About Us

JAAPAN was created in 2004 by Franck Stofer and Jean-Alain Sidi to extend the work begun by the recording label SONORE  in 1998 with its exploration of the contemporary Japanese arts scene.

In 2001 SONORE published the must-read Japanese Independent Music (a 360-page reference volume) and has released numerous recordings by Japanese artists (notably Yuko Nexus6: Journal de Tokyo , Honorary Mention, Prix Ars Electronica 2003; Satanicpornocultshop: Zap Meemees, Honorary Mention Prix Ars Electronica 2005).

JAAPAN opened an office in Tokyo in 2005 and is immersed in the artistic diversity of the country and its capital. The agency truly has its nose to the ground, searching out the new in music, dance, media arts, installation and performance.

Behind all the many projects conceived and managed by JAAPAN lies one common goal: passing on to audiences the fruits of its discoveries as authentically as it can.

European tours organised by SONORE and JAPAAN between 2002 and 2010 include those of Satoru Wono, Yuko Nexus6 and Carl Stone (2002), Satanicpornocultshop (2005), Doravideo (Universal Exhibition of Saragossa, 2008), Maywa Denki (Festival Bains Numériques in Enghien-les-bains, 2008), Doddodo (2008), Akane Hosaka (Festival Alternativa in Prague, 2008), Bakirinosu (Printemps de Bourges, 2009), Oorutaichi (2009) and Kokusyoku Sumire (2010, with the support of the Japan Foundation).

In 2007 and 2009, JAAPAN produced the first two editions of a biennial festival, THE JAPANESE EXPERIENCE (LEX), in partnership with the Théâtre of Nîmes (with the support of the Japan Foundation). Programming for the third edition, LEX 2010, is currently underway. LEX takes place over five days and is a unique opportunity for European audiences to experience the arts scene of today’s Japan.

From July to September 2010, JAAPAN managed the facilitation of the production of the Tokyo special for experimetal TV programme Die Nacht / La Nuit, directed by Paul Ouazan for the European televesion channel ARTE. The show will be broadcast on ARTE in December 2010.

JAAPAN is also a music publisher and manages an extensive catalogue of musical works for broadcast and audiovisual synchronisation. Examples of projects for which music has been supplied by JAAPAN include Body Modification Freaks, Cutting Edge Documentation of Extreme Body Modification in Japan produced and directed by Ryoichi ‘Keroppy’ Maeda (Wailea Publishing Tokyo, 2008).

For further information, please contact us at info@jaapan.com

The JAAPAN team

Franck Stofer: director, co-founder and partner

Jean-Alain Sidi: co-founder and partner

Yuki Tanaka: production manager

Aurélien Estager: production manager

Tamaki Eguchi: artistic adviser

Kentaro Takaoka: artistic adviser

Satoko Fujimoto: translator / interpreter

Shihori Tadani: translator / interpreter

Jack Sims: translator / interpreter

Eric Bossick: photographer