Asian Games in Nagoya Marred by Transport Errors, Accommodation Chaos and Diplomatic Blunders

The Asian Games, a multi-sport event for athletes from across Asia, were hosted this year in Nagoya and the wider Aichi Prefecture in Japan, and were marked by a string of organisational failures. Japan has a strong record of staging major international events, so the problems drew criticism, with some online commenters calling it the "worst Games in history" and demanding a "full investigation".

Prof Kozo Tomiyama of Osaka University, who studies major sporting events, said organisers were unable to cope with the unexpected. He warned that damaged confidence in Japan's ability to run sporting events could hurt its chances of attracting international competitions in future.

Accommodation

Before the Games began, participants complained about too few rooms and poor-quality lodging. To cut costs, organisers skipped building a traditional athletes' village and instead housed people in hotels and container-style units around Nagoya. A senior Korean basketball official said tall athletes in the containers struggled to stretch their legs out on the beds.

Late additions to the participant numbers strained the city's capacity so much that an Italian cruise ship with 1,500 cabins was brought in. Accommodation had initially been arranged for up to 15,000 delegation members, but as more sports were added the figure rose by 2,000 to 17,000. Organisers first told late arrivals to make their own arrangements, then, with the Olympic Council of Asia, promised all of them suitable accommodation.

Other incidents

Athletes were bussed to the wrong venues, the North Korean anthem was played for the South Korean men's hockey team, and the South Korean flag was not raised properly at the men's football gold medal ceremony. Taiwan's sports minister was temporarily barred from a flag-raising event. Officials sent a formal apology to South Korea.

Venue operations were run by the Japanese subsidiary of France's GL Events, which won a 63bn yen contract ahead of advertising giant Dentsu. The Tokyo Shimbun newspaper accused the firm of cutting corners on hiring; GL Events did not respond to the BBC. Deputy director general Takaaki Omi said the company has international experience, including the Paris Olympics.

Problems have continued at the Para Games, where wrong anthems were played at three events. Nagoya Mayor Ichiro Hirosawa called it "unacceptable" and apologised.