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 ...

competed at the

1972 Summer Olympics The 1972 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XX Olympiad () and commonly known as Munich 1972 (german: München 1972), was an international multi-sport event held in Munich, West Germany, from 26 August to 11 September 1972. ...

Munich Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the States of Germany, German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the List of cities in Germany by popu ...

West Germany West Germany is the colloquial term used to indicate the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG; german: Bundesrepublik Deutschland , BRD) between its formation on 23 May 1949 and the German reunification through the accession of East Germany on 3 O ...

. 184 competitors, 148 men and 36 women, took part in 113 events in 21 sports.

Medalists

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Archery

In the first modern archery competition at the Olympics, Japan entered three men and one woman. Their highest placing competitor was Yoshiko Akayama, at 17th place in the women's competition. Men's Individual Competition: * Hiroshi Kajikawa — 2381 points (→ 19th place) * Masashi Hibino — 2344 points (→ 29th place) * Shinji Nakamoto — 2287 points (→ 38th place) Women's Individual Competition: * Yoshiko Akayama — 2301 points (→ 17th place)

Athletics

Men's 5000 metres *

Keisuke Sawaki is a Japanese former long-distance runner who competed in the 1968 Summer Olympics and in the 1972 Summer Olympics. References

1943 births Living people Japanese athletics coaches Japanese male long-distance runners Olympic male l ...

:* Heat — 13:44.8 (→ did not advance) *

Takaharu Koyama is a Japanese former middle distance runner who competed in the 1972 Summer Olympics and in the 1976 Summer Olympics Events January * January 3 – The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights enters into force. * ...

:* Heat — 14:12.6 (→ did not advance) Men's High Jump *

Hidehiko Tomizawa Hidehiko Tomizawa ( ja, 冨沢英彦, born 1 June 1946) is a retired Japanese high jumper. He won a silver medal at the 1970 Asian Games and placed 19th at the 1972 Olympics 1972 Olympics refers to both: *1972 Winter Olympics, which were held ...

:* Qualifying Round — 2.15m :* Final — 2.05m (→ 19th place) * Kuniyoshi Sugioka :* Qualification Round — 2.06m (→ did not advance)

Basketball

Boxing

Men's Light Flyweight (– 48 kg) * Yoshimitsu Aragaki :* First Round — Lost to

Asen Nikolov Asen Nikolov ( bg, Асен Николов; born 5 August 1976 in Plovdiv), nicknamed Bebeto (Бебето), is a Bulgarian footballer playing as an attacking midfielder. For the Bulgarian national team, Nikolov was capped one time. Career ...

(BUL), 0:5

Canoeing

Cycling

Three cyclists represented Japan in 1972. ; Sprint * Yoshikazu Cho * Yaichi Numata ; 1000m time trial *

Takafumi Matsuda is a former Japanese cyclist. He competed in the 1000m time trial event at the 1972 Summer Olympics. He was also a professional keirin – literally "racing cycle" – is a form of motor-paced cycle racing in which track cyclists sprint ...

:* Final — 1:10.00 (→ 20th place) ;

Tandem Tandem, or in tandem, is an arrangement in which a team of machines, animals or people are lined up one behind another, all facing in the same direction. The original use of the term in English was in ''tandem harness'', which is used for two ...

* Yaichi Numata and Yoshikazu Cho → 12th place

Diving

Men's 3m Springboard * Junji Yuasa — 316.95 points (→ 24th place) Men's 10m Platform * Junji Yuasa — 276.00 points (→ 19th place) Women's 3m Springboard *

Taeko Kubo is a Japanese diver. She competed in the women's 3 metre springboard event at the 1972 Summer Olympics The 1972 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XX Olympiad () and commonly known as Munich 1972 (german: München 19 ...

— 236.25 points (→ 24th place) Women's 10m Platform * Keiko Otsubo — 168.24 points (→ 23rd place)

Equestrian

Fencing

Five fencers, all men, represented Japan in 1972. ; Men's foil *

Hiroshi Nakajima was a Japanese doctor known chiefly for his tenure as Director-General of the World Health Organization. Early life and education He was born in Chiba, Japan, on 16 May 1928. In 1955 Nakajima received his M.D. from Tokyo Medical University, Ja ...

