RADWIMPS Noda Yojiro on his personal thoughts about the cancellation of the “ROCK IN JAPAN FESTIVAL 2021”, while allowing the Olympics to take place

ROCKIN’ON Japan announced on July 7th that the music festival ROCK IN JAPAN FESTIVAL 2021 scheduled for August 7-9, 14-15 scheduled to be held at Hitachi Seaside Park in Ibaraki has been canceled.

Noda Yojiro of RADWIMPS wrote:

While we, the performers, were thinking that this summer we would be performing, I’m sorry. And I think many spectators also felt this festival would be the highlight of this summer.

The countdown to the Olympics has been reported everyday and athletes and others from overseas are coming to visit us. and it makes me feel uncomfortable as preparations are steadily progressing.

While the increase in the number of infected people due to the holding of the Olympics, whether they attend or not, is already clear from the opinions of many experts, the holding of the event has proceeded as a default route.

Behind the scenes, I don’t think I can handle the scheme in which these domestic industries and events make sacrifices. I can’t see the consideration, results or reflections of a third state of emergency, which I don’t know if it was effective. It is an impression that the declaration that started without a clear numerical target was released at the time for some reason.

Recently I feel that young people are tired of self-restraint and are made to look like bad guys. However, students have been deprived of opportunities for once-in-a-lifetime events such as coming-of-age ceremonies, school festivals, competitions and school trips. While having great despair many times.

And now that these “adult circumstances” have robbed us of another big event in our lives, do they still have to be kept silent? It is permissible to hold an Olympics that accepts more than 50,000 foreigners and do we have to accept the decision to cancel domestic events that have been prepared for more than a year, such as infection control? With at least one month left until the festival will be held, I wanted you to have the opportunity to make all the preparations for the event until the end, just like the Olympics. It feels domineering.

As a personal feeling, I feel it was “foolish”. I am not in the opposite position to the Olympics. I hope it will be held safely and the excitement I get from sports pushed my back many times. I believe that it will surely encourage this country and this world that have experienced this difficulty for over a year.

However, there is no explanation as to whether the festivals and events that have been canceled or postponed from various places can be held during or immediately after that period. It is said that the policy for issuing the fourth state of emergency has been decided.

The Olympics will be held during that period. However, during that period, many businesses, stores and events are forced to refrain from doing so without decent compensation. Some people will have to choose between being killed by the virus or being killed economically.

How should we live on the basis of such a clear and big contradiction? I think it’s time to say “different” is “different”.

数日前に中止の連絡をもらい、ここまで自分の中に溜まっていった個人的な気持ちです。 pic.twitter.com/8oiyFpqoiO

— Yojiro Noda (@YojiNoda1) July 7, 2021

On July 2nd, the Ibaraki Medical Association and 26 medical associates requested for the cancellation of the event.

Based on discussions with the venue, prefecture and the city, in order to alleviate congestion around JR Katsuta Station, to prepare a private parking lot for the capacity and people can drive by car or access a bus to get to the area. But it was practically difficult to manage activities outside the venue, including accommodation and transportation.

The event says they “took the request of local hospitals and medical personnel with importance and the request of cancellation by the medical associations seriously and as a result of repeated discussions, the plans for having the music festival was abandoned and there was no choice but to cancel the event”.