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Naohisa Takato wins Japan’s first gold medal at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics

The judo champion scored Japan its first gold on the second day of competition in the men's under 60kg judo tournament

Kaila Imada
Written by
Kaila Imada
Associate Editor, Time Out Tokyo
Naohisa Takato Tokyo Olympic gold medal win
Photo: Harry How/Getty Images
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The Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games are officially underway after yesterday’s memorable opening ceremony, and Japan has now snagged its first gold medal of Tokyo 2020. As reported by The Japan Times, judoka Naohisa Takato won gold in the men’s judo under 60kg division. 

Takato made his Olympic debut back in 2016 at the Rio de Janeiro Games, taking out a bronze medal. Now competing in his second Olympics, the three-time world champion won over Yang Yung Wei from Taiwan (competing as Chinese Taipei) at the Nippon Budokan on Saturday July 24.

Takato’s gold is the second medal win for Japan overall, after fellow judoka Funa Tonaki won Japan’s first medal of the Games, a silver, in the women's under 48kg category.

It’s no surprise that Japan has already secured two judo medals on the first day of competition – the country’s powerful judo team has been called Godzilla Japan. We can only expect more from Team Japan over the following weeks.

For the full medal count of the Olympic Games, visit the official website.

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