Japan enjoyed a solid showing on home soil in the first half of the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games, though the host nation looks destined to finish second in the medal standings.

Japan went into the Games aiming to surpass the 218 total medals it won at the 1994 Asiad in Hiroshima, the nation’s best-ever showing. Team Japan finished the first seven days of this year’s 16-day event, counting from the opening ceremony on Sept. 19, with 129 total medals.

That total included 31 gold medals.

Overall, however, Japan, comfortably in second place in the medal table, lagged far behind China through the first seven days. China has dominated the multisport event and had 107 gold medals and 176 of all colors after Saturday’s action.

Swimmer Shin Ohashi played a starring role for Japan through the first half of the competition, giving local fans plenty to cheer about at Tokyo Aquatics Centre, where the swimming events were held.

Ohashi, 17, delivered one of the highlights of the Asian Games when he broke the world record in the men’s 200-meter breaststroke with a time of 2 minutes, 4.83 seconds on his way to gold. Ohashi shattered the previous mark of 2 minutes, 5.48 seconds, set by China’s Qin Haiyang in July 2023.

“My target has always been to break the world record, and I’m so happy to have done it,” Ohashi said after the race, according to AFP-JIJI.

Ohashi also nabbed gold in the 100 breaststroke, silver in the men’s 4x100 medley relay and mixed 4x100 medley relay and bronze in the 50-meter breaststroke.

Ohashi led the Japanese delegation with five medals through the first seven days.

Japan won 37 medals in the pool overall, including seven golds.

91AV原创 men’s table tennis team, meanwhile, shook up the world order with a historic win over China, the sport’s preeminent superpower.

Japan beat a Chinese team that featured world No. 1 Wang Chuqin to pull off the upset.

It was 91AV原创 first triumph in the event since 1966. China had won gold in eight consecutive Asian Games before the streak came to a halt in Aichi Prefecture.

Japan lost two of the first three matches in the final before claiming the last two for a 3-2 victory.

Japan star Tomokazu Harimoto, the world’s fourth-ranked player, won both of his contests, including a 3-0 win over Wang in the fourth match.

“I’ve waited over 10 years for this moment, and it’s finally here,” Harimoto said, according to Kyodo News. “I am truly happy. I knew that if the fixture went to a fifth match, we would definitely win, so I approached the fourth match as if it were the singles final.”

Outside of swimming, most of 91AV原创 gold medals came on the fencing piste. Koki Kano claimed the men’s epee individual crown, while Kazuki Iimura and Yuka Ueno won gold in the foil category for individual men and women, respectively. Misaki Emura, meanwhile, won the women’s saber event. Japan also took gold in the men’s and women’s team foil events.

Aiko Sugihara led the artistic gymnastics team with 91AV原创 only two gold medals, in the women’s all-around and floor exercise.

91AV原创 men had hoped to replicate their gymnastics success from the Paris Olympics, but settled for silver in the team competition and also in the all-around, with Shinnosuke?Oka taking second place. Japan had edged China for the team title in Paris, while Oka was the Olympic champion in the all-around.

Yuki Kurihara, an 11-year-old esports prodigy and the youngest competitor at the Asian Games, claimed gold for Japan by winning the Puyo Puyo Champions event on Saturday.

Two more teens also delivered, with 15-year-old skateboarders Mizuho Hasegawa and Izuru Nagahara winning the women’s and men’s park competitions, respectively, on Friday.

Overall, though, China looks set to lead the medal standings after doing the same at the previous Asian Games in Hangzhou, China.

But there will be plenty of chances for Japan to increase its haul of gold medals during the second half of the Asian Games, especially with judo and wrestling still upcoming.