Olympic history of Japan

JPN

156	157	184

Japan , whose NOK , the Japanese Olympic Committee ( Japanese 日本 オ リ ン ピ ッ ク 委員会 , Nippon orimpikku iinkai ), was founded in 1911, has been participating in the Summer Olympics since 1912. Japan was not invited in 1948, and in 1980 Japan supported the boycott of the Moscow Games.

Japanese athletes have been taking part in the Winter Olympics since 1928. As with the Summer Games, Japan was not invited in 1948. Young athletes have been sent to all youth summer and youth winter games that have been held so far.

General

Oda Mikio, Japan's first Olympic champion

Crossing the finish line over 800 meters 1928: Left Hitomi Kinue with silver, right the winner Lina Radke (GER)

Japan's Olympic history began in Stockholm in 1912 with two athletes as members of the Olympic team. The first Japanese Olympian was sprinter Yahiko Mishima on July 6, 1912. The first woman from Japan to appear in the Olympics was the athlete Hitomi Kinue on July 30, 1928 .

The first winter Olympians in Japan were the cross-country skiers Minoru Nagata, Subaru Takahashi, Sakuta Takefushi and Asō Takeharu on February 14, 1928 . The figure skater Etsuko Inada competed on February 11, 1936 as the first Japanese woman to take part in the Winter Games .

Japan is one of the successful participating nations in the Olympic Games. Japan is the leading nation in judo. So far 39 Olympic champions have been placed here. In terms of the number of medals, Japan is even more successful in gymnastics. 98 medals have been recorded by 2018, 84 medals have been won in judo so far. Japan is also one of the strongest nations in swimming (80 medals, 22 Olympic victories) and wrestling (69 medals, 32 Olympic victories). Most of the Olympic victories at the Winter Games come with four gold medals in speed skating. 21 medals were won here, also in this respect most of them in winter sports.

Japan's most successful summer games were the domestic Tokyo 1964 Summer Games and the 2004 Athens Games, each with 16 Olympic victories. The 2016 Rio de Janeiro Games were more successful in terms of the number of medals won. Japanese athletes won a total of 41 medals. The most successful winter games were the 1998 Nagano Games. This is where the most Olympic victories (5) and the most medals were won (10).

The first medal for Japan was won by the tennis player Ichiya Kumagase with silver in the men's singles on August 23, 1924. The first Olympic victory was achieved on August 2, 1928 by the athlete Oda Mikio , who won the triple jump. The first Japanese woman to win an Olympic medal was Hitome Kinue, who won silver in the 800 meters that same day. The first Japanese Olympic champion was the swimmer Hideko Maehata on August 11, 1936 , who won the competition in the 200-meter chest.

Chiharu Igaya won the first Olympic medal at the Winter Games . On January 31, 1956, he won silver in the slalom. The first Olympic champion in winter sports was the ski jumper Yukio Kasaya on February 6, 1972 , who won jumping from the normal hill. The speed skater Seiko Hashimoto was the first woman in Japan to win an Olympic medal at the Winter Games on February 12, 1992. Freestyle skier Tae Satoya became Japan's first winter Olympic champion on February 11, 1998 on the mogul slope.

The first Olympic team in 1912 consisted of only two athletes. In 1932 in Los Angeles over 100 Japanese took part for the first time, in 1936 over 200 for the first time. The largest delegation, 336 athletes, started in Rio de Janeiro in 2016. Most of the winter athletes took part in the 1998 Nagano domestic winter games. 156 athletes competed.

Tsunekazu Takeda , a former show jumper who competed in Munich in 1972 and in Montreal in 1976, was elected an IOC member in 2012. He is a member of the Commissions for the Coordination of the 2018 Winter Olympics, the Coordination of the 2024 Summer Olympics and Chairman of the Commission for Marketing. With the former ski racer Chiharu Igaya and the former soccer player Shun'ichirō Okano , two former Japanese IOC members have been honorary members since 2012.

Applications and hosting of the Olympic Games

Applications

Summer games

In addition to Tokyo, the major Japanese cities of Osaka and Nagoya have also applied to host the Summer Olympics.

Tokyo's first application was successful. In the first ballot at the 35th IOC session in Berlin , Tokyo was awarded the contract to host the 12th Olympic Games in 1940. Tokyo had to give up the games because of the outbreak of the Second Sino-Japanese War . After all, the games that were to take place in Helsinki could not be carried out due to the Second World War .

The next application was for the 17th Olympic Games in 1960. Tokyo was eliminated with only four votes in the first ballot. The application for the following 18th Olympic Games in 1964 was successful. Tokyo was able to prevail over Detroit in the first ballot .

Nagoya submitted its application to host the 24th Olympic Games in 1988. The South Korean capital Seoul lost in the first ballot . Osaka wanted to host the 29th Olympic Games in 2008, but failed with its application in the first ballot.

In the second ballot, Tokyo failed to bid to host the 31st Olympic Games in 2016. The bid for the following 32nd Olympic Games in 2020 was successful. In the second ballot, Tokyo prevailed against Istanbul .

Winter games

With Sapporo and Nagano , two Japanese cities competed to host the Winter Olympics.

In earlier years it was common for the country that hosted the Summer Games to also host the Winter Games in the same year if possible. The 1940 Summer Games had been awarded to Tokyo, Sapporo was chosen as the venue for the Winter Games. Like Tokyo, Sapporo had to return the games that were newly awarded to St. Moritz . after disputes with the IOC, Garmisch-Partenkirchen , host of the 1936 Winter Games, was selected. The 1940 Winter Games also fell victim to World War II.

Sapporo then applied again to host the 10th Olympic Winter Games in 1968. It failed in the first ballot. The 1972 application was then successful. The required majority was achieved in the first ballot. In the second ballot, Sapporo failed to bid to host the 14th Winter Olympics in 1984.

With Nagano, another city applied to host the Winter Games. The application to host the 18th Olympic Winter Games in 1998 was only successful in the fourth ballot.

Alignment

The first Olympic Games on Asian soil were the 1964 Summer Games in Tokyo . 5151 athletes from 93 countries took part. The competitions took place from October 10 to 24, 1964. The sailing competitions were organized in front of Enoshima , and the track cycling competitions in Hachiōji . The games were opened by the emperor Hirohito . The Olympic flame was lit by Yoshinori Kasai, the Olympic oath said the gymnast Takashi Ono .

The 2020 Olympic Games will be held in Tokyo from July 24th to August 9th, 2020.

The 1972 Winter Games were the first Winter Olympic Games on Asian soil. 1006 athletes from 35 countries took part. The competitions took place from February 3 to 13, 1972 in sports facilities in and around Sapporo. The Sapporo Games were also opened by Emperor Hirohito. The Hikeki Takada lit the Olympic flame. The Olympic oath for the athletes was given by the speed skater Keiichi Suzuki, and for the referees Fumio Asaki, a judge in ski jumping.

The 1998 Winter Games took place in Nagano from February 7-22, 1998. 2302 from 68 countries took part. The games were opened by Emperor Akihito . The Olympic flame was lit by the figure skater Midori Itō . The Olympic oath for the athletes was spoken by the Nordic combined athlete Kenji Ogiwara , and the figure skating judge for the referees.

Overview of the participations

Summer games

year	Athletes			Flag bearer	Medals
	total	m	w					total	rank
1896-1908	not participated
1912	2	2	0	Yahiko Mishima
1920	15th	15th	0			2		2	17th
1924	19th	19th	0				1	1	23
1928	40	39	1	Yonetaro Nakazawa	2	2	1	5	15th
1932	117	101	16	Oda Mikio	7th	7th	4th	18th	5
1936	152	136	16	Ōshima Kenkichi	6th	4th	8th	18th	8th
1948	not participated
1952	69	58	11	Bunkichi Sawada	1	6th	2	9	17th
1956	112	96	16	Shōzō Sasahara Kunihiro Ohta	4th	10	5	19th	10
1960	162	142	20th	Takashi Ono	4th	7th	7th	18th	8th
1964	328	270	58	Makoto Fukui	16	5	8th	29	3
1968	171	146	25th	Yukio Endo	11	7th	7th	25th	3
1972	184	148	36	Masatoshi Shinomaki	13	8th	8th	29	5
1976	213	153	60	Katsutoshi Mekota	9	6th	10	25th	5
1980	not participated
1984	226	174	52	Shigenobu Murofushi	10	8th	14th	32	7th
1988	255	186	69	Mikako Kotani	4th	3	7th	14th	14th
1992	256	175	81	Kumi Nakada	3	8th	11	22nd	17th
1996	307	157	150	Ryoko Tani	3	6th	5	14th	23
2000	266	156	110	Kōsei Inoue	5	8th	5	18th	15th
2004	306	139	167	Kyōko Hamaguchi	16	9	12	37	5
2008	332	167	165	Ai Fukuhara	9	7th	9	25th	8th
2012	291	136	155	Saori Yoshida	7th	14th	17th	38	11
2016	336	171	164	Keisuke Ushiro	12	8th	21st	41	6th

Winter games

year	Athletes			Flag bearer	Medals
	total	m	w					total	rank
1924	not participated
1928	6th	6th	0	Subaru Takahashi
1932	16	16	0
1936	31	30th	1	Oimatsu Kazuyoshi
1948	not participated
1952	13	13	0
1956	10	10	0	Hiroshi Yoshizawa		1		1	11
1960	41	36	5	Junko Ueno
1964	47	41	6th	Sadao Kikuchi
1968	61	52	9	Takaaki Kaneiri
1972	85	65	20th	Mineyuki Mashiko	1	1	1	3	11
1976	58	50	8th	Masaki Suzuki
1980	50	46	4th	Osamu Wakabayashi		1		1	15th
1984	39	32	7th	Tadayuki Takahashi		1		1	15th
1988	48	37	11	Seiko Hashimoto
1992	60	40	20th	Tsutomu Kawasaki		3		3	15th
1994	59	43	16	Reiichi Mikata		1	2	3	19th
1998	156	92	64	Hiroyasu Shimizu		6th	2	8th	16
2002	103	59	44	Eriko Sanmiya	2	2	4th	8th	13
2006	110	58	52	Jōji Katō	2	4th	5	11	14th
2010	91	48	43	Tomomi Okazaki	5	2	4th	11	7th
2014	111	48	62	Ayumi Onodera	3	4th	2	9	12
2018	124	52	72	Noriaki Kasai	4th	5	4th	13	11

Overview of the sports

Summer games

badminton

1	1	1

Since badminton was introduced as an Olympic sport in 1992, Japanese badminton players have participated in Olympic tournaments. In 2008 the women's doubles Miyuki Maeda and Satoko Suetsuna reached the semi-finals. They lost the semifinals and also the following game for the bronze medal. In 2012 in London, the women's doubles Mizuki Fujii and Reika Kakiiwa won Japan's first badminton medal. In the preliminary round, they lost one of their games, then won their quarter and semi-final matches. They lost the final against the Chinese Tian Qing and Zhao Yunlei in two sets and thus received the silver medal.

In 2016 in Rio de Janeiro, the women's doubles Misaki Matsutomo and Ayaka Takahashi achieved Japan's first Olympic victory in badminton. After three wins in the group phase and wins in the quarter and semi-finals, the final was against the Danish doubles Christinna Pedersen and Kamilla Rytter Juhl . Matsutomo and Takahashi won the duel in three sets. In the individual, Nozomi Okuhara was able to win her group matches as well as the eighth and quarter finals. In the semi-finals she failed against the Indian PV Sindhu . The game for the bronze medal went to the Japanese without a fight, as her opponent, the Chinese Li Xuerui , could not compete due to a knee injury sustained in the semi-finals.

Surname	Games	discipline	annotation
Misaki Matsutomo Ayaka Takahashi	2016 Rio de Janeiro	Ladies doubles	first Olympic victory

Surname	Games	discipline	annotation
Mizuki Fujii Reika Kakiiwa	2012 London	Ladies doubles	first medal win

Surname	Games	discipline	annotation
Nozomi Okuhara	2016 Rio de Janeiro	Ladies singles

• 

  Mizuki Fujii, silver 2012

• 

  Reika Kakiiwa, silver 2012

• 

  Misaki Matsutomo (r.) And Ayaka Takahashi (l.), Olympic victory in 2016

baseball

-	1	2

Baseball has been an Olympic sport since 1992. In the first Olympic tournament, the Japanese team finished the group stage in second place. The semi-final against Chinese Taipei was lost 5-2. In the bronze medal match, Japan beat the United States 8-3. In 1996 Japan finished the group stage in third place. In the semifinals it was again against the USA, this time the Japanese won 11-2. In the final against Cuba there was a 9-13 defeat.

In 2000 Japan finished fourth in the group stage. In the semifinals they lost to Cuba with 0: 3 and in the match for bronze South Korea with 1: 3. In 2004 Japan went to the semi-finals as group winners. They lost 0-1 against Australia. Japan then won the bronze match against Canada 11-2. In Beijing 2008 they finished fourth again. The semi-final against South Korea was lost 2: 6, the bronze match against the USA 4: 8.

Surname	Games	discipline	annotation
National baseball team	1996 Atlanta

Surname	Games	discipline	annotation
National baseball team	1992 Barcelona		first medal win
National baseball team	2004 Athens

basketball

-	-	-

A Japanese basketball team first took part in an Olympic tournament in 1936. The men's teams remained unsuccessful in the following period. In 1976 women took part for the first time. In 1996 the women reached the quarter-finals and failed there against the USA. In the placement round, they came in 7th.

Beach volleyball

-	-	-

Beach volleyball was first played in Atlanta in 1996. Japanese athletes were also present when this sport was held for the first time. The most successful of these in 2000 was the women's duo Yukiko Takahashi and Mika Saiki . They reached the semi-finals against the Brazilians Adriana Behar and Shelda Bede . They lost the game and again met players from Brazil in the bronze medal match, this time Sandra Pires and Adriana Samuel . The Japanese lost the game in straight sets.

Archery

-	3	2

2012 award ceremony: left Takaharu Furukawa with silver

Japanese archers have been taking part since archery was resumed in the Olympic program in 1972. In the men's category, Hiroshi Michinaga won the silver medal in the individual competition in 1976, making it Japan's first medal in archery. Takanobu Nishi finished eighth. In 1984 Hiroshi Yamamoto won bronze, his teammate Takayoshi Matsushita came fourth . In the women's category, Hiroko Ishizu also reached fourth place. Yamamoto and Matsushita finished sixth with the team in 1988, while Yamamoto came eighth in the singles.

It wasn't until 2000 in Sydney that there was another top placement. Sayoko Kawauchi took 5th place in the women's category. Hiroshi Yamamoto won a silver medal in singles in Athens in 2004, 20 years after his first medal win. In Beijing in 2008, Ryuichi Moriya took 6th place in the men's and Nami Hayakawa in the women's place.

In 2012 in London, Takaharu Furukawa won silver in the individual values. The women's team won bronze, the men's team came in sixth.

Surname	Games	discipline	annotation
Hiroshi Michinaga	1976 Montreal	singles	first medal win
Hiroshi Yamamoto	2004 Athens	singles
Takaharu Furukawa	2012 London	singles

Surname	Games	discipline	annotation
Hiroshi Yamamoto	1984 Los Angeles	singles
Kaori Kawanaka Miki Kanie Ren Hayakawa	2012 London	team

Boxing

2	-	3

The first Japanese boxers competed in Amsterdam in 1928. Until 1956 no participants could fight their way further than the quarterfinals. In 1960 in Rome, Kiyoshi Tanabe won the first Olympic medal for Japan in boxing with a bronze flyweight. In 1964 in Tokyo, Takao Sakurai achieved the first Japanese boxing Olympic victory with a bantamweight victory. Eiji Morioka also won bronze in the bantamweight category in 1968.

It would take 44 years before successes could be achieved again. 2012 in London Ryota Murata was Olympic middleweight champion. Teammate Satoshi Shimizu won bronze in the bantamweight division.

Surname	Games	discipline	annotation
Takao Sakurai	1964 Tokyo	Bantamweight	first Olympic victory
Ryota Murata	2012 London	medium weight

Surname	Games	discipline	annotation
Kiyoshi Tanabe	1960 Rome	Flyweight	first medal win
Eiji Morioka	1968 Mexico City	Bantamweight
Satoshi Shimizu	2012 London	Bantamweight

• 

  1964 award ceremony with Takaru Sakurai as Olympic champion

fencing

-	2	-

The Japanese foil team, which won silver in 2012 (from left to right): Awaji, Miyake, Ota and Chida

Japan first took part in fencing in 1952. In 1964 a first success could be celebrated. The men's foil team came in fourth after losing to France in the battle for bronze. It wasn't until 44 years later that it was successful. Yūki Ōta won the silver medal in the individual evaluation of foil fencing in Beijing in 2008. In 2012 in London, the foil team won another silver medal. In 2016 in Rio de Janeiro, Kazuyasu Minobe took 6th place in the individual ranking with the sword.

Surname	Games	discipline	annotation
Yūki Ōta	2008 Beijing	Foil single	first medal win
Yūki Ōta Kenta Chida Suguru Awaji Ryō Miyake	2008 Beijing	Foil team

Soccer

-	1	1

The first Olympic football tournament with Japanese participation was the tournament of 1936. After a 3-2 victory over Sweden, the team was eliminated in the quarter-finals with 0: 8 against Italy, the eventual Olympic champion. At the domestic summer games in 1964, Japan reached the quarter-finals with a victory against Argentina in the group stage. Japan lost 4-0 against Czechoslovakia.

In 1968 the team managed two draws against Spain and Brazil and one win over Nigeria in the group stage. In the quarterfinals, France was defeated 3-1. The semi-final against Hungary was lost 5-0. In the bronze medal, Japan beat hosts Mexico 2-0 and won their first Olympic football medal.

In 1996 a women's team took part for the first time. Both teams failed in the group stage, the women lost 3-2 to Germany. In 2000, the men reached the quarter-finals, in which they were only eliminated from the United States after a penalty shoot-out (4-5). In regular time it was 2-2 after extra time. In 2004 the men were eliminated after the preliminary round. The women reached the quarterfinals and were eliminated after a 2-0 loss to the USA. Also in 2008 the men failed in the preliminary round. The women qualified for the quarter-finals, beating hosts China 2-0. They lost the semi-finals 2: 4 against the USA, the match for bronze with 0: 2 against Germany.

