Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

was the host nation of the

2020 Summer Olympics The , officially the and also known as , was an international multi-sport event held from 23 July to 8 August 2021 in Tokyo, Japan, with some preliminary events that began on 21 July. Tokyo was selected as the host city during the ...

Tokyo Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, with an estimated 37.468 ...

, originally scheduled to take place from 24 July to 9 August 2020 but postponed to 23 July to 8 August 2021 because of the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

. Since the nation's official debut in

1912 Events January * January 1 – The Republic of China (1912–49), Republic of China is established. * January 5 – The Prague Conference (6th All-Russian Conference of the Russian Social Democratic Labour Party) opens. * January 6 ...

, Japanese athletes have appeared at every

Summer Olympic Games The Summer Olympic Games (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques d'été), also known as the Games of the Olympiad, and often referred to as the Summer Olympics, is a major international multi-sport event normally held once every four years. The inau ...

in the modern era, except for the

1948 Summer Olympics The 1948 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XIV Olympiad and also known as London 1948) were an international multi-sport event held from 29 July to 14 August 1948 in London, England, United Kingdom. Following a twelve-year hiatus ca ...

in London, to which they were not invited due to the nation's role in

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, and the

1980 Summer Olympics The 1980 Summer Olympics (russian: Летние Олимпийские игры 1980, Letniye Olimpiyskiye igry 1980), officially known as the Games of the XXII Olympiad (russian: Игры XXII Олимпиады, Igry XXII Olimpiady) and commo ...

Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...

, as part of the United States-led boycott. The

opening ceremony An opening ceremony, grand opening, or ribbon-cutting ceremony marks the official opening of a newly-constructed location or the start of an event.

flag-bearers for Japan are

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

player

Rui Hachimura is a Japanese professional basketball player for the Washington Wizards of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for the Gonzaga Bulldogs and is a member of the Japanese national team. Listed at and 230 ...

and

wrestler Wrestling is a series of combat sports involving grappling-type techniques such as clinch fighting, throws and takedowns, joint locks, pins and other grappling holds. Wrestling techniques have been incorporated into martial arts, combat sport ...

Yui Susaki.

Karate (; ; Okinawan language, Okinawan pronunciation: ) is a martial arts, martial art developed in the Ryukyu Kingdom. It developed from the Okinawan martial arts, indigenous Ryukyuan martial arts (called , "hand"; ''tii'' in Okinawan) under the ...

Ryo Kiyuna Ryo Kiyuna (喜友名諒, ''Kiyuna Ryō'', born 12 July 1990) is an Okinawan karateka. He won the gold medal in the men's kata event at the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, Japan. He is also a four-time gold medalist in the men's kata event at the ...

is the flag-bearer for the

closing ceremony An opening ceremony, grand opening, or ribbon-cutting ceremony marks the official opening of a newly-constructed location or the start of an event.

. Japan finished the Games with 58 total medals, 27 being gold, an impressive improvement of the country's previous record performances from the

1964 Olympics 1964 Olympics refers to both: *The 1964 Winter Olympics The 1964 Winter Olympics, officially known as the IX Olympic Winter Games (german: IX. Olympische Winterspiele) and commonly known as Innsbruck 1964 ( bar, Innschbruck 1964, label=Austro-Ba ...

(also held in Tokyo) and

2004 Olympics The 2004 Summer Olympics ( el, Θερινοί Ολυμπιακοί Αγώνες 2004, ), officially the Games of the XXVIII Olympiad ( el, Αγώνες της 28ης Ολυμπιάδας, ) and also known as Athens 2004 ( el, Αθήνα 2004), ...

. This placed them third overall (for the third time after 1964 and

1968 The year was highlighted by protests and other unrests that occurred worldwide. Events January–February * January 5 – "Prague Spring": Alexander Dubček is chosen as leader of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia. * Januar ...

behind the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

and

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

. By total medals, they also fell behind the

Russian Olympic Committee The Russian Olympic Committee (ROC; russian: Олимпийский комитет России (ОКР), Olimpiyskiy komitet Rossii (OKR); Full name: All-Russian united social union "Olympic Committee of Russia", russian: Общероссий� ...

and the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

. It was the most successful Summer Olympics in Japan's history.

Medalists

The following Japanese competitors won medals at the Games. In the by discipline sections below, medalists' names are bolded. , style="text-align:left; width:78%; vertical-align:top;", , style="text-align:left; width:22%; vertical-align:top;",

Competitors

The following is the list of number of competitors in the Games. Note that reserves in field hockey, football, and handball are not counted:

Archery

Japan fielded six archers (three men and three women) at the Games, as the host nation is automatically entitled to use the men's and women's team quota places. The host nation's archery team was officially announced on March 21, 2021, with London 2012 silver medalist

Takaharu Furukawa is an archery athlete from Japan, competing in both individual and team archery events. He competed in the 2004, 2008, 2012, and 2020 Summer Olympics. He is the 2006 All-Japan National Champion, Archery career Furukawa began his archery car ...

slated to shoot at his fifth consecutive Olympics. ;Men ;Women ;Mixed

Artistic swimming

Japan as the host nation, entered a squad of eight artistic swimmers to compete in the women's duet and team event.

