Whilst Japan has been absent at the inaugural Paralympic Games in 1960 (in the city of Rome), Japan made its Paralympic debut by hosting the 1964 Games in Tokyo. The country has participated in every subsequent edition of the Summer Paralympics and in every edition of the Winter Paralympics since the first in 1976. It has hosted the Paralympic Games twice, with Tokyo hosting the 1964 Summer Games and Nagano hosting the 1998 Winter Paralympics. The next Summer Paralympics in 2020 was held again in Tokyo.Japan at the Paralympics, International Paralympic Committee Japan is represented by the Japan Paralympic Committee.
Japan was the only Asian country to compete at the 1964 Paralympics and also the only Asian country present at the inaugural Winter Games, making it the first Asian nation to have participated in either the Summer or Winter Games. It is also the second-most successful Asian country at the Summer Games (only behind China), having won 427 Paralympic medals, of which 127 are gold, 140 are silver, and 160 are bronze. These results place it 17th in the Summer Games. At the Winter Paralympics, Japan is the second-most successful Asian nation (only behind China) with 101 medals, with 27 gold, 36 silver, and 38 bronze. These results put it in 14th place.Japan at the Paralympics, International Paralympic Committee
Japan won only a single gold medal at the Tokyo Games (in the men's doubles, category C, in table tennis), but rapidly improved, with two golds in 1968, four in 1972, and ten in 1976, with a peak at eighteen in 2004—though that number stayed at just five in 2008 and 2012. Despite having won 24 medals in Rio, the country returned without any gold medals—10 silver and 14 bronze. Five years later, at home, Japan finished with 13 gold medals and 11th place in the medal table.
In the Winter Games, the country emerged as a notable competitor when it hosted the Nagano Games in 1998, winning twelve gold medals, compared to none at all in previous editions, except for the 2002 Winter Paralympics, when the Japanese delegation won three bronze medals. Japan won all Winter Paralympics editions after Nagano. Being the best campaign, the last one in Beijing 2022, with 4 gold medals.Japan at the Paralympics, International Paralympic Committee
By far Japan's most successful Paralympian has been swimmer Mayumi Narita, who won fifteen gold medals for her country between 1996 and 2004, making her one of the world's most successful Paralympians of all time.Japan at the Paralympics, International Paralympic Committee
Hosted Games Japan has hosted the Games on three occasions, including the 2020 Summer Paralympics (which was postponed to 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic): Games Dates Host city1964 Summer Paralympics 8–12 November 1964 Tokyo1998 Winter Paralympics 5–14 March 1998 Nagano2020 Summer Paralympics 24 August – 5 September 2021 Tokyo
Unsuccessful bids Games City Winner of bid2008 Summer Paralympics Osaka Beijing, China2016 Summer Paralympics Tokyo Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Medals
Medals by Summer Games
Medals by Winter Games
Medals by sports
Medals by summer sport
Medals by winter sport
Multi-medalists Japanese athletes who have won at least three gold medals or five or more medals of any colour. Summer Games No. Athlete Sport Years Games Gender GoldSilverBronzeTotal1Mayumi Narita1996-20043F1532202Junichi Kawai1992-20085M597213Mineho Ozaki1984-20087M515114Shingo Kunieda2004-20205M40265Takayuki Suzuki2004-20246M356146Keiichi Kimura2008-2012, 2020-20244M343107Toshihiro Takada2004-20082M32278Sarina Satomi2020-20242F31049Keiko Sugiura2020-20242F300310Maki Okada1988-19922F222611Noriko Arai1996-20043F221512Yoshikazu Sakai2000-20042M213613Erika Nara2000-20083F203514Kazu Hatanaka1996-20043F1315Tomoki Sato2016-20243M1315Teruyo Tanaka1996-20125F1315
Winter Games No. Athlete Sport Years Games Gender GoldSilverBronzeTotal1Momoka Muraoka2014-20223F43292Yoshihiro Nitta1998-20227M31153Akira Kano2006-20224M30144Kuniko Obinata1994-20105F23510
See also Japan at the Olympics
References