Jigoro Kano was the first Asian member of the International Olympic Committee (IOC). He had reservations about adding judo to the Olympics because of the Games' focus on sport and encouragement of nationalism, but he did not object to it and in 1937 the IOC decided that judo would be a demonstration sport at the 1940 Olympics in Tokyo. Those Games were cancelled due to the war, however, and judo did not make its Olympic debut until 24 years later at the 1964 Olympics in Tokyo. This was the first time an Asian sport had been included in the Games and it generated significant interest in judo worldwide. Coupled with the Kodokan's long-term efforts to spread judo around the world, judo became the first Asian martial art to gain a worldwide following.