SYDNEY -- Japan's Olympic officials have set the nation's athletes a goal of bringing home five gold medals and a total of 15 medals from the Sydney Olympics.
It's a less-than-lofty ambition -- seven golds and 30 medals in total was the target for the last Games in Atlanta. Japan returned home in 1996 in disgrace, having won just three golds and 14 medals in total -- the nation's worst Games since Helsinki in 1952.
But Yushiro Yagi, the 71-year-old president of the Japan Olympic Committee, is not satisfied with the cautious approach the JOC's competitive development committee has taken to predictions this time around. Japan's closest neighbor, South Korea, aims to snatch 12 golds.