A group of young Japanese army officers attempted a coup in Tokyo, killing several officials before the uprising was suppressed. The incident increased the military’s influence over government decision-making, which mattered for Olympic planning because the Games depended on national-level political support and resources.
At the 36th IOC Session in Berlin, the International Olympic Committee awarded the 1940 Summer Olympics to Tokyo. The decision made Tokyo the first Asian city chosen to host the Summer Games, but it was controversial because Japan was already occupying parts of China.
Tokyo’s Olympic organization developed more slowly than the IOC expected, increasing worries about readiness. Historians note that the national organizing committee was not created until late 1936, adding early pressure to catch up on venues, budgets, and planning.
With Tokyo chosen for the Summer Games, the IOC later selected Sapporo to host the 1940 Winter Olympics. Together, the decisions signaled Japan’s ambition to stage major international sporting events across both seasons.
Fighting expanded into full-scale war between Japan and China in July 1937 (often called the Second Sino-Japanese War). The conflict quickly put the Tokyo Olympics in tension with wartime priorities and increased international criticism and boycott talk.
Tokyo’s organizers issued an English-language booklet outlining general rules and the planned programme for the 1940 Olympics. Publishing this material showed that preparations were real and detailed, even as the wider political situation was deteriorating.
By mid-1938, Japan’s government moved toward austerity and redirected money and materials toward the war effort. According to Olympedia and later historical analysis, the government informed the Tokyo and Sapporo organizing committees that financial support would be withdrawn, undermining the feasibility of hosting.
Japan’s Cabinet decided to give up (forfeit) the right to host the 1940 Olympics, rather than try to proceed with reduced resources during wartime. The next day, Japanese IOC members notified the IOC by telegram, making the withdrawal official in practice.
Japan also returned the 1940 Winter Olympics after the outbreak of war and the shift of resources to military needs. The IOC reassigned the Winter Games first to St. Moritz, beginning a series of rushed changes that mirrored the instability facing the Summer Games.
Tokyo formally withdrew as host in mid-July 1938, ending Japan’s immediate plan to stage the Games. Helsinki quickly confirmed it could take over, and the IOC Executive Board officially awarded the 1940 Summer Olympics to Helsinki at its meeting in Brussels.
After Germany invaded Poland on September 1, 1939, World War II began in Europe, making Olympic plans increasingly unrealistic. In November 1939, Germany said it could not host the reassigned Winter Games, and by the end of 1939 the 1940 Olympics were effectively untenable; the Games did not resume until 1948.
The loss of the 1940 Olympics became a long-standing reference point in Japan’s Olympic history. Tokyo later bid again and ultimately hosted the Summer Olympics in 1964, a widely noted turning point that helped reframe Japan’s international image after World War II.
Tokyo 1940 Olympics bid, planning, and cancellation (1936-1940)