On this year's summer solstice, a variety of Candle Night events were held across Japan. The number of events registered reached 897, and it is still rising. Many people enjoyed their own Candle Nights. This year, a collaborative event was also organized through cooperation between South Korea and Japan.

In Tokyo, one of the biggest Candle Night events was held along Omotesando Avenue, a popular shopping area with plenty of fashionable boutiques including international brand stores. For example, at Omotesando Hills, a major commercial complex on the avenue, roughly 20,000 light-emitting diode (LED) lights on the outside wall of the building were turned off and children lit some 500 candles on the evening of June 22. Many other events were also organized at different buildings in the area, including an installation of a candle-lit area for reading and knitting. With gentle candlelight, Omotesando Avenue, which is usually full of electrical lightings at night, looked different on this year's summer solstice.

In Shiba Park near Tokyo Tower, a "Lights Down" event was organized on June 24 by Daichi O Mamoru Kai (The Association to Preserve the Earth), and co-hosted by the Ministry of the Environment of Japan. During the event, roughly 300 candles were lit in the park. Several stalls offered dishes made of home-grown food and people enjoyed an acoustic live music concert. Then the lights of Tokyo Tower were turned off at 8:00 p.m. It was amazing to see the moment when the lights of the tower went out. Without lights, a familiar sight looks completely different. By turning off the lights, we saw the atmosphere and impressions of places change drastically and instantly--that is one of the things we can find through the Candle Night.

Also at the event in Shiba Park, a lights-down event at N Seoul Tower in South Korea was reported live in collaboration with Korean Women's Environmental Network (KWEN).In Seoul, the lights of N Seoul Tower were turned off at 9:00 p.m. "On the day of the lights-down event, more than 800 people gathered around the tower. An additional 45 Candle Night events were organized, by environmental or peace-related non-governmental organizations and cafes across the city. The dark night without lights reminds us of senses and feelings that we have forgotten. We could change the world by stepping out of our daily lives just for two hours on the summer solstice," says Park Eun Jin of KWEN.

We hope more and more people join in the Candle Night to spread a gentle wave of candlelight across the world in the future.

To see the messages sent to the Candle Night Committee, go to; http://feel.candle-night.org/scape/
This year, we received the registration of events from outside Japan, including India.
http://event.candle-night.org/detail.php?en&id=2162

Candle Night is not an event held only on the summer solstice but the one you can enjoy anytime throughout a year--so why don't you join us and enjoy on your own Candle Night?