Taiwan Name Row Erupts at Nagoya Asian Games; 2028 Olympics Next

Taiwan advocacy groups demanded on September 19 that international sports bodies drop the “Chinese Taipei” name and use “Taiwan” instead at the 2026 Nagoya Asian Games and 2028 Los Angeles Olympics. The row stems from a 1979 International Olympic Committee decision made in Nagoya that tied Taiwan’s Olympic participation to the name change. Taiwan’s sports minister was briefly denied entry to the opening ceremony welcome reception on September 18, prompting the Olympic Council of Asia president to warn against political interference in sport.

The 47-year-old Nagoya decision that sparked today’s row

The name “Chinese Taipei” traces to October 1979, when the IOC held a board meeting in Nagoya to resolve how China and Taiwan could both participate in the Olympics. The IOC decided Taiwan’s Olympic committee would be called “Chinese Taipei Olympic Committee.” Taiwan accepted these terms in 1981 and competed in the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics under that name. The decision became known as the “Nagoya Resolution.”

Taiwan has never been under the rule of the People’s Republic of China, advocates noted. Permanent Taiwan Forum chairman Nagayama Hideki said at a September 19 press conference in Nagoya that the name “reflects Chinese politics” and is an “unreasonable imposition.”

Taiwan’s sports minister blocked from opening ceremony event

On September 18, Taiwan’s sports minister Lee Yang-wen was temporarily denied entry to the welcome reception for national delegations at the Nagoya Asian Games. The delay lasted 90 minutes, with the opening ceremony itself postponed by that time. The organizing committee blamed the Olympic Council of Asia for a lengthy board meeting that disrupted coordination.

OCA President Sheikh Joaan bin Hamad Al Thani warned after the incident that “politics have crept into” the games and called for political interference to be kept out of sport.

Japan’s shift toward calling Taiwan by its name

Japan has begun using “Taiwan” instead of older labels like “Republic of China.” In May 2025, Japan’s government allowed Taiwanese nationals married to Japanese citizens to register “Taiwan” rather than “China” in their family registry nationality field. Taiwan itself has pursued a “name rectification” movement since around 2003, replacing “Republic of China” with “Taiwan” in official contexts.

Taiwan advocacy groups said they will continue pushing for the name change at the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics. Lin Sheng-wu, chairman of the Taiwan Association in Japan, urged Japan to “have the courage to call us Taiwan.”

What comes next for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics

Taiwan groups vowed to pursue the name change for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics. The Nagoya Asian Games run through October 4, 2026, and will use “Chinese Taipei” for Taiwan’s delegation. The IOC has not announced any policy shift on the name, and the 2028 Olympics organizing committee has not commented on Taiwan’s request.

Final Thoughts

The Taiwan naming row at Nagoya exposes a 47-year-old political compromise that advocacy groups now view as outdated. With Japan shifting toward “Taiwan” in official documents and Taiwan groups mobilizing for 2028, pressure on the IOC to reconsider the name is likely to intensify before Los Angeles.

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