118-455: Casshan , also known in Japan as Neo-Human Casshern ( Japanese : 新造人間キャシャーン , Hepburn : Shinzō Ningen Kyashān ) , is an anime series created by Tatsunoko Production founder Tatsuo Yoshida in 1973. The Casshern franchise also includes a 1993 original video animation titled Casshan: Robot Hunter , and a 2004 live-action adaptation titled Casshern . In October 2008, a reboot of
236-611: A beat 'em up comedy game that parodies American and Japanese pop culture. It was released in Japan on September 14, 2006, and on October 10, 2006, in North America. After Clover Studio closed in 2007, Mikami joined Seeds Inc, now known as PlatinumGames , the newly formed successor of his former studio. PlatinumGames is composed of several of Mikami's former Capcom colleagues, including Hideki Kamiya (until 2023), Atsushi Inaba, Yuta Kimura, Nao Ueda, Mari Shimazaki and Masami Ueda. Mikami formed
354-494: A low unemployment rate of around 2.6%. Its poverty rate is the second highest among the G7 countries, and exceeds 15.7% of the population. Japan has the highest ratio of public debt to GDP among advanced economies, with a national debt estimated at 248% relative to GDP as of 2022 . The Japanese yen is the world's third-largest reserve currency after the US dollar and the euro. Japan
472-628: A security alliance . The United States is a major market for Japanese exports and a major source of Japanese imports, and is committed to defending the country, with military bases in Japan. In 2016, Japan announced the Free and Open Indo-Pacific vision, which frames its regional policies. Japan is also a member of the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue ("the Quad"), a multilateral security dialogue reformed in 2017 aiming to limit Chinese influence in
590-501: A 2017 interview, he apologized for Resident Evil 4 going multiplatform. After the success of Resident Evil 4 , Mikami left Studio 4 and was transferred over to and originally established Clover Studio in July 2004, which employed an all-star lineup of Capcom development talent, including Atsushi Inaba ( Steel Battalion and Viewtiful Joe producer), and Hideki Kamiya ( Devil May Cry director). At Clover, Mikami directed God Hand ,
708-449: A countdown attached. The website changed into a job employment page, for Mikami's new studio, "Tango". On October 28, 2010, ZeniMax Media , parent company of noted game publisher Bethesda Softworks , announced Mikami joined ZeniMax after it acquired Tango Gameworks . An April 2012 Famitsu interview with Mikami revealed the codename title of Zwei for the company's survival horror game The Evil Within , with Mikami directing. The game
826-652: A country's commitment to environmental sustainability. Japan is the world's fifth-largest emitter of carbon dioxide . As the host and signatory of the 1997 Kyoto Protocol , Japan is under treaty obligation to reduce its carbon dioxide emissions and to take other steps to curb climate change. In 2020, the government of Japan announced a target of carbon-neutrality by 2050. Environmental issues include urban air pollution ( NOx , suspended particulate matter , and toxics ), waste management , water eutrophication , nature conservation , climate change , chemical management and international co-operation for conservation. Japan
944-540: A deal with Tatsunoko to release some of their catalog, with Casshan being confirmed as one of the characters involved. Sentai Filmworks released the series on DVD and Blu-ray Disc in the United States on March 4, 2014. Tetsuya Azuma ( 東鉄也 , Azuma Tetsuya ) , also known as "Casshern", is an android with a human consciousness, also known as a neoroider ( 人造人間 , Jinzō Ningen , lit. "artificial human") . Tetsuya turned himself into an android to hunt down and destroy
1062-399: A helpful robotic dog companion (Rush and Friender, respectively) who can transform into useful items. In Vanquish , developed by PlatinumGames , the art style is based on Casshern . In one of the boss fights the main character drills through a robot by spinning in place at high speed, similarly to Casshern. Concerning the game's development, director Shinji Mikami is quoted as saying: I
1180-539: A kingdom in central Japan in 660 BC, beginning a continuous imperial line . Japan first appears in written history in the Chinese Book of Han , completed in 111 AD. Buddhism was introduced to Japan from Baekje (a Korean kingdom) in 552, but the development of Japanese Buddhism was primarily influenced by China. Despite early resistance, Buddhism was promoted by the ruling class, including figures like Prince Shōtoku , and gained widespread acceptance beginning in
1298-479: A large cooperative sector, with three of the world's ten largest cooperatives, including the largest consumer cooperative and the largest agricultural cooperative as of 2018 . It ranks highly for competitiveness and economic freedom . Japan ranked sixth in the Global Competitiveness Report in 2019. It attracted 31.9 million international tourists in 2019, and was ranked eleventh in
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#17330858609311416-479: A major catalyst for further administrative reforms. These reforms culminated with the promulgation of the Taihō Code , which consolidated existing statutes and established the structure of the central and subordinate local governments. These legal reforms created the ritsuryō state, a system of Chinese-style centralized government that remained in place for half a millennium. The Nara period (710–784) marked
1534-543: A new constitution emphasizing liberal democratic practices. The Allied occupation ended with the Treaty of San Francisco in 1952, and Japan was granted membership in the United Nations in 1956. A period of record growth propelled Japan to become the second-largest economy in the world; this ended in the mid-1990s after the popping of an asset price bubble , beginning the " Lost Decade ". In 2011, Japan suffered one of
1652-462: A new system of taxation. The true aim of the reforms was to bring about greater centralization and to enhance the power of the imperial court, which was also based on the governmental structure of China. Envoys and students were dispatched to China to learn about Chinese writing, politics, art, and religion. The Jinshin War of 672, a bloody conflict between Prince Ōama and his nephew Prince Ōtomo , became