In 2012 the men managed two wins and one draw in the preliminary round. The quarter-finals against Egypt were won 3-0. In the semifinals they failed 3-1 at the eventual Olympic champion Mexico. The bronze game was also lost 2-0 to South Korea. The women reached two draws and one victory in the preliminary round. The Japanese beat Brazil 2-0 in the quarter-finals and France 2-1 in the semi-finals. The final against the USA was lost 2-1. In 2016, only the men who failed in the preliminary round could qualify.

Surname	Games	discipline	annotation
National team of women	2012 London	Women's tournament

Surname	Games	discipline	annotation
National team of men	1968 Mexico City	Men's tournament	first medal win

Weightlifting

2	3	9

The first Japanese weightlifter started in 1952. In 1956 in Melbourne Hiroyoshi Shiratori reached 5th place in the featherweight division, Kenji Ōnuma took 4th place in the lightweight division. In the bantamweight division, Yoshinobu Miyake won the first Olympic weightlifting medal in Japan in 1960 with silver. Shigeo Kogure finished fourth. Yukio Furuyama finished 5th in featherweight.

Miyake was the first Japanese Olympic champion in weightlifting at the 1964 Tokyo Home Games. This time he competed in featherweight. Hiroshi Fukuda finished fourth. In the bantamweight division, Shiro Ichinoseki won bronze. Also in the middleweight division there was bronze for Masushi Ōuchi . 1968 in Mexico City Miyake was able to successfully defend his Olympic victory from 1964. His brother Yoshiyuki Miyake took bronze in the same weight class. In the middleweight division, Masushi Mitteluchi won silver. Nobuyuki Hatta reached fourth place in the lightweight, Shiro Ichinoseki fifth in the bantamweight division.

1972 Yoshinobu Miyake was again fourth in the featherweight division. Tetsuhide Sasaki also finished fourth in the flyweight division. In 1976, two bronze medals were won by Kenkichi Ando in bantamweight and Kazumasa Hirai in featherweight. Masatomo Takeuchi reached 4th place in the flyweight division, Yatsuo Shimaya reached 5th place in the lightweight division. In 1984 three bronze medals were won. Kazushito Manabe in flyweight, Masahiro Kotaka in bantamweight and Ryoji Isaoka in lightweight were the medal winners. There were also fourth places by Hidemi Miyashita in the flyweight, Takashi Ichiba in the bantamweight and Kaoru Wabiko in the featherweight.

It wasn't until 12 years later, in 1996 in Atlanta, that a top ranking was achieved again. Hiroshi Ikehata took fourth place in the bantamweight division. Another 16 years later, in London in 2012, Hiromi Miyake won silver in the flyweight division. She is the daughter of bronze medalist Yoshiyuki Miyake and the niece of two-time Olympic champion Yoshinobu Miyake. In 2016 in Rio de Janeiro she won bronze. Yoichi Itokazu finished fourth in the featherweight division.

Surname	Games	discipline	annotation
Yoshinobu Miyake	1964 Tokyo	Featherweight	first Olympic victory
Yoshinobu Miyake	1968 Mexico City	Featherweight

Surname	Games	discipline	annotation
Yoshinobu Miyake	1960 Rome	Bantamweight	first medal win
Masushi Ōuchi	1968 Mexico City	medium weight
Hiromi Miyake	2012 London	Flyweight

Surname	Games	discipline	annotation
Shiro Ichinoseki	1964 Tokyo	Bantamweight
Masushi Ōuchi	1964 Tokyo	medium weight
Yoshiyuki Miyake	1968 Mexico City	Featherweight
Kenkichi Ando	1976 Montreal	Bantamweight
Kazumasa Hirai	1976 Montreal	Featherweight
Kazushito Manabe	1984 Los Angeles	Flyweight
Masahiro Kotaka	1984 Los Angeles	Bantamweight
Ryoji Isaoka	1984 Los Angeles	lightweight
Hiromi Miyake	2016 Rio de Janeiro	Flyweight

• 

  Yoshinobu Miyake in his Olympic victory in 1964

• 

  Award ceremony 1964: left Masushi Ōuchi with bronze

• 

  Hiromi Miyake after winning the silver medal in 2012. In front right her father Yoshiyuki Miyake

golf

-	-	-

In 2016, golf was reinstated in the Olympic program. Four Japanese players took part.

Handball

-	-	-

In 1972 the first volleyball team in Japan took part in an Olympic tournament. The men's team failed in the preliminary round and finished 9th after the placement round. The women were not qualified. In 1976 both teams took part. Again the men's team failed in the preliminary round, against the Federal Republic of Germany they had lost 16:19. In the placement round they finished 9th. The women took 5th place out of six participating teams. They lost 10:24 against the GDR team.

In 1984 only the men competed again. Again, after the preliminary round, it was only enough for the placement round. They lost against Switzerland by 13:20. The team finished 10th. A similar picture presented itself in 1988. In the preliminary round they lost 18:25 against the GDR. In the placement game they reached 10th place. After that, no Japanese team could qualify for an Olympic tournament.

hockey

-	1	-

Japan has been participating in the Olympic hockey tournament since 1932. The Los Angeles tournament was held with only three teams. Japan lost 1:11 to India, the eventual Olympic champion, and beat hosts USA 9-2. This won the silver medal. In 1936 Japan could not qualify for the semi-finals as second in the group. In the consolation round there was a 4-1 victory over Denmark.

Not until 1960 was a team able to qualify for the Olympic Games again. After three defeats, however, they were eliminated in the preliminary round. At the domestic summer games in 1964, the team reached fourth in the group, which they lost 5-1 to Germany. In the preliminary round of 1968 Japan managed only one win against Mexico (2-1) and a 0-0 against Spain. They lost 2-0 against the Federal Republic of Germany and 0-1 against the GDR. The game for 13th place was won 2-0 against Argentina.

The next qualification of a Japanese team took place again for the 2004 games in Athens. This time it was the women's team for the first time who could qualify. Japan took two wins in the preliminary round and finished third in their group. In the placement round they lost 3-1 to Australia and lost the game for 7th place against South Korea with the same result.

In 2008 the women were there again. A win and a draw meant fifth place in the preliminary round. They lost against Germany 0-1. Japan played against South Korea for 9th place. The game was lost 2-1. The 2012 tournament was similar. Japan once again achieved a win and a draw in the preliminary round and took fifth place in the group. The game for ninth place against South Africa was won 2-1 this time after extra time. In 2016 there was only one draw against India, again the team finished 5th in the group. As there were no placement games this time, the team was eliminated, but was rated 10th.

Surname	Games	discipline	annotation
National team of men	1932 Los Angeles	Men's tournament	first medal win

Judo

39	19th	26th

Judo has been an Olympic sport since the local summer games of 1964. In judo, Japan is the leading nation in the Olympic Games. Four Japanese judoka competed in three weight classes and in an open tournament. Japan provided all Olympic champions in the weight classes. The first medalist and Olympic champion was Takehide Nakatani, who won the lightweight. Gold medals were also won by Isao Okano in the middleweight division and Isao Inokuma in the heavyweight division. To the disappointment of the local audience, Akio Kaminaga lost his final fight in the open tournament and only won silver.

In 1968 there was no judo tournament, so the next Japanese did not start until 1972 in Munich. Again there were three Olympic victories, this time by Takao Kawaguchi in the lightweight, Toyokazu Nomura in the light middleweight and Shinobu Sekine in the middleweight. In the heavyweight division, Motoki Nishimura won bronze. Also in 1976 in Montreal three gold medals could be won. Olympic champions were Isamu Sonoda in the middleweight division, Kazuhiro Ninomiya in the light heavyweight division and Haruki Uemura in the open class. There was also a silver medal by Koji Kuramoto in the light middleweight division and a bronze medal by Sumio Endō in the heavyweight division.

Japan was able to place four Olympic champions in Los Angeles in 1984. Gold won Shinji Hosokawa in the extra light weight, Yoshiyuki Matsuoka in the light weight, Hitoshi Saitō in the heavyweight and Yasuhiro Yamashita in the open class. In the middleweight division, Seiki Nose won bronze. In 1988 only one gold medal could be won. Hitoshi Saitō defended his Olympic heavyweight victory. Shinji Hosokawa won bronze in the extra light weight, Yosuke Yamamoto in the half light weight and Akinobu Osako in the middle weight.

In 1992 women also took part in judo for the first time. In the men's category , Toshihiko Koga was Olympic champion in the lightweight and Hidehiko Yoshida in the light middleweight division. Naoya Ogawa won silver in the heavyweight division, Tadanori Koshino in the extra lightweight division and Hirotaka Okada in the middleweight division. In the women won Ryōko Tani in the extra light weight, Noriko Mizoguchi in the half light weight and Yoko Tanabe in the light heavyweight silver. Bronze went to Chiyori Tateno in the lightweight and Yōko Sakaue in the heavyweight division.

Also in 1996 in Atlanta the judoka collected medals. For the men there were three brothers: Kenzo, Yukimasa and Yoshio Nakamura. Kenzo became the Olympic lightweight champion, Yukimasa won silver in the half-lightweight division. Yoshio retired early in the light heavyweight division. Tadahiro Nomura became Olympic champion in the extra lightweight division, Toshihiko Koga won silver in the light middleweight division. For women, Yuko Emoto is an Olympic light middleweight champion. Silver won Ryōko Tani in the extra light weight and Yōko Tanabe in the light heavyweight division. Bronze went to Noriko Sugawara in the half light weight.

The men were able to provide three Olympic champions in 2000 with Tadahiro Nomura in extra light weight, Makoto Takimoto in light middleweight and Kōsei Inoue in light heavyweight. There was also a silver medal from Shinichi Shinohara in the heavyweight division. In the women Ryōko Tani was Olympic champion in extra light weight. In the half lightweight division, Noriko Sugawara won the silver medal this time, Kie Kusakabe won bronze in the lightweight and Mayumi Yamashita in the heavyweight division.

In Athens 2004 Tadahiro Nomura became Olympic champion in extra light weight for the third time in a row. Also Olympic champions were Masato Uchishiba in the lightweight division and Keiji Suzuki in the heavyweight division. In the middleweight division, Hiroshi Izumi won silver. In the women Ryōko Tani was able to defend her Olympic victory in the extra light weight. Four other female judoka became Olympic champions: Ayumi Tanimoto in light middleweight, Masae Ueno in middleweight, Noriko Anno in light heavyweight and Maki Tsukada in heavyweight. Yuki Yokosawa won silver in the half lightweight division. With eight Olympic victories, participation in the judo tournaments in Athens was the most successful participation in Olympic history for Japan.

Participation in Beijing in 2008 was not quite as successful. Masato Uchishiba was able to defend his Olympic victory in the light weight division. Satoshi Ishii became an Olympic heavyweight champion. In the women's category, Ayumi Tanimoto was able to defend their Olympic victories in the light middleweight division and Masae Ueno in the middleweight division. Defending champion Maki Tsukada won silver in the heavyweight division, Ryōko Tani in the extra light weight division and Misato Nakamura in the half light weight division each bronze.

Only one Olympic victory came in 2012 in London. Kaori Matsumoto won the women's lightweight.

Surname	Games	discipline	annotation
Takehide Nakatani	1964 Tokyo	lightweight	first medal and Olympic victory
Isao Okano	1964 Tokyo	medium weight
Isao Inokuma	1964 Tokyo	Heavyweight
Takao Kawaguchi	1972 Munich	lightweight
Toyokazu Nomura	1972 Munich	Light middleweight
Shinobu Sekine	1972 Munich	medium weight
Isamu Sonoda	1976 Montreal	medium weight
Kazuhiro Ninomiya	1976 Montreal	Light heavyweight
Haruki Uemura	1976 Montreal	open class
Shinji Hosokawa	1984 Los Angeles	Extra light weight
Yoshiyuki Matsuoka	1984 Los Angeles	Half light weight
Hitoshi Saitō	1984 Los Angeles	Heavyweight
Yasuhiro Yamashita	1984 Los Angeles	open class
Hitoshi Saitō	1988 Seoul	Heavyweight
Toshihiko Koga	1992 Barcelona	lightweight
Hidehiko Yoshida	1992 Barcelona	Light middleweight
Tadahiro Nomura	1996 Atlanta	Extra light weight
Kenzo Nakamura	1996 Atlanta	lightweight
Yuko Emoto	1996 Atlanta	Light middleweight
Tadahiro Nomura	2000 Sydney	Extra light weight
Makoto Takimoto	2000 Sydney	Light middleweight
Kōsei Inoue	2000 Sydney	Light heavyweight
Ryoko Tani	2000 Sydney	Extra light weight
Tadahiro Nomura	2004 Athens	Extra light weight
Masato Uchishiba	2004 Athens	Half light weight
Keiji Suzuki	2004 Athens	Heavyweight
Ryoko Tani	2004 Athens	Extra light weight
Ayumi Tanimoto	2004 Athens	Light middleweight
Masae Ueno	2004 Athens	medium weight
Noriko Anno	2004 Athens	Light heavyweight
Maki Tsukada	2004 Athens	Heavyweight
Masato Uchishiba	2008 Beijing	Half light weight
Satoshi Ishii	2008 Beijing	Heavyweight
Ayumi Tanimoto	2008 Beijing	Light middleweight
Masae Ueno	2008 Beijing	medium weight

Surname	Games	discipline	annotation
Akio Kaminaga	1964 Tokyo	open class
Kōji Kuramoto	1976 Montreal	Light middleweight
Naoya Ogawa	1992 Barcelona	Heavyweight
Ryoko Tani	1992 Barcelona	Extra light weight
Noriko Mizoguchi	1992 Barcelona	Half light weight
Yōko Tanabe	1992 Barcelona	Light heavyweight
Yukimasa Nakamura	1996 Atlanta	Half light weight
Toshihiko Koga	1996 Atlanta	Light middleweight
Ryoko Tani	1996 Atlanta	Extra light weight
Yōko Tanabe	1996 Atlanta	Light heavyweight
Shinichi Shinohara	2000 Sydney	Heavyweight
Noriko Sugawara	2000 Sydney	Half light weight
Hiroshi Izumi	2004 Athens	medium weight
Yuki Yokosawa	2004 Athens	Half light weight
Maki Tsukada	2008 Beijing	Heavyweight

Surname	Games	discipline	annotation
Motoki Nishimura	1972 Munich	Heavyweight
Sumio Endo	1976 Montreal	Heavyweight
Seiki Nose	1984 Los Angeles	medium weight
Shinji Hosokawa	1988 Seoul	Extra light weight
Yōsuke Yamamoto	1988 Seoul	Half light weight
Akinobu Ōsako	1988 Seoul	medium weight
Tadanori Koshino	1992 Barcelona	Extra light weight
Hirotaka Okada	1992 Barcelona	medium weight
Chiyori Tateno	1992 Barcelona	lightweight
Yōko Sakaue	1992 Barcelona	Heavyweight
Noriko Sugawara	1996 Atlanta	Half light weight
Kie Kusakabe	2000 Sydney	lightweight
Mayumi Yamashita	2000 Sydney	Heavyweight
Ryoko Tani	2008 Beijing	Extra light weight
Misato Nakamura	2008 Beijing	Half light weight

• 

  Hitoshi Saitō, Olympic champion in 1984 and 1988

• 

  Olympic champion Yasuhiro Yamashita in a photo from 2005

• 

  Hidehiko Yoshida, Olympic champion in 1992, in 2013

• 

  Naoya Ogawa, silver 1992, in 2015

• 

  Tadahiro Nomura, Olympic champion in 1996, 2000 and 2004, in 2015

• 

  Kōsei Inoue, Olympic Champion 2000

• 

  Satoshi Ishii, 2008 Olympic champion

Canoeing

-	-	1

It was not until 1964 in Tokyo that Japanese canoeists took part in Olympic canoe regattas. 20 years later, in 1984 in Los Angeles, the first successes could be achieved in the form of finals. In the single canoe over 500 meters, Kiyoto Inoue was sixth, over 1000 meters eighth. The two-man canoe drove over 500 meters in 8th place.

In 2004 in Athens, the women's four-man kayak reached the finals and came in ninth. In 2008 in Beijing, Yurika Takeshita reached fourth place in the women's slalom. The women's four-man kayak (6th place), the women's two-man kayak over 500 meters (fifth) and the men's two-man canoe in the slalom also made it into the final (9th place).

Three finals were reached in 2012. Kazuki Yazawa finished ninth in the men's single kayak slalom. In the single-canoe over 200 meters, Naoya Sakamoto finished 8th, in the single-canoe slalom Takuya Haneda was seventh. Takuya Hanede won Japan's first and so far only medal in canoeing in Rio de Janeiro in 2016. He won bronze in the single canoe slalom.

Surname	Games	discipline	annotation
Takuya Haneda	2016 Rio de Janeiro	C 1 slalom	first medal win

athletics

7th	9	9

Memorial plaque for Kanaguri Shisō, on the place where the house stood

Japan's first Olympic team consisted of two athletes in Stockholm in 1912. A curious incident occurred in the marathon. The Japanese Kanaguri Shisō , who had needed 18 days to get to Stockholm, suffered from the great heat on the day of the race, as did all the other starters. At kilometer 30, in the Stockholm suburb of Sollentuna , he was invited by a family to have a drink and relax, which Kanaguri gratefully accepted. He quenched his thirst, lay down, and fell asleep. He didn't wake up again until the next morning. The Swedish police were already looking for the missing runner. At the age of 75, Kanaguri traveled to Stockholm in March 1967 and resumed the race exactly where the house was. He finished his run in 54 years, 8 months, 6 days, 3 hours, 32 minutes and 20.3 seconds. Kanaguri ran the slowest marathon in Olympic history. In 2012, a plaque in honor of Kanaguri was inaugurated.

