Olympic Country profile: Glorious homecoming the objective for hosts Japan

Tokyo will be hosting the Summer Olympics for the second time in the history of the prestigious tournament, having done so previously in 1964.

Rising judo star Hifumi Abe is determined to win a gold medal in his Olympic debut at the Tokyo Games. (Image Credit: Twitter/@The_Japan_News)
By Arnab Mukherji | Jul 17, 2021 | 4 Min Read follow icon Follow Us

Japan are the hosts of the 2020 edition of the Olympics, with Tokyo the city where the prestigious tournament will be held. The nation first participated in the Olympics in 1912. This has been followed by representation in every edition of the prestigious tournament since then, barring two occasions. The first was in the case of the 1948 Olympics after the conclusion of World War 2, with Japan not invited. The second such occasion was the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow where Japan was a part of the US-led boycott. The nation was successful in winning its first medals in the 1920 edition. However, they had to wait for eight long years before winning their first gold medals in 1928.

Tokyo will be hosting the Summer Olympics for the second time in the history of the prestigious tournament, having done so previously in 1964. Japan has played host on three occasions overall, with the upcoming edition marking the fourth occasion. The nation has hosted two editions of the Winter Olympics, in 1972 and 1998 respectively. Sapporo, Hokkaido and Nagano played host on both occasions. Japan made unsuccessful bids for six editions. They were for the 1960 Summer Olympics, 1988 Summer Olympics, 2008 Summer Olympics, 1968 Winter Olympics, 1984 Winter Olympics and 2016 Summer Olympics respectively.

Most successful edition

Japan’s most successful edition with regard to the number of medals won is the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics. The nation won 41 medals with 12 gold medals, 8 silver medals, 21 bronze medals following the participation of 338 athletes at the event. Kosuke Hagino, Shohei Ono, Haruka Tachimoto, Mashu Baker, Kohei Uchimura, Rie Kaneto, Eri Tosaka, Kaori Icho, Sara Dosho, Risako Kawai are the individual athletes who won gold medals. Kenzo Shirai, Yusuke Tanaka, Koji Yamamuro, Kohei Uchimura and Ryohei Kato combined to win a gold in the Men’s artistic team all-around’s event of gymnastics. Misaki Matsutomo, Ayaka Takahashi further won the premier medal in the Women’s doubles category of badminton.

The 1964 Tokyo Olympics and 2004 Athens Olympics marked the editions when the nation recorded the highest number of gold medals (16). Rio de Janeiro represented the second most successful edition when it comes to the premier medal. 2012 London saw Japan win the most number of silver medals in their history (14). The nation has won a total of 439 medals at the Summer Olympics so far. This includes 142 gold medals, 136 silver medals and 161 bronze medals respectively. Some of the most prolific athletes from the nation are Yuzuru Hanyu, Kaori Icho, Sawao Kato, Kosuke Kitajima, Tadahiro Nomura and Kohei Uchimura.

Prolific athletes

Hanyu is considered the greatest figure skater in history. He won two Olympic gold medals in the 2014 and 2018 editions of the Olympics, becoming the first repeat men’s singles figure skating champion since Dick Button in 1952. Freestyle wrestler Icho became the first woman to win individual gold medals in four Summer Olympics in the 2016 edition. She once held a 13-year win streak and owns 10 world championships.

Kato is considered the athlete with the most Olympic men’s gymnastics titles and the most gold medals for any Japanese Olympian (8). Breaststroke swimmer Kitajima swept the 100m and 200m events at the 2004 and 2008 Olympics, recording seven total medals in four Olympic appearances which includes four gold medals. Nomura is the only judoka with three Olympic titles. The 3-time gold medalist won the extra lightweight (60kg) division in 1996, 2000 and 2004. Gymnast Uchimura won every Olympic and world all-around title from 2009-16. He became the first man since Kato to repeat as Olympic all-around gold medalist.

Most successful discipline

Gymnastics represents the sport in which Japan has enjoyed the maximum success when it comes to the number of medals. The nation has won 98 medals in the sport, which includes 31 gold medals, 33 silver medals and 34 bronze medals respectively. However, Judo has witnessed the maximum number of gold medals with 39 of them so far. Wrestling stands second on the list when it comes to gold medals, with 32 accumulated till this stage.

Japan will be looking to increase its tally even further across different sports in the upcoming edition of the Olympics. Tennis star Naomi Osaka will be one of the biggest names in the edition, having won four Grand Slam titles since 2018. She is the first Japanese singles player to win a Grand Slam. Osaka withdrew from the French Open and Wimbledon to prioritize her mental health, which will certainly leave her fresh going into the Olympics.

Hideki Matsuyama became the first Japanese man to ever win a major golf tournament, after earning the green jacket at the Masters Tournament in April. He is considered the nation’s best golfer and there will be a lot of expectations from him, considering his prowess and ability to make his presence felt.