Athletics at the Far Eastern Championship Games

This represented the first time that a regular major international athletics competition occurred between Asian nations.

[1] At the start of the 20th century, the Philippines was initially the most developed nation in track and field sports given its close ties to the United States through its Insular Government, which ruled the country as a territory.

[2][3] Correspondingly, in the first half of the competition's history, the Philippines was the most dominant nation in the athletics programme, going unbeaten in the first five editions.

[2] Japan's development in Western track and field coincided with the launch of the games, with the country holding its first national championships for the sport in 1913.

[4] Outside the Western-defined track events, Japan was consistently dominant in the middle- and long-distance running events from the beginning of the competition, owing to its tradition of distance running including the Kanto 10-mile road race (held near Narita since the late 19th century)[5] and its well-developed ekiden foot messenger system.

[11] Takayoshi Yoshioka, a three-time Far Eastern sprint champion, equalled the men's 100 metres world record in 1935 – the first and so far only Asian athlete to achieve that feat in the event.

As a result, the games was the place where Asia's top international athletes of the period first found success.

[9] Naoto Tajima was a bronze medallist behind Oshima at the 1934 Far Eastern Championship Games but went on to become the third successive Olympic triple jump champion for Japan two years later.