Athletics (track and field)

Japanese athletes further achieved the entry standards, either by qualifying time or by world ranking, in the following track and field events (up to a maximum of 3 athletes in each event): The team will be selected based on the results of the 2020 Japan Championships and once an athlete wins a medal in race walking and marathon, or attains the top eight position in track and field at the 2019 IAAF World Championships in

Doha Doha ( ar, الدوحة, ad-Dawḥa or ''ad-Dōḥa'') is the capital city and main financial hub of Qatar. Located on the Persian Gulf coast in the east of the country, north of Al Wakrah and south of Al Khor, it is home to most of the coun ...

Qatar Qatar (, ; ar, قطر, Qaṭar ; local vernacular pronunciation: ), officially the State of Qatar,) is a country in Western Asia. It occupies the Qatar Peninsula on the northeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula in the Middle East; it sh ...

. Four marathon runners (two per gender) were the first set of Japanese track and field athletes being selected for the Games, with a top-two finish of their respective races at the Grand Championship in

on September 15, 2019. By winning the gold medals at the World Championships, race walkers

Toshikazu Yamanishi is a Japanese racewalking athlete. He won a gold medal in 20 kilometres race walk at the 2019 Asian Race Walking Championships in Nomi, with a World Leading time of 1:17.15 (2019 season). Representing Japan at the 2019 and 2022 World Athletic ...

and London 2012 Olympian Yusuke Suzuki were officially added to the track and field roster.

Suguru Osako is a Japanese long-distance runner. He won the 10,000 metres gold medal at the 2011 Summer Universiade in Shenzhen and holds the Asian junior record for the half marathon. He held the Japanese National Record for the marathon of 2:05:29 set at th ...

and Mao Ichiyama completed the nation's marathon team lineup at the Nagoya and Lake Biwa Marathon on March 8, 2020. ;Track & road events ;Men ;Women ;Field events ;Men ;Women

Badminton

Japan as the host nation, entered thirteen badminton players for each of the following events into the Olympic tournament based on the BWF Race to Tokyo Rankings. The team was announced by the

Nippon Badminton Association Nippon Badminton Association (NBA, 日本バドミントン協会; ''Nippon Badominton Kyōkai'') is the national governing body for the sport of badminton in Japan. History Badminton competition in Japan started as early as 1919 from YMCA acros ...

on 18 June 2021. ;Men ;Women ;Mixed

Baseball

Japan national baseball team The is the national team representing Japan in international baseball competitions. It won the World Baseball Classic in 2006 and 2009, as well as WBSC Premier12 in 2019. The team is currently ranked 1st in the world by the World Baseball Sof ...

automatically qualified for the Olympics as the host nation. ;Team roster ;Group play ;Round 2 ;Semifinal ;Gold medal game

Basketball

Indoor

Men's tournament

Japan men's basketball team automatically qualified for the Olympics as the host nation. ;Team roster ;Group play ---- ----

Women's tournament

Japan women's basketball team automatically qualified for the Olympics as the host nation. ;Team roster ;Group play ---- ---- ;Quarterfinal ;Semifinal ;Final

3×3 basketball

;Summary

Men's tournament

Japan men's basketball 3x3 team automatically qualified for the Olympics as the host nation. ;Team roster The players were announced on 3 July 2021. *

Ira Brown Ira Demon Brown (born August 3, 1982) is a Japanese-American professional basketball player who currently plays for the Osaka Evessa of the Japanese B.League. He had also spent three years with the Hirachi/Shibuya Sunrockers, as well as two year ...

Tomoya Ochiai , nicknamed Worm, is a Japanese professional basketball player who plays for Koshigaya Alphas of the B.League in Japan. He played college basketball for Hosei University. He also plays for Japan men's national 3x3 team The Japan men's national ...

Keisei Tominaga is a Japanese college basketball player for the Nebraska Cornhuskers of the Big Ten Conference. He previously played for Ranger College. Tominaga has been a member of the Japan men's national basketball team and the national 3x3 team. High sc ...

Ryuto Yasuoka is a Japanese professional basketball player who plays for Akita Northern Happinets of the B.League in Japan. He also plays for Japan men's national 3x3 team, and competed in the 2020 Summer Olympics. He is the first Olympian from Edogawa Unive ...

;Group play ---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ;Quarter-finals

Women's tournament

Japan women's national 3x3 team The Japan women's national 3x3 team is a national 3x3 basketball team of Japan, administered by the Japan Basketball Association. It represents the country in international 3x3 (3 against 3) women's basketball competitions. As of late 2019, the h ...

qualified for the Olympics by securing a top three finish at the 2021 Olympic Qualifying Tournament. ;Team roster The players were announced on 3 July 2021. *

Stephanie Mawuli is a Japanese basketball player who plays for Toyota Antelopes of the Women's Japan Basketball League . She also plays for Japan women's national 3x3 team. Younger Mawuli led the national U23 3x3 team to World champion in 2019. She became the ...

Risa Nishioka , nicknamed Haku, is a Japanese professional basketball player who plays for Mitsubishi Electric Koalas of the Women's Japan Basketball League . She also plays for Japan women's national 3x3 team. Personal Her father Tsuyoshi Nishioka is ...

Mio Shinozaki , is a Japanese professional basketball player who plays for Fujitsu Red Wave of the Women's Japan Basketball League. Before joining Fujitsu, she played for Shoin University and won All Japan Intercollegiate Basketball Championship tournament in ...

