Asian Games open in Nagoya after challenging build-up

Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games and Asian Para Games Organizing Committee (AINAGOC) President Hideaki Omura said the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games carried forward the spirit of the Tokyo and Hiroshima Games, emphasizing the power of sport to bring people together across borders.

"Sports have the tremendous power to bring people together across languages, cultures, and national borders," Omura said, adding that the Games embody the hope that people will "unite as one, and move forward together toward the future."

The torch relay, carried by local runners through Aichi Prefecture, was shown in a video before the flame entered the stadium. Six former or active Japanese athletes then passed the flame under the spotlight, with the final torchbearers, father and son Shigenobu Murofushi and Koji Murofushi, both former Asian Games hammer throw champions, lighting the main cauldron.