is a retired judoka who competed in the -78 kg and -86 kg divisions.

Biography

Okada began judo in primary school, and won the inter-highschool light heavyweight judo tournament in 1984. While attending the University of Tsukuba

University of Tsukuba

is located in the city of Tsukuba, Ibaraki Prefecture in the Kantō region of Japan. The University has 28 college clusters and schools with a total of around 15,000 students...

, he won the Jigoro Kano Cup

Jigoro Kano Cup

The Grand Slam Tokyo is an international judo competition held as part of the IJF Grand Slam series. The 2010 event is planned for December 11-13.- Men :- Women :...

 in 1986 and the All-Japan Judo Championships

All-Japan Judo Championships

is a judo tournament held every year in Japan. The men's tournament is held in Nippon Budokan on April 29 and the women's tournament is held in Yokohama Cultural Gymnasium in April. The Kodokan and All-Japan Judo Federation sponsor the championship....

 in 1987 and 1988, followed with a gold medal in the -78 kg division of the World Judo Championships

World Judo Championships

The World Judo Championships are the highest level of international judo competition, along with the Olympic judo competition. The championships are held once every year by the International Judo Federation, and qualified judoka compete in their respective categories as representatives of their...

 in 1987. This earned him a spot on the Japanese olympic judo team for the 1988 Summer Olympics

1988 Summer Olympics

The 1988 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XXIV Olympiad, were an all international multi-sport events celebrated from September 17 to October 2, 1988 in Seoul, South Korea. They were the second summer Olympic Games to be held in Asia and the first since the 1964 Summer Olympics...

, but he was unable to win a medal after a loss in the third round of the tournament.

Okada joined the Marunaka corporation in 1990, and continued his graduate studies at the University of Tsukuba until 1993. In 1990, he moved up in weight to win the -86 kg divisions of the Kodokan Cup

Kodokan

, or the Kodokan Institute, is the headquarters of the worldwide judo community. Literally, kō means "to lecture" or "to spread information," dō means "the way," and kan is "a public building or hall," together translating roughly as "a place for the study or promotion of the way." The Kodokan was...

 and Asian Games

Judo at the 1990 Asian Games

The Judo competition at the 1990 Asian Games was contested in sixteen weight classes, eight each for men and women.-Men's events:-Women's events:- Medals table :...

. He also won the All-Japan Championships for three consecutive years from 1990–1992, and won another gold medal at the World Judo Championships in 1991. He made his second trip to the Summer Olympics in 1992, and finished with a bronze medal.

Okada won the Kodokan Cup again in 1992 before facing Yoshio Nakamura in the 1994 All-Japan Championships. Nakamura caught Okada in a complete Ude-Hishigi-Juji-Gatame

Ude-Hishigi-Juji-Gatame

Ude-Hishigi-Juji-Gatameis one of the official 29 grappling techniques of Kodokan Judo.It is one of thejoint techniques of the Kansetsu-waza list,one of the three grappling lists in Judo's Katame-wazaenumerating 29 grappling techniques....

 mid-way through the match, but Okada refused to tap out, forcing the referee to call time. As a result, Okada seriously injured his left arm, suffering a torn ligament and a dislocation. The match ended in a yusei loss for Okada.

Okada won another international competition in Germany before announcing his retirement in December, 1995. He has worked as a judo instructor for the University of Tsukuba after retiring, and has appeared as a color commentator for NHK

NHK

NHK is Japan's national public broadcasting organization. NHK, which has always identified itself to its audiences by the English pronunciation of its initials, is a publicly owned corporation funded by viewers' payments of a television license fee....

's judo broadcasts.