Japan (JPN)

Overview

NOCJapanese Olympic Committee
Flagbearers91

Participants

Olympic Games 4656
Youth Olympic Games 368
Other competitors with JPN nationality 3

Description

Japan first competed at the 1912 Olympic Games, its delegation and Olympic Committee led by Dr. Jigoro Kano, the founder of judo. Japan has since failed to compete only at the Games of 1948 (as an aggressor nation in World War II, it was not invited), and 1980 (when it chose to boycott the Moskva Olympics).

Japan was the dominant country in men’s gymnastics from 1956 until the mid-1980s. In addition, at times, it has been the top country in swimming and one of the top in wrestling and weightlifting.

Its top Olympic medals winners have been male gymnasts, led by Takashi Ono with 13, Sawao Kato with 12, and Akinori Nakayama with 10. Kato leads the gold medal count, with eight gold medals, followed by Nakayama (six) and Ono (five). Through 2022, Japan has won 497 Olympic medals (169 gold medals) at the Summer Olympics.

At the Olympic Winter Games, Japan first competed in 1928 and has since missed only 1948, when it also was not invited. They have won 76 medals, with 17 golds, at the Winter Games. Japan’s best sport has been speed skating, winning 26 medals and five gold medals. Their next best discipline has been ski jumping, highlighted by their first medals in the 1972 normal hill event, when Japan swept the medals at Sapporo, led by gold medalist Yukio Kasaya.

To no surprise, Japan’s most successful Winter Olympian comes in the sport of speed skating: Miho Takagi has won seven medals and two golds in 2018 and 2022. Three other Japanese athletes have won three medals and two golds: Takanori Kono in Nordic Combined (1992-1994), Kazuyoshi Funaki in ski jumping (1998), and speedskater Nana Takagi (2018-2022).

Japan hosted the Games of the XVIIIth Olympiad in Tokyo in 1964, the 11th Olympic Winter Games in Sapporo in 1972, and the 18th Olympic Winter Games in Nagano in 1998. Prior to the outbreak of hostilities, Japan was also scheduled to host both editions of the 1940 Olympics; the Olympic Winter Games were scheduled for Sapporo, and the Games of the XIIth Olympiad were scheduled for Tokyo.

Tokyo was scheduled to host the 2020 Olympic Games, but those Games were postponed to 2021 because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

In 1964 the Olympic Committee of Japan was awarded with the Count Alberto Bonacossa Trophy and in 1991 it was awarded with the Olympic Cup.

Participations by edition

Olympic Games

Edition As Men Women Total
1912 Summer Olympics Japan 2 0 2 Results
1920 Summer Olympics Japan 15 0 15 Results
1924 Summer Olympics Japan 19 0 19 Results
1928 Summer Olympics Japan 39 1 40 Results
1928 Winter Olympics Japan 6 0 6 Results
1932 Summer Olympics Japan 140 17 157 Results
1932 Winter Olympics Japan 16 0 16 Results
1936 Summer Olympics Japan 204 16 220 Results
1936 Winter Olympics Japan 30 1 31 Results
1952 Summer Olympics Japan 58 11 69 Results
1952 Winter Olympics Japan 13 0 13 Results
1956 Summer Olympics Japan 94 16 110 Results
1956 Winter Olympics Japan 10 0 10 Results
1956 Equestrian Olympics Japan 2 0 2 Results
1960 Summer Olympics Japan 142 20 162 Results
1960 Winter Olympics Japan 36 5 41 Results
1964 Summer Olympics Japan 270 58 328 Results
1964 Winter Olympics Japan 41 6 47 Results
1968 Summer Olympics Japan 146 25 171 Results
1968 Winter Olympics Japan 52 9 61 Results
1972 Summer Olympics Japan 148 36 184 Results
1972 Winter Olympics Japan 64 20 84 Results
1976 Summer Olympics Japan 153 60 213 Results
1976 Winter Olympics Japan 50 8 58 Results
1980 Winter Olympics Japan 46 4 50 Results
1984 Summer Olympics Japan 174 52 226 Results
1984 Winter Olympics Japan 32 7 39 Results
1988 Summer Olympics Japan 186 69 255 Results
1988 Winter Olympics Japan 37 11 48 Results
1992 Summer Olympics Japan 175 81 256 Results
1992 Winter Olympics Japan 40 20 60 Results
1994 Winter Olympics Japan 43 16 59 Results
1996 Summer Olympics Japan 157 149 306 Results
1998 Winter Olympics Japan 92 64 156 Results
2000 Summer Olympics Japan 156 110 266 Results
2002 Winter Olympics Japan 59 44 103 Results
2004 Summer Olympics Japan 139 167 306 Results
2006 Winter Olympics Japan 58 52 110 Results
2008 Summer Olympics Japan 167 165 332 Results
2010 Winter Olympics Japan 48 43 91 Results
2012 Summer Olympics Japan 136 155 291 Results
2014 Winter Olympics Japan 48 62 110 Results
2016 Summer Olympics Japan 171 164 335 Results
2018 Winter Olympics Japan 49 70 119 Results
2020 Summer Olympics Japan 314 286 600 Results
2022 Winter Olympics Japan 48 69 117 Results