Mai Yamamoto is a Japanese professional basketball player who plays for Toyota Antelopes of the Women's Japan Basketball League. She also plays for Japan women's national 3x3 team. She brought the U23 national team to a gold medal at the FIBA 3x3 Under-23 Wo ...

;Group play ---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ;Quarterfinal

Boxing

Japan entered six boxers (four men and two women) into the Olympic tournament. Sewon Okazawa (men's welterweight), 2018 world bronze medalist Tsukimi Namiki (women's flyweight), and Sena Irie (women's featherweight) secured the spots on the host nation's squad in their respective weight divisions, either by advancing to the semifinal match or by scoring a box-off triumph, at the 2020 Asia & Oceania Qualification Tournament in

Amman Amman (; ar, عَمَّان, ' ; Ammonite language, Ammonite: 𐤓𐤁𐤕 𐤏𐤌𐤍 ''Rabat ʻAmān'') is the capital and largest city of Jordan, and the country's economic, political, and cultural center. With a population of 4,061,150 a ...

Jordan Jordan ( ar, الأردن; tr. ' ), officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan,; tr. ' is a country in Western Asia. It is situated at the crossroads of Asia, Africa, and Europe, within the Levant region, on the East Bank of the Jordan Rive ...

. Three more boxers were officially selected by the

Japanese Olympic Committee The is the National Olympic Committee in Japan for the Olympic Games movement, based in Tokyo, Japan. It is a non-profit organisation that selects teams and raises funds to send Japanese competitors to Olympic events organised by the Internati ...

and the Japanese Boxing Federation to take up the host nation places for the Games, including Rio 2016 Olympian Daisuke Narimatsu in the men's lightweight division.

Canoeing

Slalom

Being the host nation, Japan has been awarded one boat each in all four classes. On October 20, 2019, the slalom canoeists were officially selected to the host nation's roster at the conclusion of the NHK Slalom International Cup, with Rio 2016 bronze medalist

Takuya Haneda is a Japanese male slalom canoeist who has competed at the international level since 2002. He won a bronze medal in the C1 event at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, becoming the first Asian canoeist to win an Olympic medal. He als ...

remarkably going to his fourth straight Olympics.

Sprint

Being the host nation, Japan has been awarded a minimum of three boats, with one each in the men's C-1 1000 m, women's C-1 200 m, and women's K-1 500 m. The men's K-4 500 m boat was added to the team roster with a top-ten finish at the

2019 ICF Canoe Sprint World Championships The 2019 ICF Canoe Sprint World Championships, the 45th edition of the World Championships, were held in Szeged, Hungary from 21 to 25 August 2019. The championships served as the primary qualification regatta for the 2020 Olympic and Paralympic ...

Szeged Szeged ( , ; see also #Etymology, other alternative names) is List of cities and towns of Hungary#Largest cities in Hungary, the third largest city of Hungary, the largest city and regional centre of the Southern Great Plain and the county seat ...

Hungary Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia a ...

and the women's K-1 200 m with the fastest finish vying for qualification at the 2021 Asian Championships in

Pattaya Pattaya ( th, พัทยา, , ) is a city in Thailand. It is on the east coast of the Gulf of Thailand, about southeast of Bangkok, within, but not part of, Bang Lamung district in the province of Chonburi province, Chonburi. Pattaya City ( ...

Thailand Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, located at the centre of the Indochinese Peninsula, spanning , with a population of almost 70 million. The country is bo ...

. With the cancellation of the 2021 Pan American Championships and the lack of eligible competitors available from the Americas in the canoe sprint regatta, the women's C-2 500 m crew accepted a spare berth from the

International Canoe Federation The International Canoe Federation (ICF) is the umbrella organization of all national canoe organizations worldwide. It is headquartered in Lausanne, Switzerland, and administers all aspects of canoe sport worldwide. 157 countries are affiliated ...

for the Japanese team. Qualification Legend: FA = Qualify to final (medal); FB = Qualify to final B (non-medal)

Cycling

Road

Japan entered a squad of four riders (two per gender) to compete in their respective Olympic road races. Two of them filled out the places reserved for the host nation, while the remaining male and female rider earned a slot each by finishing in the top 50 (for men) and top 22 (for women) in the

UCI World Ranking The UCI men's road racing world rankings are a point system which is used to rank men's road cycling riders. Points are accrued over a rolling 52 weeks in three categories (Individual, Nations and Teams). Also Year-End rankings exist, based on ...

Track

Following the completion of the

2020 UCI Track Cycling World Championships The 2020 UCI Track Cycling World Championships were held in Berlin, Germany from 26 February to 1 March 2020. Schedule 20 events were held: ''All times are local (UTC+1).'' Medal summary Medal table Men Women *Shaded events are no ...

, Japanese riders accumulated spots for both men and women in the sprint, keirin, and omnium, as well as the women's madison, based on their country's results in the final UCI Olympic rankings. Topping the podium in the women's omnium at the 2020 Worlds,

Yumi Kajihara is a Japanese professional female road racing and track cyclist. She represented Japan at the 2020 Summer Olympics, and won a silver medal in the women's omnium, becoming the first Japanese woman to win an Olympic medal in cycling. Career As ...

became the first Japanese rider to guarantee a spot on the host nation's track cycling team for the Games. Five more members on the squad were named on June 4, 2020, with sprint riders

Yudai Nitta is a Japanese track cyclist. At the 2012 Summer Olympics, he competed in the Men's team sprint for the national team. He is also active in Japan as a keirin cyclist. He has qualified to represent Japan at the 2020 Summer Olympics Th ...

