Karate in Japan
The sport has declined in popularity and is more popular abroad. Karate at the 2020 Summer Olympics is going to be a debut event at the Summer Olympics.
Karate at the 1981 World Games
The karate events of World Games I were held on July 25–27, 1981, at the Toso Pavilion on the campus of Santa Clara University in California, United States. These were the first World Games, an international quadrennial multi-sport event, and were hosted by the city of city of Santa Clara. It was anticipated that Japanese athletes would perform well at karate. They did so by winning 12 medals among the nine events, including five gold medals.