1770-614: A population of nearly 124 million as of 2024, and is the eleventh-most populous country . Its capital and largest city is Tokyo ; the Greater Tokyo Area is the largest metropolitan area in the world, with more than 38 million inhabitants as of 2016. Japan is divided into 47 administrative prefectures and eight traditional regions . About three-quarters of the country's terrain is mountainous and heavily forested, concentrating its agriculture and highly urbanized population along its eastern coastal plains . The country sits on
1888-634: A private development studio called Straight Story in 2006. The name of the studio is taken from David Lynch 's 1999 film . Their works are under the PlatinumGames branding and he is a contract employee ("external board member") of PlatinumGames. He also collaborated with Grasshopper Manufacture 's Goichi Suda on Shadows of the Damned using the Unreal Engine 3 and published by EA . Mikami revealed that Straight Story would close once development of Vanquish
2006-460: A significant shift to urbanization. The early 20th century saw a period of Taishō democracy (1912–1926) overshadowed by increasing expansionism and militarization . World War I allowed Japan, which joined the side of the victorious Allies , to capture German possessions in the Pacific and China in 1920 . The 1920s saw a political shift towards statism , a period of lawlessness following
2124-483: A system of terraces is used to farm in small areas. This results in one of the world's highest levels of crop yields per unit area, with an agricultural self-sufficiency rate of about 50% as of 2018 . Japan's small agricultural sector is highly subsidized and protected . There has been a growing concern about farming as farmers are aging with a difficult time finding successors. Shinji Mikami Shinji Mikami ( 三上 真司 , Mikami Shinji , born August 11, 1965)
2242-550: A team and given a leadership position despite knowing nothing about game development. His first title, a quiz game for the Game Boy titled Capcom Quiz: Hatena? no Daibōken , was made in three months. His three subsequent releases were all based on Disney -licensed properties: Who Framed Roger Rabbit for the Game Boy, and Aladdin and Goof Troop for the Super NES . Aladdin
2360-523: Is reclaimed land ( umetatechi ). Lake Biwa is an ancient lake and the country's largest freshwater lake. Japan is substantially prone to earthquakes , tsunami and volcanic eruptions because of its location along the Pacific Ring of Fire. It has the 17th highest natural disaster risk as measured in the 2016 World Risk Index. Japan has 111 active volcanoes. Destructive earthquakes, often resulting in tsunami, occur several times each century;
2478-430: Is 377,975.24 km (145,937.06 sq mi). Japan has the sixth-longest coastline in the world at 29,751 km (18,486 mi). Because of its far-flung outlying islands, Japan's exclusive economic zone is the eighth-largest in the world, covering 4,470,000 km (1,730,000 sq mi). The Japanese archipelago is 67% forests and 14% agricultural . The primarily rugged and mountainous terrain
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#17330858609312596-691: Is a unitary state and constitutional monarchy in which the power of the Emperor is limited to a ceremonial role . Executive power is instead wielded by the Prime Minister of Japan and his Cabinet , whose sovereignty is vested in the Japanese people. Naruhito is the Emperor of Japan, having succeeded his father Akihito upon his accession to the Chrysanthemum Throne in 2019. Japan's legislative organ
2714-528: Is a Japanese video game designer , director, and producer . Starting his career at Capcom in 1990, he has worked on many of the company's most successful games. He directed the first installment of the Resident Evil series in 1996 and the first installment of the Dino Crisis series in 1999, both survival horror games. He returned to Resident Evil to direct the remake of the first game in 2002 and
2832-507: Is divided into 47 prefectures, each overseen by an elected governor and legislature. In the following table, the prefectures are grouped by region : 7. Fukushima 14. Kanagawa 23. Aichi 30. Wakayama 35. Yamaguchi 39. Kōchi 47. Okinawa A member state of the United Nations since 1956, Japan is one of the G4 countries seeking reform of
2950-410: Is easily destructible , with often a single shot from a robotic enemy being enough to blast away the wall the player was hiding behind. The game also penalizes the player's ranking for the number of times they have taken cover, though its most important innovation is the power-slide mechanic that allows the player to slide into and out of cover at high speeds, or in bullet time when the player's health
3068-687: Is governed by the Ministry of Defense , and primarily consists of the Japan Ground Self-Defense Force , the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force , and the Japan Air Self-Defense Force . The deployment of troops to Iraq and Afghanistan marked the first overseas use of Japan's military since World War II. The Government of Japan has been making changes to its security policy which include the establishment of
3186-420: Is low. The game was given GameSpot 's Best Original Game Mechanic award for its rocket-sliding game mechanic , which acts as both a defensive escape and an offensive setup, opening up new gameplay possibilities for shooter games and increasing the pace significantly. Vanquish was itself inspired by Tatsunoko 's 1970s anime series, Casshern . As Platinum was "overwhelmingly understaffed", Mikami sent
3304-532: Is not heavy, but the islands usually develop deep snowbanks in the winter. In the Sea of Japan region on Honshu's west coast, northwest winter winds bring heavy snowfall during winter. In the summer, the region sometimes experiences extremely hot temperatures because of the Foehn . The Central Highland has a typical inland humid continental climate, with large temperature differences between summer and winter. The mountains of
3422-439: Is restricted for habitation. Thus the habitable zones, mainly in the coastal areas, have very high population densities: Japan is the 40th most densely populated country even without considering that local concentration. Honshu has the highest population density at 450 persons/km (1200/sq mi) as of 2010 , while Hokkaido has the lowest density of 64.5 persons/km as of 2016 . As of 2014 , approximately 0.5% of Japan's total area
3540-864: Is set to begin serialization in Akita Shoten 's Champion Red magazine on September 19, 2023. Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia . It is located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asian mainland , and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea in the south. The Japanese archipelago consists of four major islands— Hokkaido , Honshu , Shikoku , and Kyushu —and thousands of smaller islands , covering 377,975 square kilometres (145,937 sq mi). Japan has