(London 2012) and

Yuta Wakimoto is a Japanese track and road cyclist, who currently rides for UCI Continental team . He competed in the keirin event at the 2014 UCI Track Cycling World Championships. He is also a professional keirin cyclist. He has qualified to represent Jap ...

(Rio 2016) booking their spots for the second Olympics. ;Sprint ;Keirin ;Omnium ;Madison

Mountain biking

As the host nation, Japanese mountain bikers have already received a quota place each per gender at their disposal for the Games. The mountain biking team was officially named to the host nation's roster on June 5, 2020, with Kohei Yamamoto booking his fourth consecutive trip to the Games on the men's side.

BMX

As the host nation, Japan has already received four quota places each per gender per event at their disposal for the Games. ;Race ;Freestyle

Diving

Japan, as the host nation, is automatically entitled to places in all synchronized diving events, but athletes for individual events must qualify through their own performances at 2019 FINA World Championships, the 2019 Asian Cup, and the 2020 FINA World Cup series. Five-time Olympian

Ken Terauchi is a Japanese diver, who specialized in springboard and platform events. He had won two bronze medals for the springboard diving at the 2006 Asian Games in Doha, Qatar, in addition to his first at the 2001 World Aquatics Championships, 2001 FIN ...

and his Rio 2016 partner

Sho Sakai is a Japanese diver. He competed in the men's 3 metre springboard at the 2016 Summer Olympics, where he was eliminated in the preliminary rounds, finishing 22nd out of 29 competitors. He has qualified to represent Japan at the 2020 Summer Ol ...

became the first Japanese divers to be selected to the squad after finishing seventh in the men's synchronized springboard at the 2019 FINA World Championships in

Gwangju Gwangju () is South Korea's sixth-largest metropolis. It is a designated metropolitan city under the direct control of the central government's Home Minister. The city was also the capital of South Jeolla Province until the provincial office ...

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and sharing a Korean Demilitarized Zone, land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed ...

. ;Men ;Women

Equestrian

Japan, as the host nation, automatically received a team of three riders in each of the three sporting disciplines: dressage, eventing, and jumping.

Dressage

Masanao Takahashi is a Japanese Olympic dressage rider. Representing Japan, he competed at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro where he finished 58th in the individual and 11th in the team competitions. Takahashi also competed at the 2006 Asian Games 6 ...

and Rubicon have been named the traveling alternates. Qualification Legend: Q = Qualified for the final; q = Qualified for the final as a lucky loser

Eventing

Ryuzo Kitajima and Feroza Nieuwmoed have been named the reserves. *(s) – substituted before jumping – 20 replacement penalties

Jumping

Mike Kawai and As de Mai have been named the traveling alternates.

Fencing

Japanese fencers qualified a full squad in the women's team foil for the Games as the highest-ranked nation from Asia and Oceania outside the world's top four in the FIE Olympic Team Rankings. Rookies

Masaru Yamada Masaru Yamada (山田優, ''Yamada Masaru'', born 14 June 1994) is a Japanese right-handed épée fencer, 2016 team Asian champion, 2019 individual Asian champion, and 2021 team Olympic champion. Along with Koki Kano, Kazuyasu Minobe, and Sato ...

(men's épée),

Takahiro Shikine is a Japanese right-handed foil fencer, 2019 team Asian champion, 2019 individual Asian champion, and 2021 Olympian. Shikine competed in the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games The , officially the and also known as , was an international mult ...

(men's foil), Kento Yoshida (men's sabre), and

Misaki Emura Misaki Emura ( ja, 江村美咲, born 20 November 1998) is a Japanese fencer. She is a two-time gold medalist in the women's sabre event at the World Fencing Championships (2022 and 2023). Career In 2014, she won the gold medal in the mixed te ...

(women's sabre), with Nozomi Satō (women's épée) going to her third consecutive Games, secured additional places on the host nation's roster as one of the two highest-ranked fencers each vying for qualification from Asia and Oceania in the FIE Adjusted Official Rankings. Eight more fencers were officially named to the host nation's roster on April 25, 2021, including Rio 2016 Olympians

Kazuyasu Minobe is a Japanese left-handed épée fencer, 2016 team Asian champion, two-time Olympian, and 2021 team Olympic champion. Along with Koki Kano, Masaru Yamada, and Satoru Uyama, Minobe was a member of the Japanese team that won gold in the team m ...

(men's épée) and Chika Aoki (women's sabre) and American-born Kaito Streets (men's sabre). ;Men ;Women

Field hockey

;Summary

Men's tournament

As the host nation, Japan men's field hockey team qualified for the Olympics by virtue of obtaining a world ranking equal to or better than thirtieth place by the end of 2018, or not finish lower than sixth at the

2018 Asian Games The 2018 Asian Games ( id, Pesta Olahraga Asia 2018 or ''Asian Games 2018''), officially known as the 18th Asian Games and also known as Jakarta-Palembang 2018 or Indonesia 2018, was a Asia, continental multi-sport event that was held from 18 A ...

