Meanwhile, Japan staged the East Asian Games in Tokyo in 1940, with six nations taking part. The 1952 Summer Olympics were finally hosted in Helsinki, whereas the 1964 Summer Olympics were held in Tokyo, and the 2020 Summer Olympics will be held in Tokyo.
In fact, Japan has never missed an Olympic games. They have always been held on their own soil. The only time the Olympics were not held in Japan was when World War II prevented them from being held in 1940 and 1944.
However, Japan's inability to host the Games again until 1992 was due to political issues, not because they weren't able to stage them successfully at that time. Indeed, Japan proved itself capable of hosting major events after WWII. It was actually two cities bidding for the games. One was Hiroshima, which had been destroyed by atomic weapons. The other was Nagasaki.
The city chosen to host the games was Tokyo, since it was the most populous city in Japan and also the capital. However, neither city was willing to give up their bid so a joint bid was made. This joint bid was successful and both cities joined forces to host the games.
Japan has been quite successful in sports, especially athletics. Its athletes have won many medals over the years.
However, tennis is one sport where Japan has not done well.
Following Japan's announcement in 1938 that it would be unable to hold the 1940 Olympics in Tokyo due to the ongoing Second Sino-Japanese War, Helsinki was chosen to host the 1940 Summer Olympics, which were ultimately cancelled due to World War II. Tokyo finally hosted the games in 1964, while Helsinki held them in 1952.
Japan has previously hosted the following Olympic games:
Tokyo finally hosted the games in 1964, while Helsinki held them in 1952. The Helsinki Summer Olympics were held in the northernmost city to host a summer Olympic Games.
| Emblem of the 1952 Summer Olympics | |
|---|---|
| Host city | Helsinki, Finland |
| Nations | 69 |
| Athletes | 4,955 (4,436 men, 519 women) |
| Events | 149 in 17 sports (23 disciplines) |
Tokyo will host the Summer Olympics in 2020 (postponed to 2021 because to the COVID-19 epidemic), making it the first city and country in Asia to do it twice. However, Japan also held the Winter Olympics in Sapporo and Nagano in 1972 and 1998, respectively. These events are not counted as Olympic Games because they did not receive the official recognition from the IOC.
Japan first hosted the Olympics in 1948 in Tokyo, where they were held until 1964. The nation then skipped the event for 24 years before deciding to return in 1980. Tokyo has now hosted the Olympics three times. The next Olympics will be the third time that Japan has held them on home soil, after Tokyo in 1964 and 1980. It is scheduled to take place from 24 July to 9 August 2020.
Besides Tokyo, Japan has also hosted two other Olympic games: Sapporo in 1972 and Nagoya in 1990. These events are not considered official Olympics because they didn't receive the necessary approval from the International Olympic Committee (IOC).
In Japan, there are several names used to refer to the Olympic Games. They are referred to as "Olympics" or "Joint Olympiad". But they are most often called the "Summer Olympics" or the "Japanese Olympic Games".
Summer Olympics/Location: Tokyo and Helsinki in 1940
The 1940 Summer Olympics, formally known as the Games of the XII Olympiad, were initially slated to take place in Tokyo, Japan, from September 21 to October 6, 1940.
Tokyo, Japan's capital, will host the Olympic Games in 2020. In September 2013, Tokyo was declared the victor over Madrid and Istanbul. The Games will take place between July 24th and August 9th, 2020. Japan will be hosting the Summer Olympics for the second time. They hosted the tournament earlier in 1964. That was before the modern day nation existed as a union of four countries: Japan, Korea, China, and Russia.
The decision to hold the games in Japan was made by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) at its meeting in Buenos Aires, Argentina in 2009. Tokyo was chosen over Madrid and Istanbul in a vote of the members present at the meeting. Japan's previous experience with sport helped it win over the other candidates. Tokyo has held several international events including the Paralympics recently. They want to use this experience to put on a successful Olympic campaign too.
In fact, Japan has won more gold medals than any other country at these events. So they are certainly not unknown to winning! The country also has many famous athletes so they should have no problems finding talent to represent them on the podium.
Japan is a large island country located in East Asia. It shares borders with China to the north, South Korea to the south, and Russia to the west. Tokyo is the capital city of Japan and the most populous one too with an estimated 13 million people.
Japan also has 58 medals at the Winter Olympics. Its most successful Olympics were the 1964 and 2020 Games, both of which were held in Tokyo...
| Games | Dates | Host city |
|---|---|---|
| 1964 Summer Olympics | 10–24 October 1964 | Tokyo |
| 1972 Winter Olympics | 3–13 February 1972 | Sapporo, Hokkaidō |
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