Theatrical people are angry at Koizumi "reform" for neglecting art and culture

About 400 theatrical people gathered in the Kinokuniya Hall in Shinjuku,
Tokyo on November 5, to express their opposition to the government plan to
cut funding used for the promotion of art and culture.

Under the theme "Is public funding unnecessary for the theater?" the
meeting was the first to be held jointly by theatrical companies, stage
directors, lighting technicians, managers and producers of modern drama,
modern drama actors, stage acousticians, stage managers, and other
performing artists.

The Koizumi Cabinet's "administrative reform" plan announced last August
included cuts in government funding for the promotion of the arts and
culture, placing the National Theatre of Japan under the management of a
private company, and ending the use of public funds for the operation of the
New National Theatre in Tokyo. These proposals came as a severe shock to
theater people.

Inoue Hisashi, a writer who attended the meeting as a panelist, said, "It
is ridiculous to regard art and cultural activities in the same light as
those corrupt government corporations which need to be reformed."

Osasa Yoshio, drama critic, and Kuriyama Tamiya, Tokyo's New National
Theatre art director, said that having national theaters is commonplace in
the world today and that Japan should spend more on its national theaters.

Kokami Shoji, playwright and stage director, said that there is nothing
wrong with using taxpayer money for culture. It is the right of theatrical
people to use taxpayer money, he added. (end)