Japan at the Olympics

Japan at the Olympics is a history which includes 41 games in 22 countries and 3,000+ athletes.[1] Since 1912, athletes of Japan have been part of the "Olympic Movement".[2]

Japan at the
Olympics
Flag of Japan.svg
IOC codeJPN
NOCJapanese Olympic Committee
Websitewww.joc.or.jp (in Japanese and English)
Medals
Gold
156
Silver
158
Bronze
183
Total
497
Summer appearances
Winter appearances

The International Olympic Committee's official abbreviation for Japan is JPN.[3]

History

The Japanese National Olympic Committee was formed in 1911. It was recognized by the International Olympic Committee in 1912.[4] Its first president was Kanō Jigorō.[5]

Japan's team first competed at the 1912 Summer Olympics in Stockholm.[1] Japan was not invited to the 1948 Games after World War II; and Japan boycotted of the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow.

In support of the team at the 2012 Summer Olympics, each of the 518 athletes were given hand-carved good luck charm made by schoolchildren from tsunami-hit areas in Tōhoku. These special "medals" were made from driftwood. There were messages from the children on the ribbons which were attached.[6]

Medalists

Japanese tennis players Ichiya Kumagae[7] and Seiichiro Kashio[8] were the first Japanese athletes to win medals in summer sport. They won silver medals in the 1920 Summer Olympics.[9]

The first Japanese medal in a winter sport was in 1956[10] when Chiharu Igaya earned a silver medal for Alpine skiing.[11]

Summer Games

During the course of 20 summer games, Japanese athletes have won 350+ medals,[12] with the most gold medals won in judo. In the 1928 games in Amsterdam, Japan's first gold medals in summer sports were won by Mikio Oda in the triple jump and by Yoshiyuki Tsuruta in swimming.[5]

Games Gold Silver Bronze Total Notes
1912 Stockholm[13] - - - -
1920 Antwerp[14] - 2 - 2 Tennis
1924 Paris[15] - - 1 1 Wrestling
1928 Amsterdam[16] 2 2 1 5 SwimmingTrack and field athletics
1932 Los Angeles[17] 7 7 4 18
1936 Berlin[18] 6 4 8 18
1948 London did not participate
1952 Helsinki[19] 1 6 2 9
1956 Melbourne[20] 4 10 5 19
1960 Rome[21] 4 7 7 18
1964 Tokyo (Host Nation)[22] 16 5 8 29
1968 Mexico City[23] 11 7 7 25
1972 Munich[24] 13 8 8 29
1976 Montreal[25] 9 6 10 25
1980 Moscow did not participate
1984 Los Angeles[26] 10 8 14 32
1988 Seoul[27] 4 3 7 14
1992 Barcelona[28] 3 8 11 22
1996 Atlanta[29] 3 6 5 14
2000 Sydney[30] 5 8 5 18
2004 Athens[31] 16 9 12 37
2008 Beijing[32] 9 6 11 26
2012 London[33] 7 14 17 38[34]
2016 Rio de Janeiro
2020 Summer Olympics
Totals 124 116 134 374

Winter Games

Japan has won 37 medals at the winter games.[35] In the 1972 games in Sapporo, Japan's first gold medal in a winter sports was won by Yukio Kasaya in ski jumping.[5]

Games Gold Silver Bronze Total Notes
1924 Chamonix did not participate
1928 St. Moritz[36] - - - -
1932 Lake Placid[37] - - - -
1936 Garmisch-Partenkirchen[38] - - - -
1948 St. Moritz did not participate
1952 Oslo[39] - - - -
1956 Cortina d'Ampezzo[40] - 1 - 1 Alpine skiing[41]
1960 Squaw Valley[42] - - - -
1964 Innsbruck[43] - - - -
1968 Grenoble[44] - - - -
1972 Sapporo (Host Nation)[45] 1 1 1 3 Ski jumping[46]
1976 Innsbruck[47] - - - -
1980 Lake Placid[48] - 1 - 1 Ski jumping[49]
1984 Sarajevo[50] - 1 - 1 Speed skating[51]
1988 Calgary[52] - - 1 1 Speed skating[53]
1992 Albertville[54] 1 2 4 7 Figure Skating,[55] Nordic combined,[56] Speed skating[57]
1994 Lillehammer[58] 1 2 2 5
1998 Nagano (Host Nation)[59] 5 1 4 10
2002 Salt Lake City[60] - 1 1 2
2006 Turin[61] 1 - - 1 Figure skating[62]
2010 Vancouver[63] - 3 2 5
2014 Sochi
2018 Pyeongchang
Totals 9 13 15 37

Notable Olympians

Japanese Olympic greats include

The youngest Japanese competitor was Etsuko Inada (12 years, 4 days) in the 1936 Winter Olympics. The oldest Japanese Olympian is Hiroshi Hoketsu (67 years, 139 days) in the 2008 Summer Games.[64]

Host country

The 1940 Summer Olympics and the 1940 Winter Olympics were planned for Japan, but the organizers withdrew in 1938 because of the Second Sino-Japanese War.[65] These games were later cancelled because of World War II.

Japan was the host country three times,[66] including

Related pages

References

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Other websites

  Media related to Japan at the Olympic Games at Wikimedia Commons