Nagoya Mayor Ichiro Hirosawa said on Wednesday that the wrong national anthem was played three times during the Asian Para Games on Monday. Hirosawa apologized, saying, "We regret that such incidents occurred again."

Asian Para Games 2026 Controversy

A new controversy has emerged regarding the national anthem at the Asian Para Games, prompting Ichiro Hirosawa, acting head of the organizing committee, to express regret and apologize. The organizing committee stated that the error was caused by incorrect settings in the music playback software.

The Asian Para Games are being held at several venues in Aichi Prefecture, including Nagoya. Nagoya Mayor Ichiro Hirosawa, who is also the acting head of the event's organizing committee, said on Wednesday that the wrong national anthem was played three times during Monday's Asian Para Games.

In Para Taekwondo, athletes from Mongolia won the gold medal in the women's event and from Taiwan in the men's event, but the Iranian national anthem was played during both medal ceremonies. According to the organizing committee, the wrong national anthem was played due to incorrect settings in the music playback software. Organizers subsequently stopped the Iranian national anthem from playing during the women's medal ceremony and played the Mongolian national anthem. The men's medal ceremony was rescheduled for Wednesday.

During a women's sitting volleyball match between China and Iran, the Chinese national anthem was played instead of the South Korean national anthem. It was interrupted, and then the Chinese national anthem was played.

A similar incident occurred during last month's Asian Games. On September 18, during the men's hockey match between South Korea and Bangladesh, the North Korean national anthem was played instead of the South Korean national anthem.

On Wednesday, Ichiro Hirosawa apologized, saying, "We regret that such incidents occurred again."