About half of the Hong Kong squad were excused from the opening ceremony because of training commitments.

It was the last time the colonial flag was displayed at an Asian Games opening ceremony.

The ceremony itself, featuring more than 4,500 performers, provided a feast of colour, costumes, complicated dance manoeuvres and Japanese culture.

But the atmosphere it could have generated was lacking, with the crowd, while appearing to enjoy the fare, chose to show their appreciation with quiet applause.

The biggest cheer of the four-hour extravaganza was reserved for the arrival of the more than 700-strong China team.

China had earlier threatened to boycott the Games because of visit to Hiroshima of Taiwanese deputy-premier Hsu Li-teh.

But the squad received a roar of approval from the crowd, something not even the Japanese squad was able to generate.

The ceremony started with pop songs by singers from Japan, Thailand, the Philippines and China and followed by a brass band performance by 221 high school students marching in complex formations.

The audience were then treated to a dance by more than 1,000 students symbolising the Games' motto 'Asian Harmony.' Then came the story of 'The Four Seasons of the Seto Inland Sea' done to music, dance and extravagant costumes.

The Seto Inland Sea, dotted with more than 1,000 islands, is one of the most picturesque spots in Japan and the choreography attempted to evoke how the sea provides the lifeblood and spirit of the people who live in its surroundings.

The second half of the ceremony started with an overture of The Dawn of Asia and was followed by the entrance of Emperor Akihito.

This was followed by the arrival of the 42 delegations taking part in the Games, coming in one by one, starting with Afghanistan and ending with host nation Japan.

It was then time for speeches by Hiroshima Asian Games Organising Committee president Hironoshin Furuhashi and Olympic Council of Asia president Sheik Ahmad Al-Fahad Al-Sabah.

The Sheikh was then presented with the original flag used at the first Asian Games in New Delhi in 1951 and the Asian Games torch.

Then came the highlight of the ceremony, the arrival of the Asian Games flame.

Carrying separate torches, Yasunori Uchitomi, the Japanese men's 3,000 metres steeplechase runner and Aki Ichijo, a female distance runner, entered the stadium on opposite sides.

They ran a lap of the track before mounting the steep steps to where the flame was standing.

After lighting the flame, the Games were declared officially open.