* Ichiro Serizawa * Kiyoshi Uehara ; Men's team foil *

Shiro Maruyama is a Japanese fencer. He competed in the team foil event at the 1972 Summer Olympics The 1972 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XX Olympiad () and commonly known as Munich 1972 (german: München 1972), was an internat ...

, Masaya Fukuda,

, Kiyoshi Uehara, Ichiro Serizawa

Gymnastics

Handball

;Men's Team Competition *Preliminary Round :* Lost to Yugoslavia (14-20) :* Lost to Hungary (12-20) :* Defeated United States (20-16) *Classification Matches :* 9th/12th place: Lost to Norway (17-19) :* 11th/12th place: Defeated Iceland (19-18) → 11th place

Judo

Modern pentathlon

Three male pentathletes represented Japan in 1972. Men's Individual Competition: * Masaru Sakano — 4627 points (→ 31st place) *

Yuso Makihira is a Japanese modern pentathlete. He competed at the 1968 and 1972 Summer Olympics The 1972 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XX Olympiad () and commonly known as Munich 1972 (german: München 1972), was an internation ...

— 4583 points (→ 33rd place) *

Akira Kubo is a Japanese actor who has appeared in over 70 films since 1952. He starred in the film ''Arashi'', which was entered into the 7th Berlin International Film Festival. Selected filmography * ''Arashi'' (1956) as Saburo Mizusawa * ''Snow Coun ...

— 4371 points (→ 49th place) Men's Team Competition: * Sakano, Makihara, and Kubo — 13569 points (13th place)

Rowing

Men's Single Sculls * Hideo Okamoto :*Heat — 8:20.82 :*Repechage — 8:27.36 (→ did not advance)

Sailing

Men's Finn: * Kazuoki Matsuyama — 176.0 (→ 27th place) Men's Flying Dutchman: * Akira Yamamura and Takashi Yamamura — 128.0 (→ 19th place)

Shooting

Six male shooters represented Japan in 1972. ;Open

Swimming

Volleyball

;Men's Team Competition *Preliminary Round (Group B) :* Defeated Romania (3-1) :* Defeated Cuba (3-0) :* Defeated East Germany (3-0) :* Defeated Brazil (3-0) :* Defeated West Germany (3-0) *Semifinals :* Defeated Bulgaria (3-2) *Final :* Defeated East Germany (3-1) → Gold Medal *Team Roster :*

Kenji Kimura is a Japanese former volleyball player who competed in the 1968 Summer Olympics and in the 1972 Summer Olympics The 1972 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XX Olympiad () and commonly known as Munich 1972 (german: M ...

:* Yoshinide Fukao :* Junko Morita :* Seiji Ohko :*

Tadayoshi Yokota Tadayoshi Yokota (横田忠義 ''Yokota Tadayoshi'', born 26 September 1947) is a former volleyball player from Japan, who was a member of the Japan Men's National Team that won the gold medal at the 1972 Summer Olympics and the silver medal a ...

Katsutoshi Nekoda was a Japanese volleyball player and four-time Olympian. Nekoda was a member of the Japanese men's national volleyball team as a setter. Nekoda led the Japan national volleyball team to a bronze medal in the 1964 Summer Olympics, a silver med ...

:* Yasuhiro Noguchi :*

Kenji Shimaoka is a Japanese former volleyball player who competed in the 1968 Summer Olympics, in the 1972 Summer Olympics, and in the 1976 Summer Olympics Events January * January 3 – The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultur ...

Yūzo Nakamura was a Japanese volleyball player who competed in the 1964 Summer Olympics and in the 1972 Summer Olympics The 1972 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XX Olympiad () and commonly known as Munich 1972 (german: Münch ...

Tetsuo Nishimoto is a Japanese former volleyball player who competed in the 1972 Summer Olympics and in the 1976 Summer Olympics. He was born in Hiroshima is the capital of Hiroshima Prefecture in Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 1,199, ...

:* Massao Minami :* Tetsuo Satō

Water polo

;Men's Team Competition *Preliminary Round (Group C) :* Lost to Spain (4-6) :* Lost to Soviet Union (1-11) :* Lost to Bulgaria (4-7) :* Lost to Italy (5-12) → Did not advance * Team Roster :* Yukiharu Oshita :* Hirokatsu Kuwayama :* Toshio Takahashi :*

Shuzo Yajima was a Japanese water polo player who competed in the 1968 Summer Olympics and in the 1972 Summer Olympics The 1972 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XX Olympiad () and commonly known as Munich 1972 (german: München 1 ...

