The judo competition at the 1964 Summer Olympics was the first time the sport was included in the Summer Olympic Games.

[1] As a result, decades of judo being officially banned as an "imperialist sport" in the Soviet Union ended shortly before the Games started, as Soviet authorities prioritized winning medals over anything else.

[2] The medals were awarded in 4 classes, and competition was restricted to men only.

The competition was held in the Nippon Budokan, which was built to host the competition.

A total of 72 judoka from twenty-seven nations competed at the Tokyo Games:[1]