There were six teams who competed in a pure round-robin competition. The first four teams from the 1962 World Championships were eligible and the United States and North Korea (DPR Korea) were also offered a spot. When North Korea withdrew from the 1964 Olympics because of the problem with the Games of the New Emerging Forces (GANEFO), Korea received the sixth spot in the women’s tournament.
Japan was the hometown favorite, having won the 1962 World Championships. They were expected to be pressed by the Soviet Union, who had placed second in 1962 and won the Worlds in 1960. Japan was led by their martinet coach, Hirofumi Daimatsu. His Spartan training methods were highly criticized and would now be considered athlete abuse. In the end, Japan won the gold medal easily, losing only one set, 15-13, to Poland. Their final match was against the Soviets, and they defeated them in straight sets, 15-11, 15-8, 15-13. All the Japanese team members were from Nichibo Kaizuka (from near Osaka), a fiber spinning company, including Daimatsu. Daimatsu later became a member of parliament in Japan. After the Olympics, team captain Masae Kasai met with the Japanese Prime Minister and complained to him that she had not been able to find a husband because of the difficult training regimen. The Prime Minister set her up with a date and the two later married.