Japan's judoka stars look to calm nation's Olympic angst

FILE - In this May 16, 2021, file photo, athletes compete during the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Game men's basketball 3x3 test event at Aomi Urban Sports Park in Tokyo. The latest stop on the perennial search for a younger, more attention-span-challenged audience for the Olympics might look familiar — the blacktop, and 3-on-3 basketball. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko, File)

FILE - In this Saturday, Aug. 6, 2016, file photo, Japan's Naohisa Takato, left, competes against Georgia's Amiran Papinashvili during the men's 60-kg judo competition at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. “I had enough of the humiliating experience of ending up with a bronze medal in Rio," Takato said. "In the Tokyo Olympics, I’ll definitely seize the gold. With whatever kind of judo, however unrefined that could be, I’ll get a gold medal and play ‘Kimigayo’ (Japan’s national anthem) in the awarding ceremony.” (AP Photo/Markus Schreiber, File)

Tony Hawk who is not a competitor, tries out the skate park at the 2020 Summer Olympics, Friday, July 23, 2021, in Tokyo, Japan. (AP Photo/Markus Schreiber)

April Ross, from the United States, returns a volley during women's beach volleyball practice at the 2020 Summer Olympics, Monday, July 19, 2021, in Tokyo. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)