Three Japanese archers qualified for the women's events after having secured a top eight finish in the team recurve at the 2015 World Archery Championships in Copenhagen, Denmark.

[8][9] On 17 March 2016, the Japan Association of Athletics Federations (JAAF) had selected three runners each in both men's and women's marathon race, with Kayoko Fukushi remarkably going to her fourth consecutive Olympics.

[10] Forty-two further athletes (31 men and 11 women) were added to the nation's track and field roster for the Games, based on their performances achieved at the Japan Championships (24 to 26 June).

Among them were sprinters Chisato Fukushima and Shota Iizuka, 2015 Worlds bronze medalist and three-time Olympic race walker Takayuki Tanii, and javelin thrower Ryohei Arai.

[12][13] Japan women's basketball team qualified for the Olympics by winning the gold medal match over China and securing the lone outright berth at the 2015 FIBA Asia Championships.

[18] Japanese riders qualified for a maximum of two quota places in the men's Olympic road race by virtue of their top 4 national ranking in the 2015 UCI Asia Tour.

[23][24] Japan has fielded a full squad of four equestrian riders each into the Olympic team jumping and dressage competition by obtaining a top finish each at the FEI qualification event for East Asia and Oceania in Hagen and Perl, Germany, respectively.

Kazuyasu Minobe, Chika Aoki, London 2012 Olympian Nozomi Sato (née Nakano), and Beijing 2008 silver medalist and 2015 World men's foil champion Yuki Ota had claimed their Olympic spots as one of the two highest-ranked fencers coming from the Asian zone in the FIE Adjusted Official Rankings.

[29][30] Kenta Tokunan and 2012 Olympian Shiho Nishioka rounded out the Japanese roster to six by virtue of a top three finish at the Asian Zonal Qualifier in Wuxi, China.

[32] Head coach: Yuji Nagai Reserves: Key: Japan men's football team qualified for the Olympics by virtue of a top two finish at and by progressing to the gold medal match of the 2016 AFC U-23 Championship in Qatar.

[47] Twelve members of the judo team, highlighted by London 2012 champion Kaori Matsumoto and bronze medalist Masashi Ebinuma, were named to the Olympic roster at the All-Japan Championships on 3 April 2016, while the heavyweight judokas rounded out the selection at the end of IJF World Masters in Guadalajara, Mexico.

Natsumi Tomonaga finished among the top five in the women's modern pentathlon, while Tomoya Miguchi and Shōhei Iwamoto received spare Olympic berths freed up by China and South Korea, as the highest-ranked eligible individuals, not yet qualified, in the men's event at the 2015 Asia & Oceania Championships.

[50] Japan has qualified one boat each in the men's and women's lightweight double sculls, respectively, for the Olympics at the 2016 Asia & Oceania Continental Qualification Regatta in Chungju, South Korea.

[57][58] A total of eleven Japanese sailors were officially named to the Olympic team on 1 July 2016, with windsurfer Makoto Tomizawa and skiff yachtsman Yukio Makino racing through the Rio regatta at their third straight Games.

[61][62] The remaining Japanese shooters (Akiyama, Ishihara, Mori, Okada, and Sato) had claimed their Olympic spots at the Asian Qualification Tournament in New Delhi, India to round out the team selection.

Among them were London 2012 medalists Kosuke Hagino and Ryosuke Irie, 2015 World champions Daiya Seto, Natsumi Hoshi and Kanako Watanabe, Olympic veterans Takeshi Matsuda and Takuro Fujii, and rising teen Rikako Ikee.

[66] Japan has fielded a squad of nine synchronized swimmers to compete in both the women's team and duet routine by virtue of their second-place finish at the FINA Olympic test event in Rio de Janeiro.

Jun Mizutani, Koki Niwa, and London 2012 silver medalists Ai Fukuhara and Kasumi Ishikawa were automatically selected among the top 22 eligible players each in their respective singles events based on the ITTF Olympic Rankings.

[68] Maharu Yoshimura and Mima Ito were each awarded the third spot to build the men's and women's teams for the Games by virtue of a top 10 national finish in the ITTF Olympic Rankings.

Incoming four-time Olympian Hirokatsu Tayama and Ai Ueda secured their Olympic spots in the men's and women's triathlon, respectively, as a result of their gold medal triumph at the 2016 Asian Championships in Hatsukaichi.

[79] Head coach: Yoji Omoto Japanese weightlifters have qualified three men's and four women's quota places for the Rio Olympics based on their combined team standing by points at the 2014 and 2015 IWF World Championships.