A law - an actual written-down, rubber-stamped, the-police-are-coming-lads law - that prevented Japanese people dancing after midnight has now been overturned.
The law forbade dancing in public places without a license (that is, the place needed a license, not the individual). It also made it illegal for Japanese clubs to stay open after midnight.
Passed in 1948, the fuzoku eigyo torishimari ho (or the "Entertainment Businesses Control Law" to you and me) was introduced to crack down on prostitution in dancehalls. It was quickly nicknamed the "no dancing" law.
Thankfully, last year a petition called "Let's Dance" received 150,000 signatures, meaning Japanese lawmakers decided to lift the ban.
There's a pretty big catch, however, as clubs which allow dancing after midnight will now have to be equipped with lighting brighter than 10 lux, which is the same brightness as a cinema before the movie starts.
Still, hooray for the Japanese, hooray for dancing, and hooray for our new plan to make your dad apply for a permit before he's allowed to dance at your wedding.
