'Even if Korea criticizes Japan, they have no right to complain' — Japan also shocked by unprecedented incident where South Korean flag fails to be raised at gold medal ceremony: "Too ashamed to look up" [Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games]

*This content was translated by AI.

The situation has reached a point where even the host nation is turning its back completely. As the poor management by the host country continued until the final day of the Games, tens of thousands of Japanese citizens expressed shame and anger, triggering an explosion of critical public opinion within Japan.

Japanese media outlet "Sports Hochi" reported on the 4th, "An unbelievable incident occurred at the award ceremony for the men's football final of the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games held at Toyota Stadium on the 3rd." The report added, "The national flag of South Korea, the winning country, was not raised, prompting fierce boos from the Korean cheering squad and leaving the players unable to hide their bewilderment."

On that day, the South Korea U-23 men's national football team, led by coach Lee Min-seong, defeated host nation Japan 1-0 to win the gold medal. It was a moment when they built a golden tower of four consecutive Asian Games titles, following their victories at the 2014 Incheon, 2018 Jakarta-Palembang, and 2022 Hangzhou Games.

However, an absurd disaster occurred at the award ceremony, which should have been the most glorious moment. Immediately after the gold medals were awarded, the national anthem of South Korea was played, but due to the inexperience of the flag-raising staff, the flag stopped near the ground with only the South Korean flag hanging. While other flags were being raised, officials frantically reached out, but the South Korean flag did not rise even an inch until the national anthem had completely finished. The South Korean players, who had been standing with their hands over their hearts singing the national anthem, stared at the stationary flag with stern expressions, unable to hide their astonishment, while fierce boos and protests erupted from the South Korean cheering squad in the stands.

This incident was the definitive proof of the operational incompetence that had plagued the South Korean delegation throughout the Games. Previously, South Korea suffered a diplomatic disaster when the national anthem of North Korea was played instead of the South Korean national anthem at a men's hockey match, and faced humiliation when they were referred to as Taiwan at the modern pentathlon award ceremony. Before the football and basketball finals, repeated transportation paralyzes that raised suspicions of intent occurred, such as official training buses not arriving or cars being driven to the baseball stadium. The failure to raise the South Korean flag at the football final award ceremony marked the peak of this sloppy management.

When related reports were released, Japan's largest portal site, "Yahoo! Japan," was literally in an uproar. More than 5,000 comments were posted on the article within half a day. A stream of outcries from Japanese citizens condemning the comprehensive incompetence of the host country continued.

Domestic netizens expressed intense reactions, stating, "As a fellow Japanese person, I am too ashamed to look up," "To be unable to raise the flag until the national anthem ends—did they even conduct a single rehearsal?" (Note: The source text contains a likely typo or mistranslation of 'rehearsal' as 'Navy Headquarters'; translated literally as per source), "We have no right to complain even if we are misunderstood as having carried out sabotage operations through clumsy home-field advantage," and "The Games budget has ballooned to 370 billion yen (approximately 3.3 trillion won), yet the level of service and operation is the worst. We must hold them accountable for this waste of tax money, and Japan should not even dream of hosting international events for a while."

Painful criticisms from experts also followed. Economic commentator Kadohara Takashi pointed out, "Despite massive expenses being invested, major accidents occurred one after another due to lack of preparation, including the playing of national anthems, accommodation, bus transportation, and flag raising. Japan's international credibility in hosting events has completely collapsed." Football specialists also criticized the organizing committee's lack of competence and irresponsible on-site management, bowing their heads in shame for this national disgrace.

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*This content was translated by AI.