Amsterdam’s mayor shares the secrets of a successful nightlife scene in Tokyo conference

Amsterdam has a thriving nightlife scene. It hosts the annual Amsterdam Dance Event (ADE), one of the world’s biggest dance music festivals, and even has a night mayor who is an active partner in discussions and helps resolve nightlife issues. What’s more, the local government provides support to ensure that the city is a safe and secure place where diverse individuals can thrive and enjoy themselves.

To learn from Amsterdam’s success, the Japan Nighttime Economy Association (JNEA) recently organised the Nighttime Economy Opinion Exchange with Femke Halsema, the Mayor of Amsterdam. The event began with presentations from JNEA members and representatives from Chicks on a Mission Tokyo, a joint-project with Amsterdam that supports women's progress in the nightlife industry and offers suggestions for creating a safer club scene.

Akiko Usuki from Chicks on a Mission Tokyo was invited to the international Chicks on a Mission conference in Amsterdam in 2017. This experience inspired her to help improve the environment for women in nightlife in Japan. She said, ‘After returning from Chicks on a Mission in Amsterdam, we started our activities in Japan with many supporters, including DJs, artists and legislators. We have been involved in a variety of efforts since then, including spreading information through various media, networking through talks and other events, collaborating with artists in Amsterdam, and holding DJ events on International Women's Day. With the pandemic winding down, I’d like to work towards further energising our activities.’

The Nighttime Economy Opinion Exchange also discussed the economic situation of nightlife in Japan, a conversation that has been continuing since the amendment of the Entertainment Business Law in 2016. Another topic covered was the potential of the nighttime economy when it comes to foreign tourism, while also considering the cultural and social value connected with this. These discussions have often been guided by insights from Amsterdam. 

All of these issues were spoken about in the round-table discussion that followed the presentations at the Nighttime Economy Opinion Exchange. Here’s a transcript of the conversation.

Femke Halsema: Amsterdam has had nightlife for a very long time and considers it very important. It’s in the heart of Amsterdam, it’s our identity.

There’s no social stratification in nightlife, there are no cultural divisions. Although we all know about the harassment of women, of different ethnic groups and religions, mostly in nightlife, such discrimination and cultural stratification disappears. For young people, it is an important place where you can discover your identity and feel free, free from the commercial ties and atmosphere that is there during the daytime.

It is also a place where often marginalised groups start their empowerment. For instance, the LGBTQ community in Amsterdam has really been empowered through nightlife. We have a street in Amsterdam, which is a very important street where the gay community always goes out at night, a street where new trends, where new debates start, and where people can feel safe.

I think the same can be said for trans, drag – many marginalised groups find freedom in the nightlife. Nightlife is also of great economic significance for our city, for clubs and music venues, the fashion industry, for pop culture in general. It’s where trends start – people look at one another and see how they want to dress, who they want to be, what music they like.

Young people’s interest in nightlife has decreased, and nightlife is now less dominant in the centre of Amsterdam. The city centre is less vibrant and less sustainable, because many young people who live in the outskirts of the city no longer go to the city centre, to the shops, to walk the streets. The only people you see in the centre are tourists.

We don't know if our city centre will remain the same in 20 or 30 years, or if it will become a ‘theme park for tourists’. If that were to happen, it would mean the end of the city. I consider this a crucial issue.

Nightlife is not only something nice, something that gives freedom, but something that is crucial for a city to survive. So, now we are trying to reorganise our city centre. We are an international city – we love our tourists – but we don’t love tourists who are not interested in our city, who only come to do drugs, look at the sex workers and go away in two days. We love people who love the culture of our city.

We are trying to eliminate monoculture and create a new diversity in the city centre, its stores and restaurants. We want young people from the outskirts of Amsterdam to return to the city centre, to meet each other, to find freedom, and to contribute to the city's survival.

Kana Ito: I totally agree that nightlife is a place where you can find your identity, since that is also what happened to me. I also believe that nightlife has the value of cultural activities – it is where creativity is born – so I’d like to raise the matter of the cultural value of nightlife and the nighttime economy.

Naz Chris: I feel that the real-world nightlife scene is declining in Japan due to the spread of social media. But the lessons that can be learned by people interacting with each other are very important, and the value of the night scene is in how it combines music, a way of life, art, and a social atmosphere. I believe that kind of interaction can lead society to a better place, even if only in part.

