Asian Games Chief Defends 'Functional' Rooms After Backlash
Organizers are relying on cruise ships, container huts and hotels after complaints, leaks and rain-related evacuations exposed accommodation shortfalls for more than 17,000 people.
- The 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games open Saturday in Nagoya with more than 17,000 participants, but organizers face mounting criticism over unconventional housing solutions and operational failures affecting athletes.
- Seeking to cut costs and meet environmental goals, the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games Organizing Committee opted against a dedicated athletes' village, dispersing participants among hotels, a 290 meters Italian cruise ship, and temporary wooden container huts at Garden Pier.
- South Korean officials branded the container huts the "worst ever," citing short beds and cramped conditions. Athlete Byun Jun-hyung posted a video of a leaking sink with the caption, "Please help us."
- Transportation mishaps have disrupted schedules, with buses delivering teams to wrong venues. Japan's deputy Chef de Mission Hisashi Mizutori confirmed credential activation delays left some athletes waiting for hours upon arrival.
- Organizers are negotiating adjustments and preparing backup hotel rooms secured by the Japanese Olympic Committee. While officials maintain accommodations are "functional," the committee faces pressure to ensure participant safety amid ongoing challenges.
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Two days before the opening of the Asian Games, the accommodation conditions of the participants continued to give rise to difficulties. In the face of problems with the allocation of rooms, the Japanese delegation was considering resorting to hotels reserved in a fall-back solution.
Asian Games accommodation row deepens as Japan team reports men and women sharing rooms
Accommodation problems continue to affect the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games preparations. Even Japan's team is exploring alternative lodging options for its athletes. Organizers faced challenges housing seventeen thousand participants and officials for the event. A cruise ship and container-style huts are being used for some attendees. Japan's Olympic Committee secured backup hotel rooms as a contingency measure.
Asian Games chief defends 'functional' rooms after backlash
More than 17,000 competitors and officials are expected at the continent's biggest sporting spectacular, which opens on Saturday in Nagoya. In a bid to cut costs, organisers are housing athletes and officials in temporary accommodation ranging from a cruise liner and wooden containers to hotel rooms. The plan has run into immediate problems, with South Korean officials branding the container huts the "worst ever" and saying the beds are too shor…
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Asian Games chief defends ‘functional’ rooms after backlash
Accommodation for Asian Games athletes in Japan is "functional" and efforts are being made to deal with numerous complaints from disgruntled teams, a chief organiser told AFP.
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