. ;Team roster ;Group play ---- ---- ---- ----

Women's tournament

As the host nation, Japan women's field hockey team qualified for the Olympics by virtue of obtaining a world ranking equal to or better than thirtieth place by the end of 2018, or not finish lower than sixth at the

. ;Team roster ;Group play ---- ---- ---- ----

Football (soccer)

;Summary

Men's tournament

Japan men's football team automatically qualified for the Olympics as the host nation. ;Team roster ;Group play ---- ---- ;Quarterfinal ;Semifinal ;Bronze medal match

Women's tournament

Japan women's football team automatically qualified for the Olympics as the host nation. ;Team roster ;Group play ---- ---- ;Quarterfinal

Golf

Japan entered two male and two female golfers into the Olympic tournament.

Gymnastics

Artistic

Japan fielded a full squad of four gymnasts each in both the men's and women artistic gymnastics events, respectively. The men's team secured a berth in the team all-around by winning a bronze at the

2018 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships The 2018 Artistic Gymnastics World Championships was the 48th edition of the Artistic Gymnastics World Championships. The competition was held from October 25 – November 3, 2018, at the Aspire Academy Dome in Doha, Qatar. It was the first tim ...

, while the women's team claimed one of the nine spots available at the

2019 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships The 2019 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships was held in Stuttgart, Germany from October 4–13, 2019. The championships took place at the Hanns-Martin-Schleyer-Halle, and was the third time the city of Stuttgart hosted the event following the ...

Stuttgart Stuttgart (; Swabian: ; ) is the capital and largest city of the German state of Baden-Württemberg. It is located on the Neckar river in a fertile valley known as the ''Stuttgarter Kessel'' (Stuttgart Cauldron) and lies an hour from the ...

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

. The women's team was named on 15 May 2021 at the conclusion of the NHK Cup. The full men's team was announced on 6 June 2021. ;Men ;Team ;Individual finals ;Women ;Team ;Individual finals

Rhythmic

As the host nation, Japan automatically received a guaranteed place in the group all-around competition at the Games. One rhythmic gymnast was added to the roster by finishing in the top sixteen of the individual all-around at the 2019 World Championships in

Baku Baku (, ; az, Bakı ) is the capital and largest city of Azerbaijan, as well as the largest city on the Caspian Sea and of the Caucasus region. Baku is located below sea level, which makes it the lowest lying national capital in the world a ...

Chisaki Oiwa Chisaki Oiwa (大岩千未来 ''Ōiwa Chisaki'' born 20 November 2001) is a Japanese rhythmic gymnast. She represented Japan at the 2020 Summer Olympics and finished nineteenth in the qualification round for the individual all-around. She is a t ...

qualified an additional spot through the 2021 World Cup series. The athletes for the group all-around were announced on 2 July 2021.

Trampoline

Japan qualified one gymnast each for the men's and women's trampoline by finishing in the top eight, respectively, at the 2019 World Championships in

. Japan qualified an additional spot in both men's and women's trampoline through the 2019–2020 Trampoline World Cup series.

Handball

;Summary

Men's tournament

Japan men's handball team automatically qualified for the Olympics as the host nation. ;Team roster ;Group play ---- ---- ---- ----

Women's tournament

Japan women's handball team automatically qualified for the Olympics as the host nation. ;Team roster ;Group play ---- ---- ---- ----

Judo

As the host nation, Japanese judoka have already received fourteen quota places (seven in each gender) at their disposal for the Games. On November 24, 2019,

Akira Sone is a Japanese judoka. Sone's favorite techniques are Tai Otoshi, Ouchi Gari She competed at the 2020 Summer Olympics, winning a silver medal in mixed team, and gold medal in Women's +78 kg Career Sone started Judo at the age of 7, followin ...

(women's +78 kg) became the first judoka to be selected to the host nation's squad for the Games, following her triumph at the IJF Grand Slam Cup in

Osaka is a designated city in the Kansai region of Honshu in Japan. It is the capital of and most populous city in Osaka Prefecture, and the third most populous city in Japan, following Special wards of Tokyo and Yokohama. With a population of 2. ...

. Twelve more judoka were officially named to the roster on February 27, 2020, with

Shohei Ono is a Japanese retired judoka. Ono is regarded as one of judo's top fighters, having won three World Championships and two Olympic gold medals. He is the lightweight division's most dominant fighter, having won in every major championship he co ...

looking to defend his Olympic title in the men's 73-kg division on the home soil. Meanwhile,

Hifumi Abe is a Japanese judoka. Abe rose to prominence after becoming Youth Olympic champion in 2014. He won the Tokyo Grand Slam later that year, at just 17-years-old, beating then-World Champion Masashi Ebinuma. He was the silver medalist at the jun ...

trounced the reigning world champion

Joshiro Maruyama is a Japanese judoka. He won a gold medal at the 2019 World Judo Championships The 2019 World Judo Championships were held in Tokyo, Japan from 25 August to 1 September 2019. Schedule ''All times are local (Japan Standard Time, UTC+9).' ...

to lock the men's 66 kg spot in a gruelling 24-minute playoff at the

Kodokan Judo Institute The , or ''Kōdōkan'' (講道館), is the headquarters of the worldwide judo community. The ''kōdōkan'' was founded in 1882 by Kanō Jigorō, the founder of judo, and is now an eight-story building in Tokyo. Etymology Literally, ''kō'' ( ...

