Japan is known for world-class events - but the Asian Games were chaotic

From the Olympics to Tokyo's annual video game convention, Japan has a strong track record of hosting major international events. But this year's Asian Games in Nagoya and the wider Aichi Prefecture were marred by problems.

There were diplomatic blunders, transport errors and accommodation chaos. In comment fields online, some branded it the "worst Games in history" and urged a "full investigation".

Prof Kozo Tomiyama, who studies major sporting events at Osaka University, believes organizers were unable to handle the unexpected.

"If these problems damage international confidence in Japan's ability to operate sporting events, they could also affect Japan's ability to attract international competitions in the future," he warned.

The deputy director general of the Games, Takaaki Omi, admitted that the organizers had faced a range of unforeseen issues, but insisted they took on feedback and made improvements.

Before the tournament had even begun, participants were complaining about too few rooms and poor-quality accommodation.

Organizers had decided to forgo building a traditional athletes' village to cut costs, and were instead housing participants in hotels and container-style units across Nagoya. A top Korean basketball official said tall athletes housed in the containers were struggling to "stretch their legs out on the beds".

Last-minute additions to the total number of participants strained the city's capacity so much that an Italian cruise ship with 1,500 cabins was used to fill the gap.

Source: BBC News World RSS (Open Press / Translated Full Text)