The first success was recorded in Paris in 1924. In the triple jump, Oda Mikio reached 6th place. Four years later, Oda achieved the first Olympic victory for a Japanese at the Olympic Games in Amsterdam. His compatriot Nambu Chūhei finished fourth. Oda's victory was also the first Olympic victory for an Asian in an individual discipline. Kazuo Kimura was sixth in the high jump, Oda seventh. In the pole vault, Yonetaro Nakazawa finished sixth. In the marathon, Kanematsu Yamada was fourth, Seiichiro Tsuda sixth. In the women's race, Hitomi Kinue won silver in the 800-meter run, the first ever Olympic medal for a Japanese woman. Nambu was Olympic champion in 1932 in Los Angeles in the triple jump, Ōshima Kenkichi won bronze, defending champion Oda reached 12th place. As in Amsterdam, Oda was seventh in the high jump directly behind Kazuo in 6th place. In the pole vault, Nishida Shūhei won silver, Shizuo Mochizuki came fifth. Nambu also won a medal in the long jump, this time a bronze one, Tajima Naoto came in sixth. Yoshioka Takayoshi finished sixth over 100 meters. In the marathon, Seiichiro Tsuda was fifth, Onbai Kin sixth and Taika Gon ninth. Both men's relays, the 100- and 400-meter relay, reached 5th place, as did the 100-meter relay for women. In the javelin throw, Masako Shinpo took 4th place and Mitsue Ishizu took 8th place. In the discus throw, Mitsue also came in seventh.

In Berlin in 1936 the men won two medals each in the marathon, in the pole vault and in the triple jump, and another was added in the long jump. In the triple jump, the Japanese managed a double victory. Tajima Naoto won ahead of Harada Masao. In the long jump, Tajima also won bronze, Ōshima Kenkichi was sixth. An Olympic victory in the marathon Son Kitei , Nan Shōryū won bronze. Both athletes were Koreans. Korea was part of the Japanese Empire at the time, so both runners had to start for Japan. At the award ceremony, the Japanese flag was raised, both Son (born as son Kee-chung) and Nan (born as Nam Sung-yong) demonstratively looked at the ground. In the pole vault, Nishida Shūhei jumped for the second silver medal in a row. Ōe Sueo won bronze. There was a playoff for silver and bronze between Nishida and Ōe and US jumper Bill Sefton . Sefton could not bring about a valid attempt, the two Japanese renounced, among other things because of the darkness, on a continuation. Since the failed attempt rule had not yet been introduced at the time, according to which Sefton would have been in third place instead of Ōe, the Japanese team management determined the placement of their own accord. Nishida was ranked 2nd, Ōe 3rd. The two athletes did not agree to this regulation, on their return both medals were cut in half and reassembled with the other half, so that both athletes had a medal made of silver and bronze. The long-distance runner Murakoso Kōhei reached 4th place in both the 5000- and 10,000-meter run. In the high jump, Kimio Yada was fifth, Hiroshi Tanaka and Yoshiro Asakuma took a joint sixth place. In the women’s discus throwers Ko Nakamura took 4th place and Hide Mineshima 5th place. Sadako Yamamoto came fifth in the javelin throw.

• 

  Kanaguri Shisō, 1912 marathon runner

• 

  Oda Mikio, Olympic gold medal in 1928

• 

  Kinue Hitomi, silver 1928

• 

  Nambu Chūhei, Olympic victory and bronze in 1932

• 

  Nishida Shūhei, silver 1932 and 1936

• 

  Ōshima Kenkichi, bronze 1932

• 

  Scene from the 1936 marathon: on the left the later winner Son Kitei, on the right the later silver medalist, the Briton Ernie Harper

• 

  Tajima Naoto, bronze 1936

• 

  Nambu Chūhei, bronze 1936

• 

  Two fourth places in 1936 for Murakoso Kōhei

1952 in Helsinki 19 Japanese athletes competed. As before the Second World War, the Japanese men excelled particularly in the jump disciplines. Bunkichi Sawada in the pole vault and Yoshio Iimuro in the triple jump each achieved sixth place. In the women's category, Ko Nakamura was fourth in the discus throw. Yoshiaki Kawashima finished fifth in the Melbourne marathon in 1956. In the triple jump Koji Sakurai took 7th place and Teruji Kogake 8th place. When they took part in Rome in 1960, not a single final was made.

At the domestic summer games in Tokyo in 1964, he won a bronze medal. This won Kōkichi Tsuburaya in the marathon. His teammate Kenji Kimihara finished eighth. Tsuburaya had reached the stadium in second, but was intercepted and overtaken by the British Basil Heatley on the last lap . Tsuburaya finished sixth over 10,000 meters. In the women’s category, Ikuko Yoda finished fifth in the 80 meter hurdles. In the javelin throw, Hiroko Satō reached 7th place.

The only athletics medal in Japan in 1968 was again won by a marathon runner. Kenji Kimihara won silver, Akio Usami finished ninth. Takeo Sugawara reached fourth place in the hammer throw. In 1972, Kimihara was fifth in the marathon in Munich. Over 3000 meters obstacle Takaharu Koyama reached 9th place. Shigenobu Murofushi was eighth in the hammer throw. In 1976 the Japanese athletics team remained without medals. The only front place was achieved by pole vaulter Itsuo Takanezawa with 8th place.

The lack of medals continued in Los Angeles in 1984. Takeshi Sō was fourth in the marathon, Yutaka Kanai seventh over 10,000 meters. The long jumper Jun'ichi Usui also achieved 7th place . Masami Yoshida came fifth in the javelin throw. In 1988 in Seoul a marathon runner came fourth again, this time Takeyuki Nakayama . Toshihiko Seko finished ninth.

After 24 years, medal winners could be celebrated again in Barcelona in 1992. Again the medalists were marathon runners. Kōichi Morishita won the men's silver medal, Takeyuki Nakayama was fourth again, Hiromi Taniguchi eighth. Susumu Takano also finished eighth over 400 meters. The 100-meter relay of men reached 6th place. In the women's category , Yūko Arimori also won silver, Sachiko Yamashita took 4th place. Megumi Sato was seventh in the high jump.

In 1996 in Atlanta, Yuko Arimori won another medal in the marathon with bronze. Michiko Shimizu was fourth over 5000 meters. In the 10,000-meter run, Masako Chiba finished fifth and Yūko Kawakami finished seventh. The 400-meter relay of men was fifth. The men's 100-meter relay was sixth in Sydney in 2000, Toshinari Takaoka seventh in the 10,000-meter run. For women, the marathon runner Naoko Takahashi achieved her first Olympic athletics victory after the Second World War. Eri Yamaguchi finished seventh.

The athletes of Japan were even more successful in 2004 in Athens. While both men's relays took 4th place, Kōji Murofushi was Olympic champion in hammer throw . In the men's marathon, Shigeru Aburaya took 5th place and Toshinari Suwa took 6th place. In the women's marathon, they won the second Olympic athletics victory in Athens. Mizuki Noguchi won, Reiko Tosa was fifth, Naoko Sakamoto seventh.

In Beijing 2008, the men's 100-meter relay won the silver medal. In walking over 50 kilometers, Yuki Yamazaki reached the goal in 7th place. Defending champion Kōji Murofushi was fifth in a hammer throw in Beijing. In London 2012, the men's 100 meter relay finished fourth. In the marathon, Kentarō Nakamoto finished 6th. Kōji Murofushi won his second medal in hammer throw with bronze.

In 2016, the men's 100-meter relay won the silver medal again. In walking over 50 kilometers, Hirooki Arai won bronze, over 20 kilometers Daisuke Matsunaga was seventh. Pole vaulter Daichi Sawano also took 7th place .

• 

  Kōkichi Tsuburaya crossed the finish line at the 1964 Tokyo Marathon

• 

  Kenji Kimihara, silver 1968

• 

  Kōichi Morishita, silver 1992 (photo from 2012)

• 

  Yuko Arimori, silver 1992, bronze 1996

• 

  Naoko Takahashi, Olympic gold medal in 2000 (photo from 2008)

• 

  Kōji Murofushi, Olympic gold medal in 2004

• 

  Hirooki Arai, bronze 2016

• 

  Finish of the 100-meter relay 2016 (from left to right): Trinidad and Tobago (DSQ), Canada (3), China (4), Japan (2), Jamaica (1), USA (DSQ)

Surname	Games	discipline	annotation
Oda Mikio	1928 Amsterdam	Triple jump	first ever Olympic victory for Japan
Nambu Chuhei	1932 Los Angeles	Triple jump
Son Kitei	1936 Berlin	marathon
Tajima Naoto	1936 Berlin	Triple jump
Naoko Takahashi	2000 Sydney	marathon
Kōji Murofushi	2004 Athens	Hammer throw
Mizuki Noguchi	2004 Athens	marathon

Surname	Games	discipline	annotation
Kinue Hitomi	1928 Amsterdam	800 meters
Nishida Shuhei	1932 Los Angeles	Pole vault
Nishida Shuhei	1936 Berlin	Pole vault
Harada Masao	1936 Berlin	Triple jump
Kenji Kimihara	1968 Mexico City	marathon
Kōichi Morishita	1992 Barcelona	marathon
Yuko Arimori	1992 Barcelona	marathon
Naoki Tsukahara Shingo Suetsugu Shinji Takahira Nobuharu Asahara	2012 London	4 x 100 meter relay
Ryōta Yamagata Shōta Iizuka Yoshihide Kiryū Asuka Cambridge	2016 Rio de Janeiro	4 x 100 meter relay

Surname	Games	discipline	annotation
Nambu Chuhei	1932 Los Angeles	Long jump
Ōshima Kenkichi	1932 Los Angeles	Triple jump
Nan Shōryū	1936 Berlin	marathon
Ōe Sueo	1936 Berlin	Pole vault
Tajima Naoto	1936 Berlin	Long jump
Kōkichi Tsuburaya	1964 Tokyo	marathon
Yuko Arimori	1996 Atlanta	marathon
Kōji Murofushi	2012 London	Hammer throw
Harooki Arai	2016 Rio de Janeiro	50 kilometers of walking

Modern pentathlon

-	-	-

Japanese pentathletes first took part in Rome in 1960. There was no success in this sport. The best placement came in 1968 in Mexico City with 14th place by Yuso Makihira in the individual ranking and 7th place in the team ranking.

Cycling

-	1	3

The first Olympic cyclists in Japan competed in Helsinki in 1952. A first success could only be recorded in 1976 in Montreal. Yoshikazu Cho was sixth in the spring. The first medal was won in 1984. Tsutomu Sakamoto won bronze in the sprint. In 1996 Takanobu Jumonji won bronze in the 1000-meter time trial. In the team sprint, the Japanese men reached 5th place in 2000. In 2004 they won the silver medal. In 2008 the team finished 6th in the Keirin, Kiyofumi Nagai won bronze.

Surname	Games	discipline	annotation
Toshiaki Fushimi Masaki Inoue Tomohiro Nagatsuka	2004 Athens	Team sprint

Surname	Games	discipline	annotation
Tsutomo Sakamoto	1984 Los Angeles	sprint	first medal win
Takanobu Jumonji	1996 Atlanta	1000 meter time trial
Kiyofumi Nagai	2008 Beijing	Keirin

horse riding

1	-	-

The first Japanese equestrian team started in 1928. In 1932 the show jumper Takeichi Nishi won the first medal and Olympic gold medal for a Japanese rider. He won the individual ranking with his horse Uranus . In eventing, Morishige Yamamoto finished in 7th place on Kingo . Further successes were not achieved in the following period, despite constant participation.

Surname	Games	discipline	annotation
Takeichi Nishi on Uranus	1932 Los Angeles	Jumping individual ranking	first medal and Olympic victory
Takanobu Jumonji	1996 Atlanta	1000 meter time trial
Kiyofumi Nagai	2008 Beijing	Keirin

• 

  Takeichi Nishi, Olympic Champion 1932, with his horse Uranus

Wrestling

32	20th	17th

Japanese wrestlers of both styles have been represented at the Olympic Games since 1924. The first time they participated, they won their first medal. Won freestyle featherweight. 28 years later, in Helsinki in 1952, the first Olympic victory was achieved. Shōhachi Ishii won the bantamweight freestyle tournament. In the flyweight division, Yūshū Kitano won silver. In 1956 the freestyle wrestlers Shōzō Sasahara were featherweight and Mitsuo Ikeda were welterweight Olympic champions. Shigeru Kasahara won silver in the lightweight .

In 1960 in Rome, the freestyle wrestler Masayuki Matsubara was the only Japanese medalist. He won silver in the flyweight division. Five Olympic victories and one bronze medal were recorded at the 1964 domestic summer games. Two Olympic champions fought in the Greco-Roman style: Tsutomu Hanahara in the flyweight and Masamitsu Ichiguchi in the bantamweight. In freestyle, Yoshikatsu Yoshida were flyweight, Yōjirō Uetake in bantamweight and Osamu Watanabe in featherweight Olympic champions. in the lightweight Iwao Horiuchi won bronze.

The successful Japanese streak continued in 1968 with four Olympic victories and one silver medal. Munji Munemura won the lightweight in the Greco-Roman style. In the featherweight division, Hideo Fujimoto won silver. In the freestyle were Shigeo Nakata in flyweight, defending champion Yōjirō Uetake in bantamweight and Masaaki Kaneko in featherweight Olympic champions.

The 1972 Munich tournament brought two gold and two silver medals. The Olympic champions came from freestyle. Kiyomi Kato won the flyweight tournament, Hideaki Yanagida the bantamweight tournament. Kikuo Wada won silver in the lightweight. Koichiro Hirayama also won silver in the Greco-Roman style flyweight.

Also in 1976 the Japanese wrestlers won two Olympic freestyle victories. Yūji Takada won the flyweight tournament, Jiichirō Date the welterweight tournament. There were also bronze medals from Akira Kudo in the light flyweight division, Masao Arai in the bantamweight division and Sugawara Yasaburo in the lightweight division. In the Greco-Roman style, Koichiro Hirayama was able to win bronze in the flyweight again.

In 1984 the two Olympic champions came from both styles. In the Greco-Roman style, Atsuji Miyahara became Olympic flyweight champion. Masaki Eto won silver in bantamweight, bronze went to Ikuzo Saito in light flyweight. In freestyle, Hideaki Tomiyama was Olympic bantamweight champion. Silver went to Takashi Irie light flyweight, Kōsei Akaishi featherweight, Hideyuki Nagashima middleweight and Akira Ōta light heavyweight. Yūji Takada won bronze flyweight.

1988 in Seoul the freestyle wrestlers Takashi Kobayashi in the light flyweight and Mitsuru Satō in the flyweight Olympic champions. Akira Ōta won silver for the second time in the light heavyweight division. In the Greco-Roman style, defending champion Atsuji Miyahara won silver in the flyweight division. The tournaments of 1992 were a disappointment for the successful Japanese. Only Kōsei Akaishi was able to win a bronze medal in the lightweight freestyle. In 1996 the yield was no better. Takuya Ōta was the only medalist with bronze in the welterweight freestyle. 2000 in Sydney it was enough for a silver medal in Greco-Roman style by Katsuhiko Nagata in the welterweight division.

From 2004 women also took part in the wrestling tournaments in freestyle. They made for the first Olympic victories in 16 years. Olympic champions were Saori Yoshida in the lightweight and Kaori Icho in the middleweight division. Kaori's sister Chiharu won silver in the flyweight division, Kyōko Hamaguchi took bronze in the heavyweight division. In the men's category , the freestyle wrestler Chikara Tanabe won bronze in the featherweight division and Kenji Inoue won bronze in the lightweight division.

There was a curiosity in the women's tournament in Beijing in 2008. All four medalists from 2004 won exactly the same medals in 2008. In the men's category, freestyle wrestlers Tomohiro Matsunaga won silver in the featherweight division and Ken'ichi Yumoto won bronze in the lightweight division. Saori Yoshida and Kaori Ichō became Olympic champions in their weight classes for the third time in a row in 2012. Hitomi Obara won the flyweight division. There was also an Olympic champion among men: Tatsuhiro Yonemitsu in the lightweight freestyle. Shin'ichi Yumoto , twin brother of Ken'ichi Yumoto, won bronze in the featherweight freestyle . Ryūtarō Matsumoto also won bronze in the lightweight of the Greco-Roman style.

In 2016 in Rio de Janeiro, the women achieved four Olympic victories. Eri Tosaka won the flyweight division and Kaori Ichō for the fourth time in a row. This makes her the most successful wrestler in Japan at the Olympic Games. Risako Kawai was middleweight and Sara Doshō was Olympic champion in light heavyweight . Saori Yoshida lost her featherweight final and became the second most successful female wrestler in Japan with the silver medal. The men won two silver medals with Shinobu Ōta in the Greco-Roman featherweight and Rei Higuchi in the freestyle featherweight.

