By the IAAF's October 1, 2002 deadline, Budapest and Berlin had both withdrawn their bids, and Osaka was announced as the host city on November 15, 2002, as the sole remaining candidate.

[6] The IAAF lobbied the World Anti-Doping Agency to adopt stiffer penalties for first-time doping offences in WADA's code of practice.

[7] Before the Championships, former Olympic champion Ed Moses had voiced concerns about the extent of doping in the sport, and had even predicted that a medallist at the event would be found to have taken a banned substance.

[18] A number of reasons were cited for the poor attendance, including high ticket prices (especially since the streets were lined during the marathons),[18][19] the hot weather[19] and the disappointing performance of the Japanese team.

After Dominique Arnold withdrew from the event with an injury, Payne only arrived in Japan the night before the heats, and proceeded to move through the rounds before taking bronze with a personal best.

[22] Amongst prominent European successes were Swede Carolina Klüft's third consecutive world heptathlon title with a European record score, the victory of 39-year-old German Franka Dietzsch in the discus, which made her the second-oldest world champion ever[23] and Nelson Évora's win in the triple jump, beating world-leading Brazilian Jadel Gregorio and defending champion Walter Davis.

[26] African countries were typically well represented in the middle and long-distance events, with Kenyans claiming both the men's and women's marathon titles and Ethiopia winning three golds.