Delays, accommodation issues cloud Asian Games opening in Japan

The Asian Games in Japan are facing mounting organisational problems just days before the opening ceremony.

More than 17,000 athletes and officials are attending the event in Nagoya and Aichi prefecture, with complaints ranging from accommodation shortages to airport and transport delays. Organisers are now under pressure to resolve the issues before competition begins on Saturday.

The Asian Games 2026 are being held in Nagoya and Aichi prefecture, Japan, with the opening ceremony taking place on Saturday.

Unlike the Olympics, the event has no central athletes' village. Competitors are instead housed across hotels, temporary cabins and a cruise ship docked at Nagoya's port, an arrangement that has contributed to several of the reported problems.

Why are Chinese athletes facing delays?

Chinese gymnast Zhang Boheng, a two-time world champion and Paris Olympics silver medallist, said he and his teammates waited around six hours after arriving in Japan on Wednesday.

He described himself as "totally exhausted" following a long wait for registration and paperwork. Zhang said heavy rain then stopped the group from boarding the cruise ship where roughly 4,000 participants are staying, so they booked hotel rooms instead.

Chinese state media reported further delays affecting other athletes. China's consulate in Nagoya assisted the badminton team after problems with shuttle buses and public transport tickets. The hashtag "Asian Games absurd" has reportedly drawn more than 94 million views on the Chinese platform Weibo.

What accommodation and transport problems have other teams reported?

India's team faced similar issues at the airport, with long immigration queues linked to accreditation problems. Indian Olympic Association treasurer and chef de mission Sahdev Yadav called them "teething problems" and said the situation had since been resolved.

South Korean athletes also reported long waits, with some spending more than five hours at the airport, according to Yonhap.

They have lodged a formal complaint after a person dressed as Japanese warlord Toyotomi Hideyoshi appeared at a welcoming ceremony on Tuesday. Hideyoshi led Japan's invasions of Korea between 1592 and 1598, making the depiction especially sensitive given the countries' history. Japan later ruled Korea as a colony from 1910 to 1945, adding further weight to the dispute. The Olympic Council of Asia and the local organising committee have not yet responded.

The Asian Games officially open in Nagoya and Aichi prefecture on Saturday, with organisers still facing pressure to address the accommodation and transport complaints before competition gets under way.