"Why is it so empty when it was definitely sold out?" Empty seats scattered throughout the audience at the AG opening ceremony... even Japanese officials are taken aback.

*This content was translated by AI.

"It was definitely sold out, so why is it so empty?"

At the opening ceremony of the Asian Games held in Japan for the first time in 32 years, more empty seats than expected were spotted, triggering puzzled reactions from locals in Japan.

The opening ceremony of the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games was held on the 19th at Paloma Mizuho Stadium in Nagoya, Japan.

This marks the beginning of a series of intense matches continuing until October 4.

This tournament marks the 20th edition of the Summer Asian Games. Since the first edition held in New Delhi, India, in 1951, it has continued its history for 75 years.

This marks the first time in 32 years that the Asian Games are being held in the host country, Japan. It is the third edition of the Asian Games to be hosted by Japan, following the 1958 Tokyo and 1994 Hiroshima tournaments.

More than 15,000 athletes from 45 countries and regions will participate in this tournament.

The opening ceremony was attended by the Emperor and Empress of Japan. During the opening stage, various performances were presented alongside a performance by renowned Japanese violinist Hakase Taro.

Following this, delegations from each country entered in turn, officially marking the start of the grand Asian sports festival.

However, apart from the glamorous opening ceremony, the scene in the stands drew attention from local Japanese observers.

This was because a significant number of empty seats were noticeable throughout the audience area.

The Japanese media outlet Daily Sports explained that while opening ceremony tickets were reported to have sold out once, additional sales began after the number of personnel and production plans were finalized on the 8th.

At the same time, he pointed out that "due to this reason, many empty seats were observed at the actual opening ceremony site, leading to a series of questioning reactions on Japanese social media."

According to the report, a Japanese netizen responded, "I remember that tickets for the Asian Games opening ceremony were sold out; aren't there a lot of empty seats?"

Another netizen expressed doubt, asking, "Isn't the audience too small?"

In addition, there were reactions saying, "The stands are completely empty even just before the opening ceremony."

Daily Sports reported that as reports continued about difficulties in mobilizing spectators for large-scale stadiums, the noticeable empty seats at the opening ceremony sparked widespread surprise on Japanese social media.

Meanwhile, the South Korean delegation also signaled the official start of the tournament through today's opening ceremony.

The Republic of Korea entered the venue as the 16th team based on the country code 'KOR'.

The flag bearers for the South Korean delegation were table tennis star Shin Yu-bin (Korean Air) and rowing veteran Kim Dong-yong (Jinju City Hall).

Shin Yu-bin and Kim Dong-yong, holding a large South Korean flag together, led the delegation into the venue with bright smiles as the Republic of Korea was introduced.

On this day, 50 athletes from the Korean delegation participated in the opening ceremony across nine sports: women's basketball, boxing, rowing, yachting, surfing, padel, wushu, MMA, and table tennis.

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*This content was translated by AI.