At the Paris Olympic Games held from 26 July to 11 August 2024, 32 sports and 329 events were contested, and a record 409 athletes from Japan participated in an Olympic Games held outside Japan.
The Japanese delegation earned a total of 45 medals—20 gold, 12 silver, and 13 bronze—setting new records for both the number of gold medals and the total number of medals won at an overseas Games. In addition, Japan achieved 115 top-eight finishes across 15 sports, also representing the highest figures ever recorded at an overseas Games. The remarkable performances across a wide range of disciplines by athletes from diverse generations inspired and excited people throughout the nation.
At the Paris Paralympic Games held from 28 August to 8 September 2024, 22 sports and 549 events were contested, and a record 175 athletes from Japan participated— the largest number ever for Games held outside Japan.
The Japanese delegation earned a total of 41 medals—14 gold, 10 silver, and 17 bronze—achieving a gold medal ranking of 10th place, which ties the nation’s highest ranking at the Atlanta 1996 and Athens 2004 Games. In addition, Japanese athletes won medals in 11 sports, marking the highest number ever achieved at an overseas Games and demonstrating an outstanding overall performance. Following the Olympic Games, the dynamic performances of the Paralympic athletes, who competed passionately, inspired courage and moved many people.
With the aim of enabling Japanese athletes to achieve outstanding results, the Japan Sports Agency (hereinafter referred to as JSA) has been promoting initiatives to enhance Japan's international competitiveness in sport, in line with the Third Basic Plan for Sports (*1) and the Sustainable Plan for Enhancing International Competitive Strength (*2).
In addition to supporting the daily and ongoing high-performance training conducted by each national federation, JSA designated, in preparation for the Paris Olympic and Paralympic Games (hereinafter referred to as the “Paris Games”), certain sports with medal prospects as “priority support sports.” It increased the amount of the High Performance Sports Subsidy allocated to these sports and implemented targeted athlete support based on sports medicine and science, and information technology. In providing support for athletes, it implemented specialized assistance utilizing sports medicine and science, and information technology, etc. during training camps and competitions, through close collaboration among expert staff in various fields, including training, conditioning, video analysis, nutrition, and psychology.
Furthermore, during the Paris Games, a Support Base was established near the Olympic Village in collaboration with the Japan Sport Council (hereinafter referred to as “JSC”), the Japanese Olympic Committee (“JOC”), the Japanese Para-Sports Association (“JPSA”), and the Japanese Paralympic Committee (“JPC”), etc. This facility provided essential support functions—including conditioning and recovery based on sports medicine and science, and information technology, etc.—to enable the Japanese delegation (athletes, coaches, and support staff) to make their final preparations for competition. At the Support Base, training environments and video analysis equipment tailored to the specific needs of each sport were provided, along with facilities for treatment using massage beds and physiotherapy equipment, as well as contrast bath facilities. In addition, Japanese cuisine and nutritional supplements were offered to help athletes maintain safe, secure, and efficient conditioning and recovery even under overseas conditions, together with psychological support. The Support Base, where these services were provided, functioned as an on-site hub that allowed many athletes to prepare and compete in an environment similar to their usual training conditions, thereby supporting their performance at the Games.
HPSC is a facility where top-level athletes engage in intensive and continuous training. Serving as Japan’s core hub for sports medicine and science support, research, and elite athlete training, HPSC provides specialized and advanced assistance through the application of sports medicine and science, and information technology, etc.
The Ajinomoto National Training Center (hereinafter referred to as “NTC”), located in Nishigaoka, Kita-Ku, Tokyo, serves as Japan’s central facility where top athletes engage in intensive and continuous high-performance training at a single site. The NTC consists of the Indoor Training Center West (West Building) and the Indoor Training Center East (East Building).
The West Building consists of dedicated practice areas for each sport that meet international competition standards, shared courts accessible to all sports organizations, a pool, training rooms, and seminar rooms. In addition, in consideration of the mental well-being of top-level athletes undergoing rigorous training, ample relaxation and refreshment spaces are provided, ensuring an optimal training environment that is widely utilized by many athletes.
The East Building was constructed to further promote the shared use of facilities for both Olympic and Paralympic sports. It incorporates a variety of universal design features to accommodate a wide range of Paralympic athletes and to provide a fully barrier-free environment. In addition to training in five dedicated practice areas equipped with competition-grade equipment used in international events and on shared courts, the facility allows athletes to engage in intensive and continuous programs of meals, lodging, and recovery within the same building, thereby enhancing Japan’s international competitive strength in sports.
Furthermore, for Olympic and Paralympic sports where training at the NTC is difficult, existing sports facilities are designated as NTC sport-specific training bases. By enhancing the training, support, and management functions of these bases, the NTC is working to further strengthen athlete support.
The Japan Institute of Sports Sciences (hereinafter referred to as “JISS”), established in 2001 as Japan’s central institution for promoting sports medicine and science research, provides integrated services, including scientifically based training grounded in research findings, medical support for sports injuries, and the collection, analysis, and dissemination of various sports-related data. Through these efforts, JISS contributes to enhancing Japan’s international competitive strength in sports.
Currently, JISS comprises high-performance gyms, sports medicine and science research facilities, training facilities, sport-specific practice venues (swimming and rhythmic gymnastics, etc.), and nutrition guidance cafeterias. Utilizing state-of-the-art equipment and technology, it provides research and support more effectively and efficiently through the integration of sports medicine and science, and information technology, etc.
