Hideaki Omura, governor of Aichi Prefecture, has said he is displeased that Thailand’s national teqball team posted complaints online about the small food portions at the 2026 Asian Games, suggesting they did it to attract views and that he would rather they did not return.
Mr Omura, who is the president of Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games Organising Committee, said: “I wonder what exactly they came here for. I don’t want them here at all.”
“For them to say, ‘Is this all the food there is?’, that’s going too far. I wonder if they are only doing it for views. People who do this, I really don’t want them to come.”
His remarks came as a surprise, as he had earlier apologised for various errors in the organisation of the games.
The food shortage, meanwhile, was a problem caused by another agency responsible for catering.
In September, an official from the National Olympic Committee of Thailand criticised the organisation of the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games in Japan, likening it to a ‘chaotic’ game of ‘musical chairs’. Thai athletes had complained of poor accommodation and unreliable transport.
Nagoya’s mayor later apologised to athletes for the ‘inconveniences’ following a series of complaints.