Japan at the 1988 Summer Olympics
IOC code	JPN
NOC	Japanese Olympic Committee
Website	www.joc.or.jp (in Japanese and English)
in Seoul
Competitors	255 (186 men and 69 women) in 23 sports
Flag bearer	Mikako Kotani
Medals Ranked 14th	Gold 4 Silver 3 Bronze 7 Total 14
Summer Olympics appearances (overview)
1912 1920 1924 1928 1932 1936 1948 1952 1956 1960 1964 1968 1972 1976 1980 1984 1988 1992 1996 2000 2004 2008 2012 2016 2020 2024

Japan competed at the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul, South Korea. 255 competitors, 186 men and 69 women, took part in 166 events in 23 sports.^[1]

Medalists

Medal Name Sport Event Date  Gold Daichi Suzuki Swimming Men's 100 m backstroke September 24  Gold Takashi Kobayashi Wrestling Men's freestyle light flyweight September 29  Gold Mitsuru Sato Wrestling Men's freestyle flyweight September 30  Gold Hitoshi Saito Judo Men's heavyweight October 1  Silver Tomoko Hasegawa Shooting Women's 25 m pistol September 19  Silver Atsuji Miyahara Wrestling Men's Greco-Roman flyweight September 21  Silver Akira Ota Wrestling Men's freestyle light heavyweight September 29  Bronze Hiroyuki Konishi Takahiro Yamada Toshiharu Sato Daisuke Nishikawa Koichi Mizushima Yukio Iketani Gymnastics Men's team all-around September 20  Bronze Yukio Iketani Gymnastics Men's floor September 24  Bronze Shinji Hosokawa Judo Men's extra lightweight September 25  Bronze Yosuke Yamamoto Judo Men's half lightweight September 26  Bronze Akinobu Osako Judo Men's middleweight September 29  Bronze Mikako Kotani Synchronized swimming Women's solo September 30  Bronze Miyako Tanaka Mikako Kotani Synchronized swimming Women's duet October 1

Medals by sport Sport Total Wrestling 2 2 0 4 Judo 1 0 3 4 Swimming 1 0 0 1 Shooting 0 1 0 1 Gymnastics 0 0 2 2 Synchronized swimming 0 0 2 2 Total 4 3 7 14

Competitors

The following is the list of number of competitors in the Games.^[2]

Archery

In their fourth Olympic archery competition, Japan was unable to win any medals. Defending bronze medallist Hiroshi Yamamoto placed eighth, the only individual archer to make the finals. The men's team placed sixth overall, while the women's team was last place.

Women's Individual Competition:

• Toyoka Oki — Preliminary round (→ 31st place)
• Keiko Nakagomi — Preliminary round (→ 52nd place)
• Kyoko Kitahara — Preliminary round (→ 53rd place)

Men's Individual Competition:

• Hiroshi Yamamoto — Final (→ 8th place)
• Takayoshi Matsushita — Quarterfinal (→ 14th place)
• Terushi Furuhashi — Preliminary round (→ 40th place)

Women's Team Competition:

• Oki, Nakagomi, and Kitahara — Preliminary round (→ 15th place)

Men's Team Competition:

• Yamamoto, Matsushita, and Furuhashi — Final (→ 6th place)

Athletics

Men's 100 metres

• Koji Kurihara
• Takahiko Kasahara
• Tomohiro Osawa

Men's 200 metres

• Kenji Yamauchi

Men's 400 metres

• Susumu Takano

Men's 5,000 metres

• Shuichi Yoneshige

Men's 10,000 metres

• Kozu Akutsu

• Heat — 28:16.43
• Final — 28:09.70 (→ 14th place)

• Shuichi Yoneshige

• Heat — 28:26.04
• Final — 29:04.44 (→ 17th place)

• Tsukasa Endo

• Heat — did not finish (→ did not advance)

Men's Marathon

• Takeyuki Nakayama

• Final — 2:11:05 (→ 4th place)

• Toshihiko Seko

• Final — 2:13:41 (→ 9th place)

• Hisatoshi Shintaku

• Final — 2:15:42 (→ 17th place)

