A fireworks display advertised for three cities on Lake Biwa was called off on the 9th of this month, eleven days before it was due to happen, and the people who had bought tickets say they still have had no direct word from the organisers about refunds. MBS reports that the event, promoted on social media as the Lake Biwa Three-City Simultaneous Fireworks Display across Nagahama, Hikone and Takashima in Shiga Prefecture, had been billed as launching more than ten thousand shells in total. Seat prices, as written on social media, ran from 6,000 to 18,000 yen.
One man told MBS he had paid about 35,000 yen — two photographer's seats at 16,000 each, where a tripod could be used, plus 2,000 for parking. He said he had seen the advertisement on 15 March and bought immediately, choosing the Takashima site. Another buyer, who lives in the prefecture, said the 22nd was supposed to have been the day of the summer he remembered, and described being left with a hole in his heart.
What MBS found when it looked at the venues is the part that will decide this. The organisers had attached a document to an email sent to prospective food stallholders — MBS obtained it — naming specific sites including Hikone Port and Saikachihama. The civil engineering office that manages Hikone Port told MBS it had never once been approached by an applicant. At another facility, someone identifying themselves as an organiser did visit around February to ask about using an area for spectator seating, but there has been no contact since.
The organisers told MBS they had clearly intended to hold the event, that they had in fact held discussions and made arrangements with a number of parties towards holding it, and that preparations of various kinds had been under way.
Why it is on the board
Top of MBS News's most-read ranking when we collected, and on RSK Sanyo Broadcasting's list as well — two of the Japanese reading lists this board can see, on the day the display was supposed to happen.
확인: MBSニュース