Among the nation's medalists were freestyle wrestlers Kaori Icho and Saori Yoshida, who successfully defended their Olympic titles in their respective events.

Two-time Olympic silver medalist and gymnast Kōhei Uchimura won the coveted gold medal in individual all-around,[2] becoming the fourth Japanese man to claim the title after 28 years.

Defending swimming champion Kosuke Kitajima, who aimed to win gold in two breaststroke events for third Games in succession, missed out on the medal standings in the finals.

The Japanese team included several past Olympic champions, three of them defending (freestyle wrestlers Kaori Icho and Saori Yoshida, and breaststroke swimmer Kosuke Kitajima).

[3] Javelin thrower and one-time world and Asian champion Yukifumi Murakami, on the other hand, served as the nation's team captain.

[1] Dressage rider Hiroshi Hoketsu repeated his record from Beijing, as the oldest athlete to compete in these Olympic Games, at age 71.

Single sculls rower Daisaku Takeda and show jumper Taizo Sugitani made their fifth appearance, having participated at every Olympic Games since 1996.

Other Japanese athletes featured gymnast and two-time Olympic silver medalist Kōhei Uchimura, javelin thrower and world junior champion Genki Dean, who embraced his British roots to represent the nation,[4] table tennis player Ai Fukuhara, who became highly popular in China and Japan because of her nickname "China-dolls", and swimmers Ryosuke Irie and Takeshi Matsuda, who previously won the bronze medal in Beijing.

By results, Japan left London with 11 swimming medals (3 silver and 8 bronze), the largest amount received at a single event.

Kosuke Hagino, the youngest male swimmer in the team, surprisingly won the bronze medal in the men's 400 m individual medley, surpassing all-time defending champion Michael Phelps, who finished behind him in the finals.

Kitajima, who bid to win double breaststroke swimming events for third Games in succession, missed out of medal standings in the final rounds.