Ryo Kiyuna of Japan performs during the men's karate kata preliminary at the Tokyo Olympics, at the Nippon Budokan arena on Aug. 6, 2021. (Mainichi/Naotsune Umemura)

       Sena Irie of Japan, who won gold in the women's Olympic featherweight boxing, is seen holding her medal at the press conference site for Olympic delegations in Tokyo on Aug. 4, 2021. (Pool photo)

       TOKYO -- All 47 of Japan's prefectures have now produced Olympic gold medalists, after karateka Ryo Kiyuna became the first Okinawa Prefecture native to earn gold with his Aug. 6 victory in the men's kata division.

       Including team sports and team events, Kiyuna, 31, is the 229th Japanese national to win a gold medal at a summer or winter Games. Until the karateka took gold on the Tokyo Olympic Games' 15th day, all prefectures but Okinawa had turned out gold medalists. Kiyuna's achievement was the final piece in the puzzle to see Olympic gold medals earned by people from all 47 prefectures.

       Before the Tokyo Games, Tottori and Okinawa prefectures had yet to go gold. On Aug. 3, Sena Irie, 20, opened Tottori's gold account in the women's Olympic featherweight boxing. The achievement gathered much attention there, and Irie expressed gratitude to her hometown, saying, "Seeing my gold medal please so many people, I'm happy I was born in Tottori."

       (Japanese original by Nobuyuki Mashimo, Sports News Department)

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