3658-475: Is the National Diet , a bicameral parliament . It consists of a lower House of Representatives with 465 seats, elected by popular vote every four years or when dissolved, and an upper House of Councillors with 245 seats, whose popularly-elected members serve six-year terms. There is universal suffrage for adults over 18 years of age, with a secret ballot for all elected offices. The prime minister as
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3776-576: Is the oldest unamended constitution in the world. Statutory law originates in the legislature, and the constitution requires that the emperor promulgate legislation passed by the Diet without giving him the power to oppose legislation. The main body of Japanese statutory law is called the Six Codes . Japan's court system is divided into four basic tiers: the Supreme Court and three levels of lower courts. Japan
3894-560: Is typically used in everyday speech and reflects shifts in Japanese phonology during the Edo period . The characters 日本 mean "sun origin", which is the source of the popular Western epithet "Land of the Rising Sun". The name "Japan" is based on Min or Wu Chinese pronunciations of 日本 and was introduced to European languages through early trade. In the 13th century, Marco Polo recorded
4012-557: Is very heavy, especially during the rainy season. The main rainy season begins in early May in Okinawa, and the rain front gradually moves north. In late summer and early autumn, typhoons often bring heavy rain. According to the Environment Ministry, heavy rainfall and increasing temperatures have caused problems in the agricultural industry and elsewhere. The highest temperature ever measured in Japan, 41.1 °C (106.0 °F),
4130-462: Is working on a new project titled Ghostwire: Tokyo . On February 23, 2023, Bethesda Softworks announced that Mikami will leave Tango Gameworks in the coming months. Mikami commented he planned to leave Tango Gameworks 8 years prior, deciding to stay at the company due to commitments with ongoing projects. As for personal reasons to leave, he comments a desire to create an environment for young developers to gain experience, and to distance himself from
4248-479: Is written using the kanji 日本 and is pronounced Nihon or Nippon . Before 日本 was adopted in the early 8th century, the country was known in China as Wa ( 倭 , changed in Japan around 757 to 和 ) and in Japan by the endonym Yamato . Nippon , the original Sino-Japanese reading of the characters, is favored for official uses, including on Japanese banknotes and postage stamps. Nihon
4366-850: The shōgun led to the Boshin War and the establishment of a centralized state nominally unified under the emperor (the Meiji Restoration ). Adopting Western political, judicial, and military institutions, the Cabinet organized the Privy Council , introduced the Meiji Constitution (November 29, 1890), and assembled the Imperial Diet . During the Meiji period (1868–1912), the Empire of Japan emerged as
4484-530: The Ratchet & Clank Future series, Uncharted , The Last of Us , and God of War . Mikami touted the game as a GameCube exclusive. In an interview with a Japanese magazine, Mikami even said that he would "commit harakiri " if it came out on another platform. This was loosely translated as Mikami claiming to "cut [his own] head" and later parodied in God Hand , which featured a racing dog named "Mikami's Head". In
4602-416: The 1923 Tokyo earthquake killed over 140,000 people. More recent major quakes are the 1995 Great Hanshin earthquake and the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake, which triggered a large tsunami. The climate of Japan is predominantly temperate but varies greatly from north to south. The northernmost region, Hokkaido, has a humid continental climate with long, cold winters and very warm to cool summers. Precipitation
4720-459: The Asuka period (592–710). In 645, the government led by Prince Naka no Ōe and Fujiwara no Kamatari devised and implemented the far-reaching Taika Reforms . The Reform began with land reform, based on Confucian ideas and philosophies from China . It nationalized all land in Japan, to be distributed equally among cultivators, and ordered the compilation of a household registry as the basis for
4838-530: The Battle of Sekigahara in 1600. He was appointed shōgun by Emperor Go-Yōzei in 1603 and established the Tokugawa shogunate at Edo (modern Tokyo). The shogunate enacted measures including buke shohatto , as a code of conduct to control the autonomous daimyō , and in 1639 the isolationist sakoku ("closed country") policy that spanned the two and a half centuries of tenuous political unity known as
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4956-540: The Capcom Five . The first of these games to be released was the Mikami-directed P.N. 03 . The game was both a commercial and critical failure, receiving lukewarm reviews from the press and selling below expectations. As a result, Mikami stepped down as manager of Production Studio 4, while remaining as one of the head producers within the team. After his failure with P.N.03 , Mikami decided to concentrate instead on
5074-512: The Chūgoku and Shikoku regions shelter the Seto Inland Sea from seasonal winds, bringing mild weather year-round. The Pacific coast features a humid subtropical climate that experiences milder winters with occasional snowfall and hot, humid summers because of the southeast seasonal wind. The Ryukyu and Nanpō Islands have a subtropical climate , with warm winters and hot summers. Precipitation
5192-579: The Early Mandarin Chinese pronunciation of the characters 日本國 as Cipangu . The old Malay name for Japan, Japang or Japun , was borrowed from a southern coastal Chinese dialect and encountered by Portuguese traders in Southeast Asia , who brought the word to Europe in the early 16th century. The first version of the name in English appears in a book published in 1577, which spelled
5310-575: The Edo period (1603–1868). Modern Japan's economic growth began in this period, resulting in roads and water transportation routes, as well as financial instruments such as futures contracts , banking and insurance of the Osaka rice brokers . The study of Western sciences ( rangaku ) continued through contact with the Dutch enclave in Nagasaki . The Edo period gave rise to kokugaku ("national studies"),
