Japan Launches 2026 Asian Games Bid; Indonesia 2018 Faces Challenges

(ATR) The Japanese prefecture Aichi will bid for the 2026 Asian Games.

Aichi governor Hideaki Omura announced the prefecture’s intentions to host the 20th Asiad on Monday at a press conference in Nagoya. Nagoya is expected to host the majority of the events in the bid. The Asiad features summer and winter Olympic sports during the quadrennial event.

If successful, Aichi would stage the third edition of the games in Japan. Tokyo hosted in 1958 and Hiroshima in 1994.

Aichi must first submit its bid to the Japanese Olympic Committee, which upon approval would be handed to the Olympic Council of Asia for consideration. The OCA is expected to choose the host in 2018. So far Aichi is the only declared candidate.

Omura says he wants to use the opportunity of the multi-sport event to showcase Japan’s magnetic levitating train technology. Central Japan Railway is scheduled to start its first maglev service from Tokyo to Nagoya in 2027. In his proposal, Omura may request the games be moved back one year to coincide with the launch of the train service.

Jakarta and Palembang, Indonesia will host the 2018 Asian Games with Hangzhou, China slated to host in 2022.

Challenges Ahead for Indonesia 2018

Plans for the 2018 Asian Games could face significant changes in the coming year.

Originally billed as a joint effort between Indonesia’s capital Jakarta and the South Sumatra capital of Palembang, the governor of Jakarta Basuki Tjahaja Purnama says he now only wants Palembang to stage the Asiad.

"Jakarta is already too big for Asian Games," Basuki said. "So actually we want to encourage all in Palembang, thus it will be complete."

Basuki says he would rather use the land devoted in the bid to an athletes’ village to construct a Light Rail Transit project. The land was granted to City Hall to be used as the village but the proposal was turned down by the House of Representatives who say the land should be used for commercial space.

"If the land is not given, it's not my fault and I'm not angry," the governor said.

Despite the governor’s desire to leave Jakarta, the OCA says Palembang is not ready to host the multi-sport event by itself. However, Basuki says hosting the Asiad solely in Palembang would help the local economy.

Drawa,"In all over the world, if there will be great event, it usually finds region which has not been developed yet thus it increases the economic growth," he said.

To add to the issues facing the Indonesian organizers, public criticism of mascot Drawa is forcing the Indonesian Olympic Committee (KOI) to drop the bird.

The KOI will work with the Creative Economy Board, known as Bekraf, to replace the mascot that some called "old-fashioned" or suggested it looked more like a chicken then an exotic bird.

The mascot proved so unpopular the decision to scrap it was made just one week after Drawa was unveiled.

Representatives from the Youth and Sport Ministry, KOI and Bekraf will meet for the first time next week to determine the best course of revision for the mascot.

"We will continue coordinating with Bekraf so that within two months at the latest, we can create a new mascot," said Indonesian minister Gatot Broto.

The 2018 Asian Games will take place from Aug. 18 to Sep. 2.

Written by Kevin Nutley

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