Youth Olympic Games

Edition As Men Women Total
2010 Summer Youth Olympics Japan 25 46 71 Results
2012 Winter Youth Olympics Japan 16 14 30 Results
2014 Summer Youth Olympics Japan 39 39 78 Results
2016 Winter Youth Olympics Japan 15 14 29 Results
2018 Summer Youth Olympics Japan 48 43 91 Results
2020 Winter Youth Olympics Japan 27 42 69 Results

Participations by discipline

Olympic Games

Discipline (Sport) Men Women Total
3x3 Basketball (Basketball) 4 4 8 Results
Alpine Skiing (Skiing) 44 16 60 Results
Archery 19 24 43 Results
Art Competitions 92 1 93 Results
Artistic Gymnastics (Gymnastics) 80 63 143 Results
Artistic Swimming (Aquatics) 0 52 52 Results
Athletics 383 143 526 Results
Badminton 22 40 62 Results
Baseball (Baseball/Softball) 122 0 122 Results
Basketball (Basketball) 64 52 116 Results
Beach Volleyball (Volleyball) 5 10 15 Results
Biathlon 33 16 49 Results
Bobsleigh (Bobsleigh) 35 3 38 Results
Boxing 74 2 76 Results
Canoe Slalom (Canoeing) 11 5 16 Results
Canoe Sprint (Canoeing) 31 19 50 Results
Cross Country Skiing (Skiing) 60 25 85 Results
Curling 9 20 29 Results
Cycling BMX Freestyle (Cycling) 1 1 2 Results
Cycling BMX Racing (Cycling) 2 1 3 Results
Cycling Mountain Bike (Cycling) 4 5 9 Results
Cycling Road (Cycling) 29 9 38 Results
Cycling Track (Cycling) 60 11 71 Results
Diving (Aquatics) 26 22 48 Results
Equestrian Dressage (Equestrian) 13 5 18 Results
Equestrian Eventing (Equestrian) 30 0 30 Results
Equestrian Jumping (Equestrian) 33 2 35 Results
Fencing 58 36 94 Results
Figure Skating (Skating) 37 35 72 Results
Football (Football) 154 65 219 Results
Freestyle Skiing (Skiing) 26 17 43 Results
Golf 4 4 8 Results
Handball 61 28 89 Results
Hockey 71 52 123 Results
Ice Hockey (Ice Hockey) 99 53 152 Results
Judo 65 37 102 Results
Karate 4 4 8 Results
Luge 20 13 33 Results
Marathon Swimming (Aquatics) 2 1 3 Results
Modern Pentathlon 20 4 24 Results
Nordic Combined (Skiing) 49 0 49 Results
Rhythmic Gymnastics (Gymnastics) 0 31 31 Results
Rowing 145 11 156 Results
Rugby Sevens (Rugby) 20 24 44 Results
Sailing 74 20 94 Results
Shooting 69 22 91 Results
Short Track Speed Skating (Skating) 24 20 44 Results
Skateboarding (Roller Sports) 4 6 10 Results
Skeleton (Bobsleigh) 6 3 9 Results
Ski Jumping (Skiing) 56 5 61 Results
Snowboarding (Skiing) 30 27 57 Results
Softball (Baseball/Softball) 0 55 55 Results
Speed Skating (Skating) 96 62 158 Results
Sport Climbing 2 2 4 Results
Surfing 2 2 4 Results
Swimming (Aquatics) 205 153 358 Results
Table Tennis 18 19 37 Results
Taekwondo 3 4 7 Results
Tennis 18 20 38 Results
Trampolining (Gymnastics) 7 6 13 Results
Triathlon 8 11 19 Results
Volleyball (Volleyball) 80 110 190 Results
Water Polo (Aquatics) 74 13 87 Results
Weightlifting 73 11 84 Results
Wrestling 177 13 190 Results