5428-664: The Indo-Pacific region, along with the United States, Australia, and India. Japan is engaged in several territorial disputes with its neighbors. Japan contests Russia's control of the Southern Kuril Islands , which were occupied by the Soviet Union in 1945. South Korea's control of the Liancourt Rocks is acknowledged but not accepted as they are claimed by Japan. Japan has strained relations with China and Taiwan over
5546-719: The Kurils . The Allies (led by the United States) repatriated millions of Japanese settlers from their former colonies and military camps throughout Asia, largely eliminating the Japanese Empire and its influence over the territories it conquered. The Allies convened the International Military Tribunal for the Far East to prosecute Japanese leaders except the Emperor for Japanese war crimes . In 1947, Japan adopted
5664-634: The National Security Council , the adoption of the National Security Strategy, and the development of the National Defense Program Guidelines. In May 2014, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said Japan wanted to shed the passiveness it has maintained since the end of World War II and take more responsibility for regional security. In December 2022, Prime Minister Fumio Kishida further confirmed this trend, instructing
5782-550: The Pacific War and two atomic bombings , Japan surrendered in 1945 and came under Allied occupation . After the war, the country underwent rapid economic growth , although its economy has stagnated since 1990 . Japan is a constitutional monarchy with a bicameral legislature, the National Diet . A great power and the only Asian member of the G7 , Japan has constitutionally renounced its right to declare war , but maintains one of
5900-406: The Sea of Okhotsk to the East China Sea . The country's five main islands, from north to south, are Hokkaido , Honshu , Shikoku , Kyushu and Okinawa . The Ryukyu Islands , which include Okinawa, are a chain to the south of Kyushu. The Nanpō Islands are south and east of the main islands of Japan. Together they are often known as the Japanese archipelago . As of 2019 , Japan's territory
6018-534: The Security Council . Japan is a member of the G7 , APEC , and " ASEAN Plus Three ", and is a participant in the East Asia Summit . It is the world's fifth-largest donor of official development assistance , donating US$ 9.2 billion in 2014. In 2024, Japan had the fourth-largest diplomatic network in the world. Japan has close economic and military relations with the United States, with which it maintains
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#17330858609316136-693: The Senkaku Islands and the status of Okinotorishima . Japan is the third highest-ranked Asian country in the 2024 Global Peace Index . It spent 1.1% of its total GDP on its defence budget in 2022, and maintained the tenth-largest military budget in the world in 2022. The country's military (the Japan Self-Defense Forces) is restricted by Article 9 of the Japanese Constitution , which renounces Japan's right to declare war or use military force in international disputes. The military
6254-401: The end of the shogunate and the restoration of imperial power in 1868. In the Meiji period , the Empire of Japan pursued rapid industrialization and modernization , as well as militarism and overseas colonization . In 1937, Japan invaded China , and in 1941 attacked the United States and European colonial powers, entering World War II as an Axis power . After suffering defeat in
6372-411: The head of government has the power to appoint and dismiss Ministers of State , and is appointed by the emperor after being designated from among the members of the Diet. Shigeru Ishiba is Japan's prime minister; he took office after winning the 2024 Liberal Democratic Party leadership election . The broadly conservative Liberal Democratic Party has been the dominant party in the country since
6490-734: The samurai . In 1185, following the defeat of the Taira clan by the Minamoto clan in the Genpei War , samurai Minamoto no Yoritomo established a military government at Kamakura . After Yoritomo's death, the Hōjō clan came to power as regents for the shōgun . The Zen school of Buddhism was introduced from China in the Kamakura period (1185–1333) and became popular among the samurai class. The Kamakura shogunate repelled Mongol invasions in 1274 and 1281 but
6608-462: The 1923 Great Tokyo Earthquake , the passing of laws against political dissent , and a series of attempted coups . This process accelerated during the 1930s, spawning several radical nationalist groups that shared a hostility to liberal democracy and a dedication to expansion in Asia. In 1931, Japan invaded China and occupied Manchuria , which led to the establishment of puppet state of Manchukuo in 1932; following international condemnation of
6726-530: The 1950s, often called the 1955 System . Historically influenced by Chinese law , the Japanese legal system developed independently during the Edo period through texts such as Kujikata Osadamegaki . Since the late 19th century, the judicial system has been largely based on the civil law of Europe, notably Germany. In 1896, Japan established a civil code based on the German Bürgerliches Gesetzbuch , which remains in effect with post–World War II modifications. The Constitution of Japan , adopted in 1947,
6844-598: The National Police Agency is administered by the National Public Safety Commission . The Special Assault Team comprises national-level counter-terrorism tactical units that cooperate with territorial-level Anti-Firearms Squads and Counter-NBC Terrorism Squads . The Japan Coast Guard guards territorial waters surrounding Japan and uses surveillance and control countermeasures against smuggling, marine environmental crime , poaching, piracy, spy ships, unauthorized foreign fishing vessels, and illegal immigration. The Firearm and Sword Possession Control Law strictly regulates
6962-411: The Pacific Ring of Fire , making its islands prone to destructive earthquakes and tsunamis . The first known habitation of the archipelago dates to the Upper Paleolithic , with the beginning Japanese Paleolithic dating to c. 36,000 BC . Between the fourth and sixth centuries, its kingdoms were united under an emperor in Nara , and later Heian-kyō . From the 12th century, actual power
