Western Japan Fireworks Event Abruptly Canceled

Otsu, Shiga Pref., Aug. 10 (Jiji Press)–The organizers of a large fireworks festival planned for Aug. 22 in three cities in Shiga Prefecture, western Japan, have announced the event’s cancellation, it was learned Monday. According to local fire authorities, fireworks event organizers must apply to use explosives about a month in advance for such events. But the executive committee of the canceled event did not submit an application to or consult with authorities by the deadline. For the event, the organizers had been planning to launch a total of more than 10,000 fireworks in the cities of Nagahama, Hikone and Takashima, all located along the coast of Lake Biwa, the largest lake in Japan. The three cities and the Shiga prefectural government said that an official from the organizing committee had visited them between last December and this April with a plan to hold a fireworks festival, but they were not given explanations about specifics such as venues. The organizers billed the fireworks festival as an event with reserved seating only and sold tickets ranging from 7,000 yen to 19,000 yen online. They said that purchasers would receive an email about the specific locations approximately a week before the event. On Sunday, however, the executive committee announced on its official website that it had “determined that it would be difficult to make the necessary preparations and management system by the date of the event.” The committee said that it is confirming and sorting out its next moves while consulting with legal experts, and urged ticket buyers and vendors who had planned to take part in the event to check its website and social media for updates. After receiving multiple inquiries about whether the festival would actually be held, the Nagahama, Hikone and Takashima city governments released a statement online Thursday explaining that they were not involved in the event. The committee told Jiji Press in an email that it would officially provide necessary information after clearing up issues such as details on coordination with related organizations and various procedures. It declined to provide contact information for individuals associated with the event. END [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]