Surname	Games	discipline	annotation
Shōhachi Ishii	1952 Helsinki	Bantamweight, freestyle	first Olympic victory
Shōzō Sasahara	1956 Melbourne	Featherweight, freestyle
Mitsuo Ikeda	1956 Melbourne	Welterweight, freestyle
Tsutomu Hanahara	1964 Tokyo	Flyweight, Greco-Roman
Masamitsu Ichiguchi	1964 Tokyo	Bantamweight, Greco-Roman
Yoshikatsu Yoshida	1964 Tokyo	Flyweight, freestyle
Yōjirō Uetake	1964 Tokyo	Bantamweight, freestyle
Osamu Watanabe	1964 Tokyo	Featherweight, freestyle
Munji Munemura	1968 Mexico City	Lightweight, Greco-Roman
Shigeo Nakata	1968 Mexico City	Flyweight, freestyle
Yōjirō Uetake	1968 Mexico City	Bantamweight, freestyle
Masaaki Kaneko	1968 Mexico City	Featherweight, freestyle
Kiyomi Kato	1972 Munich	Flyweight, freestyle
Hideaki Yanagida	1972 Munich	Bantamweight, freestyle
Yūji Takada	1976 Montreal	Flyweight, freestyle
Jiichirō date	1976 Montreal	Welterweight, freestyle
Atsuji Miyahara	1984 Los Angeles	Flyweight, Greco-Roman
Hideaki Tomiyama	1984 Los Angeles	Bantamweight, freestyle
Takashi Kobayashi	1988 Seoul	Light flyweight, freestyle
Mitsuru Satō	1988 Seoul	Flyweight, freestyle
Saori Yoshida	2004 Athens	Lightweight, freestyle
Kaori Icho	2004 Athens	Middleweight, freestyle
Saori Yoshida	2008 Beijing	Lightweight, freestyle
Kaori Icho	2008 Beijing	Middleweight, freestyle
Tatsuhiro Yonemitsu	2012 London	Welterweight, freestyle
Hitomi Obara	2012 London	Flyweight, freestyle
Saori Yoshida	2012 London	Lightweight, freestyle
Kaori Icho	2012 London	Middleweight, freestyle
Eri Tosaka	2016 Rio de Janeiro	Flyweight, freestyle
Kaori Icho	2016 Rio de Janeiro	Lightweight, freestyle
Risako Kawai	2016 Rio de Janeiro	Middleweight, freestyle
Sara Doshō	2016 Rio de Janeiro	Middleweight, freestyle

Surname	Games	discipline	annotation
Yushu Kitano	1952 Helsinki	Flyweight, freestyle
Shigeru Kasahara	1956 Melbourne	Lightweight, freestyle
Masayuki Matsubara	1960 Rome	Flyweight, freestyle
Hideo Fujimoto	1968 Mexico City	Featherweight, Greco-Roman
Koichiro Hirayama	1972 Munich	Flyweight, Greco-Roman
Kikuo Wada	1972 Munich	Lightweight, freestyle
Masaki Eto	1984 Los Angeles	Bantamweight, Greco-Roman
Takashi Irie	1984 Los Angeles	Light flyweight, freestyle
Kōsei Akaishi	1984 Los Angeles	Featherweight, freestyle
Hideyuki Nagashima	1984 Los Angeles	Middleweight, freestyle
Akira Ōta	1984 Los Angeles	Light heavyweight, freestyle
Atsuji Miyahara	1988 Seoul	Flyweight, Greco-Roman
Akira Ōta	1988 Seoul	Light heavyweight, freestyle
Katsuhiko Nagata	2000 Sydney	Greterweight, Greco-Roman
Chiharu Icho	2004 Athens	Flyweight, freestyle
Tomohiro Matsunaga	2008 Beijing	Featherweight, freestyle
Chiharu Icho	2008 Beijing	Flyweight, freestyle
Shinobu Ōta	2016 Rio de Janeiro	Featherweight, Greco-Roman
Rei Higuchi	2016 Rio de Janeiro	Featherweight, freestyle
Saori Yoshida	2016 Rio de Janeiro	Featherweight, freestyle

1 is missing

Surname	Games	discipline	annotation
Naitō Katsutoshi	1924 Paris	Featherweight, freestyle	first medal win
Iwao Horiuchi	1964 Tokyo	Lightweight, freestyle
Koichiro Hirayama	1976 Montreal	Flyweight, Greco-Roman
Akira Kudo	1976 Montreal	Light flyweight, freestyle
Masao Arai	1976 Montreal	Bantamweight, freestyle
Sugawara Yasaburo	1976 Montreal	Lightweight, freestyle
Ikuzo Saito	1984 Los Angeles	Light flyweight, Greco-Roman
Yūji Takada	1984 Los Angeles	Flyweight, freestyle
Kōsei Akaishi	1992 Barcelona	Lightweight, freestyle
Takuya Ōta	1996 Atlanta	Welterweight, freestyle
Chikara Tanabe	2004 Athens	Featherweight, freestyle
Kenji Inoue	2004 Athens	Lightweight, freestyle
Kyōko Hamaguchi	2004 Athens	Heavyweight, freestyle
Ken'ichi Yumoto	2008 Beijing	Lightweight, freestyle
Kyōko Hamaguchi	2008 Beijing	Heavyweight, freestyle
Ryūtaro Matsumoto	2012 London	Lightweight, Greco-Roman
Shin'ichi Yumoto	2012 London	Featherweight, freestyle

• 

  Shōzō Sasahara, Olympic champion 1956

• 

  Mitsuo Ikeda, Olympic champion 1956

• 

  Two Olympic champions from 1964: left Tsutomu Hanahara, right Masamitsu Ichiguchi

• 

  Yoshikatsu Yoshida, Olympic gold medal in 1964

• 

  Osamu Watanabe, Olympic gold medal in 1964

• 

  Award ceremony 1968: in the middle Olympic champion Masaaki Kaneko

• 

  Hideaki Yanagida, 1972 Olympic champion, on a postage stamp from the Emirate of Ajman

• 

  Yūji Takada, Olympic gold medal in 1976

• 

  Jiichirō Date, Olympic gold medal in 1976

• 

  Atsuji Miyahara, Olympic victory 1984, bronze 1988 (photo from 2007)

• 

  Saori Yoshida, Olympic victory in 2004, 2008 and 2012, silver in 2016

• 

  Kyōko Hamaguchi, bronze 2004 and 2008

• 

  Tatsuhiro Yonemitsu, Olympic gold medal in 2012

• 

  Award ceremony 2012, far right with bronze Ryūtarō Matsumoto

• 

  Eri Tosaka, Olympic victory in 2016

• 

  Sara Doshō, Olympic victory 2016

• 

  Rei Higuchi, silver 2016

rowing

-	-	-

Japanese rowers have been taking part in Olympic regattas since 1928. Rowing is one of the few sports in which Japan was unsuccessful and thus without winning a medal. The men's lightweight double scull achieved the best placement with 6th place in 2000 in Sydney and 2004 in Athens.

Rugby Sevens

-	-	-

In 2016 rugby sevens became an Olympic sport. Japan had qualified with both a women's and a men's team. With two wins and one defeat, the men finished the preliminary round in 2nd place. In the quarterfinals, France was defeated 12: 7. The semi-final against the eventual Olympic champions from Fiji was lost with 5:20, and the game for the bronze medal was lost with 14:54 against South Africa. This was the biggest loss of a team in the men's tournament. The women could not win any of their preliminary round matches and were bottom of the group. In the placement round, Kenya was beaten 24-0. The game for 9th place was lost 5:33 against hosts Brazil.

shoot

1	2	3

In 1952 in Helsinki a Japanese marksman took part for the first time. In 1956, Choji Hosaka finished fourth with the free pistol. Yoshihisa Yoshikawa won Japan's first Olympic medal in shooting with the bronze free pistol in 1960. Yukio Inokuma reached 6th place with the small bore rifle in the prone position. In 1964, Yoshihisa repeated his bronze medal with the free pistol. With the small bore rifle in the prone position, Akihiro Rinzaki came in 6th.

20 years later, in 1984 in Los Angeles, Takeo Kamachi became the first Japanese Olympic shooting champion with the rapid fire pistol. Michiko Hasegawa won silver with the sport pistol in 1988. Kazumi Watanabe finished sixth in the trap shooting. In 1992 Watanabe won silver. Ryōhei Koba won a bronze medal in the three-position battle with the small-bore rifle. In 1996 Yoshiko Kira took 6th place in the women's double trap.

2000 Michiko Hasagawa achieved two fifth places with the sports pistol and with the air pistol. Yōko Inada took 7th place with the sport pistol and 8th place with the air pistol. In 2004, Megumi Inoue was fifth in the women's double trap and Taeko Takeba was eighth in the women's trap. In 2008, Yukie Nakayama was ranked 4th in the women's trap.

Surname	Games	discipline	annotation
Takeo Kamachi	1984 Los Angeles	Rapid fire pistol	first Olympic victory

Surname	Games	discipline	annotation
Michiko Hasegawa	1988 Seoul	Sport pistol
Kazumi Watanabe	1992 Barcelona	Trap

Surname	Games	discipline	annotation
Yoshihisa Yoshikawa	1960 Rome	free gun	first medal win
Yoshihisa Yoshikawa	1964 Tokyo	free gun
Ryōhei Koba	1992 Barcelona	Small bore rifle, three position combat

swim

22nd	30th	42

Japan is one of the leading nations in swimming. Japanese swimmers have been at the Olympic Games since 1920. Katsuo Takaishi achieved the first finals in Paris in 1924. In the 100 and 1500 meters freestyle, he was fifth each. The 200-meter freestyle relay took fourth place.

In 1928, Tsuruta Yoshiyuki won Japan's first swimming medal , and at the same time he became the first Japanese swimming Olympic champion when he won the 200-meter chest. Katsuo Takaishi won bronze in the 100 meter freestyle, and the 200 meter freestyle relay won silver. Toshio Irie came fourth over 100 meters back.

In Los Angeles in 1932 the Japanese presented five Olympic champions, all of them men. Over 100 and over 1500 meters freestyle and over 200 meters chest there were double victories, over 100 meters back even a total Japanese triumph. Miyazaki Yasuji won gold in the 100 meter freestyle . Silver went to Tatsugo Kawaishi, Zenjiro Takahashi was fifth. Over the 1500 meter freestyle, Kusuo Kitamura won gold at the age of 14 before Makino Shozo. Kusuo Kitamura is the youngest swimming Olympic champion to date. Tsuruta Yoshiyuki was able to defend his Olympic victory over 200 meters chest, he won before Koike Reizō. Masaji Kiyokawa won over 100 meters back in front of Toshio Irie and Kentaro Kawatsu. The men's 200-meter freestyle relay achieved their fifth Olympic victory. In the 400 meter freestyle, Tsutomu Oyokota won bronze, Yokoyama Takashi was fourth and Noboru Sugimoto was fifth. In the women’s category , Hedeko Maehata won silver over 200 meters breasts. The 100-meter freestyle relay took 5th place.

The Japanese were also successful in 1936 with four Olympic victories. The men's 200-meter freestyle relay was able to defend its title. Noboru Terada won the 1500 meter freestyle , Shunpei Uto won bronze, Sunao Ishiharada came fourth. Hamuro Tetsuo won over 200 meters breaststroke, Koike Reizō won bronze, Saburo Ito came fifth. The fourth Olympic victory was achieved by Hideko Maehata over 200 meters breast, making her the first Japanese woman to become Olympic champion. In the 100 meter freestyle race, Yusa Masanori took silver and Arai Shigeo bronze, Taguchi Masaharu came fourth. Over 400 meters freestyle Shunpei Uto won silver and Makino Shōzō bronze, Hiroshi Negami was fifth. The Olympic champion from Los Angeles, Masaji Kiyokawa, won bronze over 100 meters back. Kiichi Yoshida was fifth, Yasuhiko Kojima sixth. In the women's category, Kazue Kojima was sixth in the 400 meter freestyle.

• 

  Tsuruta Yoshiyuki, Olympic champion 1928

• 

  Double Olympic champion in 1932

• 

  Kuzuo Kitamura, Olympic champion 1932

• 

  Yusa Masanori, Olympic champion in 1932 and 1936

• 

  Masaji Kiyokawa, Olympic champion 1932, bronze 1936

• 

  Koike Reizō, silver 1932, bronze 1936

• 

  Three medals for Japan 1932 (from left to right): Kentaro Kawatsu (bronze), Toshio Irie (silver) and Masaji Kiyokawa (gold)

• 

  Tatsugo Kawaishi, silver 1932

• 

  Makino Shōzō, silver 1932, bronze 1936

• 

  Tsutomu Oyokota, bronze 1932

• 

  Hideko Maehata, silver 1932, Olympic champion 1936

• 

  Award ceremony 1500 m freestyle 1936: middle Noboru Terada with gold, right Shunpei Uto with bronze

• 

  Award ceremony 200 m chest 1936: middle Hamuro Tetsuo with gold, right Koike Reizō with bronze

• 

  The Japanese gold season from 1936 (from left to right): Shigeo Sugiura, Masanori Yusa, Arai Shigeo, Taguchi Masaharu

There were no Olympic victories in Helsinki in 1952. The Japanese swimming team won three silver medals. The medal winners were Hiroshi Suzuki over 100 meters freestyle with Toru Goto in 4th place, Shiro Hashizume over 1,500 meters freestyle with Yasuo Kitamura in 6th place and the men's 200-meter freestyle relay. Nobuyasu Hirayama took 4th place, Takayoshi Kajikawa 5th place and Jiro Nagasawa 6th place over 200 meters chest.

The first Olympic victory in swimming after World War II was achieved in 1956 by Masaru Furukawa over 200 meters chest. With silver, Masahiro Yoshimura ensured a Japanese double victory. Tsuyoshi Yamanaka won two silver medals, one over 400 meters freestyle and another over 1500 meters freestyle. Takashi Ishimoto swam over 200 meters of dolphin to silver. The 200-meter freestyle relay reached fourth place.

Three silver and two bronze medals were won in 1960. Silver again went to Tsuyoshi Yamanaka in the 400 meter freestyle, and he finished fourth in the 1500 meters. Yoshihiko Osaki won silver over the 200-meter chest, and the 200-meter freestyle relay also took silver. The men’s medley relay won bronze, as did Satoko Tanaka over 100 meters back for women.

The swimming competitions in 1964 were very disappointing for the host country Japan. Only the men's 200-meter freestyle relay won a bronze medal. The 100-meter freestyle relay came fourth, the individual layer relay fifth. In the individual races, Shigeo Fukushima took fourth place over 200 meters in the back of the men. Satoko Tanaka achieved the same placement in the women over 100 meters back.

The Japanese swimmers returned from swimming competitions in 1968 without winning a medal. The 100-meter freestyle relay came in fifth. Satoshi Maruya also reached 5th place over 100 meters dolphin. In the women's 100 meter freestyle relay, it was sixth. Yoshimi Nishigawa was fifth in the 200 meter medley, Kiyou Nakagawa sixth in the 100 meter chest.

In 1972 in Munich, after a 16-year break, two Olympic victories were achieved. Nobutaka Taguchi won over 100 meters chest in the men. He also won the bronze medal over 200 meters. In the women's category , Mayumi Aoki was Olympic champion over 100 meters dolphin. Over 200 meters, Aoki finished eighth, her teammate Noriko Asano fifth. Both tier relays finished their races in 6th place. Participation in 1976 was again disappointing. As the best placement, two seventh places jumped out through the women's medley relay and through Hideaki Hara over 100 meters dolphin of the men.

In 1984 the synchronized swimmers won medals. Miwako Motoyoshi won bronze in solo and together with Saeko Kimura bronze in duet. Among the lane swimmers, there were only top placements in the women's competitions. Hiroko Nagasaki was fourth over 200 meters chest and sixth over 100 meters. Naoko Kume was also sixth over the 200 meter dolphin. The women's tier was seventh. In 1988 an Olympic victory could be celebrated. Daichi Suzuki won over 100 meters back. The men's tier was fifth. In the women’s category, Kiyomi Takahashi was sixth in the 200 meter dolphin. In synchronized swimming, as in 1984, there was bronze in both disciplines by Mikako Kotani in an individual and Kotani with partner Miyako Tanaka in a duet.

In 1992 in Barcelona Kyōko Iwasaki was Olympic champion over 200 meters breast. Suzu Chiba came in 6th in the 200 meter freestyle. Mika Haruna was fourth over 200 meters dolphin and Rie Shito fifth. Hideko Hiranaka reached 5th place over 400 meters medley, Eri Kimura 7th place. In the men's category, Hajime Itoi took 4th place over 200 meters back and Akira Hayashi 4th place over 100 meters chest. Over 200 meters dolphin, Keiichi Kawanaka took 5th place. For the third time in a row, the synchronized swimmers won two bronze medals, this time by Fumiko Okuno in an individual and with her partner Aki Takayama in a duet.

1996 in Atlanta the lane swimmers could not win a medal. In the men’s race, Masato Hirano was sixth in the 1500 meter freestyle and Hajime Itoi fifth over 200 meters back. The men’s layer relay also came in fifth. The women’s 100-meter freestyle relay came fourth. Mai Nakamura was also fourth over 100 meters back. Miki Nakao took fifth place over 200 meters back and Masami Tanaka over 200 meters chest. Hitomi Kashima was fourth and Ayari Aoyama sixth over 100 meters dolphin. Group competition was introduced in synchronized swimming. The Japanese team won bronze.

At the swimming competitions in Sydney 2000, the lane swimmers won four medals. Mai Nakamura won silver over the 100 meter back with Noriko Inada in 5th place, Miki Nakao bronze over the 200 meter distance with Tomoko Hagiwara in 4th place. Yasuko Tashima also won silver in the 400 meter medley. The women's tier relay won bronze. Masami Tanaka took 6th place over 100 meters chest and 7th place over 200 meters. Junko Onichi also took sixth place over 100 meters dolphin. There were only two top placements for men. Kōsuke Kitajima was fourth over 100 meters chest, Takashi Yamamoto came fifth over 100 meters dolphin. The Japanese team won silver in synchronized swimming. There was also silver in the duet with Miya Tachibana and Miho Takeda.

Breaststroke Kōsuke Kitajima was a double Olympic champion in Athens in 2004. He won over 100 and 200 meters chest and took bronze with the individual relay relay. Takashi Yamamoto won the 200 meter dolphin silver, Tomomi Morita won the 100 meter back bronze. He finished fifth over the 200 meter distance. Morita and Yamamoto were also members of the bronze relay. In the women's category, Ai Shibata won the 800 meter freestyle, she was fifth over 400 meters and Sachiko Yamada sixth. Reiko Nakamura won bronze over 200 meters back, over 100 meters she was fourth, as did Masaki Tanaka over 200 meters chest. Another bronze medal won Yūko Nakanishi over 200 meters dolphin. The women's single layer coffee was fifth. As in 2000, the synchronized swimmers won silver with the team, as did Miya Tachibana and Miho Takeda in a duet.

Kitajima was able to defend his Olympic victories in Beijing in 2008. He also won bronze again with the tier relay. Takeshi Matsuda also won a bronze medal in the 200 meter dolphin. Takuro Fujii finished sixth over 100 meters. Ryosuke Irie reached fifth place over 200 meters back and Ken Takakuwa over 200 meters medley. In the women’s category, Reiko Nakamura repeated her bronze medal over 200 meters back, she finished 6th over 100 meters. Yūko Nakanishi was fifth over 200 meters dolphin, Asami Kitagawa sixth over 200 meters medley. The women's medley relay was also sixth, the 100-meter freestyle relay seventh. This time, the synchronized swimmers could only contribute a bronze medal from Saho Harada and Emiko Suzuki . The team reached rank 6.

In 2012 in London, the Japanese swimming team remained without an Olympic victory. However, three silver and eight bronze medals could be won. In the men's race, Ryōsuke Irie won over 200 meters back with Kazuki Watanabe in 6th place and the silver medal relay. Bronze won Ryōsuke Irie over 100 meters back, Takeshi Matsuda over 200 meters dolphin and Kōsuke Hagino over 400 meters medley with Yuya Horihata in 6th place. Over 200 meter medley Hagino was fifth, Ken Takakuwa sixth. Ryo Tateishi also won bronze in the 200-meter chest. Here, the defending champion Kitajima was fourth, over 100 meters he was fifth. In the women’s race, Satomi Suzuki won silver over 200 meters breast and bronze over the 100 meter distance. Aya Terakawa won further bronze medals over 100 meters back, Natsumi Hoshi over 200 meters dolphin and the individual relay. The synchronized swimmers went empty-handed in London. Both the team and the duo Yukiko Inui and Chisa Kobayashi finished fifth.

