The 20th Asian Games officially opened in Nagoya, Japan, on Saturday with a two-hour ceremony of dance, music and fireworks at the newly rebuilt Paloma Mizuho Stadium — a 35,000-capacity venue formally inaugurated only in April. Emperor Naruhito declared the Games open before a packed crowd after watching the parade of 45 nations and regions, joined at the dignitaries' table by International Olympic Committee president Kirsty Coventry and Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) President Sheikh Joaan bin Hamad Al Thani. Up to 10,000 police were deployed for the ceremony, reflecting the scale of the security operation surrounding the imperial family's attendance.

The event, officially titled the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games, takes its name from both Aichi Prefecture and its capital, Nagoya — a major industrial city in central Japan best known as the home of Toyota. This is Japan's third time hosting the Games, after Tokyo in 1958 and Hiroshima in 1994. More than 11,000 athletes from across the continent will contest 469 gold medals across 43 sports through 4 October, under the slogan