The pride of Japanese culture, renowned for flawless preparation and warm, meticulous hospitality, appears to be shaking ahead of the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games.

Japanese media, including the Chunichi Shimbun headquartered in Nagoya where the event is taking place, prominently reported on the organizing committee's cases of amateurish operations today (September 19).

At the stadium where the men's hockey match between South Korea and Bangladesh took place, North Korea's national anthem was played instead of South Korea's national anthem.

In addition, the official athletes' village welcoming ceremony attended by North Korea, Palestine, Taiwan, East Timor, Yemen, and India started an hour and 30 minutes late due to a communication breakdown between the organizing committee and the Olympic Council of Asia (OCA).

While the North Korea anthem broadcasting mishap is settling down as the organizing committee issued an official apology following South Korea's strong protest, the series of incidents and the organizing committee's response so far suggest that bumps in the road are likely to continue even after the opening of the competition.

The Chunichi Shimbun quoted a male volunteer in his 60s as saying that he received his finalized work schedule on September 17, and it differed from the schedule that had been decided in early August.

This volunteer vented his anger to the Chunichi Shimbun, saying, "We have to arrange our own accommodation and transportation, which is really difficult. It is unacceptable."

In any international multi-sport competition, various shortcomings such as athlete transportation, IT support, volunteer deployment, and event operations are bound to stand out in the early stages.

However, the organizing committee's preparation and response look even sloppier in this tournament due to a shortage of athletes' accommodations that has rarely been seen before.

The increased number of athletes affects not only lodging but also transportation, meals, and workforce support.

The organizing committee expected 15,000 participants, but the OCA stated there would be 17,000, making it a major problem to secure lodging for the extra 2,000 people.

With a five-day Japanese holiday overlapping starting today (September 19), finding accommodations is extremely difficult.

The South Korean women's hockey national team staying at a hotel also faces a situation where three people have to share a single room for a few days due to a shortage of rooms.