7080-517: The Pacific . Throughout areas occupied by Japan during the war, numerous abuses were committed against local inhabitants, with many forced into sexual slavery . After Allied victories during the next four years, which culminated in the Soviet invasion of Manchuria and the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945, Japan agreed to an unconditional surrender . The war cost Japan millions of lives and its colonies , including de jure parts of Japan such as Korea , Taiwan , Karafuto , and
7198-417: The United States (9.9 percent), and Australia (9.8 percent). Japan's main imports are machinery and equipment, fossil fuels, foodstuffs, chemicals, and raw materials for its industries. The Japanese variant of capitalism has many distinct features: keiretsu enterprises are influential, and lifetime employment and seniority-based career advancement are common in the Japanese work environment . Japan has
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#17330858609317316-450: The art of game making was instilled in him by Tokuro Fujiwara . After the release of Goof Troop , Mikami began development in 1993 of a horror -themed adventure game for the PlayStation set in a haunted mansion, called Resident Evil , originally conceived as a remake of Sweet Home (an earlier Famicom game by Capcom based on the Japanese horror film of the same name). Sweet Home director Fujiwara entrusted Mikami, who
7434-413: The better because I probably never had a chance with Nintendo." His application was rejected at the screening process, then approved one week later. He joined Capcom in 1990 as a junior game designer, Mikami and fellow new hires were sent to a warehouse and ordered to "think hard about game design", then left unsupervised for the entire day. After a few months of just doing that, he was suddenly placed on
7552-425: The capital, settling on Heian-kyō (modern-day Kyoto ) in 794. This marked the beginning of the Heian period (794–1185), during which a distinctly indigenous Japanese culture emerged. Murasaki Shikibu 's The Tale of Genji and the lyrics of Japan's national anthem " Kimigayo " were written during this time. Japan's feudal era was characterized by the emergence and dominance of a ruling class of warriors,
7670-465: The chaos of a viral outbreak. The game sold over five million copies, proving the popularity of survival horror. Following its release in 1998, he oversaw the development of Resident Evil 3: Nemesis and also directed another survival horror title Dino Crisis , both of which released in 1999. Shortly after the release of Resident Evil 3 in Japan, Studio 4's output turned towards further original properties, Mikami as executive producer , including
7788-430: The civilian ownership of guns, swords, and other weaponry. According to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime , among the member states of the UN that report statistics as of 2018 , the incidence rates of violent crimes such as murder, abduction, sexual violence, and robbery are very low in Japan. Japanese society traditionally places a strong emphasis on collective harmony and conformity , which has led to
7906-414: The creative aspects of the Capcom 5. He eventually took over directorial duties for Resident Evil 4 from previous director, Hiroshi Shibata. Under his direction, Resident Evil 4 went through some substantial changes. Resident Evil 4 was released in 2005 and was one of the GameCube's top-selling titles, selling 1,250,000 units worldwide within a year. The game was critically praised, winning many game of
8024-465: The emergence of a Japanese state centered on the Imperial Court in Heijō-kyō (modern Nara ). The period is characterized by the appearance of a nascent literary culture with the completion of the Kojiki (712) and Nihon Shoki (720), as well as the development of Buddhist-inspired artwork and architecture . A smallpox epidemic in 735–737 is believed to have killed as much as one-third of Japan's population. In 784, Emperor Kanmu moved
8142-409: The entire Vanquish team to work on Bayonetta . He considers his final year at the company as the second worst nadir of his career: Once Vanquish was done, his team was disbanded, and he was not given any work besides attending meetings three times a week, effectively stuck in a madogiwa zoku [ ja ] position. A teaser website opened on March 18, 2010, titled "Mikami Project" with
8260-406: The feeling of speed is still there, that was really important to him, so that's why he introduced the element of the sliding boost. In addition, the protagonist of Vanquish has a facemask that periodically comes off to show his human side, much like Casshern himself. According to one of the game's character modelers, Yoshifumi Hattori, a support robotic companion dog was designed to fight along with
8378-449: The first movie being dubbed a creative consultant. They had Mikami in this position to make sure fans of the games would be happy. He then dropped out of the later movies because he believed that the movies were heading in the wrong direction. Many games have tried to replicate the successful formula seen in Resident Evil , and every subsequent survival horror game has arguably taken a stance in relation to it. The success of Resident Evil
8496-757: The first time, initiating direct commercial and cultural exchange between Japan and the West. Oda Nobunaga used European technology and firearms to conquer many other daimyō ; his consolidation of power began what was known as the Azuchi–Momoyama period . After the death of Nobunaga in 1582, his successor, Toyotomi Hideyoshi , unified the nation in the early 1590s and launched two unsuccessful invasions of Korea in 1592 and 1597 . Tokugawa Ieyasu served as regent for Hideyoshi's son Toyotomi Hideyori and used his position to gain political and military support. When open war broke out, Ieyasu defeated rival clans in
8614-480: The franchise Casshern Sins premiered. In anticipation of the upcoming series, a DVD box set of the original series, Neo-Human Casshern Complete DVD-Box "All Episodes of Casshern", was released in Japan on September 24, 2008. Casshern also appears in Tatsunoko Fight and Tatsunoko vs. Capcom: Ultimate All-Stars as a playable character. At Anime Expo 2013, Sentai Filmworks announced that they had signed
8732-494: The game, titled Biohazard - Code: Veronica Complete Edition in Japan and Resident Evil - Code: Veronica X abroad, added ten minutes of new cutscenes not in the original release. The PS2 version, which initially came packaged with a trial version of Devil May Cry , went on to sell 1,400,000 units, according to Capcom's sales data for March 2006. In 2001, in what was to be one of his most controversial business decisions, Mikami formed an exclusivity agreement with Nintendo in which
