After the challenging 17-day rigors of the Vancouver Winter Games concluded, the Japanese Olympic team returned home, receiving warm but enthusiastic greetings from fans at Narita International Airport on Tuesday afternoon.
The 112-member Japanese team headed immediately to a hotel in Tokyo's Shinagawa Ward, and the seven medalists in five events along with delegation chief Seiko Hashimoto spoke at the podium.
"Japan earned three silver and two bronze medals, which are four more than the last (Winter) Games in Turin," Hashimoto said. "We were able to achieve that with enormous support from a lot of people."