With figure skating golden boy Yuzuru Hanyu looking increasingly like his afflicted ankle can bear the weight of a nation's hopes, Japan sees Pyeongchang Olympics as a high-promise medal mission.
While the spotlight will be fully on Hanyu, his drama will be unfolding on a grand and historic stage. Not only will the Pyeongchang Games be the largest Winter Olympics in history, they arrive on Friday amid hopes of peace on the Korean Peninsula and the yet unresolved shadow of doping in sport.
The spectacle will involve nearly 3,000 competitors representing 91 national Olympic committees, in addition to "Korea" for a joint North-South Korean women's ice hockey team, and group of Olympic-eligible Russians, whose national committee has been banished over doping.