Empty seats are visible throughout the stands during the opening ceremony on Sept. 19. [Yonhap]
Empty seats are visible throughout the stands during the opening ceremony on Sept. 19. [Yonhap]

The organizing committee for the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games sent a mass email inviting volunteers to attend the closing ceremony free of charge, drawing criticism that the move was a bid to fill empty seats after ticket sales fell below 60 percent.

According to Tokyo Sports, the organizing committee's volunteer division sent a mass email to volunteers on Saturday titled "Regarding an invitation to the closing ceremony." The email said volunteers were being invited "for the purpose of fostering exchanges among volunteers."

The email included a link to an application form and noted that a lottery would be held if applications exceeded available spots, with all applicants to be notified of the results regardless of outcome.

When asked about the matter at a press conference in Nagoya on Thursday, the organizing committee said it was "currently in the process of coordinating with various internal departments" and that "details have not yet been finalized." It added that it was "exploring ways to express gratitude to the volunteers who have supported the Games and to provide an opportunity for them to interact with one another."

According to the organizing committee, closing ceremony ticket sales as of Monday stood below 60 percent. Japan's Chunichi Shimbun reported that the committee disclosed at a Wednesday press conference that fewer than 10,000 closing ceremony tickets had been sold.

The closing ceremony is scheduled for Monday at 6 p.m. at Mizuho Park Athletics Stadium in Nagoya, the same venue as the opening ceremony. The roughly 30,000-seat stadium also drew criticism for poor attendance at the opening ceremony on Sept. 19, with large sections of the stands left empty.

Overall ticket sales for the Games have also been sluggish. The organizing committee disclosed for the first time on Tuesday that cumulative ticket sales had reached 1 million as of Monday.

Kyodo News reported that the figure falls short of half the committee's target of 2.3 million tickets. Sales exceeded 90 percent for the opening ceremony and 17 sports including badminton, while the closing ceremony and six other sports including soccer and hockey remained below 60 percent.

In response, the organizing committee posted a statement on its official website on Wednesday, rebuffing the criticism by saying that 2.3 million "is a figure close to the total number of seats across all Asian Games venues." It added that in practice, seats must be set aside for press and VIP guests, and that some seats cannot be sold as tickets because camera placements obstruct sightlines.


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