Milano Cortina 2026: Japan Sees Leap in Olympic Performance Through New Support System; Japan Double Winter Medal Tally in 3 Games

The Yomiuri Shimbun

2:00 JST, February 22, 2026

MILAN — Behind the impressive performances of many of Japan’s athletes at the Milano Cortina Olympics is a support system comprising individual sports federations and the Japanese Olympic Committee, as well as collaboration from the government and equipment manufacturers.

The Japan delegation at the Games reached a milestone on Thursday, with its 24th medal of the current Games bringing the nation’s all-time Winter Olympics medal tally to 100. It has also far exceeded its previous record medal haul of 18 at the 2022 Beijing Winter Games.

The Sports Agency was established in 2015 as the new central authority for sports administration. Through it, athletes have been able to receive more substantial and detailed support from the government. Japan has secured 55 medals across the three Games since Pyeongchang in 2018 — more than half of its all-time tally, underlining the significance of the new support system.

Japan’s outstanding performances in ski jumping, which added four medals to its tally at the Milano Cortina Games, was assisted by the use of cutting-edge jumping suits. In ski jumping, suits are carefully designed to capture more wind to allow for longer jumps, with nations fiercely competing in their development.

Japan had been lagging behind European countries when it came to equipment support. But the Sports Agency launched an initiative in fiscal 2021 to strengthen the equipment development system, enabling the Ski Association of Japan to bring foreign staff to international competitions. This allows the association to gather the latest information on fabrics and suit shapes from Europe and make use of the knowledge in competition. “Without this project, achieving our current level of success would have been difficult,” said the ski team’s leader Takanori Kono.

In the case of figure skating, the Japan Skating Federation set up a training base at a location about an hour’s drive from Milan before the Games opened. Starting late January, men’s silver medalist Yuma Kagiyama and others held a training camp there. The gold medal-winning pair of Riku Miura and Ryuichi Kihara also made use of the facility. “We can practice just like we normally do,” Kihara said.

During the Games, the JOC established bases providing Japanese food athletes are accustomed to eating, such as white rice and soups. Because the competitions were held across multiple areas, similar bases were set up not only in Milan but also in the mountainous areas of Livigno and Predazzo.