Men's 4 × 100 m Relay

• Kaoru Matsubara, Shinji Aoto, Koji Kurihara, and Takahiro Kasahara

• Heat — 39.70

• Shinji Aoto, Kenji Yamauchi, Koji Kurihara, and Susumu Takano

• Semi Final — 38.90 (→ did not advance)

Men's 4 × 400 m Relay

• Hirofumi Koike, Kenji Yamauchi, Hiromi Kawasumi, and Susumu Takano

• Heat — 3:05.63
• Semi Final — 3:03.80 (→ did not advance)

Men's Long Jump

• Hiroyuki Shibata

• Qualification — 7.48m (→ did not advance)

• Junichi Usui

• Qualification — NM (→ did not advance)

Men's Triple Jump

• Norifumi Yamashita

Men's Javelin Throw

• Kazuhiro Mizoguchi

• Qualification — 77.46m (→ did not advance)

• Masami Yoshida

• Qualification — 76.90m (→ did not advance)

Men's 20 km Walk

• Hirofumi Sakai

• Final — 1:24:08 (→ 26th place)

• Tadahiro Kosaka

• Final — 1:32:46 (→ 47th place)

Men's 50 km Walk

• Tadahiro Kosaka

• Final — 4'03:12 (→ 31st place)

Women's 10,000 metres

• Akemi Matsuno

Women's Marathon

• Eriko Asai

• Final — 2:34:41 (→ 25th place)

• Kumi Araki

• Final — 2:35:15 (→ 28th place)

• Misako Miyahara

• Final — 2:35:26 (→ 29th place)

Women's High Jump

• Megumi Sato

Women's Javelin Throw

• Emi Matsui

• Qualification — 56.26m (→ did not advance)

Boxing

Men's Light Flyweight (– 48 kg)

• Mamoru Kuroiwa

• First Round — Lost to Ochiryn Demberel (MGL), KO-3

Canoeing

Cycling

Twelve cyclists, nine men and three women, represented Japan in 1988.

Men's road race

• Mitsuhiro Suzuki
• Kyoshi Miura
• Yoshihiro Tsumuraya

Men's sprint

• Hideki Miwa

Men's 1 km time trial

• Hiroshi Toyooka

Men's team pursuit

• Koichi Azuma
• Fumiharu Miyamoto
• Kazuaki Sasaki
• Kazuo Takikawa

Men's points race

• Yoshihiro Tsumuraya

Women's road race

• Terumi Ogura — 2:00:52 (→ 30th place)
• Natsue Seki — 2:14:32 (→ 50th place)

Women's sprint

• Seiko Hashimoto

Diving

Equestrianism

Fencing

Ten fencers, five men and five women, represented Japan in 1988.

Men's foil

• Koji Emura
• Kenichi Umezawa
• Yoshihiko Kanatsu

Men's team foil

• Matsuo Azuma, Harunobu Deno, Koji Emura, Yoshihiko Kanatsu, Kenichi Umezawa

Women's foil

• Tomoko Oka
• Akemi Morikawa
• Mieko Miyahara

Women's team foil

• Nona Kiritani, Keiko Mine, Mieko Miyahara, Akemi Morikawa, Tomoko Oka

Gymnastics

Handball

Men's team competition

• Preliminary round (group B)

• vs East Germany (18 — 25)
• vs Spain (19 — 25)
• vs Hungary (19 — 22)
• vs South Korea (24 — 33)
• vs Czechoslovakia (17 — 21)

• Classification Match

• 11th/12th place: vs United States 24 — 21 (→ 11th place)

• Team roster

• Hidetada Ito
• Hiroshi Yanai
• Izumi Fujii
• Kazuhiro Miyashita
• Kenji Tamamura
• Kiyoshi Nishiyama
• Kodo Yamamoto
• Koji Tachiki
• Seiichi Takamura
• Shinichi Shudo
• Shinji Okuda
• Takashi Taguchi
• Toshiyuki Yamamura
• Yoshihiro Nikawadori
• Yukihiro Hashimoto

Judo

Modern pentathlon

Three male pentathletes represented Japan in 1988.

