The International Artist Managers' Association (IAMA) invited representatives of Japan's classical music industry to a trade mission, held in London on Monday, November 29 (local time) under the auspices of UK Trade and Investment, an organization of the British government.
 The names of the Japanese representatives visiting the UK are given below. A summary of the topics they covered in talks given on the current state of the industry is given separately. Basically, they emphasized that the rapid change occurring in Japan's concert market makes it necessary for domestic and foreign players to adjust they way they do business. There were about 60 other participants in the mission, including many from the UK, as well as representatives of various European countries. Some said the detailed information provided by the Japanese delegation gave them a good understanding of the state of the music business that would be helpful in future projects.
 It is hoped that this mission will promote the organizing of concert tours for foreign artists that are better attuned to business realities and more likely to expand the market for classic concerts.
 A trade mission for IAMA members is due to be held in Japan in 2008.

The nine persons from Japan participated in the trade mission, as follows:

 In addition to European participants, Ms. Mami Mizutori, Counselor of the Embassy of Japan and Director of the Japan Information and Cultural Centre, attended the trade mission and made brief remarks at the opening of the proceedings.

Summary of reports presented on the business situation in Japan:

1)	Mr. Yoshizumi explained that the concert business has to take account of such recent developments as municipalities merging together, privatization of concert hall management and the national government handing control of funding over to local governments that have suddenly emerged as negative influences on the concert market, but realize that on the other hand the number of people who like classical music is increasing.
2)	Mr. Hara noted that next year's schedule of visits to Japan by 15 opera companies, 50 orchestras, 100 conductors, 80 pianists and 30 violinists from abroad seems to be a bit too heavy. He said it is no longer realistic to think of Japan simply as a place for foreign artists to go to make a lot of money. Hereafter, he explained, concerts should be more imaginative, with less emphasis on a narrow repertoire of famous pieces, and concert planners should engage more in such projects as master classes, to build up the music culture infrastructure.
3)	Mr. Nakayama outlined the history and present state of opera in Japan, presenting detailed statistics with his explanation. Noting that the business prospects for opera are on the decline, he proposed that such measures as joint productions are worth considering.
4)	Mr. Imamura presented detailed data with an outline of a recording industry now in transition, with CD sales declining and the industry forced to deal with new ways of distributing music, like the iPod.
5)	In a joint session, Mr. Shigeta, Mr. Tsuchihashi and Ms. Sato gave explanations of the present situation in Japan. Then they had a lively an open discussion with the other trade mission participants on the directions business should take, how concerts should be presented and mutual cooperation for promoting unknown artists.
6)	Mr. Nakatsubo and Mr. Shigeta asked for IAMA's cooperation in the struggle to put an end to such unfair tax treatment as twofold withholding taxes and getting governments to streamline their processing of visas for artists on invitational tours.