on December 13, 2020, completing the host nation's judo roster for the rescheduled Games. ;Men ;Women ;Mixed

Karate

As the host nation, Japanese karateka have already received eight quota places (four in each gender) at their disposal for the Games. With the cancellation of the last qualifying tournaments before the April 6, 2020 cutoff because of the coronavirus pandemic,

World Karate Federation The World Karate Federation (WKF) is the largest international governing body of sport karate with 198 member countries. It was formed in 1990, is the only karate organization recognised by the International Olympic Committee and has more than te ...

officially named the Japanese karateka to take up the host nation places based on the country's selection criteria. Among the country's karateka were three-time world champion

in the men's individual kata and multiple world medalist

Ayumi Uekusa is a Japanese karateka (; ; Okinawan language, Okinawan pronunciation: ) is a martial arts, martial art developed in the Ryukyu Kingdom. It developed from the Okinawan martial arts, indigenous Ryukyuan martial arts (called , "hand"; ''t ...

in the women's +61-kg kumite. ;Kumite ;Kata

Modern pentathlon

Japanese athletes qualified for the following spots to compete in modern pentathlon. Rio 2016 Olympians Shōhei Iwamoto and Natsumi Tomonaga confirmed places each in the men's and women's event, respectively, with the former finishing fourth and the latter second among those eligible for Olympic qualification at the 2019 Asia & Oceania Championships in

Kunming Kunming (; ), also known as Yunnan-Fu, is the capital and largest city of Yunnan province, China. It is the political, economic, communications and cultural centre of the province as well as the seat of the provincial government. The headquar ...

Rowing

Japan qualified two boats for each of the following rowing classes into the Olympic regatta. Rowing crews in the men's single sculls and women's lightweight double sculls confirmed Olympic places for their boats at the 2021 FISA Asia & Oceania Olympic Qualification Regatta in

. Qualification Legend: FA=Final A (medal); FB=Final B (non-medal); FC=Final C (non-medal); FD=Final D (non-medal); FE=Final E (non-medal); FF=Final F (non-medal); SA/B=Semifinals A/B; SC/D=Semifinals C/D; SE/F=Semifinals E/F; QF=Quarterfinals; R=Repechage

Rugby sevens

Men's tournament

Japan men's rugby sevens team automatically qualified for the Olympics as the host nation. ;Team roster ;Group play ---- ---- ;9–12th place playoff ;11th place match

Women's tournament

Japan women's rugby sevens team automatically qualified for the Olympics as the host nation. ;Team roster ;Group play ---- ---- ;9–12th place playoff ;11th place match

Sailing

As the host nation, Japan has been guaranteed one boat for each of the following classes at the Tokyo regatta, bringing the maximum quota of 15 sailors, in ten boats. At the end of 2019 season, the

announced the first set of sailors to compete at the

Enoshima is a small offshore island, about in circumference, at the mouth of the Katase River which flows into the Sagami Bay of Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan. Administratively, Enoshima is part of the mainland city of Fujisawa, and is linked to ...

regatta, including multiple world medalists Ai Kondo and Miho Yoshioka in the women's 470 class and three-time Olympian

Makoto Tomizawa is a Japanese windsurfer, who specialized in Neil Pryde RS:X class. He represented Japan in two editions of the Olympic Games (2008 and 2012) and has been currently training for Kanto Auto Works Sailing Team in Kanagawa Prefecture under his pe ...

in men's windsurfing. The 49er, 49erFX, and Nacra 17 crews were added to the roster on February 15, 2020, with windsurfer Yuki Sunaga and Laser Radial sailor

Manami Doi is a Japanese sports sailor. At the 2012 Summer Olympics, she competed in the Women's Laser Radial class, finishing in 31st place. At the 2016 Summer Olympics, she competed in the Women's Laser Radial class, finishing in 20th place. She compet ...

joining them two weeks later upon the completion of their respective class-associated Worlds. ;Men ;Women ;Mixed M = Medal race; EL = Eliminated – did not advance into the medal race

Shooting

As the host nation, Japan has been guaranteed a minimum of twelve quota places with one in each of the individual events. Additionally, a shooter qualified for one event may compete in others without affecting the quotas, as long as they obtained a minimum qualifying score (MQS) by 30 April 2020. ;Men ;Women ;Mixed

Skateboarding

Japan qualified ten skateboarder into the olympic competition. Six skateboarder (two men and three women) qualified after being ranked in top 16 based on the Olympic World Skateboarding Rankings List of 30 June 2021, and four skateboarder in men's and women's park events after winning the gold, silver and bronze medal at

2021 Street Skateboarding World Championships The 2021 Street Skateboarding World Championships took place in Rome, Italy, from 30 May to 6 June 2021. The event was organised by Sport e Salute and World Skate. The event contributed towards qualification for the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo, wh ...

Rome, Italy , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (Romulus and Remus, legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg ...

. ;Men ;Women

Softball

Japan women's national softball team The Japan women's national softball team is the national team of Japan in international softball competitions. It is governed by the Japan Softball Association. They are currently ranked #2 in the world by the International Softball Federation. ...

automatically qualified for the Olympics as the host nation. ;Summary Legend: ;Team roster ;Group play ;Gold medal match

Sport climbing

Japan, as the host nation, received a guaranteed place each in the gender-based combined events, unless a maximum of two men and two women were selected to the team based on competition results.

