'Chaotic' Asian Games threaten Japan hopes of hosting Olympics again

The Asian Games in Aichi-Nagoya saw a catalogue of mishaps, from athletes taken to the wrong venues to the North Korean national anthem played for the South Korean hockey team.

Athletes relax on the Costa Serena cruise ship where Asian Games competitors and team members are staying as it is docked at Port Messe Nagoya in Nagoya on Sep 25, 2026. (File photo: AFP/Mohd Rasfan)

NAGOYA: Japan is traditionally seen as a reliable host for major sporting events but an Asian Games dogged by organisational woes has tarnished that image and raised questions over future bids, experts say.

The Games in Aichi-Nagoya saw a catalogue of mishaps, from athletes taken to the wrong venues to the North Korean national anthem played for the South Korean hockey team.

There were not enough beds for the over 17,000 athletes and officials, a bigger number than the Olympics.

Countries complained of being stranded for up to six hours at the airport on arrival.

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Teams were not shy in criticising the local organisers.

Ryu Seung-min, president of the Korean Sport and Olympic Committee, said: "If I were to give them a grade, it would be an F."

Japanese Olympic Committee (JOC) president Seiko Hashimoto admitted that "there were many problems", but said the country wants to host more international events.

Hirokazu Arai, a professor specialising in sports psychology, told AFP that Japan may struggle to escape the shadow of the Asian Games for some time to come.

"If Japan were to bid for the Olympics again, trust in Japan may have fallen and it might be harder to win a bid," he said.

"And within Japan, people may take the view that if these kinds of things are going to happen, we don't need the Olympics."

Many in Japan have questioned the value of hosting major sporting events as they grapple with the fallout from the graft-stained and pandemic-delayed Tokyo Olympics.

Cost overruns, corruption and COVID-19 all tainted the public's memory of the Games, which took place largely behind closed doors in 2021, a year later than planned.

Japan was praised by some, however, for getting the Games on in unprecedented circumstances.

The country subsequently dropped the idea of hosting the Winter Olympics in the northern city of Sapporo because of a lack of public support.

Hashimoto, who also served as president of the Tokyo Olympics organising committee, has said Sapporo's bid could be revived.

She said the Asian Games had "reaffirmed my belief in the value of hosting international sporting events in our country".

"We also received harsh criticism because of the challenges we faced - I am fully aware of that," she said.

"This is all part of the Games, but we need to analyse those issues so we can tackle them for the next future opportunity."

Asian Games organisers were presented with a headache when the number of athletes and officials that was initially expected ballooned by about 2,000.

Unlike at past Games, there was no traditional athletes' village, in a bid to save money.

Participants instead stayed on a cruise ship, in hotel rooms and in temporary wooden huts.

Some teams complained about the wooden units, saying they were too cramped and the beds too short.

After a troubled build-up, organisers hoped the attention would switch to sport when the action got under way.

But still the problems continued, with transport and accommodation difficulties and further mix-ups with anthems and flags.

"It's like musical chairs," a Thai official said, adding that organisation at the Games had been "chaotic".

Nagoya's mayor apologised to athletes for "inconveniences", saying organisers would "sincerely reflect on the mishandling that occurred".

There were sparse crowds at some events, starting with thousands of empty seats at the opening ceremony.

Arai believes the Games have damaged Japan's international reputation as a safe pair of hands.

"The previous Games were in China, and I'm sure there were athletes who came here expecting Japan to put on a better event than China," he said.

"But I don't think you can say that's how it's turned out."

Arai says anger that had faded in the years since the Tokyo Olympics could flare up again.

"The people at the top of Japan's sporting world are moving towards trying to bring the Olympics here again," he said.

"From their perspective, they may have felt that criticism had started to die down, but this situation could cause that criticism to intensify again."

Catch the Aichi-Nagoya 2026 Asian Games live or on-demand on mewatch! Visit mewatch.sg/asiangames for details, and follow Mediacorp Sports on YouTube , TikTok , Instagram and Facebook for the latest updates and trending content!

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