NotMyUsualUserName

We have been having talks with a promoter in Japan. He wants us to play 2 dates in Tokyo. We've never been to Japan before. He is trying to get us to play the gigs on a tourist visa as it will cost him around £425 per head to get Entertainer visas and he wants to avoid the cost and the bureaucracy. He seems to think that it is quite normal. He claims he has promoted several British/US/European bands in Japan, all of whom have travelled to Japan on tourist visas and never had a problem. If we were deported from Japan for 'working' on a tourist visa it is possible that some of us may have our (professional) day jobs put at risk. How a bunch of guys carrying guitars in flightcases might blag through customs on a sight seeing visa I'm not sure. So - have any of you gigged in Japan? What Visa did you travel on? What are the risks if caught on the wrong visa? What are the chances of getting caught? What would you do? I hope you all understand now why I am not posting as 'me'.