Which begs the question, could train obsession be a substitute for not obsessing about military hardware? On the other hand, I don't know enough about Japan, a

Which begs the question, could train obsession be a substitute for not obsessing about military hardware? On the other hand, I don't know enough about Japan, are they really obsessed about trains or do they just happen to be really really good at trains and use them a lot? They might be just pragmatic about them (quite the opposite of obsessed) and a high presence in daily life would naturally be reflected in pop culture.