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Asahi Shimbun

Reaching for the stars, first Music Awards Japan ceremonies near

Nominees for the inaugural Music Awards Japan are announced during a ceremony in Tokyo on April 17. (Chiho Yashiro) The inaugural Music Awards Japan (MAJ) ceremonies will be held on May 21 and 22, with hopes it will gain the prestige of the U.S. Grammys and propel Japanese artists toward international stardom. MAJ has brought together about 5,000 artists, producers and media experts to recognize prize-winning songs and performers in 62 categories. The event is hosted by the Japan Culture and Entertainment Industry Promotion Association (CEIPA), a general incorporated organization founded by the Recording Industry Association of Japan (RIAJ) and four other groups. CEIPA announced the establishment of the awards in October last year. To ensure transparency in the awards selection process, nominees were chosen through an automated system based on music charts and other data. 'Japanese artists are beginning to exert a powerful presence outside the country and achieve results,' said Tatsuya Nomura, president of the Federation of Music Producers Japan who heads MAJ's executive committee. 'We hope to provide a boost for them.' Organizers intend to stream the awards ceremonies worldwide on YouTube, publish playlists of award-winning songs on music streaming services, and offer other forms of support. Shunsuke Muramatsu, the RIAJ chairman who serves as board chair at CEIPA, hopes MAJ will work as a promotional tool for prize-winning musicians when they make their foray into overseas markets. Japanese artists and their managers say they have nothing to write in their 'curriculum vitae' when they talk to media personnel, promoters and business partners outside Japan, he said. 'It's meaningless if winning an award doesn't serve as some kind of endorsement,' Muramatsu said. 'We want to take time to make the awards worthy of such a status.' The Japan Composer's Association has hosted the large-scale Japan Record Awards (JRA) since 1959. At the end of each year, the winners are announced, and they give performances. During the Showa Era (1926-1989), the general public persuaded the JRA to pick the song of the year, according to music critic Suzie Suzuki. But listeners' preferences have diversified in recent years thanks to music streaming services and other factors, and it has become difficult to pick one song that is acceptable to everyone. To remain influential, music awards must present forward-thinking and novel selections that can indicate what will happen next in the music market, Suzuki added. The MAJ awards cover artists and songs during a one-year period until January. The six main categories are: Song of the Year; Artist of the Year; New Artist of the Year; Album of the Year; Top Global Hit from Japan; and Best Song Asia. Creepy Nuts' 'Bling-Bang-Bang-Born' and Yoasobi's 'Idol' are among the nominees in the Song of the Year category. (This article was written by Chiho Yashiro and Shiki Iwasawa.)