[1] Representing his adopted nation Japan, Kan qualified for the men's singles at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, by earning an entry score of 12,000.75 points, and being selected as one of the top 15 seeded players from ITTF's Computer Team Ranking List.

Kan progressed to the round of sixteen match, where he lost to Chinese table tennis player and Olympic silver medalist Wang Hao, with a set-score of 1–4.

He and his team progressed to the knock-out stage by winning the preliminary pool round against Hong Kong, Nigeria, and Russia, with a total of six points and three straight victories.

They lost the semi-final match to the German team (led by Dimitrij Ovtcharov), with a sudden death set score of 2–3, but offered another shot for the bronze medal by entering the play-offs.

[8] Kan and his team, however, were defeated in the second play-off by the Austrian trio Chen Weixing, Robert Gardos, and former world champion Werner Schlager, with a set score of 1–3.