In Photos: Historic moments of the Olympic Games -- London 2012

2012 London Olympics -- A performance is seen as part of the opening ceremony. Japan marked 100 years since it participated in the Olympics for the first time at the 1912 Stockholm Games. Japan appeared at the Olympics in London for the first time after it was not invited to the 1948 event in the city, which had previously hosted the 1908 Summer Olympics. A total of 204 nations and regions marched in the opening ceremony, including 76 members of the Japanese delegation led by flag bearer Saori Yoshida.

2012 London Olympics -- Japan's Kohei Uchimura performs in the floor exercises on his way to winning the gold medal in the individual all-around event in men's gymnastics. Although Uchimura had a minor setback where he touched the ground with his hand while landing a move, he finished in first place after beating the second place finisher by over a point. (Mainichi/Junichi Sasaki)

2012 London Olympics -- Japan's Kohei Uchimura shows off his gold medal after winning the individual all-around event in men's gymnastics. It was the first gold medal in 28 years for a Japanese gymnast in the individual all-around event following Koji Gushiken's victory at the 1984 Los Angeles Games. (Mainichi/Ryoichi Mochizuki)

2012 London Olympics -- Japan's Kaori Matsumoto, left, competes on her way to winning the gold medal in the 57-kilogram division in women's judo. (Mainichi/Masaru Nishimoto)

2012 London Olympics -- Japan's Kaori Matsumoto smiles with her gold medal during the medal ceremony for the 57-kilogram division in women's judo. Matsumoto secured victory in the final after her opponent committed a foul. She celebrated by raising her arms in the air. (Mainichi/Masaru Nishimoto)

2012 London Olympics -- Japan's Ryota Murata punches Brazil's Esquiva Falcao on his way to securing the gold medal in the final of the middleweight class in men's boxing. Murata became the second Japanese gold medalist in boxing after Takao Sakurai, who won the bantamweight class in the 1964 Tokyo Games. (Mainichi/Masaru Nishimoto)

2012 London Olympics -- Japan's Ryota Murata raises his fists in the air after the bell rang in the final of the middleweight class in men's boxing. After learning he had clinched victory, Murata commented, "I thought I won but I felt relieved to hear that." (Mainichi/Masaru Nishimoto)

2012 London Olympics -- Japan's Satoshi Shimizu fights against Britain's Luke Campbell in a semifinal match in the bantamweight class in men's boxing. Shimizu lost the bout but went on to secure the bronze medal. (Mainichi/Ryoichi Mochizuki)

2012 London Olympics -- Japan's Satoshi Shimizu bites his bronze medal he earned in the bantamweight class in men's boxing. He later reported to police in Japan that his medal had been stolen, only to find it in his house. (Mainichi/Masaru Nishimoto)

2012 London Olympics -- Japan's Homare Sawa encourages her teammates after the United States scored a second goal in the women's soccer final. Japan later scored a goal but lost 1-2 and had to settle for the silver medal. (Mainichi/Junichi Sasaki)

2012 London Olympics -- The Japanese women's soccer team waves to the crowd on the podium during the medal ceremony. The Japanese team shed tears after losing the final to the U.S. but smiled at the ceremony. (Mainichi/Tsuyoshi Morita)

2012 London Olympics -- Japan's Kasumi Ishikawa, left, and Sayaka Hirano compete against China in the doubles final in women's table tennis. Japan lost the final 0-3. (Mainichi/Masaru Nishimoto)

2012 London Olympics -- Members of the Japanese women's table tennis team smile as they show off their silver medals they captured in the team event. Japan secured medals in table tennis for the first time in history. From left, members Ai Fukuhara, Sayaka Hirano and Kasumi Ishikawa are seen. (Mainichi/Ryoichi Mochizuki)

2012 London Olympics -- A Japanese fencer competes against Italy in the final of the men's fencing team foil. Japan lost the bout 39-45 and had to settle for the silver medal. (Mainichi/Masaru Nishimoto)

2012 London Olympics -- The Japanese men's foil fencing team shows off their silver medals they earned in the event. From left, Suguru Awaji, Yuki Ota, Ryo Miyake and Kenta Chida are seen. Ota, the star of the team, said after the competition, "I think we gave it everything we could." (Mainichi/Masaru Nishimoto)

2012 London Olympics -- The Japanese pair of Mizuki Fujii, rear, and Reika Kakiiwa compete on their way to winning a semifinal match against a Canadian pair in the doubles in women's badminton. (Mainichi/Masaru Nishimoto)

2012 London Olympics -- The Japanese pair of Mizuki Fujii, left, and Reika Kakiiwa celebrate earning silver medals in the doubles in women's badminton after losing the final match against a Chinese pair. Japan earned its first ever medals? in badminton. (Mainichi/Junichi Sasaki)

2012 London Olympics -- The Japanese swimming team finishes in second place in a time of 3 minutes, 31.26 seconds in the men's 400-meter medley relay. From right, Kosuke Kitajima, Takeshi Matsuda, Ryosuke Irie and Takuro Fujii are seen. (Mainichi/Tsuyoshi Morita)

2012 London Olympics -- The Japanese swimming team shows off the silver medals they won in the men's 400-meter medley relay. From right, Ryosuke Irie, Kosuke Kitajima, Takeshi Matsuda and Takuro Fujii are seen. Kitajima raised his fist several times and commented, "I was delighted because I did not expect such success." (Mainichi/Tsuyoshi Morita)

