Akihabara in the context of "Video arcade"

Nihonbashi (日本橋, Nihonbashi; Japanese pronunciation: [ɲi.hon.ba.ɕi], also romanized as Nihombashi Japanese pronunciation: [ɲi.hom.ba.ɕi], Nippombashi Japanese pronunciation: [ɲip.po(ꜜ)m.ba.ɕi], or Nipponbashi Japanese pronunciation: [ɲip.po(ꜜ)n.ba.ɕi]) is a business district of Chūō, Tokyo, Japan, which sprung up around the bridge of the same name that has linked two sides of the Nihonbashi River at this site since the 17th century. The first wooden bridge was completed in 1603. The current bridge, designed by Tsumaki Yorinaka and constructed of stone on a steel frame, dates from 1911. The district covers a large area to the north and east of the bridge, reaching Akihabara to the north and the Sumida River to the east. Ōtemachi and Yaesu are to the west and Kyobashi to the south.

Nihonbashi, together with Kyobashi and Kanda, is the core of Shitamachi, the original downtown center of Edo-Tokyo, before the rise of newer secondary centers such as Shinjuku and Shibuya.

An amusement arcade, also known as a video arcade, amusements, arcade, or penny arcade (an older term), is a venue where people play arcade games. These include arcade video games, pinball machines, electro-mechanical games, redemption games, merchandisers (such as claw machines), or coin-operated billiards or air hockey tables. In some countries, some types of arcades are also legally permitted to provide gambling machines such as slot machines or pachinko machines. Games are usually housed in cabinets.

Video games were introduced in amusement arcades in the late 1970s and were most popular during the golden age of arcade video games, the early 1980s.

Tarō Asō (麻生 太郎, Asō Tarō; born 20 September 1940) is a Japanese politician who served as Prime Minister of Japan from 2008 to 2009. A member of the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), he also served as Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance from 2012 to 2021. He was the longest-serving Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance in Japanese history, having previously served as Minister for Foreign Affairs from 2005 to 2007 and as Minister for Internal Affairs and Communications from 2003 to 2005. He leads the Shikōkai faction within the LDP.

Asō was first elected to the House of Representatives in 1979. He served in numerous ministerial roles before becoming Secretary-General of the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) in 2008, having also held that role temporarily in 2007. He was later elected LDP President in September 2008, becoming prime minister the same month. He led the LDP to the worst election result in its history a year later, marking only the second time in post-war Japan that a governing party had lost re-election, and resigned as the President of the party immediately afterwards.

Video games are a major industry in Japan, and the country is considered one of the most influential in video gaming. Japanese game development is often identified with the golden age of video games and the country is home to many notable video game companies such as Nintendo, Sega, Bandai Namco Entertainment, Taito, Konami, Square Enix, Capcom, NEC, SNK, Koei Tecmo, Atlus, Arc System Works, Sony and formerly its branch Sony Computer Entertainment. In 2022, Japan was the third largest video game market in the world after the United States and China.

The space is known for the catalogs of several major publishers, all of whom have competed in the video game console and video arcade markets at various points. Released in 1965, Periscope was a major arcade hit in Japan, preceding several decades of success in the arcade industry there. Nintendo, a former hanafuda playing card vendor, rose to prominence during the 1980s with the release of the home video game console called the Family Computer (Famicom), which became a major hit as the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) internationally. Sony, already one of the world's largest electronics manufacturers, entered the market in 1994 with the Sony PlayStation, one of the first home consoles to feature 3D graphics, almost immediately establishing itself as a major publisher in the space. Shigeru Miyamoto remains internationally renowned as a "father of video gaming" and is the only game developer so far to receive Japan's highest civilian honor for artists, the 文化功労者 (bunka kōrōsha) or Person of Cultural Merit.

A denpa song (電波ソング) is a type of Japanese music that is intentionally strange and catchy. Common features of denpa songs include intentionally off-key vocals, nonsensical lyrics, and an over-the-top tune. Denpa music has grown into a subculture within Japan, forming a significant aspect of otaku culture, and has large numbers of dōjin circles and music artists dedicated to denpa music. Denpa is not a specific genre in itself, but rather an umbrella term for various kinds of music.

Alternative terms for denpa music coined in recent times include Akiba-pop (i.e. "pop of Akihabara") and A-pop. The term "Moe song" (萌えソング) specifically refers to denpa music of otaku origin featuring moe themes.

Video games are a major industry in Japan, and the country is considered one of the most influential in video gaming. Japanese game development is often identified with the golden age of video games and the country is home to many notable video game companies such as Nintendo, Sega, Bandai Namco Entertainment, Taito, Konami, Square Enix, Capcom, NEC, SNK, Koei Tecmo, Atlus, Arc System Works, Marvelous, Nippon Ichi Software, Sony and formerly its branch Sony Computer Entertainment. In 2022, Japan was the third largest video game market in the world after the United States and China.

The space is known for the catalogs of several major publishers, all of whom have competed in the video game console and video arcade markets at various points. Released in 1965, Periscope was a major arcade hit in Japan, preceding several decades of success in the arcade industry there. Nintendo, a former hanafuda playing card vendor, rose to prominence during the 1980s with the release of the home video game console called the Family Computer (Famicom), which became a major hit as the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) internationally. Sony, already one of the world's largest electronics manufacturers, entered the market in 1994 with the Sony PlayStation, one of the first home consoles to feature 3D graphics, almost immediately establishing itself as a major publisher in the space. Shigeru Miyamoto remains internationally renowned as a "father of video gaming" and is the only game developer so far to receive Japan's highest civilian honor for artists, the 文化功労者 (bunka kōrōsha) or Person of Cultural Merit.