Can confirm. Japan is extremely poorly equipped to accept any international acts except the Major Majors, and even then it’s usually a secondary consideration. For independent bands – a great source of PR in addition to driving economies (yeah, they’re minor, but scale up if allowed) – it is necessarily a loss generating operation done out of interest and appreciation, which they then get basically nothing in return for.
In over 15 years of booking here, it is a rare band indeed that makes return trips after the first tour concludes.
by Tokyometal