2012 London Olympics -- The Japanese swimming team celebrates after finishing in third place in the women's 400-meter medley relay. From right at poolside are Aya Terakawa, Satomi Suzuki and Yuka Kato, while Haruka Ueda in seen in the pool. (Mainichi/Tsuyoshi Morita)

2012 London Olympics -- The Japanese swimming team celebrates on the podium after capturing bronze medals in the women's 400-meter medley relay by setting a new Japan record of 3 minutes, 55.73 seconds. The team also took bronze in the 2000 Sydney Games. From left, Aya Terakawa, Satomi Suzuki, Yuka Kato and Haruka Ueda are seen. (Mainichi/Tsuyoshi Morita)

2012 London Olympics -- Japan's Ryosuke Irie swims in the final in the men's 200-meter backstroke. (Mainichi/Tsuyoshi Morita)

2012 London Olympics -- Japan's Ryosuke Irie shows off the silver medal he earned in the men's 200-meter backstroke. After the medal ceremony he commented, "I often finish in second place in international competitions. I always seem to end up in the same place." (Mainichi/Tsuyoshi Morita)

2012 London Olympics -- Japan's Saori Yoshida scores a point against Canada's Tonya Verbeek in the final of the 55-kilogram division in women's wrestling. In the semifinal, Yoshida defeated Russia's Valeria Koblova-Zholobova, who had stopped Yoshida's winning streak in world championships. (Mainichi/Masaru Nishimoto)

2012 London Olympics -- Japan's Saori Yoshida celebrates on the podium after capturing her third consecutive gold medal in the 55-kilogram division in women's wrestling following the 2004 Athens and 2008 Beijing events. Her winning streak came to an end at the world championships in May but she achieved success again in the London Games. "I suffered mentally and hit rock bottom, but I competed, believing in everything I had accomplished in the past, and won the gold medal," she said. (Mainichi/Masaru Nishimoto)

2012 London Olympics -- Japan's Kaori Icho tackles China's Jing Ruixue to score a point in the final of the 63-kilogram division in women's wrestling. Icho won her third consecutive gold medal following her success at the 2004 Athens and 2008 Beijing events. (Mainichi/Junichi Sasaki)

2012 London Olympics -- Japan's Kaori Icho holds up her national flag after winning her third consecutive gold medal in the 63-kilogram division in women's wrestling. After the competition she revealed that she had suffered ruptured ankle ligaments but didn't show any pain while competing. (Mainichi/Masaru Nishimoto)

2012 London Olympics -- Japan's Hitomi Obara competes on her way to winning the gold medal in the 48-kilogram division in women's wrestling. After the competition she commented, "I was able to show my best smile to everyone. I couldn't have made it all the way to the mats in London through just my own efforts." (Mainichi/Junichi Sasaki)

2012 London Olympics -- Japan's Hitomi Obara shows off her gold medal she earned in the 48-kilogram division in women's wrestling. After the competition she said, "I have been supported by my husband, so in return I want to cook for him regularly from now on." (Mainichi/Junichi Sasaki)

2012 London Olympics -- Japan's Tatsuhiro Yonemitsu tackles India's Sushil Kumar to score a point in the final of the 66-kilogram division in men's freestyle wrestling. (Mainichi/Masaru Nishimoto)

2012 London Olympics -- Japan's Tatsuhiro Yonemitsu waves a national flag after winning the gold medal in the 66-kilogram division in men's freestyle wrestling. (Mainichi/Junichi Sasaki)

2012 London Olympics -- Japan's Takaharu Furukawa competes in the men's individual archery on his way to securing a silver medal. His achievement follows that of Hiroshi Yamamoto, who took the silver in the sport in the 2004 Athens Games. (Mainichi/Ryoichi Mochizuki)

2012 London Olympics -- Japan's Takaharu Furukawa poses with his silver medal he captured in the men's individual archery. (Mainichi/Ryoichi Mochizuki)

2012 London Olympics -- Japan's Miki Kanie competes on her way to taking the bronze medal in the team event in women's archery. (Mainichi/Ryoichi Mochizuki)

2012 London Olympics – Members of the Japanese women's archery team smile as they show off their bronze medals. From left, Ren Hayakawa, Miki Kanie and Kaori Kawanaka are seen. (Mainichi/Junichi Sasaki)

2012 London Olympics -- Japan's Saori Kimura hits the ball against South Korea in the bronze medal match in the women's volleyball. (Mainichi/Tsuyoshi Morita)

2012 London Olympics -- Members of the Japanese women's volleyball team celebrate after winning the bronze medal match against South Korea. (Mainichi/Junichi Sasaki)

2012 London Olympics -- Japan's Koji Murofushi shouts out while competing in the final in the men's hammer throw. He recorded 78.71 meters in his third throw and finished in third place. (Mainichi/Junichi Sasaki)

2012 London Olympics -- Japan's Koji Murofushi smiles while showing his bronze medal at the award ceremony for the men's hammer throw. (Mainichi/Ryoichi Mochizuki)

2012 London Olympics -- Japan's Hiromi Miyake competes on her way to taking the silver medal in the 48-kilogram division in women's weightlifting. She is a niece of Yoshinobu Miyake, who won gold medals in the sport at the 1964 Tokyo and 1968 Mexico City games. (Mainichi/Ryoichi Mochizuki)

2012 London Olympics -- Japan's Hiromi Miyake smiles as she shows off her silver medal she captured in the 48-kilogram division in women's weightlifting. Miyake's achievement marked the first time a Japanese woman had earned a medal in the sport. She lifted 87 kilograms in the snatch and 110 kilograms in the clean and jerk. (Mainichi/Ryoichi Mochizuki)