There were two Olympic victories in 2016 in Rio de Janeiro. Kosuke Hagino won gold over the 400-meter course after silver in the 200-meter medley. Daiya Seto took bronze. Over 200 meters, Hiromasa Fujimasa took fourth place. Masato Sakai won silver in the 200 meters dolphin, Daiya Seto was fifth. In the breaststroke, Yasuhiro Koseki took 5th place over 200 meters, Ippei Watanabe came in sixth. Koseki reached 6th place over 100 meters. The men's individual relay was fifth, the 200-meter freestyle relay won bronze. In the women's category, Rie Kaneto was Olympic champion over 200 meters breast. As in 2012, Natsumi Hoshi won bronze over the 200 meter dolphin. Over 100 meters, Rikako Ikee took 5th place. In synchronized swimming, the team won bronze, as did the duo Yukiko Inui and Risako Mitsui.

• 

  Masaru Furukawa, Olympic champion 1956

• 

  Tsuyoshi Yamanaka right after the 400 meter freestyle race in 1960 framed by the two Australians Murray Rose (gold) and on the right John Konrads (bronze)

• 

  Nobutaka Taguchi, Olympic victory and bronze 1972

• 

  Mayumi Aoki, Olympic champion in 1972

• 

  Daichi Suzuki, 1988 Olympic champion

• 

  Kōsuke Kitajima, double Olympic champion in 2004 and 2008

• 

  Takeshi Matsuda, bronze 2008, 2012 and 2016

• 

  Ryōsuke Irie, silver and bronze 2012

Surname	Games	discipline	annotation
Tsuruta Yoshiyuki	1928 Amsterdam	200 meters chest	first medal and Olympic victory
Miyazaki Yasuji	1932 Los Angeles	100 meters freestyle
Kuzuo Kitamura	1932 Los Angeles	1500 meters freestyle
Masaji Kiyokawa	1932 Los Angeles	100 meters back
Tsuruta Yoshiyuki	1932 Los Angeles	200 meters chest
Miyazaki Yasuji Yusa Masanori Yokoyama Takashi Toyoda Hisakichi	1932 Los Angeles	200 meter freestyle relay
Noboru Terada	1936 Berlin	1500 meters freestyle
Hamuro Tetsuo	1936 Berlin	200 meters chest
Yusa Masanori Shigeo Sugiura Taguchi Masaharu Arai Shigeo	1936 Berlin	200 meter freestyle relay
Hideko Maehata	1936 Berlin	200 meters chest
Masaru Furukawa	1956 Melbourne	200 meters chest
Nobutaka Taguchi	1972 Munich	100 meters chest
Mayumi Aoki	1972 Munich	100 meters dolphin
Daichi Suzuki	1988 Seoul	100 meters back
Kyōko Iwasaki	1992 Barcelona	200 meters chest
Kosuke Kitajima	2004 Athens	100 meters chest
Kosuke Kitajima	2004 Athens	200 meters chest
Ai Shibata	2004 Athens	800 meters freestyle
Kosuke Kitajima	2008 Beijing	100 meters chest
Kosuke Kitajima	2008 Beijing	200 meters chest
Kosuke Hagino	2016 Rio de Janeiro	400 meter locations
Rie Kaneto	2016 Rio de Janeiro	200 meters chest

Surname	Games	discipline	annotation
Hiroshi Yoneyama Nobuo Arai Tokuhei Sata Katsuo Takaishi Kazuo Noda	1928 Amsterdam	200 meter freestyle relay
Tatsugo Kawaishi	1932 Los Angeles	100 meters freestyle
Makino Shozo	1932 Los Angeles	1500 meters freestyle
Toshio Irie	1932 Los Angeles	100 meters back
Koike Reizō	1932 Los Angeles	200 meters chest
Hideko Meahata	1932 Los Angeles	200 meters chest
Yusa Masanori	1936 Berlin	100 meters freestyle
Shunpei Uto	1936 Berlin	400 meters freestyle
Hiroshi Suzuki	1952 Helsinki	100 meters freestyle
Shiro Hashizume	1952 Helsinki	1500 meters freestyle
Hiroshi Suzuki Yoshihiro Hamaguchi Toru Goto Teijiro Tanikawa	1952 Helsinki	200 meter freestyle relay
Tsuyoshi Yamanaka	1956 Melbourne	400 meters freestyle
Tsuyoshi Yamanaka	1956 Melbourne	1500 meters freestyle
Masahiro Yoshimura	1956 Melbourne	200 meters chest
Takashi Ishimoto	1956 Melbourne	200 meters dolphin
Tsuyoshi Yamanaka	1960 Rome	400 meters freestyle
Yoshihiko Osaki	1960 Rome	200 meters chest
Makoto Fukui Hiroshi Ishii Tsuyoshi Yamanaka Tatsuo Fujimoto	1960 Rome	200 meter freestyle relay
Mai Nakamura	2000 Sydney	100 meters back
Yasuko Tajima	2000 Sydney	400 meter locations
Miya Tachibana Miho Takeda	2000 Sydney	Synchron duet
Synchronized swimming national team	2000 Sydney	Synchronous group
Takashi Yamamoto	2004 Athens	800 meters freestyle
Miya Tachibana Miho Takeda	2004 Athens	Synchron duet
Synchronized swimming national team	2004 Athens	Synchronous group
Sun Yang	2012 London	200 meters freestyle
Ryosuke Irie	2012 London	200 meters back
Ryōsuke Irie Kōsuke Kitajima Takeshi Matsuda Takuro Fujii	2012 London	100-meter layer relay
Satomi Suzuki	2012 London	200 meters chest
Xu Jiayu	2016 Rio de Janeiro	100 meters back
Masato Sakai	2016 Rio de Janeiro	200 meters dolphin
Kosuke Hagino	2016 Rio de Janeiro	200 meter locations

Surname	Games	discipline	annotation
Katsuo Takaishi	1928 Amsterdam	100 meters freestyle
Tsutomu Oyokota	1932 Los Angeles	400 meters freestyle
Kentaro Kawatsu	1932 Los Angeles	100 meters back
Arai Shigeo	1936 Berlin	100 meters freestyle
Makino Shozo	1936 Berlin	400 meters freestyle
Shunpei Uto	1936 Berlin	1500 meters freestyle
Masaji Kiyokawa	1936 Berlin	100 meters back
Koike Reizō	1936 Berlin	200 meters chest
Kazuo Tomita Koichi Hirakida Yoshihiko Osaki Keigo Shimizu Kazuo Watanabe Katsuki Ishihara	1960 Rome	100-meter layer relay
Satoko Tanaka	1960 Rome	100 meters back
Tsuyoshi Yamanaka Makoto Fukui Kunihiro Iwasaki Toshio Shoji Yukiaki Okabe	1964 Tokyo	200 meter freestyle relay
Nobutaka Taguchi	1972 Munich	200 meters chest
Miwako Motoyoshi	1984 Los Angeles	Synchronous solo
Miwako Motoyoshi Saeko Kimura	1984 Los Angeles	Synchron duet
Mikako Kotani	1988 Seoul	Synchronous solo
Mikako Kotani Miyako Tanaka	1988 Seoul	Synchron duet
Fumiko Okuno	1992 Barcelona	Synchronous solo
Fumiko Okuno Aki Takayama	1992 Barcelona	Synchron duet
Synchronized swimming national team	1996 Atlanta	Team evaluation
Miki Nakao	2000 Sydney	200 meters chest
Mai Nakamura Masami Tanaka Junko Onichi Sumika Minamoto	2000 Sydney	100-meter layer relay
Tomomi Morita	2004 Athens	100 meters back
Kōsuke Kitajima Tomomi Morita Yoshihiro Okumura Takashi Yamamoto	2004 Athens	100-meter layer relay
Reiko Nakamura	2004 Athens	200 meters back
Yūko Nakanishi	2004 Athens	200 meters dolphin
Takeshi Matsuda	2008 Beijing	200 meters dolphin
Jun'ichi Miyashita Kōsuke Kitajima Takuro Fujii Hisayoshi Satō	2008 Beijing	100-meter layer relay
Reiko Nakamura	2008 Beijing	200 meters back
Saho Harada Emiko Suzuki	2008 Beijing	Synchron duet
Ryosuke Irie	2012 London	100 meters back
Ryo Tateishi	2012 London	200 meters chest
Takeshi Matsuda	2012 London	200 meters dolphin
Kosuke Hagino	2012 London	400 meter locations
Aya Terakawa	2012 London	100 meters back
Satomi Suzuki	2012 London	100 meters chest
Natsumi Hoshi	2012 London	200 meters dolphin
Aya Terakawa Satomi Suzuki Yuka Katō Haruka Ueda	2012 London	100-meter layer relay
Daiya Sato	2016 Rio de Janeiro	400 meter locations
Kosuke Hagino Naito Ehara Yuko Kobori Takeshi Matsuda	2016 Rio de Janeiro	200 meter freestyle relay
Natsumi Hoshi	2016 Rio de Janeiro	200 meters dolphin
Yukiko Inui Risako Mitsui	2016 Rio de Janeiro	Synchron duet
Synchronized swimming national team	2016 Rio de Janeiro	Team evaluation

sailing

-	1	1

Japanese sailors took part in Olympic sailing regattas for the first time in 1936. However, the first successes came in 1992. Here, the women's 470 took fifth place. In 1996, the boat won the first Japanese medal in sailing when the regatta finished in second place with the silver medal. In 2000 the boat reached 8th place. In 2004, the men's 470 won bronze. In 2008 the boat took 7th place. In 2016, the women's 470 reached 5th place.

Surname	Games	discipline	annotation
Yumiko Shige Alicia Kinoshita	1996 Atlanta	470s	first medal win

Surname	Games	discipline	annotation
Kazuto Seki Kenjirō Todoroki	2004 Athens	470s

Softball

1	1	1

In 1996 in Atlanta, softball was part of the Olympic sports for the first time. The Japanese team won five of their preliminary round games and finished fourth. At the 2000 tournament, the team won all of their preliminary round games. As in the preliminary round, Australia was defeated 1-0 in the semi-finals. The final against the USA was lost 2-1 after a 2-1 win in the preliminary round.

Four wins and three defeats meant third place in the 2004 preliminary round. In the semifinals, China was defeated 1-0. The bronze match against Australia was lost 3-0. In 2008, the team achieved six wins in seven games in the preliminary round. The finals were played in the page playoff system . As group runner-up, Japan played the second semi-finals against the USA and lost 4-1. In the final round Australia was defeated 4: 3, which Japan had qualified for the final against the USA. After two defeats (they lost 7-0 in the first round), Japan surprisingly defeated the USA 3-1 and became Olympic champion in the last Olympic softball tournament for the time being.

Surname	Games	discipline	annotation
National softball team	2008 Beijing	Women's tournament	first medal win

Surname	Games	discipline	annotation
National softball team	2000 Sydney	Women's tournament	first medal win

Surname	Games	discipline	annotation
National softball team	2004 Athens	Women's tournament

Taekwondo

-	-	1

Taekwondo was first performed at the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney. Yoriko Okamoto won bronze in the women's welterweight division, making her the first and so far only Japanese medal in Taekwondo.

Surname	Games	discipline	annotation
Yoriko Okamoto	2000 Sydney	Welterweight	first medal win

tennis

-	2	1

Japanese tennis players competed in the Olympic Games as early as 1920 in Antwerp. A tennis player was also the first Japanese to win an Olympic medal. Kumagai Ichiya won silver in the singles. He also won silver in doubles with Kashio Seiichirō .

At the 1992 tournament, Naoko Sawamatsu failed in the first round in three sets against the German Anke Huber in the women's singles . In 1996, Ai Sugiyama beat Swiss Martina Hingis in two sets in the second round , but then failed in the second round. In 2004 the women's doubles Ai Sugiyama and Shinobu Asagoe advanced to the semi-finals. They lost in two sets against the Spaniards Conchita Martínez and Virginia Ruano Pascual . The bronze match against Paola Suárez and Patricia Tarabini from Argentina was also lost in two sets.

In 2008, Kei Nishikori was eliminated in the first round of the men's singles against Rainer Schüttler in three sets. In 2012, the men's doubles Kei Nishikori and Gō Soeda failed in the first round in three sets against the Swiss duo Roger Federer and Stan Wawrinka .

After 96 years, Kei Nishikori was able to win a tennis medal for Japan again in 2016 in Rio de Janeiro with bronze in the men's singles. Nishikori had made it to the semifinals, in which he was defeated by the eventual Olympic champion Andy Murray in two sets . In the bronze medal match, he then beat the Spaniard Rafael Nadal in three sets.

Surname	Games	discipline	annotation
Kumagai Ichiya	1920 Antwerp	Men's singles	Japan's first ever medal win
Kumagai Ichiya Kashio Seiichirō	1920 Antwerp	Men's doubles

Surname	Games	discipline	annotation
Kei Nishikori	2016 Rio de Janeiro	Men's singles

• 

  Kumagai Ichiya won two silver medals in 1920 and was the first Japanese ever to win an Olympic medal

• 

  Ai Sugiyama

• 

  Kei Nishikori, bronze 2016

Table tennis

-	2	2

Jun Mizutani, bronze 2016

In table tennis, an Olympic sport since 1988, Japan has been participating since it was first held. In the men's singles of 1988 Yoshihito Miyazaki met the German Jörg Roßkopf in the preliminary round and lost in five sets. In the men's doubles, the duo Kiyoshi Saitō and Takehiro Watanabe lost to the German doubles Jörg Roßkopf and Steffen Fetzner in two sets. Mika Hoshino was able to defeat German Katja Nolten in five sets in the women's singles in the preliminary round . In doubles, Mika Hoshino and Kiyomi Ishida met Katja Nolten and Olga Nemes in the preliminary round , they won the match in three sets. Hoshino and Ishida reached the semi-finals and lost to South Koreans Yang Young-ja and Hyun Jung-hwa in two sets. The bronze match against Jasna Fazlić and Gordana Perkučin was also lost.

In the preliminary round of the 1992 tournament, Takehiro Watanabe was defeated by the German Steffen Fetzner in three sets in the men's singles. In two sets, Hiroshi Shibutani lost to the Chinese Ding Yi , who started for Austria . In the preliminary round of the doubles, Hiroshi Shibutani and Kōji Matsushita had to admit defeat to the duo Jörg Roßkopf and Steffen Fetzner in two sets. In 1996 Shibutani lost to German Jörg Roßkofp in two sets in the preliminary round of the men's singles. Taeko Todo lost in the women's singles her preliminary round match against the German Nicole Struse in three sets. In doubles with the native Chinese Chire Koyama , Todo won the preliminary round match against the German doubles Nicole Struse and Elke Schall in three sets.

In Sydney 2000, Toshio Tasaki was defeated in the men's singles in the round of 16 by Jörg Roßkopf in five sets. In the second round of the women's singles, Rinko Sakata failed in three sets against the German Qianghong Gotsch . In 2004 in Athens, Ai Fujinuma met the born Chinese Liu Jia , who started for Austria, in the third round of the women's singles , and she defeated her in seven sets.

The double competitions were replaced by the team matches in 2008. Here the Japanese women's team was able to advance to the semi-finals. The team qualified second for the bronze medal play-off round, defeating Austria and Hong Kong. In the game for bronze against South Korea, the Japanese lost 3 games. The men's team took first place in the group, but then failed with 2: 3 in the semifinals to Germany. In the second round of the bronze medal play-offs Japan was then defeated by Austria 3-1.

In 2012 in London the women's team won Japan's first medal in table tennis. The team that knocked out Germany 3-0 in the quarter-finals made it to the final, but lost 3-0 against China. In the women's singles, Kasumi Ishikawa fought her way through to the semi-finals, in round 2 she eliminated the Chinese Li Qiangbing, who started for Austria, in six sets. She lost the semi-final against the Chinese Li Xiaoxia in five sets and the bronze medal against Feng Tianwei from Singapore in four sets.

Both teams won medals in 2016. The men's team met Germany in the semi-finals and won 3-1. The final against China was lost 3-1. The women also met Germany in the semi-finals. However, they lost the game 2: 3. In the bronze medal match, they defeated Singapore 3-1. Japanese participants also made it to the semi-finals in the singles. In the men's category, Jun Mizutani qualified for the semi-finals. His teammate Kōki Niwa , who threw the Austrian Stefan Fegerl out of the tournament in the third round , failed in the quarterfinals. Mizutani lost the semifinals against the Chinese Ma Long in six sets, but won the game for bronze Uladsimir Samsonau from Belarus in five sets. In the women's category, Ai Fukuhara lost her semi-finals to Li Xiaoxia from China, and the bronze medal against North Korean Kim Song-i was also lost in five sets.

Surname	Games	discipline	annotation
Ai Fukuhara Kasumi Ishikawa Sayaka Hirano	2012 London	Ladies team	first medal win
Maharu Yoshimura Jun Mizutani Kōki Niwa	2016 Rio de Janeiro	Men's team

Surname	Games	discipline	annotation
Jun Mizutani	2016 Rio de Janeiro	Men's singles
Kasumi Ishikawa Mima Itō Ai Fukuhara	2016 Rio de Janeiro	Ladies team

Triathlon

-	-	-

Triathlon was included in the 2000 Olympic program in Sydney. Japanese triathletes have been participating since the sport's debut. Hirokatsu Tayama achieved the best place in men in 2004 with 13th place. In 2008 Juri Ide was fifth in women, Kiyomi Niwata was 9th.

do gymnastics

31	33	34

Gymnastics, including rhythmic gymnastics that was included in the Olympic program in 1984 and trampoline gymnastics that was added in 2000, is one of Japan's strongest sports. Japanese athletes won 98 medals, including 31 gold medals, and are ranked third in the Olympic medal balance of gymnastics. It is the largest number of medals won by Japanese athletes in any sport. You were only more successful in wrestling with 32 Olympic victories and in judo with 39 gold medals.

The first Japanese gymnasts competed in Los Angeles in 1932. The men's team finished fifth in the all-around event. The first medals were won in Helsinki in 1952. Tadao Uesako won silver on the floor, Takashi Ono came fourth. Both shared the bronze medal in the horse vault, teammate Masao Takemoto won silver. Takemoto also finished sixth on the rings. The all-around team took 5th place.

