To commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Japan Autocamping Federation, the 89th FICC
International Rally was held in Tenei Village, Fukushima Prefecture from September 28th to October
6th. The slogan of the rally is “Tourism / Exchange / Reconstruction”. This expresses the desire to
contribute to the further recovery of Fukushima through tourism andminteraction by means of
camping and caravanning. Approximately 800 campers and local residents from 14 countries around
the world participated in the rally and socialised through various events and programs over 10 days.
On the first day, all participants gathered in the square in front of the beer hall, about 600 meters
away from the opening ceremony venue, and marched to the venue, led by a local junior high
school brass band. Mr. Kazuhiro Akase, President of JAC, Mr. Masao Uchibori, Governor of
Fukushima Prefecture, and Mr. João Alves Pereira, President of FICC greeted everyone at the
opening ceremony. Following that, children of village kindergarten dressed as angels entered with the FICC flag. The FICC flag was riased on the pole set up at the venue to the strains of
Beethoven's ninth symphony “Ode to Joy”.
After the opening ceremony, the participants returned to the beer hall, where a welcome party was
held. Everyone enjoyed Japanese food and beer and interacted with each other while watching the
entertainment on stage.
From the next day, various events and programs were held every day. To give just a few examples:
Tenei Commerce and Industry Festival, dancing night, fireworks, “toasted with sake all over the
country”, club parties, international nights, potluck party, starry sky observation, school visit, film
festival, commemorative tree planting, lectures on the current state of Fukushima, daily bus trips etc.
Fukushima Prefecture was chosen as the venue for the FICC International Rally held in Japan for
the first time in 25 years, triggered by the Great East Japan Earthquake in 2011. The huge
earthquake and the accompanying tsunami and the accident at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear
power plant shook the world. After that, “Fukushima” recovered strongly and overcame the
radioactive contamination caused by the nuclear accident. Currently, the biggest damage suffered
by Fukushima Prefecture, including Tenei Village, is the damage to its reputation. In some
countries, the reputation of radioactive contamination throughout Fukushima Prefecture is still
widespread, and many countries ban or restrict the import of food from Fukushima Prefecture. The
most effective way to get rid of such reputational damage is to have people from all over the world to
come to this place and see the reality. Therefore, with the cooperation of TEPCO and Fukushima
Prefecture, we planned an inspection tour of the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station to
demonstrate to people both inside and outside of the country that the nuclear power plant is well
under control. At the film festival, “Happy Island” (English translation of “Fukushima”) depicting
farmers in the prefecture after the earthquake, was screened with English subtitles. In the lecture
“Talking about Fukushima now”, the farmers in Fukushima gave a detailed explanation with an
English interpreter on how radiological contamination was overcome.
The FICC International Rally is a festival of peace where campers around the world gather across
national, language and ethnic differences, touching on the culture and traditions of the venue, and
deepening exchanges and friendship between campers and local residents. In Asia, diplomatic
relations are extremely delicate between Japan, Korea, China and Taiwan. It was very significant
that campers from Japan, Taiwan, South Korea and China gathered together to deepen their
friendship through the rally.
Since its candidacy was approved at the FICC General Assembly held in Ponte de Lima, Portugal
three years ago, the Japan Autocamping Federation has been working closely with the Rally
Executive Committee. The FICC President and Secretariat, Fukushima Tenei-mura, and many
volunteers were also willing to work together. As a result, we can proudly say that the Rally was a
great success. On the last day, many participants said “It was a great rally!”. However, I will only
quote the words of Mr. Olli Rusi, President of SF-Caravan, Finland:
“The Rally was definitely a success. You gave us a lot of new ideas and inspiration on how to
arrange a Rally in a sophisticated way. It was very nice of you to present Japanese culture to us
participants in such a pleasant and well thought out way. I trust that participants of Tenei Rally will
spread the word of Fukushima prefecture recovery of the 2011 tragedy and how the area offers wonderful possibilities for relaxation and joy about the beautiful nature. Not to mention the high
quality water, rice and sake. We had wonderful days in
Tenei and enjoyed your hospitality wholeheartedly.”
November 2019 (FICC INFO GOOD TO KNOW)