A late Chinese blunder allowed Japan to surge past its longtime rival and win gold in the blue ribbon men's gymnastics competition.
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It was Japan's eighth team gold and first since Rio de Janeiro in 2016, earned by the tightest of margins, and sparking wild celebrations at Bercy Arena.
The Japanese overtook their rivals on the final rotation, after China's Su Weide fell twice off the horizontal bar, scoring just 11.600.
Adding drama, the heavyweight pair faced off in the same group, starting their competition on floor exercise.
China looked set for its first gold medal in the competition since 2012 after taking the lead midway through Tuesday's competition (AEST).
But Takaaki Sugino, Shinnosuke Oka and Tokyo Olympics all-around champion Daiki Hashimoto nailed Japan's comeback with excellent displays on the horizontal bar as Su faltered.
Japan won with a small margin of 0.532 points ahead of China, with the USA claiming bronze - their first medal in the event in 16 years - ahead of Great Britain.
Russia, which won gold at the Tokyo Games, did not compete as part of a ban for its illegal invasion of Ukraine.
The Chinese dominated qualifying ahead of Japan, the reigning world champion.
Australian Associated Press
