The Aporia · By the numbers: A look at the Asian Games in Nagoya, Japan

By the numbers: A look at the Asian Games in Nagoya, Japan

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APA MLA Chicago

Wade, S. (2026, September 18). By the numbers: A look at the Asian Games in Nagoya, Japan. Toronto Star. https://www.thestar.com/news/world/asia/by-the-numbers-a-look-at-the-asian-games-in-nagoya-japan/article_459cffc0-39e6-5bf9-8935-74b76150c15f.html

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Quick Summary

The Asian Games open this Saturday in Nagoya, Japan, featuring over 11,000 athletes from 45 countries across Asia. This edition includes a mix of traditional Olympic sports and unique regional disciplines like kabaddi and sepaktakraw. China leads with the most gold medals (201) from the previous games in 2023, followed by Japan (52) and South Korea (42). Notably, North Korea is sending fewer athletes than in recent years.

Written by AI on 2026-09-18, from this article's own text only (the story summary below draws on all the coverage).

AI analysis

Story summary

The 2026 Asian Games, officially known as Aichi-Nagoya, opened on September 19 in Nagoya, Japan. With over 11,000 athletes from 45 countries and regions, it is the second-largest multi-sport event after the Summer Olympics and larger than the upcoming Paris 2024 Olympics which had approximately 10,700 participants. The games feature 43 sports including Asian specialties like kurash, kabaddi, and sepaktakraw.

However, the buildup to the games was marred by several issues such as accommodation shortages with up to 5,000 athletes housed on a cruise ship and transport problems leading to complaints from officials. The opening ceremony aimed to provide some respite after these mishaps, though political tensions were evident when Taiwan's sports minister Lee Yang faced temporary exclusion from an event before being allowed back in due to a misunderstanding.

The games include debut events like e-sports and will conclude on October 4, with athletes competing for continental glory across various disciplines. Notable competitors include tennis sensation Alex Eala of the Philippines who is favored to win gold and secure automatic qualification for the LA 2028 Olympics. Despite initial hiccups, organizers hope the ceremony marks a turning point towards a successful event.

Written for “Asian Games 2026 Issues Growth” on 2026-11-01, grounded in this article and the 6 other(s) covering the same event.

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0 of 36 hedged ("reportedly", "may", "according to")

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not political

takes no side on a contested political question

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64/100

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Who wrote this

Stephen Wade

11 article(s) here · 1 carrying a prediction

🔮 Even if all the members do not follow the direction of Sheikh Salman bin Ibrahim Al Khalifa, the AFC president, those votes could be a key to guaranteeing another mandate for Infantino, who leads the governing body of world soccer and is seeking a fourth term.

2026-10-23 · assertive framing · Gianni Infantino is endorsed by the Asian Football Confederation for another term as FIFA president

🔮 TOKYO (AP) — Gianni Infantino’s campaign for re-election as FIFA president is set to move this week to Japan and a meeting scheduled for Wednesday with the Asian Football Confederation.

2026-10-20 · assertive framing · Infantino set to take his FIFA re-election campaign to Japan to court Asian soccer federations

🔮 “Of course the result is important, and the fact that the players will be exempt from the military service is important,” said Lee Sang-hyeok, who is known as “Faker” in the world of esports.

2026-10-03 · assertive framing · South Korean golfer Tom Kim receives a military exemption with a gold medal at the Asian Games

🔮 “We’re going to take — if something like this will happen, we have our way of taking care of it.

2026-09-19 · assertive framing · Olympic Council of Asia president says politics have already entered into the Asian Games

🔮 Maybe more with a few new sports added.

2026-09-19 · assertive framing · The Asian Games are open with more athletes than the Summer Olympics and some unfamiliar sports

🔮 A lone Italian cruise ship, the Costa Serena, will function as a floating athletes villages with accommodation for up to 5,000 athletes and officials.

2026-09-18 · assertive framing · By the numbers: A look at the Asian Games in Nagoya, Japan

🔮 The Asian Games will open Saturday in Nagoya, Japan, with more than 11,000 athletes signed up.

2026-09-17 · assertive framing · The Asian Games are bigger than the Summer Olympics, at least in athlete numbers

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Nothing else under this byline is closely related to this article, so these are simply their most recent.

