Tokyo hosted the first Summer Olympics broadcast internationally by satellite in 1964.
The 1964 Summer Olympics in Tokyo were the first Games to use satellite technology for international television transmission. Signals were relayed through the Syncom 3 communications satellite, allowing coverage to reach viewers outside Japan with far less delay than earlier systems.
Tokyo 1964 also marked Japan’s return to the Olympic movement after the Second World War and showcased the country’s postwar reconstruction. The Games used new venues, improved timing equipment and high-speed transportation infrastructure, including the recently introduced Shinkansen bullet train.
The satellite broadcasts helped transform the Olympics into a truly global television event. Earlier Games had been televised regionally or across nearby countries, but Tokyo demonstrated how communications satellites could connect distant continents during live sporting competition.