Sho Suzuki saw what lay ahead for Tokyo’s live music community well before the government issued any state of emergency over COVID-19. All he had to do was look at Club Asia and three other venues operated by parent company Culture of Asia, at which he works as Space Division Director.
“Organizers were getting in touch with us from early March to postpone or cancel events,” says Suzuki. “The audiences for the parties that went on that month decreased by about half.”
By the end of that month, the Culture of Asia family of clubs — which also includes Glad, Lounge Neo and Vuenos — had closed, following the country’s state of emergency going into effect. As May arrived, Suzuki and his team had some tough choices to make.