Wikipedia says of the 1964 Tokyo Olympics:
The 1964 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XVIII Olympiad, was an international multi-sport eventheld in Tokyo, Japan in 1964. Tokyo had been awarded with the organization of the 1940 Summer Olympics, but this honor was subsequently passed to Helsinki because of Japan's invasion of China, before ultimately being canceled because of World War II. The 1964 Summer Games were the first Olympics held in Asia, and the first time South Africa was barred from taking part due to its apartheid system in sports. (South Africa was, however, allowed to compete at the 1964 Summer Paralympics, also held in Tokyo, where it made its Paralympic Games début.) These games were also the first to be telecast internationally. The games were telecast to the United States using Syncom 3, the first geostationary communication satellite, and from there to Europe using Relay 1.
This Olympic Game was a watershed moment for Japan as the Japanese consider this the turning point for Japan into becoming a modern western nation and economic powerhouse. The games were the spark for most of the average Japanese to buy their first TV set.
With the 1964 Tokyo Olympics, consumerism had arrived in Japan.
It was also the last Olympics that Japan did well in medal count in and they came in third after the USA and the Soviet Union! (Note that Western Germany was 4th!)
| Rank | Nation | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  United States | 36 | 26 | 28 | 90 |
| 2 |  Soviet Union | 30 | 31 | 35 | 96 |
| 3 |  Japan | 16 | 5 | 8 | 29 |
| 4 |  Germany | 10 | 22 | 18 | 50 |
| 5 |  Italy | 10 | 10 | 7 | 27 |
| 6 |  Hungary | 10 | 7 | 5 | 22 |
| 7 |  Poland | 7 | 6 | 10 | 23 |
| 8 |  Australia | 6 | 2 | 10 | 18 |
| 9 |  Czechoslovakia | 5 | 6 | 3 | 14 |
| 10 |  Great Britain | 4 | 12 | 2 | 18 |
5 comments:
Mike, personally, I believe the all time highlight for Japan in the Olympics is when Shujaku Suzuki took the Bronze medal for water color painting in 1936. It's true, you could look that up! Besides, Japan should be proud, for real, that they refuse to use government sponsored athletes to promote propagnada and jingoism in the modern era of the Olympics. Leave that to the more vulgar socialist countries, like the USSR and the USA.
Wow! Andy! I love that kind of trivia! I am looking that up!
"took the Bronze medal for water color painting in 1936."
Hahahaha. Still, that's cool.
- IndividualAudienceMember
Tokyo had previously been chosen as the venue for the 1940 Olympics, although some countries had talked of boycotting it anyway in protest at what Japan was doing in China at the time.
Then the Olympic committee brilliantly relocated the 1940 games to the runner-up: Helsinki. Five minutes later the USSR invaded Finland, so the Finns had other priorities.
And then there was that whole World War 2 thing, so no 1944 Olympics.
1948: London Olympics. Must have been a makeshift affair. Britain was bankrupt. Food rationing didn't end until 1954!
Helsinki got the 1952 Games and then Tokyo in 1964, as you say, and after a 24-year wait.
Jeremy Irwin
"(Note that Western Germany was 4th!)"
No, that wasn't West Germany. That was the "Unified Team of Germany", a team where East and West together took part.
West Germany on their own would never have reached 4th place. It's a fact that East Germany always got a better medal count than West Germany at any Olympic Games after the ones in Tokyo (except the ones in the USA, where they didn't take part).
Just look at the count from 1976 in Montreal:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1976_Summer_Olympics#Medal_count
Stephan (greetings from West Germany)
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