Last updated on April 4, 2026

A Year of Achievements — and One Serious Challenge

Thanks to our audiences, artists, partners, and sponsors, the 2025 World Music and Dance Festival in Hakodate was a year of real progress, featuring:

✓ A full seven-day festival program
✓ Re-imagining cultural heritage sites, including the Jewel Box
✓ Official mayoral open performance at Hakodate City Hall
✓ Collaboration with the “Out of the Box” event
✓ Automated bilingual festival signage
✓ Popular new sponsor pass ticketing systems
✓ Introduction of welcome drinks and special discounts
✓ Increased audience attendance
✓ Growth in both the range and sales of original merchandise
✓ Increased beverage sales
✓ Expanded number of sponsoring partners

By almost every measure, we had a great year, but the one downside is unfortunately serious:

× For the fiscal year, we are facing an estimated deficit of approximately 5 million JPY.

The primary reason for this shortfall has been Japan’s rising costs. Because we accommodate artists throughout the entire festival period, hotel prices in particular had a significant impact, alongside increased venue, equipment, and setup/outsourcing costs due to inflation. Had revenues and expenditures aligned more closely, this would have been a near-perfect year.

Strengthening our Foundations for the Long Term

So, what about next year? We won’t give up easily. We are proceeding with preparations while addressing expenditure reduction measures and revenue enhancement.

To strengthen the festival’s long-term foundations responsibly, we are launching a “Closing the Gap” support campaign, running until March 31, 2026.

A dedicated donation page is available via Donorbox.

Message from the Organisers

We have faced difficult moments before — most notably around 2017 — when the festival’s growth outpaced our organisational capacity. Since then, we have rebuilt steadily through careful, independent initiatives, including significant improvements to our internal systems through in-house development. Until this past event, all signs suggested that our finances were moving onto a more stable footing, which makes this setback particularly disappointing.

To address the current shortfall responsibly, we are combining interest-free personal loans (approximately 2.7 million JPY) with temporarily recorded unpaid expenses with cooperating partner organisations (approximately 2.7 million JPY). This approach allows us to meet our obligations while keeping the festival operational and accountable. We are committed to ensuring that this situation does not repeat.

Since its founding in 2008, the World Music and Dance Festival has welcomed over 2,700 artists from 65 countries and regions, reaching a cumulative audience of more than 410,000 visitors, summed up by one of our long-standing taglines:

Every August. For 30,000 people. Worlds meet in Japan.

Our long-term vision remains unchanged. The road ahead continues — toward welcoming artists from 100 countries and regions, and far beyond.

If this festival matters to you — as a place where the histories and cultures of the world meet in the here and now — we sincerely ask for your support in helping us close this gap and carry the festival forward.

Thank you for standing with us.

Worlds Meet Japan, General Incorporated Association
Ian Frank, Festival Director of WMDF
Naoto Soga, Artistic Director of WMDF

Information Disclosure

Total Sponsorships (in Japan) and Donations to Date

1,851,000 JPY

Updated on April 2, 2026