Olympics+&+Japan



=General Information.=
 * Japan participated in its first Olympics in Stockholm in 1912 and has competed in every Olympics after that except in 1948—after World War II—when it was not invited and 1980, when it participated in the American-led boycott against Moscow.
 * Japan hosted the Summer Olympics Tokyo in 1964, the Winter Olympics in Sapporo in 1972 and the Winter Olympic at Nagano in 1998. Osaka failed in its bid to host the Summer Games in 2008. Nagoya lost its bid for the summer games in 1988 and Tokyo lost its bid to host the 2016 Olympics. In June 2011, Tokyo announced its intention to host the 2020 Olympics, with some events being held in areas devastated by the earthquake and tsunami in 2011.
 * Tokyo originally won the rights to host the Olympics of 1940, but with a number of countries threatening to boycott and the Japanese government worrying it would distract the military, the games were moved to Helsinki and then canceled outright with the outbreak of World War II. Japan was welcomed back to the Olympics in 1952.
 * Olympic sports that Japan is good at include judo, marathon running, baseball, wrestling, women's field hockey, men's gymnastics, women’s softball, speed skating, and ski jumping. It does okay in swimming and used to be strong in women's volleyball. In early Olympics Japan won most of its medals in swimming. In the 1960s and 70s it won the lionshare of its medals in wrestling, men's gymnastics and judo. In recent years the majority of its medals have been in judo.
 * The Japan Sports Association and the Japanese Olympic Committee were founded in 1911 with Jigoro Kano, the "father of judo," as its first president. The association became the Japan Sports Association after World War II, and the JOC separated from the association to become an independent entity in 1989.
 * Doping generally is not a big problem with Japanese athletes but it does happen. Greco-Roman wrestler Katsuya Kitamura was banned for two years from his sport in June 2011 for a doping violation . Kitamura was a three-time national champion in the 96-kilogram weigh class.
 * Local sports clubs and private companies are stepping up their efforts to groom young athletes for national and international competitions as a way of bringing attention to their localities.

=Olympics Riddle Activity= =Olympic Performances by Japan=


 * As of the Sydney 2000 Summer Olympics, Japan had won 27 gold medals in gymnastics, 23 in judo, 20 in wrestling, 15 in swimming, 5 in track and field, 3 in volleyball, 2 in weightlifting, 1 in boxing, 1 in shooting and 1 equestrian sports. It has won a total of 98 gold medals, 97 silver medals, and 105 bronze medals.


 * = Year ||= Host City ||= Gold ||= Silver ||= Bronze ||= Total ||
 * = 1920 ||= Antwerp ||= 0 ||= 2 ||= 0 ||= 2 ||
 * = 1924 ||= Paris ||= 0 ||= 0 ||= 1 ||= 1 ||
 * = 1928 ||= Amsterdam ||= 2 ||= 2 ||= 1 ||= 5 ||
 * = 1932 ||= Los Angeles ||= 7 ||= 7 ||= 4 ||= 18 ||
 * = 1936 ||= Berlin ||= 6 ||= 4 ||= 10 ||= 20 ||
 * = 1952 ||= Helsinki ||= 1 ||= 6 ||= 2 ||= 9 ||
 * = 1956 ||= Melbourne ||= 4 ||= 10 ||= 5 ||= 19 ||
 * = 1960 ||= Rome ||= 4 ||= 7 ||= 7 ||= 18 ||
 * = 1964 ||= Tokyo ||= 16 ||= 5 ||= 8 ||= 29 ||
 * = 1968 ||= Mexico City ||= 11 ||= 7 ||= 7 ||= 25 ||
 * = 1972 ||= Munich ||= 13 ||= 8 ||= 8 ||= 29 ||
 * = 1976 ||= Montreal ||= 9 ||= 6 ||= 10 ||= 25 ||
 * = 1984 ||= Los Angeles ||= 10 ||= 8 ||= 14 ||= 32 ||
 * = 1988 ||= Seoul ||= 4 ||= 3 ||= 7 ||= 14 ||
 * = 1992 ||= Barcelona ||= 3 ||= 8 ||= 11 ||= 22 ||
 * = 1996 ||= Atlanta ||= 3 ||= 6 ||= 5 ||= 14 ||
 * = 2000 ||= Sydney ||= 5 ||= 8 ||= 5 ||= 18 ||
 * = 2004 ||= Athens ||= 16 ||= 9 ||= 12 ||= 37 ||
 * = 2008 ||= Beijing ||= 9 ||= 6 ||= 10 ||= 25 ||

=The Official London 2012 Olympics Film.'Sport At Heart'= media type="youtube" key="QcwiGIGMjSg?feature=player_detailpage" height="360" width="640" = = =Olympic Medals=

Olympic medals must be at least 60 millimetres in diameter and at least three millimetres thick. Gold and silver medals must be made of 92.5 percent pure silver; the gold medal must be gilded with at least six grams of gold. The design of the medals is the responsibility of the host city's organising committee.

