A look at the gold medal leaders of the Asian Games 2026, Asia's major sports event, covering all editions from the past to the present.
Reviewing the gold medal leaders of the Asian Games at every edition, only two nations have ever held this title since the inaugural games in 1951 up to the most recent editions. These two countries are Japan and China.
In the early era, Japan dominated as the gold medal leader for the first eight consecutive editions before China took over and has maintained its supremacy for twelve consecutive editions since 1982. Here is a summary of the Asian Games gold medal leaders for all past editions.
1951: New Delhi, India – Japan with 24 gold medals
1954: Manila, Philippines – Japan with 38 gold medals
1958: Tokyo, Japan – Japan with 67 gold medals
1962: Jakarta, Indonesia – Japan with 73 gold medals
1966: Bangkok, Thailand – Japan with 78 gold medals
1970: Bangkok, Thailand – Japan with 74 gold medals
1974: Tehran, Iran – Japan with 75 gold medals
1978: Bangkok, Thailand – Japan with 70 gold medals
1982: New Delhi, India – China with 61 gold medals
1986: Seoul, South Korea – China with 94 gold medals
1990: Beijing, China – China with 183 gold medals
1994: Hiroshima, Japan – China with 125 gold medals
1998: Bangkok, Thailand – China with 129 gold medals
2002: Busan, South Korea – China with 150 gold medals
2006: Doha, Qatar – China with 165 gold medals
2010: Guangzhou, China – China with 199 gold medals
2014: Incheon, South Korea – China with 151 gold medals
2018: Jakarta-Palembang, Indonesia – China with 132 gold medals
2022 (held in 2023): Hangzhou, China – China with 201 gold medals
2026: Aichi-Nagoya, Japan – China with 169 gold medals