Japan has won a total of 31 medals, including eight golds, in its Winter Olympic history.
After Alpine skier Chiharu Igaya won the first medal for Japan with his silver in Cortina d'Ampezzo in 1956, ski jumper Yukio Kasaya led a Japanese podium sweep in the 70-meter hill to give his country the first-ever Winter Olympic gold at the 1972 Sapporo Games.
Kenji Ogiwara anchored the Japanese Nordic combined skiing team to back-to-back wins in 1992 and 1994 in the lead-up to the Nagano Games in 1998 when Japan hosted a Winter Olympics for the second time.
In Nagano, Japan took five golds and 10 medals overall for its best-ever haul. Kazuyoshi Funaki took a double gold with his triumphs in the large hill and team event while Hiroyasu Shimizu became the first Japanese speed-skating champion with his 500-meter crown.
Freestyle skier Tae Satoya upset the field to strike moguls gold, making her the first and only Japanese woman to be crowned Olympic champion thus far. Takafumi Nishitani then added a surprise victory in the men's 500 meters in short track speed skating.
Shimizu and Satoya added a silver and a bronze, respectively, in Salt Lake City four years later when Japan's gold medal-winning streak ended after three Olympics.