“We find their declaration dangerously capitulatory to right-wing and capitalist agendas.”

Terre Thaemlitz – otherwise known as DJ Sprinkles – has commented on the changes to Japan’s controversial Fueiho law via a post on her website.

The post responds to the “Declaration On the Future Of Japan’s Club Culture,” signed by 40 Japanese DJs on the same day that the 67-year-old law was officially changed by the Japanese government, arguing that it has “no purpose other than to comfort members of those reactionary political forces that have historically suppressed Japan’s club cultures,” and goes so far as to “pledge the future of Japan’s club cultures to the service of conservative social ideals.”

“We find their declaration dangerously capitulatory to right-wing and capitalist agendas,” Thaemlitz continues, “and culturally detrimental in its failure to address the ongoing difficulties faced by those in the sex industry and other trades whose lives will remain under the control of the Fuueihou after the anticipated revisions regarding dance are finalized.

“We remind them that the larger issue at hand is not simply the “right to dance,” but the policing of our bodies and their movements – both physically and socially. In relation to clubs themselves, we remind them that the proposed revisions primarily impact the workings of major venues (“mega clubs”), and do nothing to alleviate the legal and social risks faced daily by the small venues that form the foundations of Japan’s underground club cultures.

“We declare our understanding of club cultures as integrally linked to minor communities commonly deemed “perverse” by dominant cultures and government legislation. We understand from first-hand experience that the cultural strength of club cultures is entwined with struggles against patriarchy, heteronormativity, nationalism and profit-driven industries.

“We acknowledge the histories of cultural seclusion and persecution that give rise to the spaces in which we meet, and remain continually aware of how they influence the sounds we generate, play and dance to. We observe a key function of club spaces has historically been to provide shelter and safe houses amidst dominant cultural violence and discrimination based on sexuality, gender, ethnicity, class and race.”

You can read the whole post at the Comatonse website, and revisit FACT’s interview with Thaemlitz from last year. [via RA]