JOC President Seiko Hashimoto speaks of difficulties in responding to the excessive number of participants in the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games

Seiko Hashimoto (61), president of the Japanese Olympic Committee (JOC), said that it was very difficult to respond to the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games as more people participated than expected.

Chairman Hashimoto attended a press conference held at the Main Press Center located in Port Messe, Nagoya, Aichi Prefecture, Japan on the 3rd and announced the performance of the Japanese athletes in this competition and the evaluation of the competition made by the Chairman of the National Olympic Committee (NOC).

Chairman Hashimoto and the JOC, along with the Games Organizing Committee, prepared for the Summer Asian Games to be held in their country for the first time in 32 years.

Chairman Hashimoto bowed his head, saying, “The exact number of participants in the competition will be ultimately revealed by the organizing committee,” but added, “It was very difficult to respond as there were more participants than planned, and it caused inconvenience to the athletes.”

He also added that there were many new events added less than a year before the opening of the competition, so it was difficult to organize the schedule.

While the organizing committee announced that the number of participants would be 15,000, the Olympic Council of Asia (OCA), which organizes the Asian Games, expected 17,000, resulting in disruptions in lodging and transportation for the participating athletes for a significant period of time.

Chairman Hashimoto, a former chairman of the 2020 Tokyo Olympics Organizing Committee, said, "No matter how much we simulate, there are some things that cannot be helped," and explained that the controversy over transportation arrangements that occurred during the Games was also inevitable.

In response to many criticisms raised about the fact that an athletes' village was not built at this event, which was the first international competition held in Japan to be held in a wide-ranging local autonomous region, Chairman Hashimoto countered by saying, "There were no problems with the content of the cruise athlete's village and the container athlete's village. There were many criticisms, but there were also many positive comments such as 'the meals at the cruise athlete's village were really delicious' and 'we were treated well.'"

Instead of building an athletes' village, the Games organizing committee rented a large Italian cruise ship for about 39 billion won and accommodated 4,000 people.

Chairman Hashimoto also said that he was impressed by the skills of Yuki Kurihara, an 11-year-old Japanese elementary school champion in the e-sports 'Puyo Puyo'.

Chairman Hashimoto said, "I was lucky enough to watch Kurihara's semifinal match. I was honestly moved, and it made me think about how to foster such abilities in other sports."

He continued, "I was able to train for only an hour a day because of my academy studies, but I achieved results," and emphasized, "I'm sure he has abilities that can be applied to all sports."

Chairman Hashimoto is a former Olympic medalist in ice speed skating and cycling.

Chairman Hashimoto emphasized, "Thanks to the advancement and dynamism of young athletes, Japan has won the most medals in Asian Games history this time," and added, "We will closely analyze the performance after the Games in order to continue this to the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics."