Officials defend using temporary containers, cruise ship as lodging at Asian Games

NAGOYA, Japan (AP) — The Olympic Council of Asia is attempting to quell complaints about lodging for athletes and officials at the Asian Games, which includes the use of converted wooden containers.

The OCA said Friday that all “17,000-plus athletes and officials” that registered by the entry deadline in July have been provided “games-appropriate accommodation.”

The games open officially on Saturday and run through Oct. 4 in and around the central city of Nagoya, and feature at least 11,000 athletes, more than the Summer Olympics. They showcase 43 sports and 45 countries and regions.

Japanese officials decided against building a dedicated athletes villages and opted for accommodations on a cruise ship, in hotel rooms and in temporary wood containers.

Several countries have complained openly about the lodging, some basketball players have said the beds are too short, and hundreds of athletes had to be evacuated last week after heavy rainfall in the region.

“We don’t want to leave a white elephant after the games here," Tayyab Ikram, deputy chairman of the Olympic Council of Asia athletes commission, said Friday at a news conference. “So it was not easy discussions, but it was also not a compromise, because then we find a very unique kind of alternatives.”

Cost saving is a major issue in Japan, which spent an estimated $13 billion to organize the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, which were delayed a year by the pandemic. A government audit office suggested the real costs were probably twice that high.

The Italian cruise ship “Costa Serena” is docked at a port in Nagoya and will lodge up to 5,000 athletes and officials. Many athletes will be rotated in and out as events end and new events begin.

Cruise ships have been used before a large international sports events.

Part of the problem seemed to arise after the July deadline when late entries surfaced. In addition, new sports like Teqball, mixed martial arts and padel were added.

“It’s very easy, you can insist on the athletes village,” said Husain Al Musallam, the director general of the Olympic Council of Asia. “And then you build the athletes village, you spend such amount of money, and then we need to see what’s going to happen after the games.”

SNTV video journalist Raj Mohan contributed to this story.

See full AP coverage of Asian sports here

The Italian cruise ship, the Costa Serena, that will house up to 5,000 officials and athletes for the Asian Games, arrives at a port in Nagoya, central Japan, Tuesday, Sept. 15, 2026. (Kazushi Kurihara/Kyodo News via AP)

Officials rehearse ahead of a flag raising ceremony at the athletes village ahead of the Asian Games in Nagoya, Japan, Friday, Sept. 18, 2026. (AP Photo/Dita Alangkara)

Women in traditional Japanese kimonos walk near the athletes village at the Asian Games in Nagoya, Japan, Friday, Sept. 18, 2026. (AP Photo/Dita Alangkara)

Officials walk past athletes accommodation huts at the Athletes Village ahead of the Asian Games Nagoya, Japan, Friday, Sept. 18, 2026. (AP Photo/Dita Alangkara)

Officials stand outside the athletes accommodation huts at the Athletes Village ahead of the Asian Games Nagoya, Japan, Friday, Sept. 18, 2026. (AP Photo/Dita Alangkara)

Iran says it has struck an oil tanker trying to transit the Strait of Hormuz. And South Korea says it is considering expanding the operations of a naval operation in the Gulf of Aden off the Arabian Peninsula to protect its ships and oil routes.

Here’s a look at the latest news in the Middle East on Friday. Full coverage can be found here.

Iran said it struck a Togo-flagged oil tanker, the Trend, for what it called an “illegal attempt” to pass through the Strait of Hormuz, the state broadcaster reported, citing the Revolutionary Guard Corps.

The Associated Press could not immediately confirm the report.

The Guard's navy warned that unauthorized passage through the strait would result in the “destruction” of offending vessels, the broadcaster said. Tehran has asserted control over the waterway since the U.S. and Israel launched the war on Feb. 28.

Separately, a monitor overnight reported a ship “security incident” 16 nautical miles northeast of Khasab, Oman, which lies on the other side of the strait. The crew was safe and no environmental impact had been confirmed, United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations said.

The U.S. military has been guiding some commercial ships through the strait off Oman as the risk of Iranian attacks continues.

South Korean President Lee Jae Myung said his government is considering expanding the operations of a naval unit deployed in the Gulf of Aden off Yemen and Somalia to protect his country’s vessels and oil shipping routes.

But he stressed that South Korea would not take action drawing it into the U.S.-Iran conflict. South Korea has deployed the anti-piracy Cheonghae Unit for years.

The growing threat by Iranian-backed Houthis in Yemen to shipping in the region has alarmed countries and markets, even though the rebels have said they are only targeting the assets of neighboring Saudi Arabia, the world's top oil exporter.

Lee noted the threat to South Korea’s economy and the need to protect its ships but said “there will be no troop deployment that involves or intervenes in the war. I can state that clearly.”

This piece will be updated throughout the day as new developments emerge.

Protesters stage a rally against the possible deployment of South Korean troops to the Strait of Hormuz and a U.S. demand for the deployment, near the U.S. Embassy in Seoul, South Korea, Thursday, Sept. 17, 2026. The banners read ''Oppose troop deployment.'' (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)