Youth Olympic Games

Discipline (Sport) Men Women Total
3-on-3 Ice Hockey (Ice Hockey) 4 5 9 Results
3x3 Basketball (Basketball) 0 4 4 Results
Alpine Skiing (Skiing) 3 3 6 Results
Archery 3 3 6 Results
Artistic Gymnastics (Gymnastics) 3 3 6 Results
Athletics 22 20 42 Results
Badminton 3 4 7 Results
Biathlon 3 2 5 Results
Bobsleigh (Bobsleigh) 0 2 2 Results
Boxing 3 0 3 Results
Breaking (Dance) 1 1 2 Results
Canoe Sprint (Canoeing) 0 1 1 Results
Cross Country Skiing (Skiing) 3 4 7 Results
Curling 6 6 12 Results
Cycling BMX Freestyle (Cycling) 1 1 2 Results
Cycling BMX Racing (Cycling) 1 1 2 Results
Cycling Road (Cycling) 5 3 8 Results
Equestrian Jumping (Equestrian) 0 1 1 Results
Fencing 2 4 6 Results
Figure Skating (Skating) 6 5 11 Results
Freestyle Skiing (Skiing) 2 3 5 Results
Futsal (Football) 0 10 10 Results
Golf 2 2 4 Results
Hockey 5s 0 9 9 Results
Ice Hockey (Ice Hockey) 2 18 20 Results
Judo 2 2 4 Results
Karate 3 3 6 Results
Luge 0 1 1 Results
Mixed Sports 6 5 11 Results
Modern Pentathlon 0 1 1 Results
Nordic Combined (Skiing) 4 2 6 Results
Rhythmic Gymnastics (Gymnastics) 0 6 6 Results
Rowing 1 2 3 Results
Rugby Sevens (Rugby) 24 0 24 Results
Sailing 3 2 5 Results
Shooting 1 1 2 Results
Short Track Speed Skating (Skating) 5 3 8 Results
Skeleton (Bobsleigh) 5 3 8 Results
Ski Jumping (Skiing) 6 5 11 Results
Snowboarding (Skiing) 6 5 11 Results
Speed Skating (Skating) 6 6 12 Results
Sport Climbing 2 1 3 Results
Swimming (Aquatics) 12 12 24 Results
Table Tennis 3 3 6 Results
Taekwondo 1 0 1 Results
Tennis 4 4 8 Results
Trampolining (Gymnastics) 2 3 5 Results
Triathlon 3 3 6 Results
Volleyball (Volleyball) 0 12 12 Results
Weightlifting 0 2 2 Results
Wrestling 5 4 9 Results