Men's Individual Competition:

• Hiroshi Saito — 4881pts (→ 30th place)
• Tadafumi Miwa — 4517pts (→ 51st place)
• Hiroaki Izumikawa — 3722pts (→ 63rd place)

Men's Team Competition:

• Saito, Miwa, and Izumikawa — 13120pts (→ 17th place)

Rhythmic gymnastics

Rowing

Sailing

Shooting

Swimming

Men's 100 m Freestyle

• Shigeo Ogata

• Heat — 52.08 (→ did not advance, 32nd place)

Men's 200 m Freestyle

• Shigeo Ogata

• Heat — 1:51.14
• B-Final — 1:51.89 (→ 15th place)

Men's 400 m Freestyle

• Yoshiyuki Mizumoto

• Heat — 4:02.02 (→ did not advance, 32nd place)

• Shigeo Ogata

• Heat — 4:05.68 (→ did not advance, 38th place)

Men's 1500 m Freestyle

• Masashi Kato

• Heat — 15:47.35 (→ did not advance, 25th place)

• Yoshiyuki Mizumoto

• Heat — 15:52.06 (→ did not advance, 27th place)

Men's 100 m Backstroke

• Daichi Suzuki

• Heat — 55.90
• Final — 55.05 (→ Gold Medal)

• Shigemori Maruyama

• Heat — 57.54
• B-Final — 57.13 (→ 12th place)

Men's 200 m Backstroke

• Daichi Suzuki

• Heat — 2:03.36
• B-Final — 2:04.67 (→ 15th place)

• Shigemori Maruyama

• Heat — 2:09.16 (→ did not advance, 32nd place)

Men's 100 m Breaststroke

• Hironobu Nagahata

• Heat — 1:04.02
• B-Final — 1:03.89 (→ 13th place)

• Kenji Watanabe

• Heat — 1:04.35 (→ did not advance, 18th place)

Men's 200 m Breaststroke

• Shigehiro Takahashi

• Heat — 2:17.69
• B-Final — 2:18.03 (→ 10th place)

• Hironobu Nagahata

• Heat — 2:22.23 (→ did not advance, 30th place)

Men's 100 m Butterfly

• Hiroshi Miura

• Heat — 54.82
• B-Final — 54.98 (→ 14th place)

• Yukinori Tanaka

• Heat — 56.19 (→ did not advance, 24th place)

Men's 200 m Butterfly

• Satoshi Takeda

• Heat — 2:01.42
• B-Final — 2:02.18 (→ 15th place)

• Hiroshi Miura

• Heat — 2:02.30 (→ did not advance, 19th place)

Men's 200 m Individual Medley

• Takahiro Fujimoto

• Heat — 2:07.23 (→ did not advance, 19th place)

• Satoshi Takeda

• Heat — 2:08.11 (→ did not advance, 22nd place)

Men's 400 m Individual Medley

• Yoshiyuki Mizumoto

• Heat — 4:28.11 (→ did not advance, 17th place)

• Takahiro Fujimoto

• Heat — 4:33.03 (→ did not advance, 25th place)

Men's 4 × 100 m Medley Relay

• Daichi Suzuki, Hironobu Nagahata, Hiroshi Miura, and Shigeo Ogata

• Heat — 3:46.88
• Final — 3:44.36 (→ 5th place)

Women's 50 m Freestyle

• Ayako Nakano

• Heat — 26.44
• B-Final — 26.45 (→ 12th place)

• Kaori Sasaki

• Heat — 26.61 (→ did not advance, 20th place)

Women's 100 m Freestyle

• Ayako Nakano

• Heat — 57.29
• B-Final — 56.72 (→ 10th place)

• Kaori Sasaki

• Heat — 58.40 (→ did not advance, 32nd place)

Women's 200 m Freestyle

• Chikako Nakamori

• Heat — 2:01.76
• B-Final — 2:02.31 (→ 14th place)

• Kaori Sasaki

• Heat — 2:06.18 (→ did not advance, 29th place)

Women's 400 m Freestyle

• Chikako Nakamori

• Heat — 4:15.51
• B-Final — 4:15.59 (→ 15th place)

• Tomomi Hosoda

• Heat — 4:17.30 (→ did not advance, 19th place)

Women's 800 m Freestyle

• Tomomi Hosoda

• Heat — 8:39.55 (→ did not advance, 11th place)

