Mar 12 (Kyodo) - The number of Japanese athletes at next year's Tokyo Olympics is expected to exceed 500 and could conceivably be one of the largest contingents in Olympic history, an informed source said Sunday.
The large number is credited to Japan's inclusion of baseball, softball, karate, sport climbing, skateboarding and surfing in Tokyo. As the host nation, Japan will also earn automatic berths in many team events, the source said.
Japan's largest team so far was the 355-member squad for the 1964 Tokyo Olympics, the only other time the nation has staged the summer games.
In addition to those competing in the core sports of the Olympic program, the sports added for Tokyo could swell Japan's team by as many as 67 athletes -- more than 10 percent of the team's total.
