The Heisei era was a time when the Internet, mobile phones, and smartphones spread, fundamentally changing how people communicated. Culture also became more diverse and globalized.
Basic Knowledge
In 1995, Windows 95 was released and personal computers spread into homes. The same year is called the first year of the Internet. In 1999, NTT DoCoMo launched i-mode, making it possible to send email and browse the web on mobile phones. In 2008, the iPhone 3G was released in Japan, beginning the smartphone era. On social media, Twitter (now X, introduced in Japan in 2008) and LINE (2011) became widespread. In anime and manga, Hayao Miyazaki (Spirited Away, 2001, Academy Award), Makoto Shinkai (Your Name., 2016), ONE PIECE, and Demon Slayer (the highest-grossing film in Japanese history in 2020) gained worldwide popularity, and the Cool Japan policy began.
1998 Nagano Winter Olympics
2002 Japan-Korea co-hosted FIFA World Cup
2004 Ichiro gets 262 hits in a season in Major League Baseball (MLB record)
2011 Nadeshiko Japan wins the Women's World Cup
2013 Mount Fuji registered as a World Cultural Heritage site
2014 Tomioka Silk Mill registered as a World Cultural Heritage site
2018 Shohei Ohtani wins MLB Rookie of the Year
Further Study (Background and Effects)
During the Heisei era, many Japanese people received Nobel Prizes: following Hideki Yukawa (1949, Showa), recipients included Leo Esaki (1973), Kenichi Fukui (1981), Susumu Tonegawa (1987), Kenzaburo Oe (1994, Literature), Hideki Shirakawa (2000), Ryoji Noyori (2001), Masatoshi Koshiba and Koichi Tanaka (2002), Yoichiro Nambu, Makoto Kobayashi, Toshihide Maskawa, and Osamu Shimomura (2008, four people), Akira Suzuki and Ei-ichi Negishi (2010), Shinya Yamanaka (2012, iPS cells), Isamu Akasaki, Hiroshi Amano, and Shuji Nakamura (2014, blue LED), Takaaki Kajita and Satoshi Omura (2015), Yoshinori Ohsumi (2016), Tasuku Honjo (2018), and Akira Yoshino (2019, lithium-ion batteries). The results of basic scientific research flourished.
- First year of the Internet = 1995 (Windows 95)
- i-mode = 1999 (mobile Internet), iPhone = 2008 Japanese release
- Spirited Away (2001) = Academy Award for Best Animated Feature
- Japan-Korea soccer World Cup = 2002 (Japan reached the Round of 16)
- Shinya Yamanaka = 2012 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine (iPS cells)
- Blue LED = Akasaki, Amano, and Nakamura (2014 Physics Prize)
- Cool Japan = promoting anime, manga, food, and traditional culture
Points to Note (Easily Confused)
① Distinguish the Nagano Winter Olympics (1998) from the Sapporo Winter Olympics (1972) by year. ② i-mode (1999, NTT DoCoMo, feature phones) and the iPhone (introduced in Japan in 2008, Apple, smartphone) were different products. ③ Four Nobel Prize winners in 2008 was a record. ④ Spirited Away (2001, Hayao Miyazaki) and Your Name. (2016, Makoto Shinkai) had different directors.
Practice
- In what year was the operating system known as the “first year of the Internet” released?
- Who was the scientist who received the 2012 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for research on iPS cells?
- Who directed Spirited Away, which won an Academy Award?