Indian diaspora in Japan offers homes amid Asian Games housing woes

NEW DELHI – Indians living in Japan are standing by to house India’s athletes at the Asian Games if accommodation shortages continue, officials said on Sept 19.

Asia’s biggest sporting spectacular opens officially in Nagoya and Aichi prefecture on Sept 19, but the build-up to the event has been dogged by problems.

To save money, Japan decided against having an athletes’ village, with organisers choosing to put up competitors in a combination of hotel rooms, temporary wooden container-style huts and on a cruise ship.

But many of the 17,000 athletes and officials descending on Japan for the Games have been unhappy with their allocated temporary accommodation, saying rooms have no storage space for kit and the beds are too small.

India has moved some of its 500 athletes competing in the Games from the huts into hotels. It has also put in place contingency plans if the shortage of suitable rooms gets worse as more competitors and support staff arrive in the coming days.

“We have booked hotels for our athletes here,” Sahdev Yadav, India’s chef de mission at the Asian Games and the Indian Olympic Association (IOA)‘s treasurer, said.

“But if the hotel rooms fall short, then, yes, we have Indian households here on standby to accommodate the athletes,” he added. “They are all more than happy to welcome the stars at their homes.”

Reports said the Indian embassy in Japan has helped reach out to around 2,000 families in Nagoya, some of whom are prepared to help.

Organisers said the accommodation is safe, cost-effective and comfortable, and Japan should be applauded for trying to do something different. AFP