Post Turino 2006 Review

Japan has one medal to show for in Italy. Lucky, it was gold in womans figure skating. It was unfortunate mogel skiier Aiko Uemura and Joji Kato didn't win any metals, I thought they had the best chance out of all the Japanese Olympicians.

Curling has immerage as a new popular sport in Japan with the success and personality of the Japanese womens team. In curing you acutally see the expressions, emotions and voices of the players, following the development of the game and personalities

"Japan's athletes hadn't won a medal of any kind, prompting tearful apologies from crestfallen athletes amid a plunge in TV ratings. Team officials had predicted Japan would win five or more medals.

One of the team's most popular athletes, 37-year-old veteran ski jumper Masahiko Harada, was disqualified on the first day for using skis that were too long. Snowboarder Melo Imai, a teenage darling of the team, was rushed to hospital after crashing during both her halfpipe runs, finishing last in an event Japanese Olympic officials had said she might win.

The country's popular curling team, which has had a movie made on them, and speed skater Joji Kato, who holds the world record for the men's 500 meters, also failed to clinch medals.

TV ratings meanwhile languished at levels below 10 percent. For the 2004 Summer Olympics in Sydney, rates frequently hit over 20 percent.

But all that has changed with Arakawa's medal, with TV stations showing endless repeats of Arakawa's performance."