Japan competed at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, People's Republic of China. The delegation of athletes and officials were represented by the Japanese Olympic Committee.
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.
Medalists
| width="78%" align="left" valign="top" | Medal Name Sport Event Date Judo Men's 66 kg August 10 Swimming Men's 100 m breaststroke August 11 Judo Women's 63 kg August 12 Judo Women's 70 kg August 13 Swimming Men's 200 m breaststroke August 14 Judo Men's +100 kg August 15 Wrestling Women's freestyle 55 kg August 16 Wrestling Women's freestyle 63 kg August 17 Naho EmotoMotoko FujimotoMegu HiroseEmi InuiSachiko ItoAyumi KarinoSatoko MabuchiYukiyo MineMasumi MishinaRei NishiyamaHiroko SakaiRie SatoMika SomeyaYukiko UenoEri Yamada Softball Tournaments August 21 Gymnastics Team all-around August 12 Fencing Men's foil August 13 Gymnastics Individual all-around August 14 Judo Women's +78 kg August 15 Wrestling Women's freestyle 48 kg August 16 Wrestling Men's freestyle 55 kg August 19 Wrestling Men's freestyle 60 kg August 19 Athletics Men's 4 × 100 m relay August 22 Judo Women's 48 kg August 9 Judo Women's 52 kg August 10 Swimming Men's 200 m butterfly August 13 Swimming Women's 200 m backstroke August 16 Cycling Keirin August 16 Swimming Men's 4 × 100 m medley relay August 17 Wrestling Women's freestyle 72 kg August 17 Synchronized swimming Women's duet August 20 | width="22%" align="left" valign="top" |
Medals by sportSport TotalJudo4127Wrestling2315Swimming2035Softball1001Gymnastics0202Athletics0101Fencing0101Cycling0011Synchronized swimming0011Total98825
Archery
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.
Men AthleteEventRanking roundRound of 64Round of 32Round of 16QuarterfinalsSemifinalsFinal / ScoreSeedOppositionScoreOppositionScoreOppositionScoreOppositionScoreOppositionScoreOppositionScoreRankTakaharu FurukawaIndividual66317 (48)L 111 (18)–111 (19)did not advanceRyuichi Moriya66122 (43)W 109 (10)–109 (9) (11)W 114–109 (6)W 113–110 (3)L 106–115did not advance
Women AthleteEventRanking roundRound of 64Round of 32Round of 16QuarterfinalsSemifinalsFinal / ScoreSeedOppositionScoreOppositionScoreOppositionScoreOppositionScoreOppositionScoreOppositionScoreRankNami HayakawaIndividual6499 (56)W 112–103 (24)W 105–103 (8)W 106–97 (1)L 103–112did not advanceYuki Hayashi61648 (17)L 102 (8)–102 (9)did not advanceSayoko Kitabatake61646 (19)W 103–101 (14)L 100–112did not advanceNami HayakawaYuki HayashiSayoko KitabatakeTeam18817colspan=2 (10) W 206–199 (2) L 196–201did not advance
Athletics
