Dancing after midnight in Tokyo will no longer be illegal - as long as it’s not too dark - after Japan’s parliament on Wednesday voted to relax laws that banned boogying in one of the world’s clubbing capitals.
Under current <g data-gr-id="17">rules</g> dance clubs across the country are supposed to stop people from shaking their stuff once the clock ticks over to 12 am.
The law, which dates from 1948, during the US occupation, was put in place amid concerns that the relatively liberal social attitudes of the Americans were corrupting Japan’s youth.
It was also an attempt to curb prostitution, which was rife in the poverty of post-World War II Japan.
The Law on Control and Improvement of Amusement Business <g data-gr-id="16">was</g> so wide-ranging that even some dance classes - including ballroom - fell foul of it because they involved people dancing in pairs.
Enforcement was considerably relaxed as Japan boomed in the 1960s, 70s and 80s, allowing clubland to thrive in the big cities.
But after decades of turning a blind eye to the clubs, a police crackdown began following the 2010 death of a 22-year-old student after a fight in an Osaka club.