Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games closes with operational troubles; governor apologizes
In short
The Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games closed on Oct. 4 after a run of operational troubles that included a national anthem mix-up, shuttle bus dispatch errors and buses sent to the wrong destinations. Aichi Governor Hideaki Omura, who chairs the organizing committee, apologized at a closing press conference for the transport problems while saying the Games had improved day by day. A Waseda University associate professor formerly of advertising firm Dentsu said officials described the failures as “unprecedentedly bad” and that reported problems were only the tip of the iceberg.
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The Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games closed on Oct. 4 after a run of operational failures, drawing an apology from Aichi Governor Hideaki Omura, who chairs the organizing committee, according to Mainichi Shimbun and Yahoo! News Japan. Mainichi reported the Games left a bitter lesson for future large-scale events in Japan. [ 1 , 2 , 3 ]
At the closing press conference, Omura said, “I apologize for the inconvenience caused,” referring to transport errors, Mainichi reported. He stressed that the Games “improved daily” and that the troubles were handled. Yahoo! News Japan’s page carried a headline saying the governor apologized for the troubles and said, “We caused trouble for the athletes.” [ 2 , 3 ]
Asahi Shimbun reported that the specific problems included a mix-up of national anthems, errors in dispatching shuttle buses and buses going to the wrong destinations. In an interview, Yoshihiro Oi, a Waseda University associate professor who worked at advertising firm Dentsu and has long been involved in sports business, said the Asian Games is a difficult event to run, with 43 sports and more than 400 events, compared with 32 sports at the Paris Olympics. Oi said that normally problems are corrected as they arise, but that this time there were many elementary mistakes, that officials he spoke with described the event as “unprecedentedly bad,” and that the reported problems were only the tip of the iceberg. [ 1 ]
Mainichi reported that the emphasis on cutting costs led to shortfalls in preparation and staffing on site. The Games skipped building an athletes’ village and housed athletes in container houses, a cruise ship and hotels, the newspaper said. Mainichi also began to give the total cost of the Games, but the figure was not available in the document text. [ 3 ]
Yahoo! News Japan described the troubles as the result of a lack of foresight and said an objective verification was needed. It also presented a prompt asking an AI system why the troubles kept occurring at the Games. [ 2 ]
Why it matters
The Games were Japan’s first hosting of the event in 32 years, and Mainichi reported they left a bitter lesson for future large-scale events in the country, pointing to cost-cutting that left preparation and staffing short. The calls in the coverage for an objective verification of the operations suggest the organizing side may face scrutiny over how the event was run. Both tier-1 national papers treated the troubles as a management failure rather than a minor issue.
Key facts
- The Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games closed on Oct. 4. [ 1 , 2 , 3 ]
- Aichi Governor Hideaki Omura, chairman of the organizing committee, apologized over transport errors at a closing press conference. [ 2 , 3 ]
- Reported troubles included a national anthem mix-up, shuttle bus dispatch errors and buses going to wrong destinations. [ 1 ]
- Waseda associate professor Yoshihiro Oi said the Asian Games covers 43 sports and more than 400 events, compared with 32 sports at the Paris Olympics. [ 1 ]
- Oi said Games officials told him the failures were “unprecedentedly bad” and that the problems reported were the tip of the iceberg. [ 1 ]
- Mainichi reported that a focus on cutting costs left the site short of preparation and staffing, with no athletes’ village and athletes housed in container houses, cruise ships and hotels. [ 3 ]
- Omura said the Games “improved daily” and that troubles were handled. [ 3 ]
Confirmed by several sources
Still unclear
- The total cost of the Games. Mainichi’s article states a cost-cutting approach was taken and begins to give the total, but the text is cut off in the paywalled portion and no figure appears in the documents.
- How many operational troubles occurred and what they all were. Asahi quotes expert Yoshihiro Oi saying reported problems are the tip of the iceberg, and no official tally is given in any document.
- Whether an objective review of the Games operations will be carried out. Yahoo! News Japan’s coverage calls for objective verification, but no document reports a decision to conduct one.
- Aichi Governor Hideaki Omura, who chairs the organizing committee, apologized over transport errors at the closing press conference. Reported by a single source so far
What local media are saying
Timeline, local time
- Asahi Shimbun publishes its interview with Waseda associate professor Yoshihiro Oi on the causes of the operational problems. [ 1 ]
- Yahoo! News Japan publishes commentary describing a lack of foresight and calling for objective verification, on the day the Games close. [ 2 ]
- Mainichi Shimbun publishes its report on the closing, including Governor Omura’s apology for transport errors. [ 3 ]