Ten years into a major-label career, the ambitions of Japanese rock band Okamoto’s remain the same as they did when the group started out.
“We want to be on ‘The Simpsons,’ like the Ramones or the Red Hot Chili Peppers,” lead vocalist Sho Imura, who goes by Sho Okamoto, tells The Japan Times. “Big bands end up on there, so we want to do that. And play at Madison Square Garden or Hyde Park.”
While they are still waiting on New York and London’s most prestigious stages — not to mention the spotlight of Springfield — the band’s four members have accomplished a lot in a decade. They’ve released nine albums, toured across Japan and abroad, and last year played a solo show at Tokyo’s Nippon Budokan arena, a venue myriad acts in Japan dream about headlining.