With gold on the horizontal bar, Takashi Ono became the first Japanese Olympic champion in gymnastics in Melbourne in 1956. Behind him, Maso Takemoto placed third for the bronze medal. Ono won three more silver medals in the individual all-around with Takemoto in 4th place and Masami Kubota in 8th place, on the pommel horse with Takemoto in 7th place, as well as with the all-around team. Masami Kubota won silver on bars, Ono and Takemoto shared bronze, Nobuyuki Aihara finished sixth, Shinsaku Tsukawaki eighth. On the ground, Aihara won silver, Ono took 8th place. On the rings, Kubota and Takemoto shared a bronze medal, Aihara and Ono were together in 5th place, Tsukawaki in 7th place. Takemoto was sixth in the horse jump. In the women's category, Keiko Tanaka finished fourth on the floor.

Japan's gymnastics team in 1960

Takashi Ono was even more successful in Rome in 1960. He not only became Olympic champion with the all-around team, he was able to win other gold medals in the horse jump and on the horizontal bar. On the horizontal bar there was a Japanese double victory thanks to the silver medal Masao Tekomotos. Yukio Endo came in 4th place, in the horse jump 5th place ahead of Shūji Tsurumi in 6th place. In the individual all- around event Ono won a silver medal, Tsurumi came fourth, Endō and Takemoto shared 5th place, Aihara took 7th place. Aihara himself became Olympic champion on the floor . Takashi Mitsukuri and Ono finished fourth together. Ono won bronze on the bars, Aihara came 4th, Takemoto took 6th place. Ono also won bronze on the rings. Aihara took 5th place here. Tsurumi won bronze on the pommel horse, Mitsukuri was fourth, Ono sixth. Keiko Tanaka was sixth in the individual all-around competition and fifth on the balance beam and on the uneven bars. The all-around team takes 4th place.

At the local summer games in Tokyo in 1964, the pressure of expectation, similar to judo, was particularly high. The men's team became Olympic champions in the all-around competition. The team also included Takashi Ono, who won his fifth gold medal here. There were double victories in the individual all-around and on parallel bars. Both times Yukio Endō was Olympic champion, Shūji Tsurumi won silver. Haruhiro Yamashita , sixth in the all- around competition, won the competition in the horse jump, Tsurumi was fourth, Endo sixth. Takuji Hayata won the rings , Tsurumi took 5th place, Endo 6th place. Tsurumi won silver on the pommel horse, Yamashita was fourth and Takashi Mitsukuri sixth. On the ground, Endo also won silver, Mitsukuri took 5th place. In only one discipline, there was no medal for the men. On the horizontal bar, Endo took 5th place, Ono 6th place. The women's all-around team won bronze and thus the first gymnastics medal for Japanese women. Keiko Tanaka was again sixth in the individual all-around. Her teammate Toshiko Shirasu, wife of Nobuyuki Aihara, came in seventh and fourth on the uneven bars and in the horse jump. Tanaka took 6th place on the balance beam.

The dominance of Japanese gymnasts continued in 1968. Akinori Nakayama became a four-time Olympic champion. In addition to the gold medal in the team all-around, he won the event finals on uneven bars with Takeshi Kato at No. 4 and Eizo Kenmotsu at No. 5, on the high bar with Kenmotsu, won the bronze, and Yukio Endo at No. 6, as well as on the rings with Takeshi's brother Sawao Kato on the bronze rank , Mitsuo Tsukahara in 4th place and Takeshi Katō in 5th place. Sawao Katō was a three-time Olympic champion. In addition to the team all-around competition, he also won the competition in the individual all-around competition with Nakayama on the bronze rank, Kenmotsu in 4th place and Takeshi Katō in 5th place and on the ground. Here Nakayama won silver and Takeshi Katō bronze. Tsukahara finished fourth, Kenmotsu sixth. Endo won silver in horse jumping, Takeshi Kato was fourth, Nakayama fifth and Kenmotsu sixth. There was no medal on the pommel horse, Kenmotsu took 5th place. The women achieved 4th place in the team all-around competition.

The Japanese were able to win all medals in an equipment final three times in 1972 in Munich. They triumphed in the individual all-round competition (Sawao Katō with gold, Eizo Kenmotsu with silver and Akinori Nakayama with bronze), on bars (Sawao Katō with gold, Shigeru Kasamatsu with silver and Kenmotsu with bronze) and on the horizontal bar (Mitsuo Tsukahara with gold, Sawao Katō with silver and Kasamatsu with bronze). Nakayama won on the rings, Tsukahara took bronze there, Sawao Katō was fourth, Kenmotsu fifth. The all-around team also achieved the Olympic victory. There were other medals on the pommel horse with silver for Sawao Katō and bronze for Kenmotsu. Kasamatsu finished fourth. There were also two medals on the ground. Nakayama won silver, Kasamatsu got the bronze medal. Kenmotsu was fourth, Sawao Katō sixth. Sawao Katō and Kenmotsu reached a shared fourth place in the horse jump. Kenmotsu was also fourth on the floor, Sawao Katō sixth.

In 1976 in Montreal, the all-around team won the fifth gold medal in a row. Japan was only able to provide two more Olympic champions this time. Sawao Katō won on the parallel bars ahead of Mitsuo Tsukahara on the bronze rank, Tsukahara won on the horizontal bar in front of Eizo Kenmotsu on the silver rank. Tsukahara also won silver in the horse jump ahead of Hiroshi Kajiyama in third place. In the individual all-around event, Sawao Katō won silver, bronze went to Tsukahara, Kajiyama came fifth. Kenmotsu won silver on the pommel horse, Sawao Katō finished 5th. On the ground, Sawao Katō reached 5th place and Kenmotsu 6th place, on the rings Kenmotsu was fifth and Sawao Katō sixth.

• 

  Award ceremony 1956 for the high bar gymnast: middle Olympic champion Takeshi Ono, right Masao Takemoto with bronze

• 

  Takashi Ono, Olympic champion in 1956, 1960 and 1964, silver and bronze in 1956 and 1960

• 

  Nobuyuki Aihara, Olympic champion 1960, silver 1956

• 

  Shūji Tsurumi, Olympic champion in 1960 and 1964, silver 1964, bronze 1960

• 

  Yukio Endō, Olympic champion in 1960, 1964 and 1968, silver in 1964 and 1968

• 

  Takashi Mitsukuri, Olympic champion in 1960 and 1964

• 

  Haruhiro Yamashita, Olympic champion in 1964

• 

  Takuji Hayata, Olympic champion in 1964

• 

  Keiko Tanaka, bronze 1964

• 

  Toshiko Shirasu, bronze 1964

• 

  Sawao Katō, Olympic champion 1968, 1972 and 1976, silver 1972 and 1976, bronze 1968

• 

  Akinori Nakayama, Olympic victory, silver and bronze in 1968 and 1972

• 

  Mitsuo Tsukahara, Olympic champion in 1968, 1972 and 1976, silver in 1976, bronze in 1972 and 1976

• 

  Takeshi Katō, brother of Sawao Katō, Olympic victory and bronze in 1968

• 

  Shigeru Kasamatsu, gold, silver and bronze 1972

1984 in Los Angeles Kōji Gushiken won gold in the individual all-around and on the rings. There was also bronze on the horizontal bar, here Shinji Morisue was Olympic champion. Gushiken and Morisue won two silver medals in the horse jump. Noboyuki Kajitani won silver on bars and Gushiken came fifth here. Kajitani also achieved 6th place on the pommel horse. Koji Sotomura won bronze on the floor, and the all-around team also took bronze.

For the first time since 1952, the Japanese team remained in Seoul in 1988 without an Olympic victory. The athletes only achieved a bronze medal with the men's all-around team and with Yukio Iketani on the ground. On the pommel horse, Koichi Mizushima came fourth and Daisuke Nishikawa came sixth. The lack of victory continued in Barcelona in 1992. Yukio Iketani won silver on the floor this time, Yutaka Aihara finished fifth. Masayuki Matsunara won bronze on parallel bars, the all-around team also took bronze. Daisuke Nishikawa and Yoshiaki Hatakeda achieved a joint fifth place on the horizontal bar. Hatakeda also finished sixth on the pommel horse and Iketani seventh on the rings. Japan stayed in Atlanta in 1996 without a medal. The only finalist was Yoshiaki Hatakeda, who took 5th place on the pommel horse.

Also in 2000 in Sydney no medal could be won. The men's all-around team reached fourth place. Naoya Tsukahara, son of Olympic champion Mitsuo Tsukahara, was eighth on the horizontal bar, Norimasa Iwai seventh on the rings. Akiko Furu was sixth in trampoline gymnastics for women. The Japanese team achieved 5th place in rhythmic gymnastics.

After a break of 12 years, an Olympic victory was celebrated again in Athens in 2004. The men's all-around team won the competition for the sixth time. Hiroyuki Tomita , sixth in the individual all-around and fourth on the rings, won silver on the bars, Daisuke Nakano came fifth. Isao Yoneda won bronze medals on the horizontal bar and Takehiro Kashima on the pommel horse.

In 2008 the all-around team won silver in Beijing. In the singles Kōhei Uchimura won silver, Hiroyuki Tomita was fourth. Uchimura reached 5th place on the floor, Tomita on the pommel horse. Takuya Nakase also came in fifth on the horizontal bar, Tomita came in sixth. The women's all-around team reached 5th place. Tetsuya Sotomura took 4th place in trampoline gymnastics.

In 2012 in London, the Japanese men's all-round team won silver again. In the individual ranking, Kōhei Uchimura was Olympic champion, Kazuhito Tanaka was sixth. Uchimura won another silver medal on the floor. Kazuhito Tanaka was fourth on the parallel bars, his brother Yūsuke Tanaka was eighth. In trampoline gymnastics, Masaki Ito came fourth, Yasuhiro Ueyama came fifth.

In Rio de Janeiro 2016, the men's all-around team became Olympic champion for the seventh time. In the individual ranking, Kōhei Uchimura was able to defend his Olympic victory in London. Kenzō Shirai won bronze in the horse jump. He came in fourth on the floor, Uchimura was fifth. The women’s all-round team only narrowly failed in fourth place because of a medal. In trampoline gymnastics, a Japanese came fourth for the third time in a row. This time it was Ginga Munetomo. Masaki Ito took 6th place.

• 

  Kōhei Uchimura, silver 2008 and 2012, Olympic victory 2012 and 2016

• 

  Kenzō Shirai, gold and bronze 2016

Surname	Games	discipline	annotation
Takashi Ono	1956 Melbourne	Horizontal bar	first Olympic victory
Takashi Ono	1960 Rome	Horse jump
Takashi Ono	1960 Rome	Horizontal bar
Nobuyuki Aihara	1960 Rome	ground
National team of men	1960 Rome	All-around team
Yukio Endo	1964 Tokyo	All-around single
Yukio Endo	1964 Tokyo	Ingots
Haruhiro Yamashita	1964 Tokyo	Horse jump
Takuji Hayata	1964 Tokyo	Rings
National team of men	1964 Tokyo	All-around team
Sawao Kato	1968 Mexico City	All-around single
Sawao Kato	1968 Mexico City	ground
Akinori Nakayama	1968 Mexico City	Ingots
Akinori Nakayama	1968 Mexico City	Horizontal bar
Akinori Nakayama	1968 Mexico City	Rings
National team of men	1968 Mexico City	All-around team
Sawao Kato	1972 Munich	All-around single
Sawao Kato	1972 Munich	Ingots
Mitsuo Tsukahara	1972 Munich	Horizontal bar
Akinori Nakayama	1972 Munich	Rings
National team of men	1972 Munich	All-around team
Sawao Kato	1976 Montreal	Ingots
Mitsuo Tsukahara	1976 Montreal	Horizontal bar
National team of men	1976 Montreal	All-around team
Kōji Gushiken	1984 Los Angeles	All-around single
Kōji Gushiken	1984 Los Angeles	Rings
Shinji Morisue	1984 Los Angeles	Horizontal bar
Li Xiaoshuang	1992 Barcelona	ground
Lu Li	1992 Barcelona	Uneven bars
National team of men	2004 Athens	All-around team
Kōhei Uchimura	2012 London	All-around single
Kōhei Uchimura	2016 Rio de Janeiro	All-around single
National team of men	2016 Rio de Janeiro	All-around team

Surname	Games	discipline	annotation
Tadao Uesako	1952 Helsinki	ground	first medal win
Masao Tekemoto	1952 Helsinki	Horse jump	first medal win
Takashi Ono	1956 Melbourne	All-around single
Nobuyuki Aihara	1956 Melbourne	ground
Masami Kubota	1956 Melbourne	Ingots
Takashi Ono	1956 Melbourne	Pommel horse
National team of men	1956 Melbourne	All-around team
Takashi Ono	1960 Rome	All-around single
Masao Takemoto	1960 Rome	Horizontal bar
Shūji Tsurumi	1964 Tokyo	All-around single
Shūji Tsurumi	1964 Tokyo	Ingots
Shūji Tsurumi	1964 Tokyo	Pommel horse
Yukio Endo	1964 Tokyo	ground
Akinori Nakayama	1968 Mexico City	ground
Yukio Endo	1968 Mexico City	Horse jump
Eizō Kenmotsu	1972 Munich	All-around single
Akinori Nakayama	1972 Munich	ground
Shigeru Kasamatsu	1972 Munich	Ingots
Sawao Kato	1972 Munich	Horizontal bar
Sawao Kato	1972 Munich	Pommel horse
Sawao Kato	1976 Montreal	All-around single
Mitsuo Tsukahara	1976 Montreal	Horse jump
Eizō Kenmotsu	1976 Montreal	Horizontal bar
Eizō Kenmotsu	1976 Montreal	Pommel horse
Kōji Gushiken	1984 Los Angeles	Horse jump
Shinji Morisue	1984 Los Angeles	Horse jump
Noboyuki Kajitani	1984 Los Angeles	Ingots
Yukio Iketani	1992 Barcelona	ground
Hiroyuki Tomita	2004 Athens	Ingots
Kōhei Uchimura	2008 Beijing	All-around single
National team of men	2008 Beijing	All-around team
Kōhei Uchimura	2012 London	ground
National team of men	2012 London	All-around team

Surname	Games	discipline	annotation
Tadao Uesako	1952 Helsinki	Horse jump	first medal win
Takashi Ono	1952 Helsinki	Horse jump	first medal win
Takashi Ono	1956 Melbourne	Ingots
Takashi Ono	1960 Rome	Ingots
Takashi Ono	1960 Rome	Rings
Shūji Tsurumi	1960 Rome	Pommel horse
National team of women	1964 Tokyo	All-around team
Akinori Nakayama	1968 Mexico City	All-around single
Takeshi Kato	1968 Mexico City	ground
Eizō Kenmotsu	1968 Mexico City	Horizontal bar
Sawao Kato	1968 Mexico City	Rings
Akinori Nakayama	1972 Munich	All-around single
Shigeru Kasamatsu	1972 Munich	ground
Shigeru Kasamatsu	1972 Munich	Horizontal bar
Single Kenmotsu	1972 Munich	Ingots
Single Kenmotsu	1972 Munich	Pommel horse
Mitsuo Tsukahara	1972 Munich	Rings
Mitsuo Tsukahara	1976 Montreal	All-around single
Mitsuo Tsukahara	1976 Montreal	Ingots
Hiroshi Kajiyama	1976 Montreal	Horse jump
National team of men	1984 Los Angeles	All-around team
Koji Sotomura	1984 Los Angeles	ground
Kōji Gushiken	1984 Los Angeles	Horizontal bar
Yukio Iketani	1988 Seoul	ground
National team of men	1988 Seoul	All-around team
Masayuki Matsunaga	1992 Barcelona	Ingots
National team of men	1992 Barcelona	All-around team
Isao Yoneda	2004 Athens	Horizontal bar
Takehiro Kashima	2004 Athens	Rings
Kenzō Shirai	2016 Rio de Janeiro	Horse jump

volleyball

3	3	3

When volleyball was introduced as an Olympic sport in Tokyo in 1964, both a Japanese men's team and a Japanese women's team took part. The men won bronze, the women became Olympic champions. The men won seven of their nine tournament games, the women all five. In 1968, seven wins in nine games for the men's team were enough for the silver medal. In the course of the tournament, the GDR team was beaten 3-0. The women won six of their seven games and also won the silver medal.

In 1972 the tournament was redesigned. There was a preliminary round, then a semi-final and the finals for the medals. The men won all preliminary round games, u. a. the teams of the GDR and the Federal Republic of Germany were each defeated 3-0. The semi-final against Bulgaria was won 3-2. In the final, again against the GDR, there was a 3-1 victory and thus the men's first Olympic victory. The women also won all preliminary round matches. In the semi-finals they defeated South Korea 3-0, but failed in the final with 2-3 at the Soviet Union.

In the 1976 tournament, two wins in three preliminary round games were enough for the men to reach the semi-finals. Here they lost to Poland 2: 3. The bronze match was lost to Cuba 3-0. The women won all preliminary round matches. In the semifinals, like four years before, they defeated South Korea 3-0. The final, again against the Soviet Union, was also won 3-0. Overall, the Japanese became Olympic champions without losing a set.

In 1984 the men could not qualify for the semi-finals. As a third party, it was only enough for the placement round. Here they lost to Argentina 1: 3. The game for 7th place against China was won 3-0. The women won all the preliminary round matches and faced China in the semi-finals. The game was lost 0: 3. The bronze match against Peru was then won 3-1.

In Seoul in 1988, for the first time since the sport was introduced, no medal could be won. The men could only win one of their five preliminary round games. In the placement round, they defeated South Korea 3-2, then lost to Italy 2-3 in the game for 9th place. The women won two of their three preliminary round matches. Only against the GDR they lost 2: 3. Nevertheless, they reached the semi-finals. The Japanese lost to Peru with 2: 3. The bronze match against China was also lost 3-0.

Also in 1992 no medal place could be achieved. The men were able to qualify for the quarter-finals with two wins in five preliminary round games, but failed 3-0 to Brazil. In the placement round, the Japanese were able to line up in 6th place. It was similar at the women's tournament. The Japanese team qualified for the quarter-finals with two wins, here too the opponent was Brazil. Japan lost 3-1 and then won the game for 5th place with a 3-1 against the Netherlands.

