Japan ranked 11th in the medal table for the 2016 Winter YOG in Lillehammer, winning two gold and four silver.

The East Asian nation's gold medallists were figure skater Sota Yamamoto in the men's singles and ice hockey player Sena Takenaka in the women's individual skills challenge.

Among the silver medallists was short track speed skater Kazuki Yoshinaga in the men's 500m.

At the following year's Asian Winter Games in Sapporo, Yoshinaga was a bronze medallist in the men's 5,000m relay in front of a home crowd.

In all, Japan had 29 competitors in 11 sports.

At Innsbruck 2012, the country finished eighth in the medal table with two gold, five silver and nine bronze.

One of the two gold medallists was ski jumper Sara Takanashi in the women's individual event.

She is now the proud owner of five World Championship medals, including mixed team normal hill gold from 2013, and the normal hill individual Olympic bronze medal from Pyeongchang 2018. 

Snowboarder Hikaru Ōe was Japan's other triumphant athlete at Innsbruck 2012, topping the women's halfpipe podium. 

Among the nation's silver medallists was figure skater Shōma Uno, who has since replicated his men's singles runner-up finish at Olympic and world level and won gold at the 2017 Asian Winter Games. 

Overall, Japan was represented by 33 athletes in 13 sports.