Japan first participated at the Olympic Games in 1912, and has since only missed London 1948 and Moscow 1980 since then. Since Antwerp 1920, the nation has won an Olympic medal in every edition of the Summer Olympic Games. The nation has also participated at almost every edition of the Winter Olympic Games.
Japan has won over 500 medals at the Olympic Games, with most medals in Gymnastics, Judo, Swimming, and Wrestling. Other sports in which the nation has been successful are Athletics, Weightlifting, and Speed Skating.
The Japanese Olympic Committee was created in 1911 and recognized in 1912.
Medal Table[]
Medals by Summer Games[]
| Games | Athletes | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Stockholm 1912 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – |
| Antwerp 1920 | 15 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 17 |
| Paris 1924 | 19 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 23 |
| Amsterdam 1928 | 43 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 5 | 15 |
| Los Angeles 1932 | 131 | 7 | 7 | 4 | 18 | 5 |
| Berlin 1936 | 156 | 6 | 4 | 8 | 18 | 8 |
| London 1948 | Did not participate | |||||
| Helsinki 1952 | 69 | 1 | 6 | 2 | 9 | 17 |
| Melbourne 1956 | 110 | 4 | 10 | 5 | 19 | 10 |
| Rome 1960 | 162 | 4 | 7 | 7 | 18 | 8 |
| Tokyo 1964 | 328 | 16 | 5 | 8 | 29 | 3 |
| Mexico City 1968 | 171 | 11 | 7 | 7 | 25 | 3 |
| Munich 1972 | 184 | 13 | 8 | 8 | 29 | 5 |
| Montreal 1976 | 213 | 9 | 6 | 10 | 25 | 5 |
| Moscow 1980 | Did not participate | |||||
| Los Angeles 1984 | 226 | 10 | 8 | 14 | 32 | 7 |
| Seoul 1988 | 255 | 4 | 3 | 7 | 14 | 14 |
| Barcelona 1992 | 256 | 3 | 8 | 11 | 22 | 17 |
| Atlanta 1996 | 306 | 3 | 6 | 5 | 14 | 23 |
| Sydney 2000 | 266 | 5 | 8 | 5 | 18 | 15 |
| Athens 2004 | 306 | 16 | 9 | 12 | 37 | 5 |
| Beijing 2008 | 332 | 9 | 8 | 8 | 25 | 8 |
| London 2012 | 295 | 7 | 14 | 17 | 38 | 11 |
| Rio de Janeiro 2016 | 338 | 12 | 8 | 21 | 41 | 6 |
| Tokyo 2020 | 602 | 27 | 14 | 27 | 58 | 3 |
| Total | 169 | 150 | 188 | 497 | ||
Medals by Winter Games[]
| Games | Athletes | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| St. Moritz 1928 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – |
| Lake Placid 1932 | 16 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – |
| Garmisch-Partenkirchen 1936 | 31 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – |
| St. Moritz 1948 | Did not participate | |||||
| Oslo 1952 | 13 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – |
| Cortina d'Ampezzo 1956 | 10 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 11 |
| Squaw Valley 1960 | 41 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – |
| Innsbruck 1964 | 47 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – |
| Grenoble 1968 | 61 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – |
| Sapporo 1972 | 85 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 11 |
| Innsbruck 1976 | 58 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – |
| Lake Placid 1980 | 50 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 15 |
| Sarajevo 1984 | 39 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 14 |
| Calgary 1988 | 48 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 16 |
| Albertville 1992 | 60 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 7 | 11 |
| Lillehammer 1994 | 59 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 5 | 11 |
| Nagano 1998 | 156 | 5 | 1 | 4 | 10 | 7 |
| Salt Lake City 2002 | 103 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 21 |
| Turin 2006 | 110 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 18 |
| Vancouver 2010 | 94 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 5 | 20 |
| Sochi 2014 | 113 | 1 | 4 | 3 | 8 | 17 |
| Pyeongchang 2018 | 124 | 4 | 5 | 4 | 13 | 11 |
| Beijing 2022 | 121 | 3 | 6 | 9 | 18 | 12 |
| Total | 17 | 28 | 31 | 76 | ||
Medals by 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 |
| Speed Skating | 5 | 10 | 12 | 27 |
| 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 |
| 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 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 3 |
| Equestrian | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Synchronized Swimming | 0 | 4 | 10 | 14 |
| Archery | 0 | 3 | 4 | 7 |
| Cycling | 0 | 2 | 3 | 5 |
| Table Tennis | 1 | 3 | 4 | 8 |
| 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 |
| Field Hockey | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Golf | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Canoeing | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Taekwondo | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |