Although being regarded as a traditional sports power in Asia, Japan's performance was not as strong as those of China and South Korea in recent Asian Games. Japanese media attributed the phenomenon to the lack of encouragement mechanism.

Up to now, Japanese players who got medals on international games have never been awarded with bounties, the Fuji Industrial and Economic Business Daily reported on Friday, quoting Japanese sports officials.

Before the Asian Games in Doha, Japanese delegation general manager Noriyuki Ichihara outlined an expectation for a minimum of 42 and a maximum of 58 golds. He said Japan will try to exceed the number of 44 gold won at Busan.

However, there has been prediction that the real number of gold flow to Japan could be lower than 40, due part to the lack of encouragement mechanism back home.

Although bounties do not directly link to players' performance, Japanese sports authority, for its negligence on economic stimulant, has definitely failed to further promote players' impassion, sports sources were quoted as saying.

Source: Xinhua