Table Tennis - Team Japan

General
Japan are the reigning Olympic silver medallists, and have competed at all three Olympic Games to feature the team event since 2008.

At Rio in 2016, Japan won a tight first round tie 3-2 over Poland. They then eliminated Hong Kong, China 3-1 in a reversal of Japan's quarterfinal defeat to Hong Kong, China at London 2012. After overcoming Germany in the semifinals in Rio, they lost 3-1 to the all-conquering Chinese team in the gold medal match.

Japan were once dominant on the world stage, winning seven world championship titles between 1954 and 1969, but have not claimed another title since then. Their performances dipped in the latter part of the 20th century, but they have been regular medal contenders this century, winning silver at the 2016 World Championships following four consecutive semifinal defeats between 2008 and 2014. At the 2018 World Championships in Halmstad, Sweden, they lost in the quarterfinals to the Republic of Korea.

Continentally, Japan compete in a tough field dominated by the Chinese team, who beat them in the semifinals of the 2019 Asian Championships. They finished as runners-up to the People's Republic of China at five consecutive Asian championships from 2007 to 2015.

Japan qualified for the 2020 Games in Tokyo as the host nation.