No other team had ever won more than eight judo gold medals at an Olympics, and that was Japan in 2004. The results from judo's return to the Budokan were unprecedented — even if the final day ...

Tokyo 2020 Olympics - Judo - Mixed Team - Medal Ceremony - Nippon Budokan - Tokyo, Japan - July 31, 2021. Gold medallist team France member Teddy Riner of France celebrates REUTERS/Sergio Perez ...

But because of the pandemic — parts of Japan are in a state of emergency — no spectators were on hand to see Takato win Japan’s 40th Olympic gold medal in judo.

Judo is coming home at the Tokyo Olympics. Hisayoshi Harasawa, who lost to Teddy Riner in the Olympic final in Rio de Janeiro five years ago, was picked for another shot at the games.

Japanese 70-kilogram division judoka Chizuru Arai, left, grapples with Clarisse Agbegnenou of France in the mixed team final of the Tokyo Olympic judo competition at the Nippon Budokan arena in ...

Akiko Amano, the sole Japanese judo referee at this year's Tokyo Olympics, has a full-time job that involves more heat and energy than a gold medal match: She is the first female head of a famed ...

Another way to gauge how Japan is responding to the Olympics is to walk through the venues and ask people – journalists, volunteers and other locals. The spiritual home of martial arts, as it is ...

Host countries often outperform at the Olympics, and Japan wasted no time capturing its first gold medal at the Tokyo 2020 Games, appropriately enough in judo, a sport the Japanese dominate.

Tokyo, Japan, Friday, July 24, 2021 – Naohisa Takato of Japan battles celebrates after defeating Yung Wei Yang of Teipei in the Judo men’s 60kg final. Takato won the gold medal by a Golden ...