Clubland, wherever you go out in the world, has always been under pressure from ‘the authorities’. If they’re not clamping down on clubs for the usual range of noise/drug/licensing/(and now even smoking) related issues then they are busy redeveloping cherished dance venues into office blocks and luxury apartments.

With London currently feeling the pinch with The Cross, Canvas, The Key and now Turnmills all falling to the developers proverbial wrecking ball this year, it seems all is not well in Japan’s capital either.

Club Yellow, which has played host to most of the biggest names in techno - particularly Detroit’s original DJ maffia - during the last 17 years, is being forced to close this June.

Reasons for the closure remain sketchy, but it is thought that ‘the authorities’ have wanted the venue shut down for some time now. Although the city has a very strong dance music culture, losing such an influential space is not good news for dance fans.

Tokyo is another city with an archaic law forbidding dancing which has been used against Club Yellow by police in recent years. This follows similar action this month in Bangalore, and of course in New York, where the ancient ‘caberet laws’ have been a major tool in stifling the city’s once world-beating nightlife.

It would be nice to think the party spirit carries on regardless, but as all these cities become increasingly wealthy, the combination of property prices and residents who demand VIP areas rather than gritty spaces for music lovers conspire to do a good job of calling time on urban raving.

Still, as mentioned at the start of this rant, this pressure has always loomed over clubland and has often made it stronger. People dancing and losing their inhibitions has always been seen as a threat to ‘the authorities’ and the wealthy. But history has proven time and again that you can’t stop people gathering to dance (just like you can’t stop them getting intoxicated while they do it).

The cat and mouse game continues around the world, but for Yellow in Tokyo, this merry dance looks like it’s over.