The Japanese flag flies during the opening ceremony of the Asian Games in Nagoya, Japan, on Sept. 19, 2026. Photo by AP

The 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games opened on Sept. 19, hosting approximately 17,000 athletes and officials. However, in the days leading up to the event, a series of logistical mishaps occurred, ranging from athletes waiting for hours at the airport and lacking assigned rooms to widespread disputes over accommodation conditions.

Record-breaking rainfall hit Nagoya a week before the opening ceremony, forcing school closures, suspending train services, and requiring hundreds of participating athletes to evacuate. Water also leaked into several competition venues. While the host city quickly returned to normal, logistical issues kept occurring.

Long waits

On Sept. 18, the official welcome ceremony for the Indian delegation at the Garden Pier Athletes' Village was delayed and then abruptly halted. Organizers apologized, citing "some glitches" without providing a specific explanation. A promise to resume the ceremony after 15 minutes ultimately turned into a wait of nearly two hours.

Accommodation issues also caused significant difficulties for the India delegation, according to Indian Express. Head of the delegation Sahdev Yadav stated that between 30 and 35 Indian athletes had not been assigned rooms, forcing the Indian Olympic Association to independently book 18 hotel rooms.

Yadav noted that organizers attributed the issue to a higher-than-expected number of arriving Indian athletes. However, the Indian side maintained that their delegation size perfectly matched the registered figures.

On Sept. 15, the Indian shooting team arrived in Nagoya around 9 p.m. but did not reach their accommodation until nearly 5 a.m. the following day.

 

 

Hungry and stranded: Asian Games plagued by logistical problems

Các VĐV Ấn Độ vạ vật ở Nagoya 12 tiếng để chờ có phòng ở

These administrative delays were not limited to India.

According to the South China Morning Post, Chinese athletes and several other delegations were stranded at Chubu Centrair International Airport due to data entry errors. The flight carrying the China delegation from Beijing landed around 12:15 p.m. on Sept. 17. Buses were waiting to receive them, but many athletes were not listed in the transport system and were refused entry onto the vehicles.

For the China gymnastics team with 21 members, only information on two athletes appeared in the system. The remaining members waited in the transit area for hours with nothing but water available. Some laid out yoga mats and used training equipment to maintain their fitness. They finally left the airport around six hours later. The badminton team even tried to use public transportation, but there were not enough tickets. The Chinese Consulate General in Nagoya had to ask Chinese who live nearby to take the remaining members to their accommodation.

Gymnast Zhang Boheng described the journey as "bizarre", noting that he had gone 12 hours without food or drink before his team was finally transported to their accommodation at 6 p.m.

Food and transportation problems

Reports from the Teqball Association of Thailand said that their members were surprised by the small portion sizes in the dining hall. Athletes were unable to serve themselves more food and were restricted to fixed portions prepared by volunteers, forcing some to purchase food outside the venues.

Seoul Economic Daily reported that complaints regarding accommodation appeared among various delegations. To cut costs and avoid creating a big waste after the event, this Asian Games did not feature a traditional village for athletes. Instead, approximately 9,000 people were accommodated in hotels, 4,000 on a cruise ship and 2,000 in container housing units.

Participating athletes are housed in container units, part of the accommodation options at the 2026 Asian Games. Photo by Reuters

However, accommodation arrangements caused a wave of complaints. Some athletes were assigned to rooms exceeding capacity limits, with instances of male and female athletes sharing the same room. The Thailand sepak takraw team reportedly had to sleep on the floor in the lobby of the Costa Serena cruise ship because they could not locate their room assignments.

Conditions in the container housing units also drew criticism. Rooms allocated to the South Korea men's basketball team featured beds 1.95 m long, despite many players standing over 2 m. Chung Jae-yong, vice president of the Korea Basketball Association, told AFP that the accommodation conditions were the worst ever. Player Byun Jun-hyoung even called for help after posting a photo of water dripping onto the floor due to sink leakage.

The team eventually relocated to a hotel following their quarterfinal match against Jordan on Sept. 16.

Problems also appeared in transportation logistics. On Sept. 15, the bus carrying the South Korean U23 team mistakenly drove to a baseball stadium instead of the rugby venue where the team were scheduled to play Qatar, forcing a 30-minute delay to the start of the match.

These incidents occurred when organizers had to accommodate a larger number of people than originally anticipated. Initial estimates projected around 15,000 participants, but the figure rose to approximately 17,000 following the addition of new sports events.

Yuta Matsuo, who is in charge of accommodation for the event, told Reuters that organizers were fully aware of the complaints and were building specific measures to improve conditions.

High costs and diplomacy controversies

Hosting costs have also drawn scrutiny. Mainichi Shimbun reported that the total cost for the Asian Games and Asian Para Games is estimated at around 370 billion yen ($2.36 billion)—more than three times the initial estimate.

Aichi Governor Hideaki Omura, the head of the organizers, explained that additional requirements from the Olympic Council of Asia drove up costs by approximately 60 billion yen, while rising prices and labor costs added another 55 billion yen.

Emperor Naruhito (6th, L), Empress Masako, Crown Prince Akishino and Princess Kiko with other officials attend the opening ceremony of the Asian Games in Nagoya, Japan, on Sept. 19, 2026. Photo by AP

Another issue is diplomacy. A welcoming ceremony featured performers dressed as three major historical Japanese figures, including Oda Nobunaga, Toyotomi Hideyoshi and Tokugawa Ieyasu. This prompted an official protest from South Korea due to Hideyoshi's role in the invasions of the Korean Peninsula during the 1590s.

Notably, major Japanese advertising and sports marketing firm Dentsu is not involved in managing the Asian Games, stemming from the fallout of corruption scandals surrounding the Tokyo Olympics. Ikuko Tanioka, former vice president of the Japan Wrestling Federation, told Yahoo Japan that another major advertising corporation, Hakuhodo, also did not participate in the operation of the Asian Games.