Japan hopes for a boost with Olympic gold medals

In an Olympics like no other, Japan secured its first gold medals in the Tokyo Games over the weekend, offering hope to the host country under lockdown.

Japanese swimmer Yui Ohashi on Sunday glided to victory in the 400m women's medley, after Japan's Naohisa Takato took home the gold in his weight class for judo.

He later received congratulations over the phone from Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga.

The country's early victories is good news for organizers seeking to improve public enthusiasm around the Games.

In the days leading up to the opening ceremony polls showed a majority of the Japanese population wanted the Games cancelled, as the capital Tokyo weathers a lockdown extended under a fourth state of emergency.

Despite this, the country has reported record daily case numbers of the Delta variant.

Under strict social distancing rules, fewer than a thousand people attended Friday's opening ceremony.

Some athletes have also been forced to drop out of their events, as more than 120 Olympics-related cases have so far been disclosed.

Japan will also have to contend with harsh summertime weather.

A popular app warned of heatstroke on Sunday, while a typhoon is forecast to hit the main Japanese island of Honshu later this week.