North Korea's national anthem is played instead of South Korea's during a pre-match ceremony before the men's hockey Group A match between South Korea and Bangladesh at Green Stadium in Kakamigahara, Gifu Prefecture, Japan, on Sept. 18. [Yonhap]
North Korea's national anthem is played instead of South Korea's during a pre-match ceremony before the men's hockey Group A match between South Korea and Bangladesh at Green Stadium in Kakamigahara, Gifu Prefecture, Japan, on Sept. 18. [Yonhap]

The acting chairman of the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games organizing committee apologized for a series of operational mishaps but said the games overall have been "quite successful."

Nagoya Mayor Hirosawa Ichiro, who serves as acting organizing committee chairman, told a regular press briefing at Nagoya City Hall on Wednesday that the anthem mix-up and athlete transport problems were "things that should never have happened" and that he was "sorry." "I apologize to the athletes and officials who were inconvenienced," he said, according to Japan's Kyodo News, Jiji Press and the Yomiuri Shimbun.

Hirosawa attributed the repeated incidents to "human error and insufficient communication with delegations," and noted that the games involve more venues than the Olympics, making logistics — including athlete transport — more complex.

"I am sorry that mistakes occurred, but the staff on the ground are doing their utmost," he said. "The games have been producing great moments every day. I think they are going quite well."

The Yomiuri Shimbun quoted Hirosawa as saying: "When I weigh the positives against the negatives, the positives are overwhelmingly greater, so I think it has been quite successful."

The organizing committee's upbeat self-assessment stands in contrast to the string of operational problems South Korea's delegation encountered during the games.

On Sept. 18, North Korea's national anthem was played instead of South Korea's before the men's hockey match between South Korea and Bangladesh. On Sept. 20, the day of the men's basketball final, a bus scheduled to arrive at the South Korean team's accommodation at 10 a.m. never showed up, forcing the team to compete in the final without a practice session.

On Sept. 28, the organizing committee mixed up the buses for the South Korean and Pakistani men's volleyball teams, sending each to the wrong venue, according to Japanese broadcaster CBC.

Accommodation and transport problems surfaced from the early days of the games. The organizing committee chose not to build a dedicated athletes' village, citing cost savings, and instead distributed delegations among container-style temporary lodgings, hotels and the cruise ship Costa Serena, according to AFP. There were not enough rooms for the roughly 17,000 participants, and some athletes waited hours to board the cruise ship. Buses to competition and training venues arrived late or not at all.

In response, organizing committee Secretary-General Murate Satoshi said on Saturday: "Regardless of the cause, the responsibility for providing services lies with the organizing committee. I sincerely apologize for the mistakes."

Empty seats also drew fire alongside the operational failures. About a quarter of the 30,000-seat Mizuho Park Athletics Stadium was filled for the men's and women's 100-meter finals on Friday night, according to AFP. The organizing committee said ticket sales for eight sports, including soccer, had not reached 60 percent.

Fewer than 1,000 spectators attended the women's soccer semifinal between South Korea and Japan last month at a stadium with a capacity of 50,000.

The games close on Sunday.


dbsdn1110@heraldcorp.com