Live-streaming media website Dommune’s studio in Tokyo will be closed temporarily following damage it sustained in this week’s torrential rain, the website’s founder said in a statement Thursday.
Naohiro Ukawa said the basement-level studio was flooded as a result of heavy rain on Wednesday, which damaged electrical equipment in the live-performance space.
Fortunately, the hard drive that contained archives of the past five years of Dommune’s programming, which exceeds 3,000 broadcasts (over 100 terabytes) was safe, Ukawa said.
Since its launch in 2010, Dommune has live-streamed sets by some of the world’s top DJs and musicians, as well as programs that have focused on health, contemporary art and social issues. Ukawa has been extremely vocal on social issues, dedicating programming to educating his audience on Japan’s anti-dancing law, reconstruction in the Tohoku region from the Great East Japan Earthquake and the recent prodemocracy student group Students Emergency Action for Liberal Democracy (SEALDs).
Dommune isn’t a stranger to the damage flooding can cause. Heavy rain forced the cancelation of the station’s first Freedommune festival in August 2011, which was meant to double as a charity event for victims of that year’s earthquake and tsunami.
Although Dommune has suspended its broadcasts, fans quickly took to social media to show their support. On Twitter, the hashtag #save_dommune is being circulated with messages of encouragement.
Ukawa wrote in a message that he hopes to get Dommune back in business as soon as possible.
Japan’s Fire and Disaster Management Agency said that 12 people were missing and 27 people had been injured in Tochigi and Ibaraki prefectures as of 7 a.m. on Friday.
For more information, visit www.dommune.com.
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