All 11 articles by Stephen Wade →

Topics

China India Japan NAGOYA The Asian Games

Subjects

Japan GPE · 9× China GPE · 6× NAGOYA GPE · 4× Hangzhou GPE · 2× India GPE · 2× North Korea GPE · 2× Indonesia GPE · 1× Italian NORP · 1× Jakarta GPE · 1× New Delhi GPE · 1×

Narrative

The games will not offer a formal athletes village as organizers hope to save money after billions were spent on the Tokyo Olympics, held in 2021 after a year’s delay because of COVID-19. 3 Nagoya is Japan’s third largest metropolitan area behind Tokyo and Osaka.

framing: assertive · carried by 1 article(s) · first seen 2026-09-18

🔮 A lone Italian cruise ship, the Costa Serena, will function as a floating athletes villages with accommodation for up to 5,000 athletes and officials.

2026-09-18 · Toronto Star

By the numbers: A look at the Asian Games in Nagoya, Japan · assertive framing

Claims (36 extracted, 0 hedged)

NAGOYA, Japan (AP) — The Asian Games open Saturday in Nagoya, Japan, and are often identified as the second most important multisports event after the Summer Olympic Games. asserted

Games → open → Games

They date from the first edition in 1951 in New Delhi, India, and were last held in 2023 in Hangzhou, China. asserted

They → date → Hangzhou

Those games were delayed a year because of the COVID-19 pandemic. asserted

games → delay → pandemic

Here’s a by-the numbers look at the Asian Games that run from Saturday through Oct. 4. 1 asserted

that → ’ → Oct.

A lone Italian cruise ship, the Costa Serena, will function as a floating athletes villages with accommodation for up to 5,000 athletes and officials. asserted

ship → function → athletes

Athletes will also be housed in hotels and in converted containers. asserted

Athletes → house → containers

Nagoya → offer → Tokyo

It’s an industrial city located in central Japan on the Pacific coast with a metro population of about 9.5 million. 43 asserted

It → ’ → .

This is the number sports to be contested. asserted

This → contest → ?

Others can be found only in the Asian Games. asserted

Others → find → Games

They include the team sports of kabaddi and sepaktakraw and martial arts like jiujitsu and a style of wrestling called kurash. asserted

They → include → wrestling

Sports like teqball, padel and mixed marital arts have also been added. asserted

Sports → add → teqball

This is the number of countries and regions participating. asserted

This → participate → countries

North Korea is sending about 100 athletes. asserted

Korea → send → athletes

That’s down from almost 200 in China three years ago. asserted

That → ’ → China

North Korea did not go to Japan for the Tokyo Olympics. asserted

Korea → go → Olympics

The list runs from Afghanistan to Yemen. asserted

list → run → Yemen

In addition, an Olympic Council of Asia refugee team is entered. asserted

team → enter → Asia

The number of gold medals China won in 2023. asserted

China → win → 2023

It was followed by Japan with 52 and South Korea with 42. asserted

It → follow → 42

Host Japan is sending the most athletes with about 900. asserted

Japan → send → 900

China, with 1.4 billion people, is sending 815 and Hong Kong, with a population of only 7.5 million, is sending about 580 — an extraordinary number for such a small region. asserted

Kong → send → region

China’s delegation includes swimming prodigy Yu Zidi. asserted

delegation → include → Zidi

As a 12-year-old last year at the swimming World Championships in Singapore, she finished fourth in all three of her individual races: 200- and 400-meter individual medley, and the 200 butterfly. asserted

she → finish → races

She also earned bronze in a relay, though she did not swim in the final. asserted

she → earn → final

11,000+ The 2024 Paris Olympics fielded about 10,700 athletes. asserted

Olympics → field → athletes

The Asian Games will have more than 11,000. asserted

Games → have → 11,000

Organizers have not been clear about exactly how many athletes are signed up. asserted

athletes → sign → ?

They say about 17,000 officials and more than 11,000 athletes are registered and have acknowledged numbers have soared above expectations in the last several months. asserted

numbers → say → months

Almost 12,000 athletes competed three years ago in the Asian Games in Hangzhou, China. asserted

athletes → compete → Hangzhou

Nagoya seems likely to reach that level. asserted

Nagoya → seem → level

A last-minute crunch to find enough rooms has also been reported. asserted

crunch → find → rooms

Hotel rooms in Japan are typically small and this has drawn scrutiny from some athlete groups. asserted

this → draw → groups

Basketball players, as often happens, have said the beds are too short. asserted

beds → happen → ?

Imroze Ahmed, the head of the delegation from Bangladesh, acknowledged some problems but said they should be “settled” in a few days as the games get rolling. asserted

games → acknowledge → days

“You can’t blame anyone for this,” he said. asserted

he → blame → this