Is there Anything Unique About Modern Japanese Science? Two of the most important 20th century scientific contributions to our understanding of nature were made by Katsusaburo Yamagiwa (the first artificial creation of cancer) and Hideki Yukawa (the meson particle theory in physics). Professor James Bartholomew, Ohio State University, explains how their Japanese cultural context made both contributions possible, and why they could not have happened elsewhere during their time.