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The story
At the Asian Games currently underway in Aichi and Nagoya, a string of bus delays ferrying athletes and last-minute schedule changes prompted JOC President Seiko Hashimoto to apologize at an October 3 press conference, saying “We caused the athletes a great deal of trouble.” On the 5ch Entertainment & Sports News+ thread, many comments were skeptical about the Games continuing at all or Japan bidding to host again, with remarks like “There doesn’t need to be a next time.” But the thread also carried more measured takes — noting the early confusion stemmed from roughly 2,000 more athletes showing up than planned, with things settling down in the second half — plus reports that the French newspaper L’Équipe sharply criticized the organizers’ mishandling, laying out points that went well beyond simple pro-or-con reactions.
10/3 (Sat) 11:01 update
Sports Hochi
Japanese Olympic Committee (JOC) President Seiko Hashimoto held a press conference in Nagoya on the 3rd and apologized, saying “We caused the athletes a great deal of trouble,” after bus delays transporting athletes and sudden schedule changes — including in track and field — caused confusion at the ongoing Asian Games in Aichi and Nagoya.
Source: news.yahoo.co.jp / Read the original article here
What people said
so they still haven't given up on the Sapporo Olympics?
"We want to use this for next time" —
in the service industry, there is no next time.
Blame the people who kept shouting "athletes first!"
For Japan this was nothing but a punishment game.
Neglecting the meals was unacceptable.
And messing up a country's name/flag is just the worst.
How far has Japan's standard fallen?
Should hand it over to rapidly developing Southeast Asia.
Feels like the complaints have been tapering off as the Games progress.
Might be getting easier to manage now that some athletes have finished and headed home.
France's L'Équipe: "There probably won't be a next time" (sharply criticizing the Asian Games organizing committee for one blunder after another)
Forcing it through only tanks the reputation like this time — it's a net loss.
The operational chops just aren't there.
Background and Key Points of the Debate
The Asian Games are organized by the Olympic Council of Asia (OCA), with on-the-ground operations run by the Aichi-Nagoya organizing committee — the JOC and President Hashimoto aren’t the ones directly responsible for running the competition. Some thread posts overlook this division of roles and mistakenly write as if “the JOC was running the event,” though others — like posts #40 and #41 in the thread — do raise questions about the organizing committee’s role. The discussion mainly splits into two camps: those arguing that after this string of blunders, neither Japan nor the Asian Games itself should host again, and those taking the cooler view that the early chaos was largely due to roughly 2,000 more athletes showing up than planned, with conditions improving in the second half of the Games. Some posts also note that the French sports paper L’Équipe criticized the Games’ management, suggesting the harsh assessment wasn’t confined to domestic commentary but came from overseas media too. That said, the link some posts draw to Sapporo’s Winter Olympics bid remains unsubstantiated speculation and should be treated with caution.
*This article is compiled from excerpts and a summary of the 5ch (Entertainment & Sports News+) thread “[Asian Games] JOC President Seiko Hashimoto Apologizes to Participating Athletes, “We’re Sorry for the Trouble” — Transport Bus Delays, Sudden Schedule Change Issues, “Want to Learn From This for Next Time”.”
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