Men Track & road events AthleteEventHeatQuarterfinalSemifinalFinalResultRankResultRankResultRankResultRankNobuharu Asahara100 m10.254 q10.378Did not advanceYoshitaka Iwamizu3000 m steeplechase8:29.809colspan=4 Did not advanceYuzo Kanemaru400 m46.397colspan=2 Did not advanceTakayuki Matsumiya5000 m14:20.2413colspan=4 Did not advance10000 mcolspan=6 28:39.7731Koichiro Morioka20 km walkcolspan=6 1:21:5716Masato Naito110 m hurdles13.967Did not advanceKenji Narisako400 m hurdles49.635colspan=2 Did not advanceTsuyoshi OgataMarathoncolspan=6 2:13:2613Satoshi Osakicolspan=6 Atsushi Satocolspan=6 2:41:0876Shingo Suetsugu200 m20.936Did not advanceShinji Takahira20.584 q20.637Did not advanceKensuke Takezawa5000 m13:49.427colspan=4 Did not advance10000 mcolspan=6 28:23.2828Dai Tamesue400 m hurdles49.824colspan=2 Did not advanceTakayuki Tanii20 km walkcolspan=6 50 km walkcolspan=6 4:01:3729Naoki Tsukahara100 m10.392 Q10.233 Q10.167Did not advanceYuki Yamazaki20 km walkcolspan=6 1:21:181150 km walkcolspan=6 3:45:477Nobuharu AsaharaShingo SuetsuguShinji TakahiraNaoki Tsukahara4 × 100 m relay38.522 Qcolspan=4 38.15Mitsuhiro AbikoYoshihiro HorigomeKenji NarisakoDai Tamesue4 × 400 m relay3:04.186colspan=4 Did not advance
Field events AthleteEventQualificationFinalDistancePositionDistancePositionNaoyuki DaigoHigh jump2.1536Did not advanceYukifumi MurakamiJavelin throw78.2115Did not advanceKoji MurofushiHammer throw78.165 Q80.715Daichi SawanoPole vault5.5516Did not advance
Women Track & road events AthleteEventHeatQuarterfinalSemifinalFinalResultRankResultRankResultRankResultRankYukiko Akaba5000 m15:38.3012colspan=4 Did not advance10000 mcolspan=6 32:00.3720Kayoko Fukushi5000 m15:20.4610colspan=4 Did not advance10000 mcolspan=6 31:01.1411Chisato Fukushima100 m11.746Did not advanceMinori Hayakari3000 m steeplechase9:49.7016colspan=4 Did not advanceMayumi Kawasaki20 km walkcolspan=6 1:29:4314Yuriko Kobayashi5000 m15:15.877colspan=4 Did not advanceSachiko Konishi20 km walkcolspan=6 1:32:2126Yurika NakamuraMarathoncolspan=6 2:30:1913Satomi Kubokura400 m hurdles55.82 SB3 Qcolspan=2 56.697Did not advanceYoko Shibui10000 mcolspan=6 31:31.1317Asami Tanno400 m52.604colspan=2 Did not advanceReiko TosaMarathoncolspan=6 Sayaka AokiMayu KidaSatomi KubokuraAsami Tanno4 × 400 m relay3:30.52 SB8colspan=4 Did not advance
Field events AthleteEventQualificationFinalDistancePositionDistancePositionKumiko IkedaLong jump6.4719Did not advance
Badminton
Men AthleteEventRound of 64Round of 32Round of 16QuarterfinalSemifinalFinal / OppositionScoreOppositionScoreOppositionScoreOppositionScoreOppositionScoreOppositionScoreRankShoji SatoSinglesW 21–13, 21–17L 21–19, 20–22, 15–21Did not advanceShintaro IkedaShuichi SakamotoDoublescolspan=2 L 12–21, 16–21Did not advanceKeita MasudaTadashi Ohtsukacolspan=2 W 19–21, 21–14, 21–14L 12–21, 21–18, 9–21Did not advance
Women AthleteEventRound of 64Round of 32Round of 16QuarterfinalSemifinalFinal / OppositionScoreOppositionScoreOppositionScoreOppositionScoreOppositionScoreOppositionScoreRankEriko HiroseSinglesW 21–6, 19–7rW 21–7, 21–12L 12–21, 21–16, 6–21Did not advanceMiyuki Maeda Satoko SuetsunaDoublescolspan=2 W 21–4, 21–8W 8–21, 23–21, 21–14L 20–22, 15–21L 17–21, 10–214Kumiko Ogura Reiko Shiotacolspan=2 W 18–21, 21–14, 21–18L 8–21, 5–21Did not advance
Baseball
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.
Roster
Pitchers: Yu Darvish Kyuji Fujikawa Hitoki Iwase Kenshin Kawakami Yoshihisa Naruse Toshiya Sugiuchi Masahiro Tanaka Koji Uehara Tsuyoshi Wada Hideaki Wakui
Catchers: Shinnosuke Abe Tomoya Satozaki Akihiro Yano
Infielders: Takahiro Arai Masahiro Araki Munenori Kawasaki Shinya Miyamoto Shuichi Murata Hiroyuki Nakajima Tsuyoshi Nishioka
Outfielders: Norichika Aoki Atsunori Inaba Masahiko Morino G. G. Sato
Group stage
Group table TeamGWLRSRAWIN%GBTiebreaker77041221.000--7615223.8571-7524022.7142-7433014.5713-7252933.28651-07252920.28650-1716950.14361-07161460.14360-1
Semifinal
Bronze medal game
Boxing
Japan qualified two boxers for the Olympic boxing tournament. Masatsugu was the first when he qualified at the World Championships.World Boxing Championships Chicago 2007 Satoshi was the second, qualifying at the first Asian qualifying event.1st AIBA Asian Olympic Boxing Qualification Tournament
AthleteEventRound of 32Round of 16QuarterfinalsSemifinalsFinalOppositionResultOppositionResultOppositionResultOppositionResultOppositionResultRankSatoshi ShimizuFeatherweightL 9–12Did not advanceMasatsugu KawachiLight welterweightL 1–8Did not advance
Canoeing
Slalom AthleteEventPreliminarySemifinalFinalRun 1RankRun 2RankTotalRankTimeRankTimeRankTotalRankTakuya HanedaMen's C-194.081392.2414186.3214Did not advanceKazuki YazawaMen's K-189.821990.0518179.8718Did not advanceHiroyuki NagaoMasatoshi SanmaMen's C-299.478113.0910212.5610 Q110.109Did not advanceYuriko TakeshitaWomen's K-1111.6314113.0818224.7115 Q107.866 Q111.444219.304
Sprint AthleteEventHeatsSemifinalsFinalTimeRankTimeRankTimeRankShinobu KitamotoWomen's K-1 500 m1:52.1484 QS2:01.1059Did not advanceShinobu KitamotoMikiko TakeyaWomen's K-2 500 m1:46.9806 QS1:43.5411 Q1:43.2915Shinobu KitamotoAyaka KunoYumiko SuzukiMikiko TakeyaWomen's K-4 500 m1:38.6185 QS1:37.4492 Q1:36.4656 Qualification Legend: QS = Qualify to semi-final; QF = Qualify directly to final
Cycling
Road AthleteEventTimeRankFumiyuki BeppuMen's road raceDid not finishMen's time trial1:11:0539Takashi MiyazawaMen's road race6:55:2485Miho OkiWomen's road race3:33:1731
Track Japan has qualified entries in men's Keirin, sprint, team sprint and points race, and women's points race and sprint.
Sprint AthleteEventQualificationRound 1Repechage 1Round 2Repechage 2QuarterfinalsSemifinalsFinalTimeSpeed (km/h)RankOppositionTimeSpeed (km/h)OppositionTimeSpeed (km/h)OppositionTimeSpeed (km/h)OppositionTimeSpeed (km/h)OppositionTimeSpeed (km/h)OppositionTimeSpeed (km/h)OppositionTimeSpeed (km/h)RankTsubasa KitatsuruMen's sprint10.39169.29014LLDid not advanceKazunari Watanabe10.34669.59211LW 10.96565.663LLDid not advance9th place finalL12Kiyofumi NagaiTomohiro NagatsukaKazunari WatanabeMen's team sprint44.45460.7366L 44.43760.760colspan=5 Did not advance6Sakie TsukudaWomen's sprint12.13459.33712LLcolspan=2 Did not advance9th place finalL12
Keirin AthleteEvent1st roundRepechage2nd roundFinalRankRankRankRankToshiaki FushimiMen's keirin3 R4Did not advanceKiyofumi Nagai3 R1 Q2 Q
Omnium AthleteEventPointsLapsRankMakoto IijimaMen's points race2318Satomi WadamiWomen's points raceDid not finish
Mountain biking AthleteEventTimeRankKohei YamamotoMen's cross-country (3 lap)46Rie KatayamaWomen's cross-country (1 lap)20
BMX AthleteEventSeedingQuarterfinalsSemifinalsFinalResultRankPointsRankPointsRankResultRankAkifumi SakamotoMen's BMX40.54832197Did not advance
Diving
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.
Men AthleteEventPreliminariesSemifinalsFinalPointsRankPointsRankPointsRankKen Terauchi3 m springboard452.8010 Q478.257 Q442.5011
Women AthleteEventPreliminariesSemifinalsFinalPointsRankPointsRankPointsRankMai Nakagawa10 m platform331.409 Q314.6010 Q296.3011
Equestrian
Dressage AthleteHorseEventGrand PrixGrand Prix SpecialGrand Prix FreestyleOverallScoreRankScoreRankScoreRankScoreRankHiroshi HoketsuWhisperIndividual62.54235Did not advanceYuko KitaiRambo59.25045Did not advanceMieko YagiDow Jones60.16742Did not advanceHiroshi HoketsuYuko KitaiMieko YagiSee aboveTeamcolspan=6 60.6539
Eventing AthleteHorseEventDressageCross-countryJumpingTotalQualifierFinalPenaltiesRankPenaltiesTotalRankPenaltiesTotalRankPenaltiesTotalRankPenaltiesRankYoshiaki OiwaGorgeous GeorgeIndividual52.404076.40128.80558.00136.8049Did not advance136.8049
Show jumping