:* Hiroshi Hashimoto :* Koji Nakano :*

Naoto Minegishi is a Japanese former water polo player who competed in the 1972 Summer Olympics The 1972 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XX Olympiad () and commonly known as Munich 1972 (german: München 1972), was an international m ...

:* Tatsuo Jihira :* Takashi Kimura :*

Yoshihiro Yasumi is a Japanese former water polo player who competed in the 1972 Summer Olympics The 1972 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XX Olympiad () and commonly known as Munich 1972 (german: München 1972), was an international m ...

:* Toru Arase

Weightlifting

Wrestling

Badminton (demonstration sports)

Men's Doubles: *

Ippei Kojima Ippei Kojima (born 1944) is a former Japanese badminton player who won a record eight Japanese national men's singles titles and some major international titles in both singles and doubles between the mid-1960s and the mid-1970s. Career His ga ...

and Suresh Goel of

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

:# 1st round - Lost to Ng. Boon Bee and

Punch Gunalan Datuk Punch Gunalan (4 February 1944 – 15 August 2012) was a Malaysian badminton player, who achieved success in both singles and doubles competitions. Badminton career Gunalan was a talented right-hander who spent what might have been some ...

Malaysia Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federation, federal constitutional monarchy consists of States and federal territories of Malaysia, thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two r ...

(8 - 15, 1 - 15) Women's Singles: *

Noriko Nakayama Noriko Nakayama (née Takagi; born 1943) is a Japanese former badminton player, the first true international badminton star from that nation, who won numerous Japanese national and major international titles from the mid-1960s to the early 1970s. ...

→ Gold Medal :# 1st round - defeated

Ulla Strand Ulla Strand (21 March 1943 - 7 August 2007) (born as Ulla Rasmussen) was badminton player of Denmark who excelled from the early 1960s to the early 1970s. Though she won three Danish national singles titles and reached the women's singles final ...

Denmark ) , song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast") , song_type = National and royal anthem , image_map = EU-Denmark.svg , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Danish Realm, Kingdom of Denmark ...

(11 - 5, 11 - 9) :# Semi–Final - defeated

Gillian Gilks Gillian Gilks (formerly Gillian Perrin, and later Gillian Goodwin; born 20 June 1950) is an English former badminton player who won numerous major titles in all three events (singles, doubles, and mixed doubles) between the late 1960s and the ...

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It is ...

(11 - 3, 8 - 11, 11 - 9) :# Final - defeated

Utami Dewi Utami Dewi Kinard (born 16 June 1951) is a former world-class badminton player who was considered Indonesia's #1 women's singles player in the 1970s, and became the United States' #1 player in 1981, after marrying former 6 time U.S. men's singl ...

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Guine ...

(11 - 5, 11 - 3) *

Hiroe Yuki (15 November 1948 – 7 September 2011 in Tokyo) was a Japanese badminton player. She won numerous major international titles from the late 1960s to the late 1970s. Career Yuki was among the most notable of a cadre of fine players who helped ...

→ bronze medal :# 1st round - defeated

Joke van Beusekom Joke van Beusekom (born 23 June 1952 in Wassenaar, South Holland) is a retired female badminton player from the Netherlands. Career Nationally, she was the most successful Dutch female player, winning a record 25 Dutch titles and playing, bet ...

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

(11 - 3, 11 - 2) :# Semi-Final - lost to Utami Dewi of Indonesia (5 - 11, 9 - 11) Mixed Doubles: * Kojima and Nakayama :# 1st round - lost to

Talbot Talbot was an automobile marque introduced in 1902 by English-French company Clément-Talbot. The founders, Charles Chetwynd-Talbot, 20th Earl of Shrewsbury and Adolphe Clément-Bayard, reduced their financial interests in their Clément-Talbot ...

and Gilks of Great Britain (9 - 15, 4 - 15)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Japan At The 1972 Summer Olympics Nations at the 1972 Summer Olympics

Summer Olympics 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 ...