Tomoa Narasaki Tomoa Narasaki (楢﨑智亜 ''Narasaki Tomoa'', born June 22, 1996) is a Japanese professional sport climber and boulderer. He started climbing at age 10, together with Sachi Amma, in Sachi's family climbing gym. Previously, he had been train ...

and

Akiyo Noguchi is a Japanese professional rock climber, sport climber and boulderer. She participates in both bouldering and lead climbing competitions. She is known for winning the IFSC Climbing World Cup in Bouldering four times. In her home country, she ...

booked their spots on the host nation's team, with a successful podium finish each (gold for Narasaki and silver for Noguchi) in the men's and women's combined event at the 2019 IFSC World Championships in Hachioji. In November 2019, the International Sport Climbing Association (IFSC) and the Japan Mountaineering and Sport Climbing Association (JMSCA) confirmed

Kai Harada Kai Harada (原田海 ''Harada Kai''; born May 10, 1999) is a Japanese competition boulderer. Harada started climbing in 2009 in Osaka. He started competition climbing in 2015, placing in the Youth A Bouldering Championships and the Junior As ...

and

Miho Nonaka is a Japanese competition boulderer. She competed at the 2020 Summer Olympics, in Women's combined, winning a silver medal. Life Her father and sister introduced her to climbing when she was 9, and she competed in her first world cup aged 17 ...

as Olympic-qualified sport climbers, occupying a place each reserved for the host nation in their respective events.

Surfing

Japan sent four surfers (two men and two woman) to compete in their respective shortboard races at the Games. Hiroto Ohhara and Shino Matsuda secured a qualification slot each for their nation, as the highest-ranked at the

2021 ISA World Surfing Games The 2021 ISA World Surfing Games took place across the La Bocana and El Sunzal waves at Surf City in El Salvador, from 29 May to 6 June 2021. The event was originally scheduled to be held from 9 to 17 May 2020, but was postponed due to the COVID- ...

in El Sunzal and La Bocana. Meanwhile, American-born Kanoa Igarashi finished within the top ten of those eligible for qualification in the

World Surf League The World Surf League (WSL) is the governing body for professional surfers and is dedicated to showcasing the world's best talent in a variety of progressive formats. The World Surf League was originally known as the International Professional ...

rankings to join Murakami and Matsuda on the host nation's roster.

Swimming

Japanese swimmers further achieved qualifying standards in the following events (up to a maximum of 2 swimmers in each event at the Olympic Qualifying Time (OQT), and potentially 1 at the Olympic Selection Time (OST)): To assure their selection to the Olympic team, swimmers must finish in the top two of each individual event under both the federation's required standard and a FINA-A qualifying cut at the Japanese Championships and Olympic Trials (April 3 to 10) in

. By winning individual gold medals in the medley double (200 and 400) at the 2019 FINA World Championships,

Daiya Seto is a Japanese professional swimmer who specializes in individual medley, butterfly, breaststroke, and freestyle events. He won the gold medal in the 400-metre individual medley at the 2012, 2014, 2016, 2018, and 2021 world short course champi ...

became the first Japanese swimmer to be directly selected to the Olympic team for

Tokyo 2020 The , officially the and also known as , was an international multi-sport event held from 23 July to 8 August 2021 in Tokyo, Japan, with some preliminary events that began on 21 July. Tokyo was selected as the host city during the ...

. Thirty-two more swimmers were named for the home-based Games at the end of the Japanese Championships and Olympic Trials, including backstroke veteran and double silver medalist

Ryosuke Irie is a Japanese competitive swimmer who competes in backstroke events. He is a Kindai University student in Osaka. He won a silver medal in the 200 metre backstroke and a bronze in the 100 metre backstroke at the 2012 Summer Olympics, along wit ...

, leukemia survivor, freestyle, and butterfly sprinter

Rikako Ikee is a Japanese competitive swimmer. She is the national record holder in the 50-meter freestyle and the 100-meter butterfly, and the junior world record holder in the 50-meter freestyle and 50-meter butterfly long-course events, and the 50- an ...

, and the reigning Olympic champion in the individual medley

Kosuke Hagino is a Japanese former competitive swimmer who specialized in the individual medley and 200 m freestyle. He is a four-time Olympic medalist, most notably winning gold in the 400 m individual medley at the 2016 Summer Olympics. Hagino holds the ...

. For Irie, he became the third Japanese swimmer to compete in fourth consecutive Olympics, tying the record with

Kosuke Kitajima is a Japanese retired breaststroke swimmer. He won gold medals at the men's 100 m and 200 m breaststroke events at the 2004 Summer Olympics, and the 2008 Summer Olympics – becoming the first and only swimmer to sweep the breaststroke events at ...

and

Takeshi Matsuda is a retired Japanese Olympic, Asian and National Record holding swimmer. He swam for Japan at the 2004, 2008 Olympics, 2012 Olympics, and 2016 Olympics, winning four medals. At the 2008 Olympics, he won a bronze medal in the men's 200 m butterf ...

for the most appearances. ;Men ;Women ;Mixed

Table tennis

Japan entered six athletes into the table tennis competition at the Games, as the host nation was automatically entitled to use quota places each in the men's and women's teams. Moreover, an additional berth was awarded to the Japanese table tennis players competing in the inaugural mixed doubles by advancing to the semifinal stage of the 2019 ITTF World Tour Grand Finals in

Zhengzhou Zhengzhou (; ), also spelt Zheng Zhou and alternatively romanized as Chengchow, is the capital and largest city of Henan Province in the central part of the People's Republic of China. Located in north-central Henan, it is one of the National ...