8850-415: The government and industrial corporations; as a result, environmental pollution was widespread in the 1950s and 1960s. Responding to rising concerns, the government introduced environmental protection laws in 1970. The oil crisis in 1973 also encouraged the efficient use of energy because of Japan's lack of natural resources. Japan ranks 20th in the 2018 Environmental Performance Index , which measures
8968-607: The government to increase spending by 65% until 2027. Recent tensions, particularly with North Korea and China, have reignited the debate over the status of the JSDF and its relation to Japanese society. Domestic security in Japan is provided mainly by the prefectural police departments , under the oversight of the National Police Agency . As the central coordinating body for the Prefectural Police Departments,
9086-477: The human race. Casshern and his robotic dog, Friender, join forces with a beautiful girl named Luna Kozuki to battle the robots led by the Buraiking Boss. Friender can transform itself into a tank or a jet aircraft and actively helps Casshern fight the robot army. Casshern has great strength and agility, but he is not armed, except for a pair of strange pistols, which are used more like rockets than weapons. While
9204-616: The largest earthquakes in its recorded history - the Tōhoku earthquake - triggering the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster . On May 1, 2019, after the historic abdication of Emperor Akihito , his son Naruhito became Emperor, beginning the Reiwa era. Japan comprises 14,125 islands extending along the Pacific coast of Asia. It stretches over 3000 km (1900 mi) northeast–southwest from
9322-517: The main Resident Evil games would be sold only for the GameCube . The GameCube would receive, in addition to ports of previous PlayStation and Dreamcast installments, three new numbered entries in the series: a remake of the original Resident Evil , Resident Evil Zero , and Resident Evil 4 . Resident Evil and Resident Evil Zero were both released in 2002. The remake of Resident Evil
9440-486: The main character, including transforming into ability-enhancing armor. Although this dog was successfully modeled, it was cut from the finalized version of the game, along with another female android partner character. Raiden from Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots is also dressed like Casshern. A manga adaptation of the original series, titled Casshern R , written by Chabo Higurashi and illustrated by Satoshi Shiki
9558-603: The most developed state in Asia and as an industrialized world power that pursued military conflict to expand its sphere of influence. After victories in the First Sino-Japanese War (1894–1895) and the Russo-Japanese War (1904–1905), Japan gained control of Taiwan, Korea and the southern half of Sakhalin , and annexed Korea in 1910. The Japanese population doubled from 35 million in 1873 to 70 million by 1935, with
9676-453: The nadir of his career: he could not spend all his time on creative aspects and felt that he missed out on the best phase of his life. In his new role, he oversaw the development of Resident Evil's sequel , Resident Evil 2 , which he intended to tap into the classic notion of horror as "the ordinary made strange," thus rather than setting the game in a creepy mansion no one would visit, he wanted to use familiar urban settings transformed by
9794-537: The name as Giapan in a translation of a 1565 Portuguese letter. Modern humans arrived in Japan around 38,000 years ago (~36,000 BC), marking the beginning of the Japanese Paleolithic . This was followed from around 14,500 BC (the start of the Jōmon period ) by a Mesolithic to Neolithic semi-sedentary hunter-gatherer culture characterized by pit dwelling and rudimentary agriculture. Clay vessels from
9912-462: The name is derived from 無頼 or burai, meaning rogue or brute, using the symbols for "trust" and "nothing," but phonetically "Bu Rai" can mean "Lightning Man" or "Lightning Warrior," so the name fits with his background). The Buraiking Boss then built a robot army against mankind. The robots mutinied en masse when they logically concluded that the good of the Earth's ecosystem required the destruction of
10030-554: The northern islands. Japan has over 90,000 species of wildlife as of 2019 , including the brown bear , the Japanese macaque , the Japanese raccoon dog , the small Japanese field mouse , and the Japanese giant salamander . There are 53 Ramsar wetland sites in Japan. Five sites have been inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List for their outstanding natural value. In the period of rapid economic growth after World War II, environmental policies were downplayed by
10148-947: The occupation , it resigned from the League of Nations in 1933. In 1936, Japan signed the Anti-Comintern Pact with Nazi Germany ; the 1940 Tripartite Pact made it one of the Axis powers . The Empire of Japan invaded other parts of China in 1937, precipitating the Second Sino-Japanese War (1937–1945). In 1940, the Empire invaded French Indochina , after which the United States placed an oil embargo on Japan. On December 7–8, 1941, Japanese forces carried out surprise attacks on Pearl Harbor , as well as on British forces in Malaya , Singapore , and Hong Kong , among others, beginning World War II in
10266-563: The original Devil May Cry (originally conceived as a Resident Evil game). In 2000, Mikami became involved as producer of a new Resident Evil game, Resident Evil – Code: Veronica , a game designed from the ground up for the Dreamcast . Being a much more powerful console than the PlayStation, the Dreamcast allowed the team behind the game to add for the first time, 3D environments instead of
10384-516: The period are among the oldest surviving examples of pottery. The Japonic -speaking Yayoi people entered the archipelago from the Korean Peninsula, intermingling with the Jōmon ; the Yayoi period saw the introduction of practices including wet-rice farming , a new style of pottery , and metallurgy from China and Korea. According to legend, Emperor Jimmu (descendant of Amaterasu ) founded
10502-554: The robots are huge and robust machines, almost all of them have an antenna on top of their heads; ripping it off usually causes them to explode, so they are relatively vulnerable. Casshern can usually destroy the robots with his bare hands, dispatching a great number in any given battle. However, Casshern also has some weak points. His body must be re-charged with solar energy and cannot sustain very long battles without risking low battery power. Luna started out as being totally harmless, until her father built an electromagnetic pistol, which
