Short answers, pulled from the story.
Japanese toy makers began crafting small cars from empty tin cans in 1946 after the Allied occupation banned the use of metal for commercial toys. These objects helped fund school lunches and rebuilt a shattered economy while projecting a new national image to the world.
The first cinematic blockbuster Gojira was released after the war ended in 1945 and depicted the destruction of Tokyo and the atomic bomb to gain opposition toward the war. This film represented a return to popular entertainment that catered to technology rather than militarism.
Sasaki Miho worked for Atlus where she suggested the idea for Purikura in 1994 but it was initially rejected by her male bosses. She eventually convinced them to pursue the concept which later became a major preoccupation among Japanese schoolgirls who took photos with friends.
Kumamon the Mon Bear won the title of yuru-kiyara in 2011 and pulled in more than 2.5 billion yen in merchandise sales across the nation that single year. Japan celebrates a new winner of advertising characters known as yuru-kiyara representing their respective prefectures each year.
Akira Kurosawa directed Rashomon which gained international recognition in 1950 and remains one of the most well-known Japanese films ever made. His subsequent works including Seven Samurai released in 1954 and Ran from 1985 are considered among the greatest films globally.