Asian Games 2026 Marred by Accommodation and Transport Chaos as Athletes Arrive in Japan

The 2026 Asian Games are yet to formally open in Nagoya, Aichi Prefecture, but athletes arriving in Japan have encountered significant logistical disruptions. Accommodation, accreditation and transportation problems have affected delegations from multiple countries in the days before the opening ceremony on September 19, with even the host nation forced to arrange alternative arrangements.

Unlike traditional multisport events, the Aichi-Nagoya Games lack a central Athletes' Village. Instead, more than 17,000 athletes and officials are distributed across hotels, temporary container-style units and the Costa Serena, an Italian cruise ship docked at Nagoya Port. The Olympic Council of Asia defended the model as a way to avoid expensive post-Games infrastructure, but the unconventional system has come under severe pressure as delegations arrived this week.

Indian athletes have been among those most affected. Chef de Mission Sahdev Yadav reported that accommodation problems affected approximately 30 to 35 Indian athletes after some were removed from the organisers' accommodation list, forcing India to arrange separate hotels. Shooters faced journeys of roughly 50-60 kilometres between their hotels and the shooting range, with one member reporting a trip that took close to two hours due to delayed buses. India's wushu coaches and support staff waited more than six hours in an assembly area before being allocated rooms on the cruise ship, with one coach saying the group had little more than airport snacks and water during the wait before reaching their rooms after 11 pm. MMA athlete Varun Sanyal documented waiting approximately 10 hours for accommodation, only to find two other athletes had been allocated the same room. Women's cricket coach Amol Muzumdar described his team's experience as smooth, suggesting the difficulties have not affected every venue uniformly.

China's delegation reported its own arrival problems. Gymnast Zhang Boheng, a two-time world champion and double silver medallist at the Paris Olympics, said he and teammates waited approximately six hours after arriving. "I'm totally exhausted," Zhang said in a video circulated on Chinese social media. He noted breakfast was at around 7 am but he did not get another proper meal until close to 7 pm. Registration and administrative procedures delayed the delegation before heading to the cruise ship, where heavy rain created further obstacles to boarding. Some members eventually booked hotel rooms themselves because they could no longer continue waiting. The Chinese consulate in Nagoya contacted Chinese residents to help transport members of the badminton team after shuttle-bus problems and public transport shortages. Chinese social media accumulated more than 94 million views on the hashtag roughly translating to "Asian Games absurd."

South Korea has issued some of the strongest criticism. Korean basketball official Jung Jae-Yong described temporary container-style accommodation as the "worst it has ever been," while players complained beds were too short for taller athletes. Basketball player Byeon Jun-Hyeong posted footage showing a leaking sink. South Korean athletes reportedly faced airport delays exceeding five hours, and the football team was taken to a baseball venue rather than its intended stadium ahead of a match against Qatar, causing late arrival.

Team Japan has also encountered accommodation problems. Reuters reported that Japan began considering alternative arrangements after instances in which male and female athletes were allocated shared rooms. Organisers faced reports of coaches, officials and athletes placed together due to room-allocation issues. Japan's deputy Chef de Mission Hisashi Mizutori said officials were working on adjustments and could use backup accommodation where necessary.

The organising committee had initially planned an Athletes' Village but abandoned the idea to control expenditure. OCA Director General Husain Al-Musallam defended the decision, arguing that organisers must also consider what happens to expensive purpose-built accommodation after the event ends. The eventual number of registered athletes and officials surpassed the 17,000 the organising committee had originally planned for, contributing to the accommodation pressures.