10620-447: The robots that have taken over the world. His biological father, Dr. Kotaro Azuma, was the inventor of the automatons that were originally intended to serve humankind. However, the first android, BK-1, was struck by lightning and went out of control. Despite great efforts to stop it, BK-1 used its great strength to escape from the castle. After some time, it renamed itself Buraiking Boss (often mistranslated in English as "Black King Boss";
10738-488: The roles of producer and executive producer for many games. In 2023, he left the studio and founded a new studio KAMUY in 2024. In 2009, he was chosen by IGN as one of the top 100 game creators of all time. Mikami grew up in the Yamaguchi Prefecture of Honshū island. His father, who had to enter the workforce early and drop out of high school to support his family, beat him almost daily. Beyond family life, his
10856-508: The study of Japan by the Japanese. The United States Navy sent Commodore Matthew C. Perry to force the opening of Japan to the outside world. Arriving at Uraga with four " Black Ships " in July 1853, the Perry Expedition resulted in the March 1854 Convention of Kanagawa . Subsequent similar treaties with other Western countries brought economic and political crises. The resignation of
10974-578: The suppression of individual rights . Japan's constitution prohibits racial and religious discrimination, and the country is a signatory to numerous international human rights treaties. However, it lacks any laws against discrimination based on race, ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation, or gender identity and does not have a national human rights institution. Japan has faced criticism for its gender inequality , not allowing same-sex marriages , use of racial profiling by police, and allowing capital punishment . Other human rights issues include
11092-419: The survival horror third-person shooter Resident Evil 4 in 2005. In 2006, he directed his final Capcom game God Hand , a beat 'em up action game. Mikami founded PlatinumGames in 2006 and directed the third-person shooter Vanquish in 2010. That same year he left the studio and founded a new studio Tango Gameworks and directed the survival horror game The Evil Within in 2014. He has also served
11210-403: The treatment of marginalized groups, such as ethnic minorities , refugees and asylum seekers . Japan has the world's fourth-largest economy by nominal GDP , after that of the United States, China and Germany; and the fifth-largest economy by PPP-adjusted GDP . As of 2021 , Japan's labor force is the world's eighth-largest , consisting of over 68.6 million workers. As of 2022 , Japan has
11328-400: The usual pre-rendered backgrounds. Resident Evil Code: Veronica was released in 2000 and went on to sell 1,140,000 units. That same year, Mikami's Dino Crisis 2 was released, selling 1,190,000 copies worldwide. In 2001, an expanded version of Code: Veronica was released for the Dreamcast exclusively in Japan, alongside a PlayStation 2 port that was released worldwide. This version of
11446-514: The wider action game genre. It helped redefine the third-person shooter genre by introducing a "reliance on offset camera angles that fail to obscure the action." The "over the shoulder" viewpoint introduced in Resident Evil 4 has now become standard in third-person shooters, including titles ranging from Gears of War to Batman: Arkham Asylum . It has also become a standard “precision aim” feature for action games in general, with examples ranging from Dead Space and Grand Theft Auto to
11564-416: The world in 2019 for inbound tourism . The 2021 Travel and Tourism Competitiveness Report ranked Japan first in the world out of 117 countries. Its international tourism receipts in 2019 amounted to $ 46.1 billion. The Japanese agricultural sector accounts for about 1.2% of the country's total GDP as of 2018 . Only 11.5% of Japan's land is suitable for cultivation. Because of this lack of arable land,
11682-569: The world's strongest militaries . A developed country with one of the world's largest economies by nominal GDP , Japan is a global leader in science and technology and the automotive , robotics , and electronics industries . It has one of the world's highest life expectancies , though it is undergoing a population decline . Japan's culture is well known around the world, including its art , cuisine , film , music , and popular culture , which includes prominent comics , animation , and video game industries. The name for Japan in Japanese
11800-421: The year awards. Resident Evil 4 is widely regarded as one of the greatest and most influential games of all time, due to its influence in redefining at least two video game genres : the survival horror and the third-person shooter . Resident Evil 4 attempted to redefine the survival horror genre by emphasizing reflexes and precision aiming, thus broadening the gameplay of the series with elements from
11918-468: Was a normal childhood, without video games but full of outdoor play: "Back in those days, kids had to be somewhat creative in coming up with games to play, because there wasn't that much else to occupy your free time". His dream career was to be a Formula One driver. In his adolescence Mikami became “obsessed” with horror films, such as The Texas Chain Saw Massacre and The Evil Dead . Another hobby
12036-459: Was completed, to be replaced with Mikami's new studio, Tango, which had already been established. Much like Resident Evil and Resident Evil 4 before it, the third-person shooter game Vanquish , released in 2010, has proven to be an influential title for action games . It significantly improved upon the cover system , where in contrast to previous cover-based shooters, the cover in Vanquish
12154-528: Was easily capable of destroying the robots. Streamline Pictures was the first to adapt the character's name in the OVA remake series for the American market, providing the title, "Casshan". "Casshern" appears as the romanization for the film adaptation and the English release of Casshern Sins . The MegaMan video game series may take inspiration from Casshan, both featuring "robot" protagonists who are assisted by
12272-476: Was eventually overthrown by Emperor Go-Daigo . Go-Daigo was defeated by Ashikaga Takauji in 1336, beginning the Muromachi period (1336–1573). The succeeding Ashikaga shogunate failed to control the feudal warlords ( daimyō ) and a civil war began in 1467 , opening the century-long Sengoku period ("Warring States"). During the 16th century, Portuguese traders and Jesuit missionaries reached Japan for
