Imagine walking into a club and being handed a piece of paper saying, ‘No dancing please’. This was the situation in Japan for years, which came from an age old law that banned dancing in Japan. The Huu-Ei-Hou law (commonly referred to as the fueiho law in international newspapers and magazines) was historically enforced in 1948, just after World War II, to discourage prostitution, as the only people that were dancing late at night were in fact just escorts. The law obviously did not keep up with changes in time, as the law persisted even after clubbing was introduced into Japanese culture. In 2012, under the Law on Control & Improvement of Amusement Business, certain clubs had to obtain a license and had to shut at midnight if they had a dance floor space of less than 66 square metres, and with the limited space in Japan, this meant that most clubs were not excluded from the law. A Footloose in real life, clubs, DJs and clubbers alike are feeling a negative blow from the law and as a result, Japan’s dance music scene has been unable to reach its peak. Japan’s ageing population does not help either. 

Just recently, when hopes were raised as talks surfaced about possible changes to the law in order to attract tourists for the upcoming 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games, those exact hopes were quickly shut down again as the government introduced another, similar law in its place. Fortunately the ban on dancing has been lifted, but a new one regarding light restrictions had been put in place instead. 

At Meoko we talked to DJs Ittetsu who was born in Japan but is now based in London, and continued our conversation with Junki Inoue, following from a recent interview with MEOKO. MEOKO also corresponded with Watusi, a Tokyo based lawyer who is a leading figure in the association for protecting Club & Club Culture (Club to Club Culture wo mamoru Kai) and runs his PLAYCOOL campaign. Following are their thoughts which give an overview of what is exactly happening in Japan’s dance music scene with regards to this law. 

How does the Fueiho Law impact the clubbing scene? 

When MEOKO first heard about the law, we were confused as to who exactly suffered from the law. Were people seriously stopped if they started dancing? Who stopped them? Bouncers? Police? Apparently it was police who regularly raided big clubs, and it was clubs that got shut down if they did not hold a special license, or if they had clubbers dancing past midnight. 

Ittetsu explained that “If police finds a club or a bar breaking the law then they'll go in and close the event immediately. Jun Akimoto told me that happened to him when he played in Osaka”. 

So it’s not just clubs and club owners, but clubbers and DJs too, that have been negatively impacted by the law. 

Many individuals and organisations even outside of the dance music sphere have lamented about the law as outdated and which negatively impacts the dance music scene. Junki Inoue, shared his thoughts: 

“Japanese have been quite positive in accepting and importing western culture in general but at the same time, Japanese are very slow and cautious in changing. Anyway, this Law has been definitely a big factor which hinders expansion of dancing culture and development of related business in Japan”.

Watusi expands on the impact of the law on the Japanese dance music scene: 

“It is a really old and foolish law. For club owners and for society, there is not any merit to the current club law.  Neither the underground nor commercial scenes can flourish, and the club culture continues to decline.  Without doubt, these past few years of police raids on clubs have had a huge damaging impact on the Japan dance club culture.  Big sponsors and large companies have distanced themselves, and many clubs have had to close down.  The only places left are taverns and karaoke bars, and the younger generations have gradually stopped listening to dance music.  Big dance music festivals have been greatly reduced in Japan.

I wouldn’t say that dance music festivals were necessarily shut down because of this law, but many major sponsors have stopped participating in them. Moreover, not only have the clubs been affected, but many late-night weekend events held at famous, crowded tourist spots like Roppongi Hills have also stopped due to the intensity of police patrols. Dance festivals and parties backed by sponsors that invite DJs from overseas have also become scarce".

THE LAW TODAY

Ittetsu shares his thoughts about the public’s perception of the Japanese law:

“A lot of famous artists in Japan in different genres are getting together and taking action now. I saw some TV programmes talking about this law. Japanese people including people who are not involved in dance music scene know that this law is non-sense as this law was made just after the war and doesn't fit in the 21st century. So actually no one really appreciates this law now. The reason this law has been left behind is that the government have more important issues to tackle.”

Junki goes on to explain further efforts against the law: 

“It seems the Japanese government is finally deciding to make a small change with an increasing movement of organized club owners and DJs against Huu-Ei-Hou and also an intention of some large companies to enter into the related business heading towards 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games. I hope this small change will bring us a big change and progress in Japanese dancing culture in next several years!” 

Unfortunately though, recent news has informed us that although the ban has indeed been lifted, a new one has taken its place. According to Reuters, “The lighting must now be brighter than 10 lux, or about as much as in a movie theater before a show starts, to discourage crimes and bad behavior”.

Watusi states that "the widespread negative image of clubs in society has led to an unnecessarily heavy regulation. It sounds paradoxical, but now there are many problems because all of this falls under a grey area with the law". 

He continues to describe the lighting law and other issues regarding the law:

"The lighting regulations has become more severe. There are still many problems that have not been resolved and the Cabinet will be discussing issues such as the problem of club space (currently if the club floor doesn't have 66 squared metres worth of space, they do not get a permit), and club location (they cannot be near a school or hospital). These things have not yet been decided by the Cabinet" who met last Saturday to discuss amendments to the law. 

