18 Facts About Ryoko Tani

Ryoko Tani is a Japanese politician and retired female judoka.

Ryoko Tani studied literature at Teikyo University and joined Toyota in 1998.

Ryoko Tani went on to win the biennial world championships in 1995,1997,1999,2001,2003 and 2007.

Ryoko Tani did not compete in 2005 as she was expecting her first child.

Ryoko Tani competed in five Olympic Games and won as many medals.

Ryoko Tani was the clear favorite against the relatively unknown North-Korean Kye Sun Hui, but she was unable to live up to the expectations.

Ryoko Tani's second Olympic silver was a huge setback, and the Japanese media talked of an "Olympic curse".

Ryoko Tani was the first woman judoka to win two Olympic golds.

Ryoko Tani lost the 2007 All-Japan Weight Class Judo Championship, which doubles as the qualifier for Olympics and the World Championships on those years when the events take place, but was selected as Japan's representative anyway by the All Japan Judo Federation.

Ryoko Tani then won the gold medal in the Rio de Janeiro World Championships.

Ryoko Tani lost the All-Japan again in April 2008, to 21-year-old Emi Yamagishi.

When Ryoko Tani represented Japan in Barcelona, she was viewed by the Japanese public as a real-life Yawara and was nicknamed Yawara-chan or Tawara.

Thanks to her success and cheerful personality, Ryoko Tani grew immensely popular in Japan.

Ryoko Tani appeared in numerous TV commercials and her wedding ceremony, broadcast live on Japanese television, was followed by 20 million spectators.

Ryoko Tani is credited for the boom in women's judo witnessed by Japan in the 1990s, leading to the rise of a new generation of competitors.

Ryoko Tani initially stated that she still intended to pursue her judo career, but she eventually retired from judo after she won the seat in question.

Ryoko Tani was approached by several parties in the lead up to the July 2016 election, but Ozawa demanded she remain with the party, as her defection would have meant the party fell below the minimum requirement of five Diet members and lost its official party status.

In June 2016 Ryoko Tani announced her decision to remain with the party until the election, but not seek a second term.