'Find your own room': Japan says can't handle added Asian Games numbers

TOKYO: Japanese organisers have told late additions to next month's Asian Games to find their own accommodation, saying they don't have the money or space to deal with ballooning participant numbers.

About 15,000 athletes and officials were initially expected at the Games, which are being held in Nagoya and the wider Aichi area from Sep 19 to Oct 4.

That was already more than the Olympics, but the Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) last week put the number at 17,000, comprising 11,000 athletes and 6,000 officials.

There is no dedicated athletes' village, with organisers instead relying on a cruise ship, temporary wooden containers and hotels.

In March, the OCA added teqball and padel to the sporting programme.

Organising committee president Hideaki Omura told reporters that they had "neither the manpower nor the budget to make the necessary arrangements" for extra participants.

"The host city agreement specifies a delegation of 15,000 people," Omura, who also serves as the governor of Aichi Prefecture, said this week.

"We have not set aside a budget for any more than that. There is simply nowhere for them to stay."

Organisers have opted for temporary athlete accommodation to cut costs, hiring the Italian cruise ship Costa Serena for the event.

Between 4,000 and 5,000 athletes will stay on the ship, while a further 2,000 athletes and officials will stay in the shipping container-style huts.

The rest will be in hotels, including in Tokyo, where swimming, diving and equestrian events will take place.

Reports this week said the local organising committee had asked the OCA to reduce the number of participants.

"If they still wish to come, they will have to make their own arrangements," said Omura.

AFP has repeatedly contacted the OCA for comment.

Nagoya mayor Ichiro Hirosawa, who serves as acting chairman of the organising committee, said on Wednesday (Aug 26) that it was "difficult to accommodate this number, both in terms of time and physical capacity".

"From a cost perspective we are operating on a tight budget and it is difficult," he said.