The fight against the law is back to square one. So what does this mean for the dance music community? Will the fight for less restrictions and more freedom escalate or will clubbers and individuals alike have to adapt to the law? Will sunglasses at night be the next new thing? 

Watusi explains, “Now, we are still fighting with the lighting. Police don't want to release the dance club from the bottom of their management. It's a ridiculous dispute”. He goes on to explain that he will continue his efforts until the new law will be abolished and the dance community can be set free from any more “foolish” laws. 

Despite the set back from the Cabinet, Watusi does express some hope:

"They say that next year will bring a big change in club laws, I think that for the Japanese dance club scene to become an international business, it will take at least 5 years, until around the time of the Tokyo Olympics.

FIGHT TO DANCE: PLAYCOOL’S EFFORTS

Watusi has done a great deal for the dance music community as part of his Playcool campaign, which falls under the Club and Club Culture umbrella. He explains what exactly is Playcool and the campaign's efforts to change public perception about club scenes as a positive aspect of Japanese culture:

"Playcool is a movement to create a new dance club scene.  In particular, it’s about encouraging better manners from club-goers. For example, it promotes cleaning up the streets around clubs early on Sunday mornings. At Playcool club events, posters and videos put out a simple reminder to "be considerate of the places important to us." Playcool sends out the message to the general public that clubs aren't a dangerous place of drug use, but are a safe place for adults to have fun.  It also shows the government that dance music and clubs are an important cultural asset and are a great contribution to the country’s economy.

Playcool is run by members of the Club and Club Culture Conference (CCCC). It will continue to be an important part of the CCCC even after the new law revision." 

Watusi describes some of Playcool/CCC's efforts and milestones towards more freedom and protection for the dance music community: 

"With the help of volunteer lawyers, DJs and MCs across different music genres got together and established CCCC, and first sought negotiations with the government and the police. With the support of both government members and the police, they gathered companies from the whole nation and held a briefing session in order to establish business connections for club companies. As a result, various groups were set up across the country to push for the new law revision to be more realistic and forward-thinking. Now, even business representatives are lobbying the government and holding detailed negotiations with the police. Furthermore, the dance clubs were joined with the support from the ballroom dance association, the Japan Salsa Association, the Japan Latin bar association, and many other dance associations, and it was a great achievement to pave the way for a revision of the law together.

JAPAN’S DANCE MUSIC SCENE, TODAY: IS THERE STILL HOPE? 

In response to Watusi's claim that many clubs had to get shut down due to this law, we asked if there are still some great dance music clubs in Japan and where exactly do talented DJs play? 

"Of course there are still many great dance music clubs in Japan. In Tokyo, there are the big clubs like ageHa, Vision and Womb; there’s GRAND Cafe and Live&Bar 11 (Onjem) in Osaka;  WORLD in Kyoto; and MILLS in Fukuoka, where many talented DJs from overseas also come to play and have amazing parties".

Ittetsu adds that “there are lots of good record labels in Japan such as Op.disc, Fasten Musique, Cabaret, Holic, Mule Musiq etc. The scene in Japan is smaller compare to Europe but there are numbers of good artists rising now and the scene is definitely growing”. 

According to Junki, “EDM is very popular at the moment and many young people gather in EDM scenes. Most of them might be just trend seekers but not real music lovers.  However in a few years time, after this EDM movement is gone, where will they go? I hope they may move into real electronic music”. 

Junki goes on to explain that there are some great parties that still go on. However, it is not the law that has significantly hampered the dance music scene, but Japan’s ageing population:

“There are quite a few parties going on in Japan and the quality of music is very high in there since all artists are veterans in general. In other words, there are only a few young people in those parties. Young DJs for next generation are rarely seen and if they appear, it is limited to the warm up of the party where no crowd is on the floor.  and also Japanese sense of age seniority seems to prevent it to happen”. 

Junki explained that one of the reasons he left Japan was that he “felt a lack of young energy at club scenes in Tokyo”.

Even though Junki does lament on the ageing population, he does admit that there is a bright future for Japan’s dance music scene, in particular the artists that come from Japan.

When asked, “Do you think Japan will influence the global dance music scene, the way the country has made an impact on the global electronics, gaming industry or even game music?” 

Junki replied; “Yes, I think so. As people rely on Japan-made electronic products, I hope Japanese DJs will be relied on by their high quality techniques and the precision”. 

Junki Inoue and Ittetsu, did not leave Japan because of the ban on dancing, however both did touch on Japan’s ageing population, which is another issue that goes beyond the direct control of the government. In Japan, which is not so different to many other countries around the world, seemingly outrageous laws do exist. Fortunately for the country, there are talented individuals and groups that learn to adapt, to fight or to excel and make significant changes in the global dance music industry. 

CREDITS: 

Lori (Watusi's business partner and translator) & London based Japanese translator, Aya Monteverde

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