12390-413: Was held by military dictators ( shōgun ) and feudal lords ( daimyō ), and enforced by warrior nobility ( samurai ). After rule by the Kamakura and Ashikaga shogunates and a century of warring states , Japan was unified in 1600 by the Tokugawa shogunate , which implemented an isolationist foreign policy . In 1853, a United States fleet forced Japan to open trade to the West , which led to
12508-511: Was his first hit, selling over 1.75 million units worldwide. Mikami also worked on Super Lap , an unreleased F1 racing game for the Game Boy that was scheduled to be released in 1992, but was canceled after eight months of development. Mikami learned by observing his seniors; whenever he showed them his game design documents , they called his work "uninteresting" without giving any advice. He found this environment comfortable, since it engendered independence and freedom of thought. To Mikami,
12626-540: Was holding at the Hilton and he gave it to me because he knew I liked games. I went mainly because I wanted to eat at the Hilton for free, but once I started talking to Capcom people, really getting in depth about the work they do, I thought it sounded pretty neat. So I applied to both Capcom and Nintendo , and it turned out the second round of interviews for both companies were held on the same day, and I chose Capcom. It's likely for
12744-602: Was initially reluctant because he hated "being scared", with the project, because he "understood what's frightening." Mikami said that Resident Evil was a response to his disappointment with Zombi 2 , a gory 1979 film by Italian director Lucio Fulci ; Mikami was determined to make a game with none of the failings of the movie. The resulting game became Biohazard , an action-adventure game which combined 3D polygonal characters and objects with pre-rendered backgrounds and featured zombies (among other monsters) heavily influenced by George A. Romero 's Dead films . The game
12862-493: Was inspired by Casshern , so I wanted to make a game like that. If I went ahead and made the exact game I wanted, it probably would have been like Casshern , where you punch and kick the entire way through. But obviously if it were a game with only punching and kicking, I already did that with God Hand . So, I'm done with that, something else now. So this time he wanted to make a game where you defeat robots with guns. So now, you're going at it with guns, but he wanted to make sure
12980-503: Was recorded on July 23, 2018, and repeated on August 17, 2020. Japan has nine forest ecoregions which reflect the climate and geography of the islands. They range from subtropical moist broadleaf forests in the Ryūkyū and Bonin Islands , to temperate broadleaf and mixed forests in the mild climate regions of the main islands, to temperate coniferous forests in the cold, winter portions of
13098-415: Was released October 2014. The game is published by Bethesda on Xbox 360, PS3, PC, PS4 and Xbox One. Mikami stated that this will be the last game he directs. He stated that it will be a "true" survival horror game, "one in which the player confronts and overcomes fear", because he was disappointed by recent survival horror games becoming action horror games. In 2019, it was announced at E3 that his studio
13216-504: Was released in Japan on the sixth anniversary of the release of the original, on March 22, 2002. The remake was billed as the definitive version of the game, selling 490,000 copies in the US and 360,000 copies in Europe. In total, Resident Evil managed to sell 1,240,000 units during its first year of release. The remake's sales data was made public by Capcom during its Financial Review Report for 2002. On November 12, 2002, Resident Evil Zero
13334-605: Was released. Gaming site gamefront.de reported that 138,855 copies of the game were sold on its first day of release. Capcom expected Resident Evil Zero to sell 1.42 million copies, but sold only 1.12 million. In spite of Resident Evil Zero ' s underwhelming sales, Mikami remained confident in his support for Nintendo and announced four exclusive titles for the GameCube under development by Production Studio 4 in addition to Resident Evil 4 ; P.N.03 , Viewtiful Joe , killer7 and Dead Phoenix . This lineup became known as
13452-466: Was responsible for popularizing the genre. Its control scheme becoming a staple of the genre, and future titles would imitate its challenge of rationing highly limited resources and items. The game's commercial success is credited with helping the PlayStation become the dominant game console , and also led to a series of Resident Evil films. Mikami had creative control over the screenplay and script of
13570-497: Was retitled Resident Evil during its English localization under Capcom USA's suggestion and was released in Japan and North America on March 22, 1996, and became one of the PlayStation's first successful titles. It was the first game to be dubbed a survival horror , a term Capcom coined to promote the game. It was later ported to the Sega Saturn . Resident Evil was considered the defining title for survival horror games and
13688-414: Was shortly followed by an internal restructuring at Capcom, whose development departments were turned into a plurality of numbered divisions, and a number of game directors promoted as their leaders. The staff behind Resident Evil became Capcom Production Studio 4, with Mikami appointed as its general manager, changing his focus towards being a producer. He considers the eight years spent in this position as
13806-401: Was the study of karate and kendo. After failing entrance exams two years straight, Mikami enrolled into and graduated from Doshisha University , where he majored in the study of merchandise. Although Mikami played arcade video games often, his entrance into the industry came by happenstance: "A friend of mine had found a flyer advertising some kind of job fair-slash-buffet party Capcom
13924-431: Was the world's fifth-largest exporter and fourth-largest importer in 2022. Its exports amounted to 18.2% of its total GDP in 2021. As of 2022 , Japan's main export markets were China (23.9 percent, including Hong Kong) and the United States (18.5 percent). Its main exports are motor vehicles, iron and steel products, semiconductors, and auto parts. Japan's main import markets as of 2022 were China (21.1 percent),
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