Medals by Games

Edition Competition Type Gold Silver Bronze Total
2020 Summer Olympics Olympic Games 27 14 17 58
2004 Summer Olympics Olympic Games 16 9 12 37
1964 Summer Olympics Olympic Games 16 5 8 29
2018 Summer Youth Olympics Youth Olympic Games 15 12 12 39
1972 Summer Olympics Olympic Games 13 8 8 29
2016 Summer Olympics Olympic Games 12 8 21 41
1968 Summer Olympics Olympic Games 11 7 7 25
1984 Summer Olympics Olympic Games 10 8 14 32
2008 Summer Olympics Olympic Games 9 8 8 25
2020 Winter Youth Olympics Youth Olympic Games 9 7 1 17
1976 Summer Olympics Olympic Games 9 6 10 25
2010 Summer Youth Olympics Youth Olympic Games 8 5 3 16
2012 Summer Olympics Olympic Games 7 14 17 38
2014 Summer Youth Olympics Youth Olympic Games 7 9 5 21
1932 Summer Olympics Olympic Games 7 7 4 18
1936 Summer Olympics Olympic Games 6 4 10 20
2000 Summer Olympics Olympic Games 5 8 5 18
1998 Winter Olympics Olympic Games 5 1 4 10
1956 Summer Olympics Olympic Games 4 10 5 19
1960 Summer Olympics Olympic Games 4 7 7 18
2018 Winter Olympics Olympic Games 4 5 4 13
1988 Summer Olympics Olympic Games 4 3 7 14
1992 Summer Olympics Olympic Games 3 8 11 22
2022 Winter Olympics Olympic Games 3 6 9 18
1996 Summer Olympics Olympic Games 3 6 5 14
2012 Winter Youth Olympics Youth Olympic Games 2 5 9 16
2016 Winter Youth Olympics Youth Olympic Games 2 4 0 6
1928 Summer Olympics Olympic Games 2 2 1 5
1952 Summer Olympics Olympic Games 1 6 2 9
2014 Winter Olympics Olympic Games 1 4 3 8
1992 Winter Olympics Olympic Games 1 2 4 7
1994 Winter Olympics Olympic Games 1 2 2 5
1972 Winter Olympics Olympic Games 1 1 1 3
2006 Winter Olympics Olympic Games 1 0 0 1
2010 Winter Olympics Olympic Games 0 3 2 5
1920 Summer Olympics Olympic Games 0 2 0 2
2002 Winter Olympics Olympic Games 0 1 1 2
1956 Winter Olympics Olympic Games 0 1 0 1
1980 Winter Olympics Olympic Games 0 1 0 1
1984 Winter Olympics Olympic Games 0 1 0 1
1924 Summer Olympics Olympic Games 0 0 1 1
1988 Winter Olympics Olympic Games 0 0 1 1

Medals by sport

Olympic Games

Sport Gold Silver Bronze Total
Judo 48 21 27 96
Wrestling 37 22 17 76
Artistic Gymnastics 33 34 36 103
Swimming 24 27 32 83
Athletics 7 10 10 27
Speed Skating 5 10 11 26
Ski Jumping 4 6 4 14
Figure Skating 3 4 4 11
Volleyball 3 3 3 9
Skateboarding 3 1 1 5
Boxing 3 0 5 8
Weightlifting 2 3 10 15
Nordic Combined 2 3 2 7
Softball 2 1 1 4
Table Tennis 1 3 4 8
Snowboarding 1 3 3 7
Shooting 1 2 3 6
Fencing 1 2 0 3
Badminton 1 1 2 4
Baseball 1 1 2 4
Karate 1 1 1 3
Freestyle Skiing 1 0 4 5
Short Track Speed Skating 1 0 2 3
Equestrian Jumping 1 0 0 1
Artistic Swimming 0 4 10 14
Archery 0 3 4 7
Cycling Track 0 2 3 5
Tennis 0 2 1 3
Curling 0 1 1 2
Football 0 1 1 2
Sailing 0 1 1 2
Sport Climbing 0 1 1 2
Surfing 0 1 1 2
Alpine Skiing 0 1 0 1
Basketball 0 1 0 1
Golf 0 1 0 1
Hockey 0 1 0 1
Art Competitions 0 0 2 2
Canoe Slalom 0 0 1 1
Taekwondo 0 0 1 1

