The 2026 Asian Games are being held in Aichi Prefecture and Nagoya, Japan, from September 19 to October 4, with more than 11,000 athletes from 45 countries expected to compete. Football and basketball competitions have already begun, while the main event will use 54 venues.
The 20th edition is facing accommodation and transport problems. Athletes have reported cramped rooms, undersized beds and some shared male-female room assignments, while hundreds were briefly evacuated after record rainfall in Nagoya.
A 43-sport programme across Aichi and Nagoya
The record-sized programme includes sports ranging from athletics, swimming and gymnastics to cricket, esports, breaking, sport climbing and rugby sevens. The six debut sports are surfing, freestyle BMX, mixed martial arts, padel, teqball and virtual taekwondo.
Japan is hosting the Asian Games for a third time, after Tokyo in 1958 and Hiroshima in 1994. Hiroshima recorded Japan’s largest medal haul at the Games, with 218 medals. Read the context: Medal Table and Competition Overview of the 2026 Commonwealth Games.
How organisers are housing competitors
The traditional athletes’ village has been replaced by a combination of local hotels, temporary wooden huts and the Costa Serena cruise ship. Between 4,000 and 5,000 athletes are due to stay on the ship, while about 2,000 athletes and officials will use huts in Nagoya’s Garden Pier area.
Organisers said they had expected about 15,000 people, including athletes and officials, but the total rose above 17,000 after new sports were added. The South Korean men’s football team was taken to a baseball stadium instead of its training venue, delaying its session by 30 minutes.
Flooding and room complaints add pressure
Nagoya Mayor Ichiro Hirosawa said athletes were unharmed after flooding linked to record rainfall and said officials were not worried about venue conditions or holding the Games as planned. Related coverage: Glasgow prepares to host the 2026 Commonwealth Games on short notice with reduced events.
The Japan team has been considering alternative arrangements after complaints about room size, beds and room assignments. The accommodation concerns have emerged as a typhoon approaches, according to the supplied account.
Links to the Los Angeles 2028 Olympics
The Asian Games provide Olympic qualification opportunities in hockey, squash, surfing, archery, sailing, tennis and triathlon. In hockey, the men’s and women’s winners qualify directly unless they have already secured places through the FIH Pro League, in which case the berth passes to the next-best team.
In squash, the men’s and women’s champions can qualify for one of 16 Olympic places, provided they are also in the PSA top 50 on May 22, 2028. The highest-ranked surfer in each gender receives qualification through the continental quota.
What happens next
The opening ceremony is scheduled for September 19 at Paloma Mizuho Stadium in Nagoya. The torch relay, inaugurated in Nagoya on August 22, is due to visit 40 municipalities before the cauldron is lit.
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