"We are sorry, we are so sorry!" As Japan's Jo Jik-wi (Director) apologized, OCA boldly declared, "There was no disruption! It was merely a 0.000001% error" [Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games]

*This content was translated by AI.

As the "2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games," held in Japan for the first time in 32 years since the Hiroshima Games, concluded on the 4th, an awkward discrepancy emerged between the co-organizers at the official joint press conference. Immediately after the local Jo Jik-wi (Director) bowed their head and offered a formal apology for successive operational disruptions of the Games, a senior official from the Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) displayed an audacious attitude, stating that "there were no errors."

According to reports by Japanese media outlet "The Digest," on the 4th, the closing day of the Games, the OCA and the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games Organizing Committee (AINADOC) held a joint press conference.

Since the opening ceremony, the Games have faced fierce criticism over operational incompetence and transportation disruptions. The South Korean men's basketball national team missed their morning court practice entirely before the final game because the shuttle bus arranged by the organizing committee did not arrive. The South Korean men's football national team experienced an even more absurd incident. A driver of the assigned bus drove the vehicle to a completely unrelated baseball stadium instead of the football stadium, resulting in a near-miss delivery accident where they barely arrived just before kickoff. In addition, complaints about travel delays and inconveniences from various national teams poured in.

In response, Hidetaka Omura, Governor of Aichi Prefecture, who was in charge of the Jo Jik-wi (Director) for the Games, stepped forward to offer a formal apology with a stern expression. Oh Mu-ra (Chairman) stated, "Operating the Games was a major challenge that required responding to various problems every day," adding, "I sincerely want to bow my head and apologize to the athletes who were inconvenienced and troubled by transportation delays and other issues. We did our best while making continuous improvements every day," frankly acknowledging the mistakes.

However, before the apology from the Japanese side's chairman had even finished, a strange scene unfolded. Hussein Al-Musalam, Secretary-General of the OCA, who was sitting next to him, asked for a speaking opportunity, saying, "I would like to add some remarks."

Secretary-General Musalam began making statements that rendered the Oh Mu-ra (Chairman)'s apology meaningless. He emphasized, "It is a massive festival where more than 60,000 people moved every day, including 17,000 athletes and officials, 7,000 media personnel, 5,000 technical officials, and 30,000 volunteers," claiming that "there were absolutely no errors."

He continued, "Out of more than 100,000 vehicle movements, only one or two were delayed. Let's look at the numbers. This accounts for a mere 0.000001% of total movements," stressing that "one or two delays out of 100,000 cannot be called a 'system failure.'" He even added, "The only notable difficulty was the heavy rain that hit Tokyo and Nagoya, and despite such natural disasters, the Games proceeded smoothly and numerous records were set."

The top leadership of the organizing side effectively dismissed the damage to athletes who had prepared for four years on-site and suffered fatal blows to their condition by ruining their games and training as "a trivial noise of just 0.000001%." The OCA's discrepancy, boldly displaying confidence by claiming "there was no disruption" at a venue where the local Japanese Jo Jik-wi (Director) acknowledged mistakes and bowed their head, appeared absurd and puzzling even from the perspective of Japanese media reporting on the incident.

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*This content was translated by AI.