and became a socially accepted behavior.

Android Robots (1972, the early 2000s)

The idea of a humanoid robot—complete with the ability to speak and act like humans apart from looking like us—was within the confines of science fiction films and literature. Not until Japan decided it was time to make it possible.

While many Androids have been invented in different countries (particularly neighboring nations such as South Korea and Singapore, and even as far as the United States), Japan took the lead when they initiated the WABOT project in 1967.

Japan-Robots

Waseda University completed the WABOT-1 in 1972 and is considered the first Android—a full-scale humanoid robot that is functioning and intelligent. It can also walk through its limb control system and grip and transport objects with its hands through its tactile sensors.

Japan went further with its Android research and creation when, in 2003, researchers from The Intelligent Robotics Lab at Osaka University revealed its DER 01 model. This Android could talk more, blink, and even breathe as humans can.

Even today, the way Japan utilizes its Android invention is evident, with establishments being run entirely by robots.

Electric Rice Cooker (1945, 1956)

It’s safe to assume that Asian countries do love their rice, and it is, in fact, a part of our meals or recipes.

During the periods when rice cookers had not been invented, countries had their methods of cooking rice, mostly heating rice into clay pots under a flame and vigorously watching until such a time the rice was ready.

The first rice cookers were invented by Mitsubishi Electric Corporation in 1945. Still, as prototypes, they were not that user-friendly back then as there was no automatic off feature, which meant that you still needed to supervise it to avoid burning constantly.

Electric-Rice-Cooker

So, in 1956, Yoshitada Minami came up with a rice cooker that included a thermostat that allowed the automatic off feature, preventing the rice from burning even without having to monitor it from time to time.

This was the kind of rice cooker Toshiba started selling, and in four years, these were found in most Japanese households and soon across the globe. Nowadays, rice cookers have evolved in their features, other than the thermostat, to cater to how rice is eaten or used globally.

READ: 22 technology myths you need to stop believing

Instant Noodles / Cup Noodles (1971)

Another uniquely and proudly Japanese invention is the creation and production of the instant cup noodle. This is all thanks to one Momofuku Ando, the founder of Nissin Foods, who first developed the Chicken Ramen.

This idea came primarily as a solution to the country’s food crisis during the aftermath of the war when it was practical to make and eat ramen by simply pouring hot water into a cup.

Cup-Noodles

However, to make the “Chikin Ramen,” which was first launched in Japan in 1958, saw through many prototypes and trials and errors. Finally, Ando observed his wife frying tempura one day, leading him to frying noodles.

Today, different flavors and kinds of cup noodles are consumed worldwide and depicted in popular culture. There is even a cup noodle museum in Japan where you can trace and learn more about the history of this invention, creating your cup noodle soup in the process.

QR code (1994)

QR codes have been around for a long time, but we, the world, utilized them more due to the recent global health crisis. Since that became the mode of transaction for years, QR has become largely popular even when pandemic restrictions have loosened.

These black-and-white squares have been around since 1994, when Masahiro Hara first invented what is now known as “QR.” At the time, Hara was working at an automotive components firm where he had been trying to find a way to improve the tracking of parts.

QR-Codes

While playing the classic board game Go, he had this moment of enlightenment. The board’s black-and-white pattern allowed him to develop the Quick Response (QR) code, allowing for better storage than scanning multiple barcodes.

Hara originally meant it to help the industry he is working with track down data, but its success paved the way to process and track information in all walks of life. Who would have known it would be crucial, especially in our present situation?

Selfie Stick (1983)

Not long ago, we have selfie sticks sold by street vendors and electronics shops in the Philippines. They were everywhere when they first came to light in the country, with varying colors, designs, and lengths.

Would it surprise you if we revealed that the selfie stick has existed since 1983? Japanese inventors Hiroshi Ueda and Yujiro Mima patented a “telescopic extended for supporting the compact camera,” allowing the wielder of the camera to take his photo without asking others to do it.

Selfie-Stick

Years later, in 2015, Ueda revealed why he came up with the prototype of the selfie stick. Speaking to BBC, he recounted how he was once in the Louvre Museum in Paris when he asked a child to take a photo of him and his companion, but the moment he stepped away, the child ran away with his camera.

Now called a “selfie stick” in our modern times, Ueda dubbed his idea as a “3AM invention, ” a concept that arrived too early.

Emojis (end of the 20th century)

Emoji came from two Japanese words meaning “picture character” and has also been for quite some time.

On November 1, 1997, Softbank (formerly J-Phone) released the SkyWalker DP-211 SW, the first mobile phone to feature these picture characters. These first “emojis” were black and white and included the iconic poop symbol.

Two years later, Shigetaka Kurita created 176 cartoon-like images, this time in color using a 12 by 12 pixels canvas meant for Docomo. These images became popular in the country, which inspired rival companies to create their own (and add to) the growing list of emojis.

Emojis

In 2021, the official emojis totaled about 3,353 and are even being studied as a new form of language in the 21st century. An animated film has already been made about emojis, and various new phone updates take their cue from the various emojis.

Car Navigation (1981)

Even before the appearance of the GPS, which has become every driver’s assistant tool when traveling, Japanese researchers at Honda invented the world’s first map-based car navigation system.

First used in 1981, the Electro Gyrocator was made to be placed on a vehicle’s dashboard. This device appeared like a navigation satellite to help plot the vehicle’s whereabouts.

However, instead of using satellite technology, this prototype GPS ran on a helium gas gyroscope and a servo gear to locate the vehicle and keep track of its speed, rotation, and distance traveled.

Car-Navigation-System

On top of that, the driver would have to manually place a transparent road map sheet over the screen to track where he is going every time he travels. Since then, efforts have been made to make the car navigation system more compact and easier to use even when the driver is seated comfortably inside the car.

In 2017, the development of the navigation technology was formally recognized by the Insitute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers as an “IEEE Milestone.”

Remarkable inventions that continue to improve and be recognized

Japan continues to introduce new concepts to the world, and whether these are inventions that are specifically needed by their country or something that other nations might just as well need, these creations undeniably help shape how we live life.

We might constantly hear the phrase “Japan is living in the future,” but their innovation is a means to impress the world and inspire inventors and creative minds to look into what their country might need.

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