TOKYO: Japan will consider whether to allow North Korean athletes to participate in next year’s Asian Games in Nagoya after the North expressed its intention to take part, the Japanese government said on Thursday.

The neighbouring countries have no diplomatic ties, and North Korea was a no-show when Japan last hosted the Games in 1994.

Japan has banned North Korean citizens from entering the country since 2016 over its nuclear and ballistic missile programmes. However, it has allowed North Korean athletes to visit to take part in international sports events.

Kyodo News cited a source familiar with the matter as saying North Korea had expressed its intention to send about 150 athletes to compete in 17 events at the Games scheduled for September 19 to October 4 next year.

“The Asian Games’ organising committee has consulted our sports ministry about the participation of North Korean athletes in this event,” Japan’s chief cabinet secretary, Yoshimasa Hayashi, told a daily briefing.

The government was in the process of considering the request through consultations across various ministries, he said.

North Korea competed at the last Asian Games held in Hangzhou, China in 2023, winning 11 gold medals and 39 overall.

Published in Dawn, September 19th, 2025