History

Many Japanese inventions started from the grassroots in the early days of industrialization, meaning that those who invented were not always engineers or scientists. The simplest inventions started from a desire to improve traditional technology. When the Japanese patent system opened in 1884, a lot of inventions were related to agriculture, food, and textile industries.

When the First World War rolled by, the patents on mechanical, electric, and chemical engineering increased, leading to rivalry with the United States on many things, including radar, jet plane, rockets, and the like. When the war ended, the mass production of consumer products started to be on the rise like televisions, recorders, radios, and such.

Today, the Japanese go over and beyond what people need and continue pushing the creative envelope to invent and develop.