Japan at the Olympics
IOC code	JPN
NOC	Japanese Olympic Committee
Website	www.joc.or.jp (in English and Japanese)
Medals Ranked 12th	Gold 186 Silver 179 Bronze 208 Total 573
Summer appearances
1912 1920 1924 1928 1932 1936 1948 1952 1956 1960 1964 1968 1972 1976 1980 1984 1988 1992 1996 2000 2004 2008 2012 2016 2020 2024
Winter appearances
1928 1932 1936 1948 1952 1956 1960 1964 1968 1972 1976 1980 1984 1988 1992 1994 1998 2002 2006 2010 2014 2018 2022

Japan first participated at the Olympic Games in 1912, and has competed at almost every Games since then. The nation was not invited to the 1948 Games after World War II, and was part of the American-led boycott of the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow.

Japan won its first medals in 1920, and its first gold medals in 1928. Japanese athletes have won 497 medals at the Summer Olympic Games (except art competitions), with the most gold medals won in judo, Skateboarding, and Karate, as of the end of 2020 Summer Olympics. Japan has also won 58 medals at the Winter Olympic Games. Its most successful Olympics are the 1964 and 2020 Games, both hosted in Tokyo.

The Japanese Olympic Committee was created in 1911 and recognized in 1912.^[1]

Hosted Games

Japan have hosted the Games on four occasions, including the 2020 Summer Olympics (which was postponed to 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic):

Cancelled games

Unsuccessful bids

Medal tables

  Host country

Medals by summer sport[edit]   Leading in that sport Sport Gold Silver Bronze Total Judo 48 21 27 96 Wrestling 37 22 17 76 Gymnastics 33 34 36 103 Swimming 24 27 32 83 Athletics 7 10 10 27 Volleyball 3 3 3 9 Skateboarding 3 1 1 5 Boxing 3 0 5 8 Weightlifting 2 3 10 15 Softball 2 1 1 4 Table tennis 1 3 4 8 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 Equestrian 1 0 0 1 Artistic swimming 0 4 10 14 Archery 0 3 4 7 Cycling 0 2 3 5 Tennis 0 2 1 3 Football 0 1 1 2 Sailing 0 1 1 2 Sport climbing 0 1 1 2 Surfing 0 1 1 2 Basketball 0 1 0 1 Field hockey 0 1 0 1 Golf 0 1 0 1 Canoeing 0 0 1 1 Taekwondo 0 0 1 1 Totals (30 entries) 169 150 178 497

Medals by winter sport[edit]   Leading in that sport Sport Gold Silver Bronze Total Speed skating 5 10 11 26 Ski jumping 4 6 4 14 Figure skating 3 5 3 11 Nordic combined 2 3 2 7 Snowboarding 1 3 3 7 Freestyle skiing 1 0 4 5 Short track speed skating 1 0 2 3 Curling 0 1 1 2 Alpine skiing 0 1 0 1 Totals (9 entries) 17 29 30 76

Youth Games medal tables

Medals by summer sport[edit]   Leading in that sport Sport Gold Silver Bronze Total Gymnastics 7 3 3 13 Wrestling 6 0 2 8 Athletics 3 7 3 13 Swimming 3 2 5 10 Judo 3 0 1 4 Table tennis 2 5 0 7 Karate 1 3 0 4 Tennis 1 1 1 3 Fencing 1 1 0 2 Sport climbing 1 1 0 2 Dancesport 1 0 1 2 Triathlon 1 0 0 1 Badminton 0 1 1 2 Boxing 0 1 1 2 Futsal 0 1 0 1 Cycling 0 0 1 1 Rugby 0 0 1 1 Totals (17 entries) 30 26 20 76

Medals by winter sport[edit]   Leading in that sport Sport Gold Silver Bronze Total Snowboarding 5 3 1 9 Speed skating 3 6 5 14 Figure skating 2 1 0 3 Ice hockey 2 0 1 3 Ski jumping 1 1 1 3 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 Totals (10 entries) 13 16 10 39

Hosted Olympics mottos

1964 Summer Olympics

The 1964 Summer Olympics marks Japan host its first Olympic Games. It was held in the capital Tokyo. It was also the first time it was held in Asia.

1972 Winter Olympics

The 1972 Winter Olympics marks the second time Olympics held in Japan. It was the first time held outside Tokyo because it was held at Sapporo.

Because of its snowy geographic, Japan would hosts its first Winter Olympics. It was also the first winter olympics held in Asia.

1998 Winter Olympics

The 1998 Winter Olympics was the third time Japan hosts Olympics for third time and Winter in second. Was held at Nagano. The motto of the games is Coexistence with Nature (自然との共存)

2020 Summer Olympics

The 2020 Summer Olympics marks the fourth time Olympics held in Japan. It was the first time it was held one year late (2021 instead of 2020) following the worldwide COVID-19 pandemic. It marks the second time it was held in Tokyo. Its motto was United by Emotion (感動で、私たちはひとつになる). During that time, only the English version was used.

This motto appeals that "Sports enable us to overcome different environments and become one world through emotions such as joy and excitement that the athletes' competitive performances bring together in our hearts."^[2]