For the first time, a Japanese museum has topped world museum attendance records compiled by the Art Newspaper. “The most visited show of 2004 was “Treasures of a sacred mountain” at the Tokyo National Museum which was seen by an average of 7,638 visitors a day, while another exhibition at the institution, “Treasures of Chinese art” has also made it into the top 10.The remarkable increase in attendance to Japanese exhibitions follows the 2001 semi-privatisation of all State-run museums, combined with the country’s continuing recession which has fostered a ruthlessly competitive climate among Japanese institutions.”