The struggles of Japanese athletes at the Turin Olympic Games have bewildered many back in their country, particularly those who banked on rosy pre-Games medal predictions.
The phones at the Japanese Olympic Committee office have kept ringing with calls from frustrating fans, low TV ratings have given a headache to broadcasters and sales are well behind the targets at ski shops and sport bars.
The front page of sports dailies have given much room for soccer, baseball, golf and even celebrity gossips while business analysts are beginning to modify the Games' effects on the Japanese economy they had projected earlier this winter.