A Los Angeles-based Japanese arts group called Wednesday for business and government to support their efforts to revitalize a local theater that has staged performances for the Japanese community in the United States for decades.

During a visit to The Japan Times office in Tokyo’s Minato Ward, a nine-member delegation from the Japanese American Cultural & Community Center (JACCC) stressed the importance of renovating its decrepit Aratani Theater in LA’s Little Tokyo district.

Opened in 1983, the 880-seat, midsized theater has long served as a venue for rising Japanese and Japanese-American artists to perform, said JACCC President Leslie Ito. Its stage has often been described as the Apollo Theater of Asian-American performing arts, she added.

“The Japanese-American community is really privileged to have space like this. No other ethnic community in Los Angeles has the kind of facilities that we do,” Ito said.

“So it’s really important that we continue to maintain it at the highest quality possible to be able to showcase the artists and the wonderful, vibrant cultural assets we have in Los Angeles,” she said.

The delegation will spend the rest of its itinerary in Japan meeting various corporations and government agencies in an effort to raise funds for the renovation project, which is expected to cost $7 million.