Japan at the Winter Olympic Games
Japan missed the inaugural edition of the Winter Olympics in Chamonix, France in 1924. However, the nation started sending athletes at the 1928 St. Moritz Winter Olympic Games and has participated in the highly-awaited event from then on.
The nation has earned at least one gold medal in ski jumping, figure skating, Nordic combined, speed skating, short track speed skating and freestyle skating.
Japan has hosted the Winter Games twice, in Sapporo in 1972 and in Nagano in 1978. The nation figured well in the medal standings when it competed as a host. The nation finished 11th in 1972 with a medal haul of 1 gold, 1 silver and 1 bronze and ended up 7th in 1998 with a medal haul of 5 gold, 1 silver and 4 bronze medals, which is the nation’s best performance at the Winter Games.
Chiharu Igaya captured Japan’s first Winter Olympics medal when he took the silver medal in the slalom event. Yukio Kasaya won Japan’s first Winter Olympics gold medal when he won the men's normal hill (K70) event in ski jumping ahead of two compatriots. Akitsugu Konno and Seiji Aochi took home the silver and bronze medals to complete a sweep of the event for Japan.
Trivia
- The 2014 figure skating event was won by Japanese teenager Yuzuru Hanyu. He was the first Japanese man to ever win a gold medal in figure skating, and his score of 101.45 points set a world record.
- Japan's Noriaki Kasai set a record for most appearances by an athlete at the Winter Olympics in 2018. The Japanese ski jumper has participated in eight straight Olympics, from 1992 until 2018.
Related Pages
- Japan at the Summer Olympics
- About sport in Japan
- More Winter Olympics Countries
- Winter Olympics main page.
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