Japan competed at the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul, Korea. 255 competitors, 186 men and 69 women, took part in 166 events in 23 sports.
Hitoshi Saito — Judo, Men's Heavyweight (+ 95 kg)
Daichi Suzuki — Swimming, Men's 100 m Backstroke
Takashi Kobayashi — Wrestling, Men's Freestyle Light-Flyweight (48 kg)
Mitsuru Sato — Wrestling, Men's Freestyle Flyweight (52 kg)
Tomoko Hasegawa — Shooting, 25 m pistol (30+30 shots) Women
Akira Ota — Wrestling, Men's Freestyle Light-Heavyweight (90 kg)
Atsuji Miyahara — Wrestling, Men's Greco-RomanFlyweight (52 kg)
Yukio Iketani — Artistic Gymnastics, Men's Floor Exercises
Hiriyuki Konishi, Takahiro Yamada, Toshiharu Sato, Daisuke Nishikawa, Koichi Mizushima, and Yukio Iketani — Artistic Gymnastics, Men's Team Competition
Shinji Hosokawa — Judo, Men's 60 kg
Yosuke Yamamoto — Judo, Men's 65 kg
Akinobu Osako — Judo, Men's 86 kg (Middleweight)
Miyako Tanaka and Mikako Kotani — Synchronized Swimming, Women's Duet
Mikako Kotani — Synchronized Swimming, Women's Solo
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)
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)
Men's Light Flyweight (– 48 kg)
Mamoru Kuroiwa
First Round — Lost to Ochirin Demberel (MGL), KO-3
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
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
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
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)
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)
Three synchronized swimmers represented Japan in 1988.
Women's solo
Mikako Kotani
Megumi Itō
Miyako Tanaka
Women's duet
Mikako Kotani
Miyako Tanaka
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
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
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
