Japan at the 2012 Summer Olympics
| Japan at the 2012 Summer Olympics |
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| IOC code | JPN | ||||||||
| NOC | Japanese Olympic Committee | ||||||||
| Website |
www |
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| in London | |||||||||
| Competitors | 295 in 24 sports | ||||||||
| Flag bearer |
Saori Yoshida
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Medals Ranked 11th |
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| Summer Olympics appearances (overview) | |||||||||
| Qualified for the quarter-finals |
Japan, represented by Japanese Olympic Committee, competed at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, from 27 July to 12 August 2012. Despite being London's third Olympic games, Japan marked their London debut at this games. The nation also celebrated its centennial anniversary in the Olympics, having participated at every games since 1912 except for two editions; it was not invited to the 1948 Summer Olympics in London for its instigation of World War II, and was also part of the US-led boycott of the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow. Japan sent a total of 295 athletes to the Games, 138 men and 157 women, to compete in 24 sports.
Japan left London with a total of 38 medals (7 gold, 14 silver, and 17 bronze), finishing eleventh in the gold medal rankings and sixth in the overall medal rankings. This was also the nation's most successful Olympics, winning the largest number of medals in non-boycotted games. Eleven of these medals were awarded to the athletes in swimming, seven in judo, six in wrestling, and three in gymnastics. Five Japanese athletes won more than a single Olympic medal in London. With the absence of baseball and softball at the Olympics, Japan's team-based athletes proved successful in London, as women's football and women's volleyball teams won silver and bronze medals, respectively. For the first time since 1968, Japan had won two Olympic medals in men's boxing.
Among the nation's medalists were freestyle wrestlers Kaori Icho and Saori Yoshida, who successfully defended their Olympic titles in their respective events. Two-time Olympic silver medalist and gymnast Kōhei Uchimura won the coveted gold medal in individual all-around, becoming the fourth Japanese man to claim the title after 28 years. Meanwhile, Ryōta Murata became the first Japanese boxer to win an Olympic gold medal since 1960, in the men's middleweight division. Defending swimming champion Kosuke Kitajima, who aimed to win gold in two breaststroke events for third Games in succession, missed out on the medal standings in the finals.
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