The Paris Games not only carried forward the legacy of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Games (hereinafter referred to as the “Tokyo Games”), the most recent Summer Games, but also served as a venue for the world’s renewed focus on the legacy of the Tokyo Games itself. The Tokyo Games not only demonstrated to the world the value of sport amid the COVID-19 pandemic, but also served as a “Showcase for a Sustainable Society,” through which Japan implemented numerous innovative initiatives. The legacy of these initiatives has been applied to improve people’s lives in various areas, including the environment, society, and sport, and has been shared and disseminated globally as a model for sustainability.
In the environmental aspect, for example, the Tokyo Games set goals such as realizing a decarbonized society and a city in harmony with nature. It achieved various targets, including becoming a zero-carbon Games and using 100% renewable electricity. These concepts were carried forward to the Paris Games, where a variety of initiatives were implemented to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and the overall carbon footprint, etc.
In the social aspect, the Tokyo Games implemented a variety of initiatives to promote gender equality from the perspective of advancing “Diversity and Inclusion.” As a result, the proportion of female athletes among Olympic participants reached a record high of 48%, paving the way for achieving full gender parity in the number of athletes competing at the Paris Olympics.
In pursuit of realizing an inclusive society, the Tokyo Games promoted the development of a universally designed city that ensures safe and comfortable mobility for all, fostered a barrier-free mindset based on mutual respect and support, and advanced the promotion of para sports by involving the entire nation. As a result, universal design–based urban development advanced significantly nationwide, driven by barrier-free improvements made to transportation systems, roads, hotels, restaurants, and competition venues. This led to an increase in the rate of sports participation among persons with disabilities, heightened public interest in parasports, and an increase in the number of persons with disabilities employed by private companies.
Sport for Tomorrow, a Japan-initiated international sports exchange and cooperation program launched in 2014 following the successful bid for the Tokyo 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Games, has delivered the value of sport to more than 15 million people in 205 countries and regions to date. As part of this initiative, the Japan Sports Agency provides support to overseas athletes, etc., depending on international circumstances such as armed conflicts. In FY2024, it invited delegations from five countries, including Ukraine and Palestine, across seven sports to Japan, offering training environments to facilitate their participation in international competitions. The athletes supported include those who performed successfully at the Paris Games, as well as those expected to excel at upcoming events such as 20th Asian Games Aichi-Nagoya 2026 and Aichi-Nagoya 2026 Asian Para Games.
With the aim of communicating and carrying forward the legacy of the Tokyo Games to the international community, MEXT Minister Moriyama and Parliamentary Vice-Minister Yasue (both at the time) attended the Ministerial Meeting on Sport hosted by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), which was convened in conjunction with the Paris Games, delivering speeches on behalf of the host nation of the previous Games. As the host of the Tokyo Games and of future major sporting events, Japan expressed its commitment to promoting initiatives that lead global efforts toward realizing a sustainable society through sport. In addition, the “TEAM JAPAN HOUSE” (*3) established by the JOC in Paris as an information hub during the Paris Games, an exhibition showcasing the legacy of the Tokyo Games was held, attracting a large number of visitors.
To ensure that Japan’s national athletes continue to deliver their highest performance levels, JSA, in collaboration with relevant organizations, will advance athlete-centered (*4) initiatives based on the “Plan for Enhancing Sustainable International Competitive Strength,” which was revised in March 2025. These efforts will be promoted from the following four key perspectives:
In light of the online harassment on social media directed at athletes, which became a global issue during the Paris Games, JSA will support the establishment of a unified support system led by JOC and JPSA. This system will facilitate more comprehensive awareness-raising efforts and provide continuous, tailored support for athletes suffering from online abuse, thereby helping to create an environment in which they can focus on their competitions with peace of mind.
In addition, JSA will not only enhance the quality of its existing initiatives but also strengthen the collection and utilization of international sports information that has a significant impact on athletic performance. It will also advance research on the use of technologies such as AI as tools to support high-performance training.
In 2026, not only Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games Milano Cortina 2026, but also the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games and Asian Para Games —among the largest international sporting events after the Olympic and Paralympic Games—will be held in Nagoya, Aichi Prefecture.
To enable athletes to deliver their best performances at these and future international competitions, and to ensure that the legacy fostered through the Tokyo Games and carried forward at the Paris Games continues uninterrupted, the sports community will continue to work together in a coordinated and unified manner.
*1 In March 2022, the Third Basic Plan for Sports was formulated as the fundamental guideline for sports policies from FY2022 to FY2026. (See Chapter 6, Section 1.1 for details.)
*2 In December 2021, following the Tokyo Games, the “Sustainable Plan for Enhancing International Competitive Strength” was formulated, based on the achievements and challenges identified in previous initiatives. Then, revisions were made in March 2025 based on the achievements and challenges identified through 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics and Paralympics and the 2024 Paris Games.Reference: JSA website, “Sustainable Plan for Enhancing International Competitive Strength.”
*3 Period: July 25–August 11, 2024
Venue: Japan Foundation – Maison de la culture du Japon à Paris
Attendance: 18,123 visitors (total)
*4 Athlete-Centered: A concept that places athletes at the center, while supporting them in a way that also ensures the well-being of the stakeholders surrounding them, including coaches, trainers, doctors, and parents.
Education Policy Bureau Policy Division