Agora Planning Ltd.
Established the Komaba Agora Theater in July 1984. Provided support for Seinendan’s production department from 1986, with Seinendan going on to operate out of Komaba Agora. Since 1989 theater companies from all over the country have been invited to the End-of-Millennium Theater Festival, which has been held under the new name Summit since 2001. In 2003 the Komaba Agora Theater shifted to a new system in which the theater itself produces all its programs.

Seinendan
Formed in November 1982 by leader Oriza Hirata. So far it has presented 46 of its own productions and 11 outside productions, as well as independent productions created under the Seinendan Links system by young company members. Using the Komaba Agora Theater as its homebase, the company has put on annual regional theater productions since 1991. Seinendan performed in Korea in 1993, its first overseas performance. It performed again in Korea in 1999 (in a production with Korean subtitles), conducted a four-city tour of North America in 2000 (in a production with English subtitles), and did a five-city tour of Europe in 2002 (with English, Italian and French subtitles). In 2006 Seinendan toured seven North American cities with “The Yalta Conference” along with “Loyal Ronin: The Working Girls Version,” as well as taking “Tokyo Notes” to three Southeast Asian cities. Additionally, from 2006 the troupe performed in Europe for five years in a row with a program that centered on the popular “Tokyo Notes,” receiving unwaveringly high acclaim both within Japan and overseas for its quiet, intricate productions using unique staging techniques. The company has also had success with international co-productions such as “Songs of Farewell” in 2007, collaborative projects resulting from exchanges which developed with overseas artists in the wake of Seinendan’s performances abroad, and which have involved some unprecedented collaborations. In 2010 the company performed a trilingual revival of “Tokyo Notes” with Japanese, Chinese and Korean actors. It also recorded the first robot-based theater performance in Tokyo, further boosting its profile outside the theater world.