Japan is known for world-class events - but the Asian Games were chaotic
The recent Asian Games in Nagoya, Japan, faced significant logistical failures including accommodation shortages and transport errors. Organizers struggled to manage an unexpected influx of participants, leading to criticism regarding Japan's reputation for hosting major international events.
Why it matters
Operational failures at high-profile sporting events can damage a host nation's international reputation and impact their ability to secure future global competitions.
Image source, Getty Images By Kurumi Mori , Tokyo correspondent and Issey Izumi Published 2 hours ago From the Olympics to Tokyo's annual video game convention, Japan has a strong track record of hosting major international events. But this year's Asian Games in Nagoya and the wider Aichi Prefecture were marred by problems.
There were diplomatic blunders, transport errors and accommodation chaos. In comment fields online, some branded it the "worst Games in history" and urged a "full investigation".
Prof Kozo Tomiyama, who studies major sporting events at Osaka University, believes organisers were unable to handle the unexpected.
"If these problems damage international confidence in Japan's ability to operate sporting events, they could also affect Japan's ability to attract international competitions in the future," he warned.
Also covering this story
One other newsroom covered this event. We read that version too.
Get smarter about the news
Sign up free for a feed built around what you actually care about, Dive Deeper research on any story, and the full text of every article.
Create free accountAlready have an account? Sign in