New National Theatre Tokyo

The construction of the NNTT was completed in February 1997. Its first public performances took place in October of that year. The Tokyo Opera City Tower is connected to the theatre. It has concert halls, an art gallery, a media-art museum, office space, many restaurants and shops. The combined complex of the skyscraper tower and the theatre is called the "Tokyo Opera City".

Besides the public performances, various enterprises are undertaken, such as the young artist training programs (for ballet, opera, and theatre), theatre rental for other performing arts groups, performing arts-related exhibitions, public usage of its video library and book library, public performances for children and young students, backstage tours, and most importantly, international exchanges for performing arts events, etc. Moreover, The Stage Set & Design Centre (located in Choshi city, Chiba Prefecture) stores and exhibits previously used stage scenery and costumes.

The arts management of NNTT, including the enterprises in above, is commissioned to New National Theatre Foundation (NNTF) from the independent administrative institution, known as The Japan Arts Council. NNTT is managed by several trust funds, government grants, admission revenues, and private donations from many supporting companies.

Criticism

The NNTT has been repeatedly criticized for its bureaucratic arts administration, which is very representative of usual Japanese politics. Although NNTT is financed by the Japanese government, major conductors, directors, and performing artists have all complained that their creative ideas are restricted by the bureaucratic style of the arts management. In 2010, the government decided to cut down the ¥4.8 billion grant NNTT received the previous year by half, and reduce the government grants to trainees who want to work and study abroad.

Steel reinforced concrete construction 5 floors above ground, 4 floors below ground

Total floor area: 68,879 m2 (741,410 sq ft)

Design: Takahiko Yanagisawa + TAK Architectural Institute

The NNTT contains three main theaters.

Artistic director selection controversy

In the summer of 2008, the government-appointed theater board officials decided to replace artistic director Hitoshi Uyama with Keiko Miyata. The decision was announced at a June 30 board meeting, taking many of the board members by surprise because no prior discussion of replacing the director had taken place. When one of the board members, Ai Nagai, tried to question the decision, her questions were ignored by the board presidency. Nagai later went public with her questions on the decision in a statement signed by other prominent theater dramatists, including Hisashi Inoue, Yukio Ninagawa, and Yōji Sakate, but the board never responded to the questions.