South Korea lodges complaint over Japanese warlord portrayal in Asian Games cruise ship ceremony

The Korean Sport & Olympic Committee (KSOC) submitted a formal protest to the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games organizing committee and the Olympic Council of Asia after a person portraying Toyotomi Hideyoshi appeared during the welcome ceremony for the cruise ship Costa Serena, which will house about 4,000 athletes and officials. The performance also featured Oda Nobunaga and Tokugawa Ieyasu, three warlords associated with Nagoya’s history, but Hideyoshi’s role as the architect of the 1592-98 Japanese invasions of Korea sparked anger in South Korea.

KSOC president Ryu Seung-min voiced regret and demanded measures to prevent a repeat, while Lee Sang-hyun, South Korea’s chef de mission, said the team would concentrate on competing. The organizing committee responded that the depiction was not intended to convey a historical endorsement and affirmed its commitment to appropriate programming for an international event. As of Thursday afternoon, KSOC had not received a reply from either the organizers or the OCA. The incident revived memories of previous disputes over historical references at past Olympic events.