Redevelopment of National Theatre: Explore Ways to Use Cultural Facility from International Perspective

Editorial

14:59 JST, January 19, 2025

The redevelopment of the National Theatre, which serves as an important base for traditional performing arts, has become an issue that needs addressing. While the theater is reconstructed, it should also be made into a place that overseas performers and that audiences would like to visit at least once.

It has been over a year since the National Theatre in Tokyo closed for reconstruction due to the aging of the building. Bidding for the project has twice failed to produce a result due to factors such as the rising cost of construction, and no contractor has yet been decided on.

The government has earmarked an additional ¥20 billion in this fiscal year’s supplementary budget to cover the rising cost of materials for the theater’s redevelopment. At the end of last year, the government revised the redevelopment plan, relaxing the bidding conditions by, for example, removing a requirement that a hotel be attached to the building.

The National Theatre opened in 1966. In addition to being a venue for viewing kabuki, bunraku puppet plays and other traditional performing arts, it has also focused on training performers. The theater has contributed to the preservation and development of culture by staging performances of works that would be difficult to make a commercial success.

Those involved are increasingly concerned that the delay in redevelopment could result in lost chances to preserve traditional performing arts or lead to a decline of the arts. The National Theatre is a cultural facility that represents the nation. It is essential that sufficient budgetary measures be taken to ensure that the theater is kept at a high standard.

The new National Theatre will be on the same scale as the old building, featuring a large hall with about 1,600 seats and a small hall with about 600 seats. The facility will also be built barrier free.

However, this will not be enough. The annual number of paying audience members at performances organized by the theater itself peaked at around 420,000 in fiscal 1979, but in fiscal 2022, before the closure of the old theater, attendance had fallen to about 230,000. It is questionable whether simply building a new structure will lead to an increase in attendance.

The COVID-19 pandemic has abated, and many tourists are once again visiting Japan from overseas. Besides providing people with the opportunity to enjoy Japan’s performing arts, the theater should also try to attract new audiences by combining traditional arts with video works and contemporary music, for example.

The theater should aim to become a stage that even overseas entertainers will aspire to perform on. One idea would be to invite performers of traditional arts from Asia and elsewhere so that the venue will serve as a place for cultural exchange.

If the revised plan for redevelopment does not go smoothly, it may be necessary to consider fundamentally reviewing the plan, including where the new theater will be built.

The theater could also be developed for multiple purposes, so that it is suitable for hosting musicals and concerts by popular groups that are active internationally while also preserving traditional performing arts.

In many countries, including Japan, the content industry, which includes culture, performing arts, anime and film, is thriving. The new National Theatre should be developed as a world-class venue where there are attractive stages, so that it may serve as the cultural center of Asia.

(From The Yomiuri Shimbun, Jan. 19, 2025)