Abstract
Post the Second World War in 1945, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) chose London to host
the upcoming 1948 Summer Olympic Games. However, Japan and Germany, which had been defeated
in the war, were not invited to the Games of the XIV Olympiad, held in London in 1948. But why was
Japan not invited? At that time, the Olympic Rules (1946 edition) contained the following provision
regarding invitations and forms: Invitations to take part in the Games are in general sent out by the
organizing Committee to all countries, first to those who had established National Olympic Committees
(NOC). The role of Japanʼs NOC was undertaken by the National Physical Training Association, a
forerunner of the contemporary Japan Amateur Sports Association. This study examines the steps the
National Physical Training Association took to allow Japan to return to the Olympics.
The results are as follows:
1. The National Physical Training Association discussed means of obtaining information from overseas
for Japanese newspaper reports, as these were almost exclusively provided by foreign countries
because Japanese reporters were not able to go abroad and report on the events by themselves.
2. Officials of the Civil Information and Education at the General Headquarters of the Allied Powers,
which was administering Japan, were enlisted to encourage the Japanese to pursue athletic activities
and help Japan participate in the Olympic Games once again.
3. General Douglas MacArthur, the Supreme Commander of the Allied Powers, cautioned that more
time would be needed for the reintegration of Japan into the Olympic Games because Australia and
other nations of the British Empire and Commonwealth retained negative feelings about Japanʼs
military actions during the war.
4. In 1947, during the IOC Session in Stockholm, the National Physical Training Association contacted
J. Sigfried Edström, the then president of the IOC. However, the procedure and method by which
Japan would be eligible for participation in the Games of the XIV Olympiad were not conveyed to the
National Physical Training Association.
As a result of this study, the desire of the National Physical Training Association clarified the
argument and policy positively for participate in the 1948 Olympic Games. The National Physical
Training Association to participate in the 1948 Olympic Games was determined using information from IOC reports and documents of the Organising Committee for the XIV Olympiad. This study confirmed
that the National Physical Training Association fervently sought early return to international sports and
athletic competition. However, the IOC and the Organising Committee of the XIV Olympiad was not
willing to invite Japan to the 1948 Olympic Games. These sources also indicated how difficult it was for
Japan, a defeated power, to reintegrate into international society shortly after the end of the war.
