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large crowd of Indonesians and Japanese music fans is expected to turn up for performances by top artists during the annual Jak-Japan Matsuri on Saturday and Sunday.

Scheduled to take place at the Southeast Plaza of the Gelora Bung Karno sports complex in Senayan, Central Jakarta, the event will feature music performances at night for the first time.

Seven popular singers and groups from Japan and Indonesia are slated to entertain visitors, including Andien, Raisa and Isyana Sarasvati from the Indonesian side, Kiroro and Sukima Switch from Japan.

Pop groups JKT 48 and AKB 48 will also be performing, although only a quarter of the 48 members of the latter will be on stage, according to the event’s organizers.

With such a premium lineup, the organizers said they were confident of meeting its target of attracting 40,000 Japanese pop-culture enthusiasts.

In recent years, the festival’s attendance crawled at around 15,000, in part because of the remote location of the previous venues.

“I hope through this opportunity, many [Jakartans] will deepen their interest in Japan,” said Keiko Ishibashi, Japan Foundation program coordinator and organizer of the music festival.

She told The Jakarta Post that the festival would be the first opportunity for most Indonesians to actually witness Japanese singers singing familiar songs live on stage.

Jak-Japan Matsuri itself will kick off at 11 a.m. on Saturday.

Indonesian and Japanese performers, both amateurs and professionals, will entertain audiences at the main and mini stages separately. Among them are Makoto Kuriya, a Jazz pianist, and RAN, a popular Indonesian three-piece band.

Organizers said this year’s Matsuri is also meant to bridge the Asian Games, which closed on Sept. 2, and the upcoming Tokyo Olympics in 2020.

The Friendship Plaza was therefore prepared for visitors to participate in various sports activities, such as soccer and badminton.

Matsuri is the Japanese word for festival or holiday.

Mikoshi, a divine palanquin, will also be presented at the festival. At booths adjoining the stages, various sponsors will provide Japanese foods and beverages among other items.

The event, mainly sponsored by Japanese companies, will mark its 10th anniversary this year, coinciding with the 60th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Jakarta and Tokyo.

Chiharu Komatsu, a researcher at the information and culture section of the Embassy of Japan in Jakarta expects “it [will] be an occasion to reconfirm the amicable ties between Japan and Indonesia toward next decade” as the slogan “Indonesia and Japan Always Together” suggests.

Advanced two-day tickets are now on sale for Rp 60,000 (US$4.02) at the Jakarta Japan Club (JJC) and JAC Recruitment Indonesia, while one-day tickets will be available for Rp. 40,000 at the venue.

No tickets are required for children under 5 years old.

— The writer is an intern at The Jakarta Post