The list of qualified entries for Japan is shown. In some cases, the country qualified for a position in the Olympic Games, and the individual performance in the qualifying event was good enough to guarantee the same person a spot on Japan's team. In other cases, the Japan Olympic Committee assigned a competitor at a later date to fill some of the country's qualified positions, and the Olympic competitor may or may not be the same as the one who participated in the qualifying competition.
Japan qualified four archers (two men and two women) through the 2007 World Outdoor Target Championships individual competitions, and added a third women's qualification spot at the Asian Championships. This allowed Japan to compete in the women's team competition at the Olympics, as well as having three women and two men compete in the individual competitions.
Takaharu Furukawa, Ryuichi Moriya, Nami Hayakawa, Sayoko Kitabatake and Yuki Hayashi were the archers who earned the qualification spots for Japan.
Japan has not yet won an Olympic gold medal in archery; its best results are a pair of silver medals, including Hiroshi Yamamoto's in the 2004 men's individual competition.
Japan's victory in the 2007 Asian Baseball Championship qualified the Japan national baseball team for Olympic competition. Japan, along with Cuba, has appeared in every Olympic baseball tournament since the sport was elevated to official status. Japan has reached the semifinals each year and taken one silver and two bronze medals, but has yet to win the Olympic championship.
Japan qualified two boxers for the Olympic boxing tournament. Masatsugu was the first when he qualified at the World Championships.[1] Satoshi was the second, qualifying at the first Asian qualifying event.[2]
One Japanese member qualified for the 3 meter springboard event, by virtue of Ken Terauchi's third-place finish in the semifinal round at the 2007 World Championships. This was the first individual qualification spot earned by Japan for the 2008 Olympics.[3]
Taizo Sugitani finished qualifying in 37th place which made him a reserve rider for the final. After several qualified horses tested positive for use of capsaicin, he was moved up and participated in Final A.
*Due to a coaching decision, Hiroyuki Tomita started in the individual all-around final instead of Koki Sakamoto.[8] Tomita had finished qualification in 6th place, but behind his teammates Uchimura and Sakamoto, and no more than two gymnasts from the same nation are allowed in the final.
Kyoko Oshima qualified for the All-Around final of the top 24 gymnasts because the number of finalists from the same nation is limited to two. Thus, five gymnasts ranked ahead of her were ineligible. For the same reason, Koko Tsurumi appeared in the balance beam apparatus final.
Qualification Legend: FA=Final A (medal); FB=Final B (non-medal); FC=Final C (non-medal); FD=Final D (non-medal); FE=Final E (non-medal); FF=Final F (non-medal); SA/B=Semifinals A/B; SC/D=Semifinals C/D; SE/F=Semifinals E/F; QF=Quarterfinals; R=Repechage
Japan qualified teams in both the men's and women's tournaments. The men's team lost all five matches in the group play, finishing last in their group, and failing to qualify for the final round. The men's final ranking was tied for 11th place. The women's team won two of the matches in the group play, and advanced to the quarterfinals, where they lost to Brazil. The women's final ranking was tied for 5th place.
^"Japan – Squad List". FIFA.com. Fédération Internationale de Football Association. Archived from the original on 17 August 2012. Retrieved 26 January 2020.
^ abcFor reference, you can check the articles of Wikipedia "List of stripped Olympic medals" about the two people in each class who were previously in the top ranks and who were stripped of medals.