Youth Olympic Games

Sport Gold Silver Bronze Total
Artistic Gymnastics 7 2 1 10
Wrestling 6 0 2 8
Snowboarding 5 3 1 9
Athletics 3 7 3 13
Speed Skating 3 6 5 14
Swimming 3 2 5 10
Judo 3 0 1 4
Table Tennis 2 5 0 7
Figure Skating 2 1 0 3
Ice Hockey 2 0 1 3
Karate 1 3 0 4
Ski Jumping 1 1 1 3
Tennis 1 1 1 3
Fencing 1 1 0 2
Sport Climbing 1 1 0 2
Breaking 1 0 1 2
Triathlon 1 0 0 1
Trampolining 0 1 2 3
Badminton 0 1 1 2
Boxing 0 1 1 2
Nordic Combined 0 1 1 2
Short Track Speed Skating 0 1 1 2
Alpine Skiing 0 1 0 1
Cross Country Skiing 0 1 0 1
Curling 0 1 0 1
Futsal 0 1 0 1
Cycling BMX Freestyle 0 0 1 1
Rugby Sevens 0 0 1 1

Most successful competitors

Includes medals won as part of mixed teams.

Olympic Games

Athlete Nat Gold Silver Bronze Total
Sawao Kato JPN 8 3 1 12
Akinori Nakayama JPN 6 2 2 10
Takashi Ono JPN 5 4 4 13
Yukio Endo JPN 5 2 0 7
Mitsuo Tsukahara JPN 5 1 3 9
Kosuke Kitajima JPN 4 1 2 7
Kaori Icho JPN 4 0 0 4
Kohei Uchimura JPN 3 4 0 7
Eizo Kenmotsu JPN 3 3 3 9
Saori Yoshida JPN 3 1 0 4

Youth Olympic Games

Athlete Nat Gold Silver Bronze Total
Takeru Kitazono JPN 5 1 0 6
Motonaga Arito JPN 2 1 0 3
Koki Niwa JPN 2 0 0 2
Miku Tashiro JPN 2 0 0 2
Ram JPN 2 0 0 2
Yuma Kagiyama JPN 1 1 0 2
Reina Sato JPN 1 1 0 2
Yuya Kamoto JPN 1 1 0 2
Karin Miyawaki JPN 1 1 0 2
Kenya Yuasa JPN 1 1 0 2
Yuka Ueno JPN 1 1 0 2
Yuki Naito JPN 1 1 0 2

IOC Members

Jigoro Kano 1909—1938
Seichi Kishi 1924—1933
Yotaro Sugimura 1933—1936
Michimasa Soyeshima 1934—1948
Iesato, Prince Tokugawa 1936—1939
Matsuzo Nagai 1939—1950
Shingoro Takaishi 1939—1967
Ryotaro Azuma 1950—1968
Tsuneyoshi, Prince Takeda 1967—1981
Ryotaro Azuma 1968—1983
Masaji Kiyokawa 1969—1989
Tsuneyoshi, Prince Takeda 1981—1992
Chiharu Igaya 1982—2012
Masaji Kiyokawa 1989—1999
Shunichiro Okano 1990—2012
Yoshiaki Tsutsumi 2000—2005
Chiharu Igaya 2012—
Shunichiro Okano 2012—2017
Tsunekazu Takeda 2012—2019
Morinari Watanabe 2018—
Yasuhiro Yamashita 2020—
Yuki Ota 2021—