I read an article today that stated Japan has the most powerful passport in the world. I thought to myself of course they do, Who could hate the Japanese?

Then it dawned on me that they had been on the Axis side during WWII. I know Germany and Italy have also recovered well, but I also know that is has been well documented what happened in Germany post war, and that jokes and assumptions are still made about both the Germans and the Italians. I realised I never hear anything of the sort about Japan.

So my question is, how did Japan go from a dangerous and volatile international enemy, to a country literally know for cuteness by most of the world?

Edit: I hope nothing here comes across as xenophobia or anything, I have no problem with any of the above. I am Irish, we're neutral!