Pinto claimed that his 1543 landing made him the first European to set foot in Japan.
He also claimed to have introduced the arquebus to Japan.
It is widely accepted now, however, that several Portuguese traders, including António Mota and Francisco Zeimoto, visited Japan a year earlier.
The firearm was reproduced and used in the Japanese civil wars.
It was known as the tanegashima.

Pinto facilitated trade between the Portuguese and Japan.
At one point, he was shipwrecked on the Ryukyu Islands.
In 1549, Pinto left Kagoshima accompanied by a Japanese fugitive, Anjirō.
He returned to Japan with Saint Francis Xavier, a Catholic missionary.
In 1554, Pinto joined the Society of Jesus and donated a large sum of his trading wealth to the mission.
In a letter, Ōtomo Yoshishige, daimyō of Bungo, offered his conversion and requested Pinto return to Japan.
The letter arrived at the same time that Xavier's body was being displayed in Goa.
Ōtomo did not convert at that time due to internal difficulties but did so later at the time Pinto was completing his autobiography.
Between 1554 and 1556, Pinto returned to Japan with Xavier's successor.
He became the Viceroy of Portuguese India's ambassador to the daimyo of Bungo on the island of Kyūshū.
Despite Pinto's support of the Church in Japan, he left the Jesuits in 1557.
Pinto claimed that his 1543 landing made him the first European to set foot in Japan. He also claimed to have introduced the arquebus to Japan. It is widely accepted now, however, that several Portuguese traders, including António Mota and Francisco Zeimoto, visited Japan a year earlier. The firearm was reproduced and used in the Japanese civil wars. It was known as the tanegashima.
Pinto facilitated trade between the Portuguese and Japan. At one point, he was shipwrecked on the Ryukyu Islands. In 1549, Pinto left Kagoshima accompanied by a Japanese fugitive, Anjirō. He returned to Japan with Saint Francis Xavier, a Catholic missionary. In 1554, Pinto joined the Society of Jesus and donated a large sum of his trading wealth to the mission. In a letter, Ōtomo Yoshishige, daimyō of Bungo, offered his conversion and requested Pinto return to Japan. The letter arrived at the same time that Xavier's body was being displayed in Goa. Ōtomo did not convert at that time due to internal difficulties but did so later at the time Pinto was completing his autobiography. Between 1554 and 1556, Pinto returned to Japan with Xavier's successor. He became the Viceroy of Portuguese India's ambassador to the daimyo of Bungo on the island of Kyūshū. Despite Pinto's support of the Church in Japan, he left the Jesuits in 1557.
Fernão Mendes Pinto