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Like a renewed John Lithgow learning the importance of levity in life from a boisterous Kevin Bacon, Japan voted to let its people dance.
While we would love nothing more than to drop that on your figurative doorstep and walk away, we might as well explain that the nation has reportedly lifted a ban that was in place for 67 years.
The Independent's Doug Bolton explains the newly lifted ban: "The ban forbids public dancing unless the venue has a license, and even licensed premises have to stop all dancing by midnight."
Instead of calling it a night after midnight like some mogwai, revelers can soon bust out their dancing shoes and boogie like teenagers finally getting to bust a move like a young Kevin Bacon.
With that, let's dance:
CNN's Will Ripley covered the impetus behind the ban that outlawed late night dancing in clubs around the nation:
Bolton notes that city officials largely allowed dancing despite the ban throughout last century, however, "into the 21st Century, a string of celebrity drug scandals and nightclub brawls led to a crackdown, with club raids once again becoming common."
Even CNN's cameras highlight a raucous club scene that was, as Ripley put it, "technically illegal."
Now thanks to the 2020 Olympics and a recent petition, lawmakers saw fit to overturn the ban last week, via The Independent. The technicality of unlawful dancing washes away to what will be officially legal celebration.
The only somber note to the story is that the ban will be lifted sometime next year, meaning dancing after midnight is still a shunned practice.
But soon the practice of dancing like nobody is watching will fill Japanese clubs and bars like other parts of the world.
So hydrate accordingly, because the night will soon be filled with the frenetic energy of a country that can now take the dancing shoes out of storage.
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