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Music

Japan's War on Dancing Is Finally Over

Thanks to the government's loosening of restrictions, Japanese nightclubs can finally operate like real clubs.

When we reported in October that Japan had finally lifted its notorious "no dancing" law, there were still some final hoops to jump through. For starters, the Japanese parliament still had to officially ratify the cabinet's decision to lift the ban. Although this final stamp of approval was not expected to meet opposition, the bill was scrapped when the House of Representatives was dissolved in November.

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Today, the Diet has officially revised the law to loosen these restrictions. Japanese nightclubs can now operate past midnight if they get permission from local public safety commissions. They also have to keep records of things like noise complaints, and have lighting brighter than 10lux, approximately the level of light in a movie theater before the show starts. Although that's still pretty damn bright, lighting on the dancefloor itself is allowed to be dimmer.

Watch our documentary on the Japanese nightlife industry's long battle for reform below, and read about how a coalition of lawyers helped to lead to charge.

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