2022.06.24
Atomic Café to be held at NEW POWER GEAR Field / Gypsy Avalon
Fuji Rock and Social Action
Since its start in 1997, Fuji Rock has offered opportunities to consider how to switch to renewable energy sources and live together with nature.
Since being held for the first time in 1997, Fuji Rock Festival has provided NGO’s with time on stage, to appeal to festival goers on issues like the environment, world peace and human rights, and has created the NGO Village where organisations can introduce themselves to the festival audience. Since 2005, efforts have been concentrated on global warming and energy, aiming to live in harmony with nature by converting to renewable energy sources and showing this through the use of biodiesel fuels and solar power within the festival site.
Since the disaster at the Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant in 2011, in order to support a transition to renewable energy sources, Fuji Rock has given over a portion of the New Power Gear Field / AVALON area to The Atomic Cafe, a anti-nuclear event that was started in the 1980’s.
Atomic Café 2022
This year’s Atomic Café will feature live music and discussions each day of the festival at Gypsy Avalon.
- Friday July 29th
- The first day’s theme is “War & Peace”. The Friday will feature two sessions in a first for the area.
First up will be Japanese hip hop artist, DarthReider, and comedian Petit Kashima discussing the invasion of Ukraine by Russia in “War & Peace / Ukraine”. The session will feature live performance by The Bassons.
The second session, “War & Peace / Okinawa”, will center on Okinawa which has reached the 50th anniversary of its return to Japan in 1972 with a discussion by writer and radio personality, Joe Yokomizo and Orange Range bassist, Yoh. The second session will feature a live acoustic performance by Orange Range.
- The first day’s theme is “War & Peace”. The Friday will feature two sessions in a first for the area.
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Saturday July 30th
- The second day’s session will center on “The Climate Crisis and Nuclear Power”.
Celebrity writer and actor, Seiko Ito, Joe Yokomizo, and philosopher and economist Kohei Saito focus on two of the largest issues facing the modern day world, the climate crisis and nuclear power. Featuring performance by Seiko Ito is the poet with Hikari Mitsushima.
- The second day’s session will center on “The Climate Crisis and Nuclear Power”.
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Sunday July 31st
- The theme of the third and final day will be “Anti-war, Peace and Ukraine”.
The third day will once again focus on the invasion of Ukraine by Russia and how it has brought the issue of nuclear power to the forefront once again. The discussion will feature members of the Citizens’ Nuclear Information Center with live performance by Hiroya Ozaki, who’s father Yutaka Ozaki’s legendary performance at the first Atomic Cafe Festival in 1984 remains in everybody’s memories.
- The theme of the third and final day will be “Anti-war, Peace and Ukraine”.
「Gypsy Avalon Stage」
The MC for all three days will be journalist, Daisuke Tsuda.
This year features a special 4 session version of the Atomic Café. We look forward to seeing you there.
| Friday July 29th |
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| Saturday July 30th |
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| Sunday July 31st |
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The Atomic Café
In 1957, the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament (CND) was started in England and its logo began being used worldwide as the peace symbol. A anti-nuclear weapon concert was held in 1979 featuring artists such as Jackson Brown and Bruce Springsteen and in the 80’s, the peace symbol was used to decorate the stage at the Glastonbury festival and the anti-nuclear weapons and power film Atomic Cafe was released as the world’s attention to nuclear weapons and power increased. Amidst all this, forward thinking leaders in the music industry in Japan gathered to hold a anti-nuclear event at the Hibiya Yaon amphitheater called The Atomic Cafe Festival. Artists such as Shogo Hamada and Yutaka Ozaki performed to bring attention to the issues of nuclear weapons and power plants.
Two years later in 1986, a major accident occured at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant and the Atomic Cafe begins holding not just concerts but talk events to bring the issues that nuclear power have to the forefront.
The Atomic Cafe had since been in hiatus but makes its return in 2011 at Fuji Rock. Since then, it has held talk shows and live performances centered on and commited to the break with nuclear power, energy shift, the environment and world peace.