Japan at the Olympics facts for kids

Quick facts for kids at the Olympics
IOC code	JPN
NOC	Japanese Olympic Committee
Website
Medals Ranked 10th	Gold Silver Bronze Total 206 191 221 618
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
Winter appearances
1928 1932 1936 1948 1952 1956 1960 1964 1968 1972 1976 1980 1984 1988 1992 1994 1998 2002 2006 2010 2014 2018

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 542 medals at the Summer Olympic Games (except art competitions), with the most gold medals won in judo, gymnastics, wrestling, and swimming, as of the end of the 2020 Summer Olympics. Japan has also won 76 medals at the Winter Olympic Games. Its most successful Olympics is the 2020 Games hosted in Tokyo.

The Japanese Olympic Committee was created in 1911 and recognized in 1912.

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 Games Games Athletes Gold Silver Bronze Total Rank 1896 Athens did not participate 1900 Paris 1904 St. Louis 1908 London 1912 Stockholm 2 0 0 0 0 – 1920 Antwerp 15 0 2 0 2 17 1924 Paris 19 0 0 1 1 23 1928 Amsterdam 43 2 2 1 5 15 1932 Los Angeles 131 7 7 4 18 5 1936 Berlin 156 6 4 8 18 8 1948 London did not participate 1952 Helsinki 69 1 6 2 9 17 1956 Melbourne 110 4 10 5 19 10 1960 Rome 162 4 7 7 18 8 1964 Tokyo 328 16 5 8 29 3 1968 Mexico City 171 11 7 7 25 3 1972 Munich 184 13 8 8 29 5 1976 Montreal 213 9 6 10 25 5 1980 Moscow did not participate 1984 Los Angeles 226 10 8 14 32 7 1988 Seoul 255 4 3 7 14 14 1992 Barcelona 256 3 8 11 22 17 1996 Atlanta 306 3 6 5 14 23 2000 Sydney 266 5 8 5 18 15 2004 Athens 306 16 9 12 37 5 2008 Beijing 332 9 8 8 25 8 2012 London 295 7 14 17 38 11 2016 Rio de Janeiro 338 12 8 21 41 6 2020 Tokyo 556 27 14 17 58 3 2024 Paris 403 20 12 13 45 3 2028 Los Angeles future event Total (24/30) 5,142 189 162 191 542 8

Medals by Winter Games Games Athletes Gold Silver Bronze Total Rank 1928 St. Moritz 6 0 0 0 0 – 1932 Lake Placid 16 0 0 0 0 – 1936 Garmisch-Partenkirchen 31 0 0 0 0 – 1948 St. Moritz did not participate 1952 Oslo 13 0 0 0 0 – 1956 Cortina d'Ampezzo 10 0 1 0 1 11 1960 Squaw Valley 41 0 0 0 0 – 1964 Innsbruck 47 0 0 0 0 – 1968 Grenoble 61 0 0 0 0 – 1972 Sapporo 85 1 1 1 3 11 1976 Innsbruck 58 0 0 0 0 – 1980 Lake Placid 50 0 1 0 1 15 1984 Sarajevo 39 0 1 0 1 14 1988 Calgary 48 0 0 1 1 16 1992 Albertville 60 1 2 4 7 11 1994 Lillehammer 59 1 2 2 5 11 1998 Nagano 156 5 1 4 10 7 2002 Salt Lake City 103 0 1 1 2 21 2006 Turin 110 1 0 0 1 18 2010 Vancouver 94 0 3 2 5 20 2014 Sochi 113 1 4 3 8 17 2018 Pyeongchang 124 4 5 4 13 11 2022 Beijing 124 3 7 8 18 12 Total (23/24) 1,448 17 29 30 76 17

Youth Games medal tables

Medals by summer sport      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      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 hosting 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 hosted the Olympics and second for Winter. 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 the Olympics was 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."

See also

In Spanish: Japón en los Juegos Olímpicos para niños

• List of flag bearers for Japan at the Olympics
• Category:Olympic competitors for Japan
• Japan at the Paralympics
• Japan at the Asian Games