One observation I’ve made about Japan in the 15+ years I’ve spent there is, they pay a little more attention to music-related culture than we generally do in the States. It’s quite common for Japanese kids to take piano lessons as they go through school, and my own kids went beyond this stage, becoming quite proficient at the clarinet and flute.

Whereas I picked up virtually all my knowledge of the great composers of Europe from Peanuts comics (just 153 days til Beethoven’s birthday!), most Japanese kids I’ve seen know Bach from Beethoven from Brahms.
One of our favorite TV shows each week was called “The Titleless Concert” which aired on Sunday mornings. The host was Kentaro Haneda, a kindly old conductor whose mission was to bring classical music to people in a form that everyone could enjoy — kind of a Carl Sagan of the concerthall.

Maestro Haneda was also a composer who, among many other achievements, wrote virtually all the music for the Macross animated series and movie. Sadly, he passed away last month due to liver cancer. He will be missed by many.