Hello!
I don't know much about the music industry in Japan, but it seems to be a very hard living out there.
In Japan, there is nothing for free, and even wanabee bands need a lot of money to be able to play.
For example, if you want to make a live in a Live House of a pub, you often need to pay a sort of rent BEFORE playing! So if nobody comes to your live ...
You can see a lot of bands playing outside near train stations, in Shibuya, Shinjuku, etc.
They try to distribute their albums and find public for their future lives.
And I think also that finding a VISA as a musician is not a piece of cake!
Does anybody have such an experience?