In 1996, only women could qualify for the Olympic tournament. With only one win in five preliminary round games, the team was eliminated. No team could qualify for the 2000 tournament. 2004 in Athens the women were there again. The team reached the quarter-finals, but were eliminated 3-0 against China.

In Beijing in 2008 the men were qualified again. As the last of their preliminary group, however, they retired early. The women were able to reach the quarter-finals again, but failed as they did four years ago. This time they lost to Brazil 3-0. In 2012 in London only the women's team qualified for the Olympic tournament. Third in the group, they reached the quarter-finals and defeated China 3-2. The semi-final against Brazil was lost 3-0, the bronze match against South Korea was won 3-0.

Japan was also represented by a women's team in 2016. As fourth in the group they moved into the quarter-finals and lost to the USA with 0: 3.

Surname	Games	discipline	annotation
Women's national team	1964 Tokyo	Women's tournament	first medal and Olympic victory
Men's national team	1972 Munich	Men's tournament
Women's national team	1976 Montreal	Women's tournament

Surname	Games	discipline	annotation
Men's national team	1968 Mexico City	Men's tournament
Women's national team	1968 Mexico City	Women's tournament
Women's national team	1972 Munich	Women's tournament

Surname	Games	discipline	annotation
Men's national team	1964 Tokyo	Men's tournament
Women's national team	1984 Los Angeles	Women's tournament
Women's national team	2012 London	Women's tournament

Water polo

-	-	-

The first Olympic water polo tournament with Japanese participation took place in Los Angeles in 1932. The Japanese team finished fourth out of five teams as Brazil was disqualified. The team suffered a 17-0 defeat against the German Reich. In 1936, Japan dropped out of the group bottom after the preliminary round. Again they played against the German Reich, this time they lost 1:13.

It was not until 1960 that Japan qualified for an Olympic tournament again. Again they were eliminated after the preliminary round. A similar picture presented itself at the domestic summer games in 1964. Again, the team was eliminated after the preliminary round as bottom group. In 1968 they finished fifth in a group of eight. Three games could be won, against the GDR they lost 8-0. In the placement round they finished 12th. 1972 all preliminary round games were lost, as the last of the group eliminated Japan.

It wasn't until 1984 that you could qualify again. Again you came in last in the group, u. a. after an 8:15 against the Federal Republic of Germany, however, came into a placement group. The only tournament victory was against Brazil (9: 8), Japan finished eleventh.

Diving

-	-	-

Japanese athletes have been taking part in diving since 1920. In 1936 Tsuneo Shibahara was fourth in diving, Reiko Ōsawa was fourth in diving. It wasn't until 2000 in Sydney that there was another top placement when Ken Terauchi from the tower was fifth.

Winter games

biathlon

-	-	-

Japanese biathletes have been taking part since 1964. The best placings were achieved at the 1998 domestic winter games in Nagano. For the men, Kyōji Suga was fourteenth over 20 kilometers. In the women Ryōko Takahashi reached the goal over 15 kilometers in sixth.

Bobsleigh

-	-	-

Bobsleigh drivers from Japan first took part in the 1972 domestic winter games in Sapporo. The best placement of a Japanese bobsleigh was achieved here with 12th place in the four-man bobsleigh.

Curling

-	-	1

In Nagano in 1998, curling was again an Olympic sport for the first time since 1924. A men's and a women's team took part for Japan as the host country. Both reached 5th place each. The men recorded three wins in seven preliminary round matches. They lost to Switzerland 3: 5, Germany was beaten 7: 5. The women managed two victories, u. a. a 9: 2 against Germany.

In 2002 only the women's team was qualified. Again they have two wins, this time in nine games. They lost 3: 5 against Germany and 7: 8 against Switzerland. In 2006, four wins in nine games were not enough for the semi-final qualification. They lost against Switzerland with 5:11. In 2010 there were three wins in nine games. They lost against Germany 6: 7, against Switzerland 4:10.

In 2014, the women again managed four wins in nine games. This time they only narrowly failed to qualify for the semi-finals. The team won against Switzerland 9: 7.

The first medal was won in Pyeongchang in 2018. The women's team qualified for the semi-finals despite a 4-8 defeat in the preliminary round against Switzerland. In the semifinals, the hosts from South Korea lost 7: 8. The United Kingdom was defeated 5-3 in the bronze medal and won the bronze medal. The men's team failed in the preliminary round, including losing to Switzerland 5: 6.

Surname	Games	discipline	annotation
National team of women	2018 Pyeongchang	Women's tournament	first medal win

• 

  The 2010 Japanese team warming up (front left Skip Moe Meguro )

• 

  Scene from the eleventh session in 2016. On the back track, the game of Japan (black) against China (yellow)

ice Hockey

-	-	-

Japan was first represented in Olympic ice hockey in 1936. The team was eliminated after the preliminary round without winning a point. It was not until 1960 that a Japanese team was able to qualify again. Here, too, the team remained without points in the preliminary round. In the placement round, the first game against Finland was the first draw 6: 6, and the first win 11: 3 against Australia.

In 1964 Japan lost 2:17 to Czechoslovakia in the elimination round. In the games of the placement group Japan have four wins and one draw (5: 5 against Austria). In the final ranking they were 11th. 1968 Japan was placed in the placement round. In five games there were four wins for the team, u. a. Austria was beaten 11: 1. Japan was 10th in the final ranking.

At the domestic Winter Games in Sapporo in 1972, Japan lost to Czechoslovakia 2-8 in the elimination round. In the placement round, they have two wins in four games, including a 7: 6 over the Federal Republic of Germany and a draw (3: 3 against Switzerland). Japan was in 9th place. In 1976 they lost the elimination game, this time 2:11 against Finland. Three wins in five games in the placement round meant 9th place again. Japan lost 3-2 to Austria, and Switzerland was beaten 6-4.

At the 1980 tournament, the preliminary round was played in two groups. Japan managed only one draw in five games and 0:16 against the Soviet Union, the highest tournament defeat. Japan was twelfth and last in the final ranking.

It was not until the domestic Nagano Winter Games in 1998 that Japan was represented in ice hockey again, this time with a women's team for the first time. In the preliminary round, the men only managed one draw in three games, against Germany the team lost 3-1. In the game for 13th place, Austria was defeated 4: 3 after a penalty shootout. The women could not win any of their five preliminary round games and were eliminated without points. The team lost three times in double digits.

In 2014 the women's team managed to qualify for an Olympic ice hockey tournament again. In Sochi, too, the team remained pointless, losing 4-0 to Germany. In the placement round they lost their first game against hosts Russia 3: 6. The game for 7th place, again against Germany, was lost 3-2.

In 2018, the women's team qualified again. In the preliminary round they finished 3rd. Against Switzerland there was a 1: 3 defeat. In the placement round, Sweden were beaten 2-1 after extra time. The game for 5th place went against Switzerland again and the Japanese lost again, this time with 0: 1.

figure skating

3	3	1

Japanese athletes have been involved in figure skating since 1932. Miwa Fukuhara achieved her first success in 1964, finishing fifth in the women's singles. Emi Watanabe reached 6th place in the singles in 1980.

Midori Itō was fifth in the singles in 1988. In 1992 she won the first Japanese Olympic medal in figure skating with silver. In 1994, Yuka Satō finished fifth. In 2002, Takeshi Honda was able to reach fourth place in the men's category , while Fumie Suguri was fifth in the women's category. Shizuka Arakawa then achieved Japan's first Olympic victory in figure skating in 2006.

Mao Asada won silver with Miki Andō in 2010 , while Daisuke Takahashi took bronze in the men's category . In 2014 Yuzuru Hanyū won the men's Olympic gold medal, Asada came in sixth. The figure skating team reached 5th place. In Pyeongchang 2018, the men achieved a double victory. Olympic champion in singles was defending champion Yuzuru Hanyū, silver won Shōma Uno . For the women, Satoko Miyahara was fourth and Kaori Sakamoto sixth.

Surname	Games	discipline	annotation
Shizuka Arakawa	2006 Turin	singles	first Olympic victory
Yuzuru Hanyu	2014 Sochi	singles
Yuzuru Hanyu	2018 Pyeongchang	singles

Surname	Games	discipline	annotation
Midori Itō	1992 Albertville	singles	first medal win
Mao Asada	2010 Vancouver	singles
Shoma Uno	2018 Pyeongchang	singles

Surname	Games	discipline	annotation
Daisuke Takahashi	2010 Vancouver	singles

• 

  Junko Ueno (l.) And Miwa Fukuhara (r.) 1960

• 

  Midori Itō, silver 1992

• 

  Yuka Satō in 2008

• 

  Takeshi Honda

• 

  Fumie Suguri in 2008

• 

  Shizuke Arakawa, 2006 Olympic champion

• 

  Mao Asada, silver 2010

• 

  Daisuke Takahashi, bronze 2010

• 

  Miki Ando

• 

  Satoko Miyahara

Speed ​​skating

4th	7th	10

Speed ​​skating is one of Japan's strongest winter sports. 15 medals have been won here since 1932. In 1936 Shozo Ishihara finished 4th over 500 meters. Kiyotaka Takabayashi reached 6th place in 1952 at this distance. Kazuhiro Sugawara was seventh over 10,000 meters.

Japanese women first started in this sport in 1960. Hatsue Nagakubo immediately finished fourth over 3000 meters and fifth over 500 and 1000 meters. In 1964 she reached 6th place over 3000 meters, while in the men's category Keiichi Suzuki ran 5th place over 500 meters. In 1968 he finished eighth.

It was not until 1980 that Makiko Nagaya managed to achieve a top placement again with place 5 over 500 meters for women. In 1984 the first medal was won. Yoshihiro Kitazawa ran over 500 meters for the silver medal. In 1988 Akira Kuroiwa won bronze over this distance. Toru Aoyanagi was fifth over 1500 meters. In the women's category , Seiko Hashimoto reached 5th place over 500 and 1000 meters, 6th place over 1500 and 5000 meters and 7th place over 3000 meters.

Japanese speed skaters brought home four medals in 1992. Over 500 meters, Toshiyuki Kuroiwa won silver and Junichi Inoue bronze, Yasunori Miyabe was fifth. His brother Yukinori Miyabe won bronze over 1000 meters. There was also a fifth place by Kazuhiro Satō over 10,000 meters. Seiko Hashimoto won bronze over 1500 meters. She took 5th place over 1000 meters.

Two bronze medals from Manabu Horii over 500 meters in the men and from Hiromi Yamamoto over 5000 meters in the women were the result of the 1994 Winter Games. Hiroyasu Shimizu was fifth over 500 meters, Toshihiko Itokawa sixth over 5000 meters. Seiko Hashimoto was sixth over 3000 meters, Shiho Kusunose over 1000 meters.

In 1998 at the domestic winter games in Nagano, Hiroyasu Shimizu became Japan's first and so far only Olympic speed skating champion. He won the gold medal over 500 meters, over 1000 meters he ran to the bronze medal. Tomomi Okazaki won another bronze medal in the women's 500 meters. Kyoko Shimazaki finished fifth here.

With the silver medal over 500 meters in 2002, Hiroyasu Shimizu had won a complete set of medals. Keiji Shirahata finished fourth over 10,000 meters. Tomomi Okazaki reached 6th place over 500 meters. Maki Tabata also finished sixth over 3000 meters. The games of 2006, however, went without a medal. In the men, Yūya Oikawa was fourth over 500 meters, his teammate Jōji Katō was sixth. Tomomi Okazaki also took fourth place in the women's 500 meter race. In the team pursuit, the women's team also took fourth place.

2010 Keiichirō Nagashima won silver over 500 meters in front of his teammate Jōji Katō in 3rd place. The women's team won silver in the team pursuit. Nao Kodaira was fifth over 1000 and 1500 meters, respectively. Also Sayuri Yoshii reached over 500 meters square 5. 3000 meters was Masako Hozumi sixth.

The Japanese speed skaters returned from the 2014 Winter Games without a medal. Jōji Katō was over 500 meters fifth before Keiichirō Nagashima. In the women’s category, Noa Kodaira finished fifth over 500 meters. In the team pursuit, the women's team came fourth.

In 2018 in Pyeongchang, the speed skaters, especially the women, were particularly successful. Nao Kodaira became Olympic champion over 500 meters and won silver over 1000 meters. Even Miho Takagi won two individual medals. She won silver over 1500 meters and bronze over 1000 meters. She managed a fifth place over 3000 meters. Her sister Nana Takagi secured the Olympic victory in the mass start. Both were members of the pursuit team that drove to Olympic victory. In the men's category, Takuro Oda achieved two fifth places over 1000 and 1500 meters. Daichi Yamanaka was also fifth over 500 meters.

Surname	Games	discipline	annotation
Hiroyasu Shimizu	1998 Nagano	500 meters	first Olympic victory
Nao Kodaira	2018 Pyeongchang	500 meters
Nana Takagi	2018 Pyeongchang	Mass start
Miho Takagi Ayaka Kikuchi Ayano Satō Nana Takagi	2018 Pyeongchang	Team pursuit

Surname	Games	discipline	annotation
Yoshihiro Kitazawa	1984 Sarajevo	500 meters	first medal win
Toshiyuki Kuroiwa	1992 Albertville	500 meters
Hiroyasu Shimizu	2002 Salt Lake City	500 meters
Keiichirō Nagashima	2010 Vancouver	500 meters
Masako Hozumi Nao Kodaira Maki Tabata	2010 Vancouver	Team tracking
Nao Kodaira	2018 Pyeongchang	1000 meters
Miho Takagi	2018 Pyeongchang	1500 meters

Surname	Games	discipline	annotation
Akira Kuroiwa	1988 Calgary	500 meters
Jinichi Inoue	1992 Albertville	500 meters
Yukinori Miyabe	1992 Albertville	1000 meters
Seiko Hashimoto	1992 Albertville	1500 meters
Manabu Horii	1994 Lillehammer	500 meters
Hiromi Yamamoto	1994 Lillehammer	5000 meters
Hiroyasu Shimizu	1998 Nagano	1000 meters
Tomomi Okazaki	1998 Nagano	500 meters
Jōji Katō	2010 Vancouver	500 meters
Miho Takagi	2018 Pyeongchang	1000 meters

• 

  Akira Kuroiwa, bronze 1988, as a trainer

• 

  Seiko Hashimoto, bronze 1992 in 2008

• 

  Hiroyasu Shimizu, gold and bronze 1998, silver 2002

• 

  Award ceremony 2010: left with silver Keiichirō Nagashima, right with bronze Jōji Katō

Freestyle ski

1	-	3

The first Japanese freestyle skier competed in Albertville in 1992. In 1998 the first medal was won, at the same time the first Olympic victory, in freestyle. Tae Satoya became an Olympic champion on the moguls, making it the first woman in Japan to win a gold medal at the Winter Games. In 2002 in Salt Lake City, she won bronze. In 2006 in Turin, Aiko Uemura reached 5th place on the mogul slope. In 2010, she improved to 4th place. In the men's category, Sho Endo took 7th place, also on the moguls. Uemura took part in the Olympic Winter Games for the fifth time in Sochi in 2014. Again she came in fourth. Ayana Onozuka won bronze in the halfpipe . In 2018 in Pyeongchang, Daichi Hara won bronze on the mogul slope. Ayana Onozuka was fifth in the halfpipe this time.

Surname	Games	discipline	annotation
Tae Satoya	1998 Nagano	Mogul slope	first medal and Olympic victory

Surname	Games	discipline	annotation
Tae Satoya	2002 Salt Lake City	Mogul slope
Ayana Onozuka	2014 Sochi	halfpipe
Daichi Hara	2018 Pyeongchang	Mogul slope

Nordic combination

2	3	-

Akito Watabe, silver 2014

Japanese combiners have been at the start since 1928. The first success came in 1972 at the domestic Sapporo Winter Games. Here Yūji Katsuro finished 5th. In 1992, the first medal, an Olympic victory, was achieved by the team. In 1994 the team was able to defend its Olympic victory. In the individual competition Takanori Kono won the silver medal, Kenji Ogiwara came fourth.

In 1998 the team finished fifth. Kenji Ogiwara took 4th place in the singles, his twin brother Tsugiharu Ogiwara took 6th place. In the sprint, Daito Takahashi was sixth in 2002. In 2010, Norihito Kobayashi took 7th place in the individual with jumping from the normal hill. In 2014 Akito Watabe won silver in this combined discipline. In the individual with jumping from the large hill, he was sixth. The team took 5th place.

Akito Watabe also won silver in 2018 in Pyeongchang by jumping from the normal hill. He was fifth in the ranking on the large hill. At the end of the season, the relay took fourth place.

Surname	Games	discipline	annotation
Reiichi Mikata Takanori Kono Kenji Ogiwara	1992 Albertville	team	first medal and Olympic victory
Takanori Kono Kenji Ogiwara Masashi Abe	1994 Lillehammer	team

Surname	Games	discipline	annotation
Takanori Kono	1994 Lillehammer	singles
Akito Watabe	2014 Sochi	Single (normal hill)
Akito Watabe	2018 Pyeongchang	Single (normal hill)

Sledding

-	-	-

Tobogganists from Japan first took part in the 1972 domestic winter games in Sapporo. The best placement was achieved with 4th place in the two-seater with Satoru Arai and Masatoshi Kobayashi. Among the women, Yuko Ōtaka came in 5th.

Short track

1	-	2

Short track has been an Olympic sport since 1992. Japanese athletes have been participating since the first edition. At the premiere, the Japanese men's relay won the bronze medal. The women's relay came fourth. In 1994 in Lillehammer, the men's relay came in fifth. Satoru Terao took fourth place over 1000 meters for the men .

Two medals were won at the 1998 domestic winter games in Nagano. Over 500 meters, Takafumi Nishitani became the first Japanese Olympic champion in the short track. Hitoshi Uematsu won bronze. Naoya Tamura took 5th place over 1000 meters, which was also achieved by the men's relay. The women's relay, on the other hand, finished in 4th place. Ikue Teshigawara finished fifth over 1000 meters and sixth over 500 meters.

In Salt Lake City in 2002, Satoru Terao finished fifth over 500 meters. The seasons achieved the same placements as four years earlier. The men finished fifth and the women fourth. In 2006 in Turin, Terao finished sixth over 500 meters. In 2014 in Sochi, the women's relay took 5th place. In Pyeongchang 2018, Ryosuke Sakazume took 5th place over 1000 meters.

