Tokyo, one of the world's leading classical music cities

  Tokyo is currently home to more than 10 professional orchestras, a fact that is presumed to make it unique in the world. Moreover, each year numerous prominent overseas orchestras and opera companies visit Japan to give performances. The Metropolitan Opera and Rome Opera House came to Japan in 2006, and the Berlin State Opera, the Saxon State Opera from Dresden, and the Prague State Opera visited the country in 2007. In autumn 2008, the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra and the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra performed in Japan.
  That Tokyo provided an opportunity to listen to and compare these two prominent orchestras, both of which visited the country at the same time, is a testament to its unique appeal as a city of classical music. It is estimated that some 4,500 classical music concerts are held in Tokyo each year, attracting an audience of around 2.3 million listeners.

Success at La Folle Journée

  La Folle Journée, a classical music festival that originated in the harbor town of Nantes in western France and that has enjoyed success across Europe, has been held in Tokyo since 2005. The public has responded to the event in increasing numbers each year since then, and total attendance in 2007 reached a record of 1 million. The fact that 60% of attendees experience a classical music concert for the first time highlights the success of the festival in helping to broaden the horizons of classical music in Japan. La Folle Journée was held simultaneously in the cities of Kanazawa and Tokyo in 2008.

Classical music festivals held thoughout Japan

  Some 200 classical music festivals both large and small are held throughout Japan each year. First-rate artists from Japan and overseas participate in these festivals, which attract large audiences. Representative music festivals include the Kusatsu International Summer Music Academy & Festival (held annually since 1980 in Kusatsu-machi, Agatsuma-gun, Gunma Prefecture), Japan's longest-running festival; the Pacific Music Festival (held annually since 1990 in Sapporo, Hokkaido), which attracts audiences of some 50,000 people each year; and the Saito Kinen Festival Matsumoto (held annually since 1992 in Matsumoto, Nagano Prefecture).
  The Pacific Music Festival, one of the world's most prominent educational music festivals, was initially proposed by conductor Leonard Bernstein as a way to foster the development of young musicians worldwide. The Saito Kinen Festival Matsumoto, which is dedicated to disseminating Western music from Japan back to the West under the leadership of conductor Seiji Ozawa, is very well known and respected, not only in Japan, but also internationally.