Fuji Rock and Social Movements

Since first being held in 1997, Fuji Rock Festival has always striven for a symbiotic relationship with nature and offered members of the audience a place to learn about environmental and social issues that we face as a community.

The festival has aimed to live alongside nature by offering NGOs a chance to appeal to the audience on stage about environmental issues, peace and human rights and also by constructing the NGO village where groups can introduce a variety of social movements they are undertaking. The festival also utilized alternative clean energy sources such as biodiesel and solar power to power stages and areas at the festival to show the practical uses of these energy sources and actually work in a way that is symbiotic with its natural surroundings.

Since the disaster at the Fukushima Nuclear Power plant in 2011, Fuji Rock Festival has created a space for Atomic Cafe at the NGO Village in Gypsy Avalon area, which has worked since the 80’s against nuclear weapons and the use of nuclear power.

A Message From Atomic Cafe

Atomic Cafe has held talk shows and live performances at the Avalon Stage since the disaster at the Fukushima Nuclear Power plant in 2011 to demand the end of the use of nuclear power and switching to alternative power sources. In recent years, we have had the journalist Daisuke Tsuda MC debates on issues about energy, the security agreement with the US, freedom of speech and other pressing issues.

This year marks 10 years since the disaster at TEPCO’s Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Powr Plant and we will be focusing on the current situation of the use of nuclear power in Japan along with censorship of speech, the need for people to work on societal issues facing our community, the global warming crisis, and other issues we are all facing.

At this year’s Atomic Cafe being held at the Gypsy Avalon stage we will be hosting a band made up of people from Fukushima who love their homeland called, “Inawashiroko’s” and Yoshihide Otomo’s GEKIBAN who also played at Atomic Cafe in 2014. We look forward to having you at this year’s Atomic Cafe.

• Fri Aug 20
  This year’s theme is “Nuclear Power & Politics” and the first day’s show will feature Daisuke Muramoto from the popular comedic combo, Woman Rush Hour. Muramoto is known as an internet commentator and will discuss issues facing our community in a stand-up talk show. Live performances will feature a artist from Fukushima, Ms. Rina Katahira.
• Sat Aug 21
  The second day’s theme is “Citizens and Societal Issues”. Daisuke Tsuda, Kyoko Koizumi, and Kenji Ueda will discuss how citizens speak out about societal issues. Live performances feature “Kuorneko Domei” (Kenji Ueda & Kyoko Koizumi) with guest Shunsuke Watanabe on piano.
• Sun Aug 22
  Day three of the festival brings us to the theme, “Climate Crisis and the Shifting of Societal Systems”. Guests include best selling author of “Karl Marx’s Ecosocialism: Capital, Nature, and the Unfinished Critique of Political Economy”, Kohei Saito. Journalist Daisuke Tsuda will and him will discuss societal shifts we face along with the climate crisis and nuclear power. Live performance will feature the Esetimers.

We look forward to your taking part in this year’s Atomic Café talk and live shows, and the NGO Village.

「Gypsy Avalon」 Stage

「Atomic Cafe」 Official Website