In the best selling book “The Zombie Survival Guide,” author and zombie expert Max Brooks explains that in Japan a certain group apparently referred to as the Brotherhood of Life fought zombie hordes, keeping Japan relatively zombie free until the mid-20th century. Either that or a wall of silence regarding zombies had come up, keeping the outbreak unknown to outsiders.
Actually, zombies factor heavily in Japanese history and legend. They were referred to as gaki, the ‘hungry ghost,’ or jikininki/shokujinki, who eat the flesh of man. Clearly there are two stories going on here. In reality, zombie outbreaks were met regularly and secretly by teams of ninjas with seemingly uncanny powers. The local war lords, not wanting to risk turning their own samurai (who squared off one on one against a foe, even on the battlefield) and troops into undead fodder, sent the shinobi/shadow warriors to deal with these outbreaks.
They were on and off successful owing to their strange powers and the virulence of the zombie infection. This struggle continues to this day.