[Anchor]

The Asian Games Organizing Committee, which has drawn criticism from participating countries for poor operations, has released its first official statement. However, it maintained an attitude that it was not to blame for anything, ranging from poor accommodations for athletes to inadequate meals. Far from offering a sincere apology, even its explanations were inadequate.

Reporting from the local scene, this is Han Sung-hee.

[Reporter]

The Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games Organizing Committee released an official statement titled "Regarding Some Reports on Athlete Accommodations and Food Services."

The core message was that it is "not the organizing committee's responsibility."

Regarding the delayed boarding incident at the cruise athletes' village on September 16, which drew strong resentment from delegations of multiple countries, the committee drew a line by stating, "The omission of accommodation information by us was not the cause."

Instead, it shifted the blame for the situation onto the participating delegations, claiming that "confusion arose while coordinating because of incomplete documents submitted by some delegations."

[Lee Jun-seok / National Teqball Athlete: Honestly, it was quite poor. The amount of food was endlessly insufficient, so frankly, it was a bit disappointing nutritionally...] 

Regarding the issue of poor meals that drew complaints from various national delegations, the committee singled out the teqball event, which had been intensively covered by domestic media outlets including SBS, and dodged responsibility by claiming, "The food in question was not provided by the organizing committee."

The statement even included self-praise, asserting that the meal quality issues of the outsourced catering company are not the responsibility of the organizing committee and that they are even responding to dietary restriction requests.

Even within Japan, criticism poured out over this "disassociated explanation."

Japan's Daily Sports pointed out, "There was no mention at all of the transportation problems that erupted in criticism, such as the South Korean men's basketball national team having to cancel their practice right before the final because the bus did not show up."

Thai media, which intensively reported on the incident where the Sepak Takraw national team spent the night on the bare floor of the cruise ship lobby, is strongly pushing back, arguing that it was due to the organizers losing documents.

The organizing committee, which originally promised Japan's signature "omotenashi" or ultimate hospitality, has sought to break through head-on with explanations shifting blame over controversies surrounding poor operations and inadequate preparation, but this appears to be fueling the controversy even further.

(Photo: YouTube 'TOP NEWS LIVE')

Reported by Yang Doo-won | Video by Kim Jong-mi | Graphics by Park Taeyoung and Han Heung-soo