The 1964 olympic medals were designed by. Mr. Toshitaka Koshiba, Art Officer of the Japanese Mint, after the models of medals of Amsterdam IX Olympiad (1928). On the reverse side of the medals are the letters of "XVIII OLYMPIAD TOKYO 1964" with the game designation in English of each of the 20 sports (e.g. ATHLETICS). Medals were of 60 mm in diameter and 3 mm thick. The gold medal is a pure silver mould strongly gilded with 6 grams of fine gold, the silver medal is made of pure silver, and the bronze medal is of bronze. The medals were provided with a ring plated with gold, silver or copper respectively, and a coloured box coated with Japanese black lacquer. The medals were cast at the Japanese Mint. Some of the surplus medals were presented to public museums and for exhibition purposes, while the remainder were melted down.



= Design An Olympic Medal = = = = =

=Sports participating in the London 2012 Olympics: = = = Archery, Athletics, Badminton, Baseball, Basketball, Boxing, Canoe/Kayak (Flatwater and Slalom), Cycling (Track, Road, Mountain Bike and BMX), Equestrian, Fencing, Football (Soccer), Gymnastics (Artistic, Trampoline and Rhythmic), Handball, Hockey, Judo, Rowing, Sailing, Swimming, Diving, Synchronized Swimming, Water Polo, Modern Pentathlon, Softball, Taekwondo, Tennis, Table Tennis, Shooting, Triathlon, Volleyball (Volleyball - Beach), Weightlifting, Wrestling.

=Past Sports of the Olympics=

====It is fascinating the number and variety of sports that have at one time been part of the Olympic Games. Since the first modern Games in 1896, 10 sports have disappeared completely from the Olympic schedule. These are [|croquet], [|cricket], [|Jeu de Paume], [|pelota], [|polo], [|roque], [|rackets], [|tug-of-war], [|lacrosse] and [|motor boating].====

====Two sports that were previously listed here as discontinued have made a surprising comeback: [|golf] and [|rugby] were voted back in as official sports for London 2012. Added to this is a large number of discontinued events from sports that are still on the program, such as the swimming events of [|plunge for distance] and [|underwater swimming], the track and field events of the [|standing highjump] and [|tug-of-war], and the shooting events of [|pigeon shooting] and [|duelling pistol], and [|tandem cycling].==== ====In the past, the host country often included their own sports. Some of the discontinued events were simply updated to metric distances or modified into the well-known events of today, especially in track and field and swimming. There are also some interesting sports that were included as demonstration sports, some eventually becoming part of the official program and others disappearing.====

= Summer Games at Tokyo in 1964 = = = The 1964 Summer Olympics in Tokyo were the first Olympics in Asia. A total of 4,473 male athletes and 678 females athletes from 92 country competed it 163 events in 21 sports, The sports of judo and volleyball were added to meet local demand with Japan winning six medals in the sports, = = The 1964 Summer Games were regarded as a turning point for Japan in its transformation from a defeated nation after World War II into a major economic power of the late 20th century. High school history books record the 1964 Olympics as an important historical event. = = Tokyo major Ryotari Azuma said, "Without the Olympics Japan would not have risen to its high position in world trade so fast. Our national prestige depended on the Tokyo Games. It was also a big boost for the electronic industry. The number of televisions rose from two million to 16 million, partly because it was so difficult for local people to get tickets. = =  One of the biggest shocks at the 1964 Tokyo Olympics was when the 1.98-meter, 120-kilogram Dutch giant Anton Geesink won the gold medal in open class men’s judo event, pinning Japanese rival Akio Kaminaga in the final much to the dismay of the 15,000 watching at the Nippon Budokan. Japan had won the three other weight-class gold medals but considered the open class title the most prestigious. = =  The torch bearer in 1964, Yoshinori Sakai, was from Hiroshima and was born on August 6, 1945, the day the atomic bomb exploded there and he just missed participating in the Olympics in the 400-meter run.

=The 2012 London Olympics Theme Song.= media type="youtube" key="66molzUEkWI?feature=player_detailpage" height="360" width="640" = = =Olympic Mascots=

Unfortunately the 1964 Tokyo Summer Olympics did not have a mascot. Since the first mascot in Olympic history made its appearance at the 1972 Munich Olympic Games, Olympic Mascots have become a main element of the Olympic image As a unique and popular image full of vitality, a mascot is able to materialize the Olympic spirit, communicate the concepts of each Olympic Games, promote the history and culture of the host city and create a festive atmosphere for the Games.

Mascots act as a significant vehicle for communicating the Olympic spirit to the general public, especially children and youth.

Whatever shapes they have, they fundamentally share a creative rationale, that is, the mascots must be able to convey the theme of the Olympic Games, showcase the distinctive geographical features, history and culture unique to the host city.



=Design An Olympic Mascot Activity= = =