The 20th edition of the Asian Games started on Saturday in Nagoya, Japan, and with high expectations from this developed country's hosting, the realities were significantly different. Journalists and photographers from various countries faced serious challenges in transportation and covering the events, which negatively impacted their work.
Transportation and Hosting Issues
There is no media village in Japan, and journalists and photographers have to be stationed in scattered locations around Nagoya. To cover the games, they must travel distances of 2 to 3 hours using public transportation or on foot. This situation has made it particularly difficult for media personnel due to the complexity and vastness of Nagoya's subway system.
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In addition, the humid weather conditions have added to the difficulties of their work. To reach the competition venues, photographers and journalists are forced to use several modes of transportation such as the subway and buses, and ultimately walk to the locations.
Gross Errors in Information
The strange and unbelievable point is that the location of the competition venue is incorrectly listed in the games' application. One Iranian journalist who traveled to cover the match between the women's national kabaddi teams of Iran and Japan arrived at the wrong location after two hours using this incorrect location. This error was only met with an apology from the officials present at the competition hall, who were also surprised by this mistake.
Compared to the previous edition of the Asian Games, when the Chinese had provided transportation for journalists with precision and order, the Japanese not only did not create a media village but also performed very poorly in the necessary arrangements for media transportation to the competition venues.
Except for a few sports and only at specific times, there are no regular buses for commuting back and forth from the media center to various competition venues. This situation has not only made the work of the media difficult but has also negatively impacted the coverage of the events.
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