The cultural difference between Britain and Japan may be even greater than the 9,000 km separating them on a map, but that's no disputing the ties between the countries when it comes to their shared love of music.
As evidence of this there's the British Anthems minifestival series, originally conceived as a platform to introduce new British artists to a Japanese audience. Now, with each new incarnation of the event, it sells itself more and more as a vehicle of international diplomacy, with all kinds of A&R folk, tour promoters and other industry types attending in the hope of sowing the seeds of glittering future careers by strengthening ties with overseas artists and their representatives.
Now in its seventh volume, the city showcase is to be headlined by Scottish meat-and-potato rockers The Fratellis, with appearances from avant-garde noiseniks Youth Movies and electro-pop duo Robots in Disguise. For the first time, a second stage is dedicated purely to homegrown rock bands who hold the Union Jack dear such as The Mirraz, Quattro and Veni Vidi Vicious — new bands considered high hopes for Tokyo's resurging Brit-influenced, riff-heavy guitar-rock scene.