South Korea files complaint after Toyotomi Hideyoshi portrayal at Nagoya Asian Games ceremony

South Korea's Olympic committee said on Friday (September 18, 2026) it filed a complaint with Asian Games organisers in Nagoya after a welcoming ceremony on Tuesday featured a person dressed as Toyotomi Hideyoshi and prompted a backlash in South Korea. The committee lodged the protest with local organisers over the depiction at the event.

Toyotomi Hideyoshi led Japan's invasions of Korea in 1592-1598, an episode that remains sensitive in relations between the two countries. Historical grievances are further underscored by Korea's period under Japanese colonial rule from 1910 to 1945. Seoul cites that about 780,000 Koreans were conscripted into forced labour during that era, a figure that "does not include women forced into sexual slavery by the Japanese military."

Three Japanese warlord characters were present for the arrival of a cruise ship in Nagoya that will serve as a floating hotel for thousands of Games athletes. The portrayal at the ship's welcoming ceremony drew criticism from officials in Seoul and prompted the KSOC complaint.

Korean Sport & Olympic Committee president Ryu Seung-min sent a letter to the local organising committee and the Olympic Council of Asia "expressing regret and calling for measures to prevent a recurrence", a KSOC spokeswoman told AFP. The letter formally requested steps to avoid similar incidents.

"As of this morning we have not received a response," she added. AFP has contacted organisers for comment.

The complaint now sits with the Nagoya organising committee and the Olympic Council of Asia, from whom the KSOC says it is awaiting a reply.