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.

[Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]