New sports and no spectators: Japan’s performance at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games

Rationale: This paper examines Japan’s performance at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games and considers whether the inclusion of new sports and the Games being staged behind closed doors influenced Japan performance as the host nation. Approach: We analysed Japan’s medal output and ranking at Tokyo 2020 in the context of its historical Summer Olympic performances and compared with other recent hosts. We also analysed how Japan’s performance changed between Rio 2016 and Tokyo 2020 in different events (men, women and mixed) and in different sports. Findings: Japan improved its performance at its home Games across multiple measures. Evidence of improvement between Rio 2016 and Tokyo 2020 was seen in men’s, women’s and mixed events and across the portfolio of sports that were common to both editions. Japan’s home performance was amplified by its success in the new sports added to the programme. Practical implications: To promote fair competition, the inclusion of new sports at future Games should be evaluated on the basis of their global appeal alongside their local popularity within the host nation. Research contribution: Our findings somewhat challenge conventional wisdom that home crowd support is a key game location factor which contributes to home advantage.