Nagoya mayor says sorry for Asian Games ‘inconveniences’

NAGOYA – Nagoya’s mayor apologised to athletes on Sept 30 for “inconveniences” at the Asian Games in the Japanese city following a string of complaints.

The continent’s biggest sporting event has been dogged by problems including a shortage of beds and issues with transport.

There are over 17,000 athletes and officials, more than in the Olympics, and countries have accused local organisers of mismanagement.

“We must offer our apologies to the athletes and others affected by these inconveniences,” said Mayor Ichiro Hirosawa, who is also acting chairman of the local organising committee.

“We must sincerely reflect on the mishandling that occurred. There were human errors and a lack of communication with the national teams.

“We are responding based on what has happened.”

Unlike past Games, there is no athletes’ village in a bid to save money, with participants instead sleeping in temporary wooden units, on a cruise ship and in hotels.

Some teams have complained about the temporary cabins, even saying the beds are too short.

Early in the Games, local organisers apologised to South Korea after the North Korean national anthem was played by mistake.

There have been issues with buses for athletes not running when they should, not turning up at all or going to the wrong venues.

Some athletes were also stranded for hours at the airport when they landed in Nagoya for the start of the Games on Sept 19.

There have been other concerns too, as fewer than 1,000 spectators watched hosts Japan beat South Korea in the semi-finals of the women’s football competition, with a top official admitting on Sept 30 that attendance at some events was “disappointing”.

Japanese organisers have been on the defensive over attendances ever since the opening ceremony on Sept 19 took place in front of thousands of empty seats.

Officials said on that occasion that the threat of a typhoon had put people off, and heavy rain fell from Sept 27 to Sept 29.

While some competitions have played out to healthy crowds, others have struggled to attract fans.

The first women’s football semi-final on Sept 29 at the 50,000-capacity stadium in Shizuoka, a venue for the 2002 FIFA World Cup, saw North Korea beat China 2-0 in front of an official attendance of 564.

With rain falling steadily, 998 spectators then watched hosts Japan overcome South Korea by the same scoreline. Japan and North Korea will meet for gold on Oct 2 at the same stadium.

Takashi Yamazaki, head of ticketing, told reporters on Sept 30: “Sports that are selling well are... at 80% or 90% or more.”

But he added: “On the other hand, the large venues for baseball and football, as well as athletics, have struggled from the start because of their size.

“Tickets usually surge in the final stretch before an event. But as you know, there was a long spell of cold rain, and sales stalled.

“We were already struggling more than expected, and then sales stalled further. That is a little disappointing.”

Organisers in Aichi-Nagoya said on Sept 29 that more than one million tickets had been sold for the continent’s biggest sporting spectacular.

But they also admitted they were “not satisfied” after the men’s and women’s 100m, the blue-riband athletics events, took place in front of thousands of empty seats on Sept 25.

“We will keep aiming for full stadiums, keep selling tickets and work to make sure people who have secured seats actually come,” said Satoshi Murate, secretary-general of the Asian Games organising committee, in response to a question from AFP.

In a press release on Sept 29, organisers said the overall ticket sales rate was expected to be more than 70%.

The Games, which are taking place in Nagoya and Aichi prefecture, end on Oct 4. AFP