Takuya Chigira had a front seat for J-pop history.

The CEO of Japanese talent agency Cloud Nine attended Matsuri ’25, a concert held in Los Angeles last March that brought together three of Japan’s biggest acts: Yoasobi, Atarashii Gakko! and Cloud Nine’s own Ado.

As Chigira, 41, watched the sold-out crowd of 7,000 people take in the moment, a realization set in. “This is amazing,” he thought, “but it should be so much bigger.”