On May 24, 2012, Tokyo was selected as an official candidate to host the 32nd Olympic Games together with Istanbul (Turkey) and Madrid (Spain). Japan has campaigned to host the Olympic on numerous occasions and has succeeded in hosting three Olympic Games. Here, we take a look at the history of Japan's bids for the Olympic.
Twenty-eight years before Japan first staged the Olympic Games in 1964, Tokyo had already succeeded in a bid to host the Olympics. These were the 1940 Tokyo Olympics that later came to be known as the "Tokyo Olympics that never were."
The Games of the 18th Olympiad, the first Olympics to be held in Asia, were staged in Tokyo over 15 days from 10 to 24 October, 1964.
The 11th Olympic Winter Games were held over 11 days from 3 to 13 February, 1972, in the city of Sapporo in Hokkaido.
The 18th Olympic Winter Games, which were held over 16 days from 7 to 22 February, 1998, were the second Winter Olympics to be held in Japan, 26 years after the Sapporo Olympics of 1972.