. The host nation's table tennis players were officially named on January 6, 2020, with Rio 2016 bronze medalist

Jun Mizutani is a retired Japanese table tennis player. He became the youngest Japanese national champion at the age of 17. His consecutive singles titles at the national championships from 2007 to 2011 made him the first man to win the event five times in ...

participating in his fourth straight Games. ;Men ;Women ;Mixed

Taekwondo

As the host nation, Japanese taekwondo practitioners have already received four quota places, two men and two women, at their disposal for the Games. On 9 February 2020, the

nominated the four athletes to take up the host nation places, with

Mayu Hamada is a Japanese taekwondo practitioner. She participated in the 2012 Summer Olympics, 2012 and 2016 Summer Olympics. References External links

* * 1994 births Japanese female taekwondo practitioners Taekwondo practitioners at the 2 ...

(women's 57 kg) leading them to her third consecutive Games.

Tennis

;Men ;Women ;Mixed

Triathlon

As the host nation, Japan reserves four quota places with two for each gender in the individual and mixed relay triathlon events. ;Individual ;Relay

Volleyball

Beach

As the host nation, Japan received a guaranteed place for each gender.

Indoor

;Summary

Men's tournament

Japan men's volleyball team automatically qualified for the Olympics as the host nation. ;Team roster ;Group play ---- ---- ---- ---- ;Quarterfinal

Women's tournament

Japan women's volleyball team automatically qualified for the Olympics as the host nation. ;Team roster ;Group play ---- ---- ---- ----

Water polo

;Summary

Men's tournament

Japan men's water polo team automatically qualified for the Olympics as the host nation. ;Team roster ;Group play ---- ---- ---- ----

Women's tournament

Japan women's water polo team automatically qualified for the Olympics as the host nation. ;Team roster ;Group play ---- ---- ----

Weightlifting

Japanese weightlifters qualified for four quota places at the games, based on the Tokyo 2020 Rankings Qualification List of 11 June 2021 and three quotas from Host Nation Quotas. ;Men ;Women

Wrestling

Japan qualified twelve wrestlers for each of the following classes into the Olympic competition. Eight of them finished among the top six to book Olympic spots in the men's freestyle (65 and 74 kg), men's Greco-Roman 60 kg and women's freestyle wrestling (53, 57, 62, 68, and 76 kg) at the 2019 World Championships, while two additional licenses were awarded to the Japanese wrestlers, who progressed to the top two finals of the men's Greco-Roman 77 kg and women's freestyle 50 kg, respectively, at the 2021 Asian Qualification Tournament in

Almaty Almaty (; kk, Алматы; ), formerly known as Alma-Ata ( kk, Алма-Ата), is the List of most populous cities in Kazakhstan, largest city in Kazakhstan, with a population of about 2 million. It was the capital of Kazakhstan from 1929 to ...

Kazakhstan Kazakhstan, officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a transcontinental country located mainly in Central Asia and partly in Eastern Europe. It borders Russia to the north and west, China to the east, Kyrgyzstan to the southeast, Uzbeki ...

. Two Japanese wrestlers claimed one of the remaining slots each in the men's freestyle 57 and 86 kg, respectively, to complete the host nation's roster at the 2021 World Qualification Tournament in

Sofia Sofia ( ; bg, София, Sofiya, ) is the capital and largest city of Bulgaria. It is situated in the Sofia Valley at the foot of the Vitosha mountain in the western parts of the country. The city is built west of the Iskar river, and ha ...

Bulgaria Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern flank of the Balkans, and is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and North Macedon ...

. ;Freestyle ;Greco-Roman

References

{{Country at games navbox, Japan, Olympics Nations at the 2020 Summer Olympics

2020 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of events, COVID- ...

2021 in Japanese sport

Medalists

Competitors

Archery

Artistic swimming

Athletics (track and field)

Badminton

Baseball

Basketball

Indoor

Men's tournament

Women's tournament

3×3 basketball

Men's tournament

Women's tournament

Boxing

Canoeing

Slalom

Sprint

Cycling

Road

Track

Mountain biking

BMX

Diving

Equestrian

Dressage

Eventing

Jumping

Fencing

Field hockey

Men's tournament

Women's tournament

Football (soccer)

Men's tournament

Women's tournament

Golf

Gymnastics

Artistic

Rhythmic

Trampoline

Handball

Men's tournament

Women's tournament

Judo

Karate

Modern pentathlon

Rowing

Rugby sevens

Men's tournament

Women's tournament

Sailing

Shooting

Skateboarding

Softball

Sport climbing

Surfing

Swimming

Table tennis

Taekwondo

Tennis

Triathlon

Volleyball

Beach

Indoor

Men's tournament

Women's tournament

Water polo

Men's tournament

Women's tournament

Weightlifting

Wrestling

See also

References