national

Sumida River fireworks festival to be held one month later than usual

14 Comments

The Sumida River fireworks festival, Tokyo’s largest annual summer fireworks event, will be held on Aug 27 -- a month later than usual due to expected power shortages, Sumida Ward officials said Wednesday.

Organizers of the event have been debating whether to hold the event or not this year, due to power cuts and because there is still a mood to cancel big events out of consideration for the victims of the devastating earthquake and subsequent tsunami that took place on March 11 in the Tohoku area, ward officials said.

However, it was decided to hold the Sumida event in August in order to avoid the electricity consumption peak in July, ward officials said in a statement.

The annual Tokyo Bay fireworks festival, which had been scheduled for Aug 13, has already been canceled this year.

© Compiled from news reports

©2024 GPlusMedia Inc.

14 Comments
Login to comment

The annual Tokyo Bay fireworks festival, which had been scheduled for Aug 13, has already been canceled this year.

WHAT!? Come on! I don't think they should have canceled this, people want to be entertained and get their lives back to normal. They need to put it back on!

0 ( +0 / -0 )

because there is still a mood to cancel big events out of consideration for the victims

The moments of silence they have at public areas such as parks show such consideration. When they cancel big events, all they're doing is hurting the economy. Morons.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

August is much hotter than July, so this does not make any sense.

Also, fireworks do not run on electricity.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

YES!!!

0 ( +0 / -0 )

Who enjoys watching fireworks when millions of people are in 1 square kilometer? Packed like a can of sardines.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

Paddy Smash has hit the nail on the head I think - this has very little to do with respect for earthquake victims. What this country REALLY needs right now is everyone to get it back together and start living again. It is stressful enough here in Tokyo as it is, without being made to feel guilty for having fun too.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

My understanding is it's more to do with potential power cuts than it is the mood of the people. Many other places have cancelled their summer festivals because of the potential power cuts. If power cuts need to be imposed then there will be a reduced train service which could lead to some serious problems.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

Many fireworks makers were threatened with closure at the loss of the year's biggest earner. A traditional art, famous throughout the world. Why put them out of business?

This one month of mourning seems like a good compromise IMHO.

The Super GT series was also put off for a month and finally run last weekend, and that seemed to suit everyone.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

How can the postponement be related to power cuts when the fireworks and not cancelled but postponed to August, one of the hottest months of the year, right after Obon when people are back to work? I do not remember August being that different from July.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

fireworks do not run on electricity.

but the trains do. and the fireworks lead to massive crowd turnouts and massive crowds on the trains - which will likely be running at lower capacity.

postponing the fireworks is a fine idea. beats the hell out of cancelling them all together!

0 ( +0 / -0 )

Everyone is saying that "fireworks do not run on electricity"... but what if the FACTORIES that MAKE the fireworks run on electricity? Might THAT be a potential issue with respect to energy conservation? Considering the fact that all of the auto mfgs and other factories have had to dramatically cut back production, might it not just be possible, that cutting back production schedules at fireworks factories in order to cut back on energy use could also have an effect on the number of "bombs" manufactured, thus leading to an insufficient quantity for the amazing displays?

0 ( +0 / -0 )

TheBigRiceBowl, yes, you may be right, but most footage of Japanese fireworks factories that I have seen shows small family businesses with the employees making these pyrotechincal wonder bombs individually by hand.

The mass-produced fireworks you get at covenience stores may indeed come from factories in Japan and abroad.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

Call me unorthodox, but I actually think these firework displays would SAVE ELECTRICITY.

The logic being that when hundreds of thousands of people are outside fuelling the economy, they are not at home running their hudreds of thousands of Aircon units and TVs.

Come on Ishihara, stop being a killjoy you old fart!

0 ( +0 / -0 )

"Call me unorthodox, but I actually think these firework displays would SAVE ELECTRICITY"

Good thing there is data on power consumption, so we don't have to rely on our assumptions.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

Login to leave a comment

Facebook users

Use your Facebook account to login or register with JapanToday. By doing so, you will also receive an email inviting you to receive our news alerts.

Facebook Connect

Login with your JapanToday account

User registration

Articles, Offers & Useful Resources

A mix of what's trending on our other sites