Japan at the 2020 Summer Olympics

Japan at the
2020 Summer Olympics
IOC codeJPN
NOCJapanese Olympic Committee
Websitewww.joc.or.jp (in Japanese)
in Tokyo, Japan
July 23 (23-07) – August 8, 2021 (2021-08-08)
Competitors556 (295 men and 261 women) in 37 sports
Flag bearers (opening)Rui Hachimura
Yui Susaki
Flag bearer (closing)Ryo Kiyuna
Medals
Ranked 3rd
Gold
27
Silver
14
Bronze
17
Total
58
Summer Olympics appearances (overview)

Japan was the host nation of the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, 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.[1] Since the nation's official debut in 1912, Japanese athletes have appeared at every Summer Olympic Games in the modern era, except for the 1948 Summer Olympics in London, to which they were not invited due to the nation's role in World War II, and the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow, as part of the United States-led boycott. The opening ceremony flag-bearers for Japan are basketball player Rui Hachimura and wrestler Yui Susaki.[2] Karateka Ryo Kiyuna is the flag-bearer for the closing ceremony.[3]

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 (also held in Tokyo) and 2004 Olympics. This placed them third overall by gold first ranking (for the third time after 1964 and 1968) behind the United States and China. By total medals, they also fell behind the Russian Olympic Committee and the United Kingdom. It was the most successful Summer Olympics in Japan's history.

  1. ^ "Joint Statement from the International Olympic Committee and the Tokyo 2020 Organising Committee". Olympics. 24 March 2020. Retrieved 28 March 2020.
  2. ^ "Rui Hachimura, Yui Susaki named flagbearers for Japan's Olympic team". Kyodo News. 5 July 2021. Archived from the original on 11 July 2021. Retrieved 5 July 2021.
  3. ^ "The flagbearers for the Tokyo 2020 Closing Ceremony". Olympics.com. 8 August 2021. Archived from the original on 8 August 2021. Retrieved 8 August 2021.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)