Surname	Games	discipline	annotation
Takafumi Nishitani	1998 Nagano	500 meters	first Olympic victory

Surname	Games	discipline	annotation
Yūichi Akasaka Tatsuyoshi Ishihara Toshinobu Kawai Tsutomu Kawasaki	1992 Albertville	Men's relay	first medal win
Hitoshi Ueamatsu	1998 Nagano	500 meters

skeleton

-	-	-

In the skeleton, Japanese athletes made their Olympic debut in 2018. The two men and the woman were unsuccessful.

Alpine skiing

-	1	-

The Japanese have been taking part in alpine skiing since 1936. In 1956 Chiharu Igaya won silver in slalom. He was the first Japanese to win an Olympic medal at the Winter Games.

36 years would pass before another Japanese man reached a top 10 position. In 1992 in Albertville, Takuya Ishioka was ninth in the alpine combination. In 2006 in Turin, Kentarō Minagawa reached 4th place and Naoki Yuasa 7th place in the men's slalom .

Surname	Games	discipline	annotation
Chiharu Igaya	1956 Cortina d'Ampezzo	slalom	Japan's first ever medal at Winter Games

• 

  Chiharu Igaya, silver 1956

Cross-country skiing

-	-	-

Japanese cross-country skiers have been at the start since 1928. The best results were achieved by Hiroyuki Imai in 2002 with a sixth place over 30 kilometers and in women Masako Ishida , who was fifth over 30 kilometers in 2010.

Ski jumping

3	5	4th

Ski jumping is Japan's strongest winter sport in terms of the number of Olympic victories. Japan has celebrated three Olympic victories since 1928. In 1932 Goro Adachi was eighth on the normal hill. Masaji Iguro finished seventh in 1936. He also jumped from the normal hill.

In 1972 at the domestic winter games in Sapporo, all medals in jumping from the normal hill went to Japanese athletes. Yukio Kasaya was the first Japanese Olympic champion at the Winter Games. Akitsugu Konno won silver and Seiji Aochi bronze . Kasaya jumped from the large hill in 7th place. In 1980 Hirokazu Yagi won silver on the normal hill. He was tied with Manfred Deckert from the GDR, who also received a silver medal. Masahiro Akimoto finished fourth .

In 1992 Masahiko Harada was fourth on the large hill. The team also finished fourth. In 1994, the team then won silver. On the normal hill, Noriaki Kasai took 5th place ahead of Jin'ya Nishikata in 8th and Takanobu Okabe in 9th. Okabe was fourth on the large hill, Nishikata eighth.

At the domestic winter games in 1998 in Nagano, the team was Olympic champion. Kazuyoshi Funaki became Olympic champion on the large hill, Masahiko Harada won bronze, Takanobu Okabe took 6th place. Four jumpers came in the top ten on the normal hill. Funaki won silver, Harada was fifth, Noriaki Kasai seventh and Hiroya Saitō ninth.

In 2002 Funaki was seventh on the large hill and ninth on the normal hill. The team finished 5th in 2010 in Vancouver Noriaki Kasai was the sixth time at the Winter Games. From the large hill he flew in 8th place. The team was fifth. At his seventh participation in Sochi in 2014, Kasai won two medals at the age of 41. On the large hill he won the silver medal, with the team bronze. He also finished eighth on the normal hill. Daiki Itō jumped on place 9 on the large hill. Sara Takanashi was fourth in the women , Yūki Itō was seventh.

In 2018 in Pyeongchang, Takanashi won bronze, Ito finished ninth. Among the men, Ryoyu Kobayashi reached 7th place on the normal hill. In the team competition, the Japanese were sixth.

Surname	Games	discipline	annotation
Yukio Kasaya	1972 Sapporo	Single normal hill	first medal win, Japan's first ever Olympic win at the Winter Games
Kazuyoshi Funaki	1998 Nagano	Large hill
Takanobu Okabe Hiroya Saitō Masahiko Harada Kazuyoshi Funaki	1998 Nagano	team

Surname	Games	discipline	annotation
Akitsugu Konno	1972 Sapporo	Single normal hill
Hirokazu Yagi	1980 Lake Placid	Single normal hill
Takanobu Okabe Jin'ya Nishikata Masahiko Harada Noriaki Kasai	1994 Lillehammer	team
Kazuyoshi Funaki	1998 Nagano	Normal hill
Noriaki Kasai	2014 Sochi	Large hill

Surname	Games	discipline	annotation
Seiji Aochi	1972 Sapporo	Normal hill
Masahiko Harada	1998 Nagano	Large hill
Reruhi Shimizu Taku Takeuchi Daiki Itō Noriaki Kasai	2014 Sochi	team
Sara Takanachi	2018 Pyeongchang	Normal hill

• 

  Yukio Kasaya, 1972 Olympic champion

• 

  Noriaki Kasai, silver 1994 and 2014, bronze 2014

• 

  Takanobu Okabe, Olympic champion 1998, silver 1994

• 

  Hiroya Saitō, 1998 Olympic champion

• 

  Daiki Itō, bronze 2014

• 

  Taku Takeuchi, bronze 2014

• 

  Reruhi Shimizu, bronze 2014

• 

  Sara Takanashi, bronze 2018

• 

  Yūki Itō

Snowboard

-	3	1

Japanese snowboarders have been represented at the Winter Olympics since 1998. In 2002 Takaharu Nakai reached number 5 in the half pipe. For women, Yōko Miyake, also in the halfpipe, was eighth. In boardercross, Yuka Fujimori reached 7th place in 2010. Ninth places were achieved by Tomoka Takeuchi in the giant slalom and by Shiho Nakashima in the halfpipe.

2010 Kazuhiro Kokubo finished eighth in the halfpipe. His teammate Ryō Aono was right behind him in 9th place. In 2014 in Sochi, the first medal wins in snowboard came. The first medal winners in the halfpipe were Ayumu Hirano with silver and Taku Hiraoka with bronze. A few days later, Tomoka Takeuchi won another silver medal in the women's giant slalom. Rana Okada finished fifth in the halfpipe .

In 2018 in Pyeongchang, Ayumu Hirano again won silver in the halfpipe. In the women's category , Reira Iwabuchi was fourth in the big air and Haruna Matsumoto sixth in the halfpipe.

Surname	Games	discipline	annotation
Ayumu Hirano	2014 Sochi	halfpipe	first medal win
Tomoka Takeuchi	2014 Sochi	Giant slalom
Ayumu Hirano	2018 Pyeongchang	halfpipe

Surname	Games	discipline	annotation
Taku Hiraoka	2014 Sochi	halfpipe

Youth games

Youth Summer Games

71 young people, 25 boys and 46 girls, took part in the first edition of the 2010 Summer Youth Olympic Games in Singapore . 16 medals were won, of which eight gold, five silver and three bronze medals.

Olympic champions in freestyle wrestling were Yuki Takahashi in the lightweight and Yū Miyahara in the flyweight. In judo, Ryosuke Igarashi won the heavyweight division and Miku Tashiro won the middleweight division. The triathlete Yuka Satō and the gymnast Yuya Kamoto achieved further Olympic victories in the individual all-around competition. In table tennis, Kōki Niwa won the boys' singles and, together with Ayuka Tanioka, the mixed doubles. Four of the five silver medals were won by track and field athletes. The sprinters Masaki Nashimoto (100 meters) and Keisuke Homma (200 meters) finished second, as did the long jumper Sho Matsubara and the 3000 meter runner Moe Kyuma. The fifth silver medal was won by gymnast Yuya Kamoto on the rings. In the trampoline gymnastics, Ginga Munetomo won bronze in the boys and Chisato Doihata each. Another bronze medal went to the swimmer Maya Hamano over 200 meters chest.

A gold medal, which is not included in the medal balance of Japan, was won by the judoka Miku Tashiro with the mixed team Essen .

Four years later, the Youth Summer Games were held in Nanjing . 78 young athletes, 40 boys and 38 girls, won 21 medals, including seven gold, nine silver and five bronze medals.

Olympic champions were the freestyle wrestlers Yajyuro Yamasaki in the light heavyweight division of the boys and Mayu Mukaida in the middleweight division of the girls, the track and field athletes Minoru Onogawa in the 10-kilometer run and Nozomi Takamatsu in the 3,000-meter run, the judoka Hifumi Abe in the lightweight, the swimmer Ippei Watanabe over 200 meters chest and gymnast Kenya Yuasa on the horizontal bar. Silver went to the foil fencer Karin Miyawaki, the boxer Toshihiro Suzuki in the light welterweight division, the table tennis player Yūto Muramatsu in the boys singles and, together with Miyu Katō in the mixed doubles, the badminton player Akane Yamaguchi in the girls singles, the track and field athletes Kenta Oshima over 100 meters and Yuji Hiramatsu in the long jump and gymnast Kenya Yuasa on the floor and Rana Nakano on the girls' trampoline. Bronze was won by the flyweight judoka Honoka Yamauchi, the boxer Subaru Murata in the light flyweight, the athlete Nagisa Mori in the javelin throw, the gymnast Sae Miyakawa in the jump and the tennis players Ryotaro Matsumara and Jumpei Yamasaki in the boys' doubles.

• 

  Koki Niwa, 2010 Olympic champion

• 

  Yuka Satō, 2010 Olympic champion

• 

  Karin Miyawaki, silver 2014

• 

  Akane Yamaguchi, silver 2014

• 

  Jumpei Yamasaki, bronze 2014

Youth Winter Games

The first Winter Youth Games took place in Innsbruck in 2012 . 33 young people, 19 boys and 14 girls, were able to win 16 medals, two gold, five silver and nine bronze medals.

Olympic champions were the ski jumper Sara Takanashi and the snowboarder Hikaru Ōe in the halfpipe. Silver won in the speed skating Seitarō Ichinohe over 3000 meters of the boys and in the mass start and Rio Harada over 3000 meters of the girls, the cross-country skier Kentarō Ishikawa over 10 kilometers classic and the figure skater Shōma Uno in the individual. Bronze went to the speed skaters Toshihiro Kakui over 500 meters and Seitarō Ichinohe over 1500 meters of the boys and Sumire Kikuchi over 1500 meters and in the mass start of the girls, who also won bronze in the short track over 1000 meters, the ski jumper Yukiya Satō, the Nordic combined Gō Yamamoto in singles, snowboarder Taku Hiraoka in the halfpipe and ice hockey player Seiya Furukawa in the Skill Challenge.

In 2016 the second Winter Youth Games were held in Lillehammer . 31 young people, 17 boys and 14 girls, took part. This time six medals, two gold and four silver, could be won.

Olympic champions were the figure skater Sōta Yamamoto in the singles and the ice hockey player Sena Takenaka in the Skill Challenge. Silver went to the speed skaters Kazuki Sakakibara over 500 meters and Daichi Horikawa over 1500 meters of the boys, the short tracker Kazuki Yoshinaga over 500 meters and the alpine ski racer Yohei Koyama in the giant slalom.

Japanese youths won three medals, one gold, one silver and one bronze medal in mixed teams. These medals are not included in the Japanese medal balance. In curling, Yako Matsuzawa, who formed a mixed team with the Swiss Phillip Hösli, became Olympic champion. Two short trackers ran in mixed relays and won silver and bronze. Kiichi Shigehiro ran with her relay to the silver, Kazuki Yoshinaga with his relay to the bronze medal.

• 

  Shōma Uno, silver 2012

• 

  Sumire Kikuchi, bronze 2012

• 

  Sōta Yamamoto, 2016 Olympic Champion

• 

  Award ceremony 2016: in the middle with gold Sena Takenaka

• 

  Kazuki Sakakibara, silver 2016

• 

  Daichi Horikawa, silver 2016

Participants by sport

Summer games

sport	year
	1912	1920	1924	1928	1932	1936	1952	1956	1960	1964	1968	1972	1976	1984	1988	1992	1996	2000	2004	2008	2012	2016
badminton																11	7th	9	11	10	11	9
baseball																20th	20th	24	24	24
basketball						8th		11	12	12		12	24				12		12			12
Beach volleyball																	6th	4th	2	4th	2	4th
Archery												4th	4th	5	6th	6th	5	5	6th	5	6th	4th
Boxing				2	5	5	2	3	5	9	4th	4th	6th	7th	7th	4th	3	2	1	2	4th	2
fencing							1	1	5	15th	5	5	8th	9	10	6th	4th	4th	5	7th	10	6th
Soccer						12		11		13	16						33	16	33	34	35	17th
Weightlifting							1	5	7th	7th	7th	9	9	9	10	10	7th	8th	4th	6th	5	17th
golf																						4th
Handball												12	24	15th
hockey					11	11			14th	13	14th								16	14th	16	16
Judo									4th		6th	6th	8th	7th	14th	14th	14th	14th	14th	14th	14th	14th
Canoeing										12	2	5	3	5	8th	6th	8th	2	5	9	8th	14th
athletics	2	11	8th	16	34	46	19th	20th	20th	64	19th	19th	15th	22nd	29	31	32	40	38	37	44	51
Modern pentathlon									2	3	3	3	3	3	3	1				1	3	3
Cycling							4th	1	5	15th	1	3	5	9	12	12	8th	10	11	14th	9	10
horse riding				4th	5	4th	1	2	3	10	4th	5	7th	6th	10	9	9	8th	4th	6th	8th	10
Wrestling			1	1	7th	5	5	8th	16	16	15th	20th	20th	20th	20th	16	12	8th	13	10	13	10
Rugby Sevens																						25th
rowing				6th	14th	16	5	9	14th	26th	10	3	9	6th	12	13	11	8th	4th	4th	5	4th
shoot							1	6th	8th	10	6th	6th	11	15th	14th	11	9	9	9	5	4th	8th
swim		2	6th	10	23	21st	22nd	19th	21st	38	20th	15th	15th	25th	28	28	36	30th	29	40	38	44
sailing						3	1		6th	11		3	5	8th	13	7th	10	10	10	9	9	7th
Softball																	15th	15th	14th	15th
Taekwondo																		2	1	1	2	1
tennis		2	4th												4th	5	7th	5	4th	3	3	6th
Table tennis															7th	8th	8th	9	8th	6th	6th	6th
Triathlon																		6th	5	5	5	4th
do gymnastics					6th	8th	6th	12	12	12	12	12	12	14th	14th	11	15th	17th	10	21st	17th	19th
volleyball										21st	20th	24	24	24	24	24	12		11	24	12	12
Water polo					8th	8th			7th	8th	9	11		13								12
Diving		1		1	4th	5	2	4th	5	9	4th	3	3	3	4th	3	3	1	2	2	1	3

Winter games

sport	year
	1928	1932	1936	1952	1956	1960	1964	1968	1972	1976	1980	1984	1988	1992	1994	1998	2002	2006	2010	2014	2018
biathlon							2	4th	4th	5	4th	4th	4th	3	2	8th	8th	9	2	5	6th
Bobsleigh									8th	4th	2	4th	4th	4th	5	9	5	4th	6th	4th
Curling																10	4th	5	5	5	10
ice Hockey			9			17th	17th	18th	19th	18th	20th					42				20th	23
figure skating		2	5			3	4th	5	4th	3	3	4th	5	6th	4th	7th	4th	6th	8th	10	9
Speed ​​skating		4th	7th	6th	5	8th	8th	12	13	9	8th	9	13	15th	17th	18th	20th	19th	19th	17th	16
Freestyle ski														1	3	7th	8th	9	10	9	11
Nordic combination	1	3	3	1	2	4th	3	4th	4th	2	2	2	3	4th	4th	5	5	5	5	5	5
Sledding									7th	5	2	4th	5	3	3	6th	4th	5	3	1
Short track														8th	5	11	10	10	8th	7th	10
skeleton																					3
Alpine skiing			3	2	2	4th	5	7th	10	4th	4th	4th	6th	6th	5	10	6th	8th	2	2	4th
Cross-country skiing	5	6th	5	2	1	4th	4th	6th	11	3	1	4th	4th	6th	7th	11	12	9	6th	6th	2
Ski jumping	1	4th	4th	4th	2	4th	4th	5	5	5	4th	4th	4th	4th	4th	5	5	5	4th	8th	9
Snowboard																7th	9	13	11	8th	16

Medals by sport

Summer games

sport	gold	silver	bronze	total
Judo	39	19th	26th	84
Wrestling	32	21st	16	69
do gymnastics	31	33	34	98
swim	22nd	30th	42	94
athletics	7th	8th	10	25th
volleyball	3	3	3	9
Weightlifting	2	3	9	14th
Boxing	2	0	3	5
shoot	1	2	3	6th
badminton	1	1	1	3
Softball	1	1	1	3
horse riding	1	0	0	1
Archery	0	3	2	5
Table tennis	0	2	2	4th
tennis	0	2	1	3
fencing	0	2	0	2
Cycling	0	1	3	4th
baseball	0	1	2	3
Soccer	0	1	1	2
sailing	0	1	1	2
hockey	0	1	0	1
Canoeing	0	0	1	1
Taekwondo	0	0	1	1
total	142	135	162	439

Winter games

sport	gold	silver	bronze	total
Speed ​​skating	4th	7th	10	21st
Ski jumping	3	5	4th	12
figure skating	3	3	1	7th
Nordic combination	2	3	0	5
Freestyle ski	1	0	3	4th
Short track	1	0	2	3
Snowboarding	0	3	1	4th
Alpine skiing	0	1	0	1
Curling	0	0	1	1
total	14th	22nd	22nd	58

Medal table

				total	rank
Olympic Summer Games	142	135	162	439	11
winter Olympics	14th	22nd	22nd	58	14th
total	156	157	184	497	11

Web links

• Japan in the Sports-Reference database (English; archived from the original )
• Japan on Olympic.org  - The Official website of the Olympic movement (English)
• Side of the Japanese NOK (jap.)

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Including the participants in the Stockholm Equestrian Games (2)
2. ^ Flag bearer at the Equestrian Games in Stockholm
3. ↑ Reuters on August 19, 2016
4. ↑ Broder-Jürgen Trede on Spiegel Online on July 14, 2017
5. ↑ Mike Lewis in The Guardian on November 30, 2002 (Eng.)
6. ↑ Article on Waseda Weekly of October 25, 2007
7. ↑ The cross-country skier Sakuta Takefushi also took part in the Nordic combined.

}