Japanese Govt Aims to Increase Opportunities for Seeing Cultural Events for Regional Audiences, Create Ties with Major Theaters

The Yomiuri Shimbun

20:00 JST, November 6, 2025

The Agency for Cultural Affairs will begin assisting in creating connections among drama troupes, arts-related organizations and local theaters in an effort to increase opportunities for those living in regional areas to enjoy stage dramas, music concerts and other cultural events.

The agency aims to narrow opportunity gaps between Tokyo and regional areas in the arts, and also revitalize local communities through holding more cultural events, mainly in theaters and concert halls.

According to the All Japan Concert & Live Entertainment Promoters Conference, which comprises mainly organizers of music concerts, the number of live entertainment events held in 2024 nationwide was 34,251.

Of them, 11,277, or about one-third, were held in Tokyo. The number was much higher than a total of 7,491 held in six prefectures in the Kinki region. The smallest number by prefecture was 38 in Tokushima Prefecture.

According to the 2021 Survey on Time Use and Leisure Activities conducted by the central government, the percentage of Tokyo residents age 15 or older who had attended live entertainment performances, stage dramas and dancing performances in the past year was 12.8%. The figure was much higher than the nationwide average at 6.8%.

Many major performance companies of stage dramas, orchestras, ballets are based in Tokyo and other big cities.

“It is costly to shoulder traffic expenses, lodging fees and transportation costs of music instruments and tools for troupes and organizations who come from Tokyo. [Organizing such artistic events] is financially difficult, ”said an official of a performing arts hall in regional areas.

The agency said that one of the reasons for the gaps among these regions is that only a small number of local theaters have been able to cultivate relationships to welcome such organizations.

To eliminate these disparities, the agency will provide subsidies to local theaters, local music event halls, outstanding artistic troupes and management organizations, on the condition that they will form ties to hold such events on an ongoing basis.

The subsidies will cover five fields: music, stage drama, dancing performance, traditional performing arts such as kabuki and pop culture entertainment such as rakugo storytelling.

In the next fiscal year, the agency plans to accept 20 applicants.

The agency aims for the support period to be about three years, with the goal of increasing audience numbers in the selected local theaters by 10%.

Some performing arts troupes have successfully been holding live events in regional areas.

A famous example is Mumeijuku, a stage drama troupe headed by actor Tatsuya Nakadai, at the Noto Engekido hall in Nanao, Ishikawa Prefecture.

The Tokyo Symphony Orchestra has held concerts about five times a year at the Niigata City Performing Arts Center, known as Ryutopia.

Also, Biwako Hall, a center for the performing arts in Otsu run by the Shiga prefectural government, and the Sapporo Cultural Arts Theater known as hitaru in Sapporo hold agreements with the New National Theatre in Tokyo. They have cooperated on hosting and jointly organizing events, including opera and ballet performances.

An official of the agency said, “We expect that collaborations between theaters and performing arts troupes will result in promoting the revitalization of regional communities.”

The agency requested ¥1.024 billion toward its cause in its initial budget proposal for the next fiscal year’s government budget.