Musician Kitaro cancels Iran concert because his band includes Americans

I have no problems with Iranians (having known some that are especially good people).

I have a huge problem with the Iranian government.

That being said, I can say the same for most people I know versus the government they have. Including my own.

Speed:

I said essentially the same thing and got -2, whereas you got +5. You are more liked ;)=

So it is really Iran's fault.

Or, it could be to do with the current climate of Iran sticking to a deal and then Trump came along and welched on the deal.

Japanese news says that Iran denied the American band members entry visas. So it is really Iran's fault.

I for one, would not have gone to Iran to go see them. But here in Japan love them.

When I was a kid in the 80s during the bubble economy, there were lots of Iranian workers here in Japan. On weekends thousands of them would gather in Yoyogi Park and have what we called Little Iran (or maybe Little Tehran, I can't quite remember). They served great food, and I thought I would like to go there. How times change.

What is sad is that regimes like the one in Iran has a habit of detaining people, usually with dual citizenship, on trumped up charges, to be used a political pawns. I just watched a video of this Kitaro band and they are not clamoring for anarchy in Iran. It’s not the music that is offense to the government over there and they apparently played there before. It’s nothing like “Happy” by Colin Farrell, which got Iranian folk who sang and/or danced to that tune, arrested. So that leaves the fear of the American band members running into trouble and that shouldn’t happen. It’s not like America just bombed Iran.

It's the right decision. Things could go south really quickly in the region shortly, so I wouldn't advise being physically in Iran if you are an American for the forseeable future.

Very unfortunate for the band and the fans. Too bad he can't find non-American replacements for the gig in time, but 6 is a large number and the concert is too soon. Hopefully he'll be able to reschedule with later in the year with some temporary replacements.

It's too bad political grievances have to have negative consequences for both the Iranian people who enjoy listening to the peaceful music of Kitaro and for the band itself. It looks like negativity has trumped positivity this time.

He is playing it safe and looking out for his band's safety. I see nothing wrong with this.

Iranians are very welcoming and fascinated with western culture. They are very talkative and want to know all about what you think of their country. The young, in particular, are far removed from the conservative clerics.

I'm sure Kitaro and his minions would have been just fine.

Agree. But when the Zionists are writing the rules, nobody wins with their victim ideology.

Hope they reimburse the ticket holders plus cancellation fee. They are not the govt, why are they getting punished?

It's interesting how the public perception of Iranians versus the reality.

Iranians are very welcoming and fascinated with western culture. They are very talkative and want to know all about what you think of their country. The young, in particular, are far removed from the conservative clerics.

I'm sure Kitaro and his minions would have been just fine.

yes, with Iran taking Americans hostages over the last years this was never a good idea to begin with.

Well, he really performed "Thinking of You" for real in this situation. May suck for the concert organizers that spent two years doing so. But might be safer for his team, himself and the fans.

band member names?