Asian Games stumble before opening with leaks, lost buses

NAGOYA, Japan — A sports federation official who relocated to the cruise ship athletes' village at Kinjo Pier near Nagoya Port expressed disappointment on Wednesday, stating, "This is my first international competition like this." While the accommodations on the cruise ship are superior to those at the container-based village at Garden Pier, athletes on the ship will be confined to the vessel throughout the Games, encountering significant challenges in accessing competition venues.

Simultaneously, athletes residing in the container village faced difficulties commuting to shuttle buses in heavy rain on the same day. The official from the second village lamented, "Once you step outside the containers, there is nowhere to escape either the rain or the sun." Despite the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games, Asia's largest sporting event, slated to commence on Saturday, the Games are already plagued by severe operational issues.

The organizing committee's unprecedented decision to forego constructing a specialized athletes' village, citing cost reductions and environmental concerns, has introduced numerous complications.