Women's 100 m Backstroke

• Satoko Morishita

• Heat — 1:05.38 (→ did not advance, 24th place)

• Tomoko Onogi

• Heat — 1:06.14 (→ did not advance, 26th place)

Women's 200 m Backstroke

• Satoko Morishita

• Heat — 2:18.74
• B-Final — 2:18.78 (→ 14th place)

• Tomoko Onogi

• Heat — 2:21.46 (→ did not advance, 20th place)

Women's 100 m Breaststroke

• Yoshie Nishioka

• Heat — 1:13.36 (→ did not advance, 24th place)

• Hiroko Nagasaki

• Heat — 1:16.63 (→ did not advance, 26th place)

Women's 200 m Breaststroke

• Yoshie Nishioka

• Heat — 2:35.81 (→ did not advance, 19th place)

• Hiroko Nagasaki

• Heat — 2:37.44 (→ did not advance, 23rd place)

Women's 100 m Butterfly

• Kiyomi Takahashi

• Heat — 1:02.04
• B-Final — 1:01.80 (→ 10th place)

• Takayo Kitano

• Heat — 1:02.35
• B-Final — 1:02.53 (→ 14th place)

Women's 200 m Butterfly

• Kiyomi Takahashi

• Heat — 2:12.68
• Final — 2:11.62 (→ 6th place)

• Takayo Kitano

• Heat — 2:15.41
• B-Final — 2:15.61 (→ 14th place)

Women's 200 m Individual Medley

• Yoshie Nishioka

• Heat — 2:20.20
• B-Final — 2:20.43 (→ 16th place)

• Hiroyo Harada

• Heat — 2:22.59 (→ did not advance, 22nd place)

Women's 400 m Individual Medley

• Yoshie Nishioka

• Heat — 4:55.31 (→ did not advance, 19th place)

• Hiroyo Harada

• Heat — 5:00.92 (→ did not advance, 23rd place)

Women's 4 × 100 m Medley Relay

• Satoko Morishita, Yoshie Nishioka, Kiyomi Takahashi, and Ayako Nakano

• Heat — 4:18.88 (→ did not advance, 12th place)

Synchronized swimming

Three synchronized swimmers represented Japan in 1988.

Women's solo

• Mikako Kotani
• Megumi Itō
• Miyako Tanaka

Women's duet

• Mikako Kotani
• Miyako Tanaka

Table tennis

Tennis

Women's Singles Competition

• Kumiko Okamoto

• First Round — Lost to Catarina Lindqvist (Sweden) 6-7, 5-7

• Etsuko Inoue

• First Round — Lost to Il-Soon Kim (South Korea) 3-6, 6-3, 5-7

Volleyball

Men's team competition

• Preliminary round (group B)

• Lost to United States (0-3)
• Lost to Argentina (1-3)
• Lost to France (1-3)
• Defeated Tunisia (3-0)
• Lost to the Netherlands (0-3)

• Classification Matches

• 9th/12th place: Defeated South Korea (3-2)
• 9th/10th place: Lost to Italy (2-3) → Tenth place

• Team roster

• Akihiro Iwashima
• Yasunori Kumada
• Eizaburo Mitsuhashi
• Masayoshi Manabe
• Yuji Kasama
• Kazutomo Yoneyama
• Hiromichi Kageyama
• Hideharu Hara
• Kimio Sugimoto
• Yuzuru Inoue
• Masaki Kaito
• Shunichi Kawai

• Head coach: Kazuya Mitake

Women's Team Competition

• Preliminary round (group A)

• Defeated Soviet Union (3-2)
• Lost to East Germany (2-3)
• Defeated South Korea (3-1)

• Semi Finals

• Lost to Peru (2-3)

• Final

• Lost to PR China (0-3) → Fourth place

• Team roster

• Yumi Maruyama
• Kayoko Sugiyama
• Reiko Takizawa
• Miyako Yamashita
• Akemi Sugiyama
• Ichiko Sato
• Norie Hiro
• Kumi Nakada
• Yukari Kawase
• Motoko Obayashi
• Yukiko Takahashi
• Sachiko Fujita

• Head coach: Noriyuki Muneuchi

Weightlifting

Wrestling