Japan Press Weekly

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2013 April 17 - 23 [ARTS AND SPORTS]

Out-of-date dance regulation must be removed: JCP Kokuta

Japanese Communist Party representative Kokuta Keiji on April 16 demanded the removal of legal restrictions on dancing which he claimed should be valued as culture and art.

At a House of Representatives Budget Committee meeting, Kokuta claimed that it is out of date to regulate all types of dancing under the Entertainment Business Act while all junior high school students have been required to learn dance as part of the school curriculum since last year.

The JCP lawmaker pointed out that the law controlling entertainment businesses uses dancing as one of the criteria to determine which business should be regulated, and that the law regulates even ballroom dancing.

Stating, “What is important is not dancing but how to operate entertainment businesses,” Kokuta said that even if dancing is removed from the law, it is possible to prevent minors from entering into places serving alcohol late at night under the existing laws.

Education Minister Shimomura Hakubun replied, “Regulation against ballroom dancing is unreasonable in the international community. I understand that dance is utilized as a tool to improve people’s relationships and revitalize local communities. I want Japan to be a nation in which more and more people recognize dance as culture.”

Related past articles:
> Tokyo’s Shibuya ward calls for dance regulation to be revised [April 2,2013]
> Citizens petition Dietmembers to remove dance regulation [February 21,2013]
> Kyoto residents act against regulations against dancing [March 17,2012]