You might be surprised to know that, in Japan, Dungeons & Dragons' claim of being "the world's most famous RPG" has never even come close to being true. The game's history in the country is fascinating, and its lack of popularity is due to several factors, not least some less-than-optimal sales strategies from D&D's original publisher, TSR. However, perhaps the biggest reason is that D&D has a massive rival in the fantasy TTRPG space in Japan: Sword World RPG.