But when you go to the local government and administrators in Japan to ask for support, the first thing that comes up is always the issue of liability for things that might happen at nightclubs and in the night scene, and a lot of people say that supporting our business is in itself a risk. I believe that deepening mutual understanding on such matters and building bridges between the public and private sectors will be key for the nightlife scene to thrive.

Masahiro Tsuchiya: After all, we want great DJs to have a big stage, don’t we? But if there’s no such stage in Japan, they will go abroad. Where will artists’ activities take them? I think the size of our venues and the expansion of the scene are very important in this regard.

It’s not a question of any one right choice, but rather the fact that there are fewer and fewer choices. In no other city can you enjoy so many different genres of music as in Tokyo, and that’s great, but I feel that the scene is a bit skewed right now.

DJ Nobu: The social status and income of DJs is higher abroad, whether it’s in Amsterdam or elsewhere. I can’t help but feel that the job of being a DJ isn’t yet properly recognised by society in Japan. To me, Europe is a more attractive place for DJs to work.

Halsema: People in the Netherlands consider nightlife important, and you get a lot of information about nightlife on social media and the internet, as well as in traditional media such as newspapers. In the government, we collect information on nightlife regularly, as we would with regard to any other important subject.

DJs are the heart of the clubs and often determine their direction together with club owners. They’re superstars, influencers, who are capable of attracting large audiences. Some famous DJs are wealthy enough to own a private jet.

Vincent Schipper: One of the differences between how the nightlife industry works here in Tokyo and in the Netherlands is in economic power and business models. A lot of dance music and nightlife culture comes out of the Netherlands, and it’s centrally located for much of that culture. In Amsterdam we have a lot of variety in terms of clubs and types of music that are being played, so there’s quite a bit of competition, and there’s a lot more alcohol being sold.

So even though many clubs in the Netherlands have gotten bigger, they’re still focusing on very high quality content, and investing in that since they know it’ll bring in more income – it goes hand in hand.

Halsema: Festivals are really important in the Netherlands, and especially in Amsterdam. Every October, we have the ADE.

It’s an incubator, where the newest dance music, the newest trends are. Government has a role to play here, because we protect festivals, we try to take care that not only huge commercial festivals have a place in the city or in the fields surrounding the city, but also small and alternative festivals. The festival serves as an important gateway to the entire Amsterdam music scene, as new music and trends born at the festival flow into the clubs.

Schipper: The variety of the festivals is also important. In Amsterdam, we have a lot of festivals, they cater to so many different audiences and provide different types of music, which is possible due to the support from the government.

Takaaki Umezawa: From a policy perspective, do you provide more support for festivals than venues?

Halsema: Well, venues are private, so we don’t support venues, they have their own business models and don’t need us, they’re better off without our interference.

It’s funny for me to say, but I think nightlife is better off without the government. As long as the government doesn’t interfere in nightlife, it’s better. 

Our responsibility is to recognise that there are licensed and unlicensed clubs, and that there are clubs that need some protection and clubs that are not commercial enough to make it on their own. In the city centre of Amsterdam, we just licensed a new club, which brings something new to the city centre that wasn’t there before, new groups, for instance black people. Before this, there were no clubs in the city centre that were home to black activists.

DJ Nobu: It’s always local clubs that create culture. From there it grows, and people of a certain quality gather at festivals, eventually forming a large music scene. Festivals don’t come first; it’s the local scene that’s important when roots are formed. This is the same in all cities, but I think that Amsterdam in particular has a strong local scene, which is also why the festivals are so successful.

Haruka: Amsterdam has a much larger dance music industry than Japan, and it’s great that you still support festivals, including smaller ones, despite that. It would be nice if there were such a system or mechanism in Japan as well. The music played by DJs at festivals is often created by unknown producers in their own bedrooms, so I think it would be good to have a system that supports such artists who have not yet made their mark in the scene.

Naz: The Tokyo metropolitan government has also begun working to raise the profile of small festivals and small venues. We’ve held discussions with the government to create new support systems for independent festivals and private organisers.

Umezawa: I think the mayor’s point about the government’s role in promoting the nighttime economy centres on protection for minority groups, as well as the incubation factor. Mr Tezuka, what role do you see the night scene playing for LGBTQ+ and other minorities?

Maki Tezuka: Kabukicho is a neighbourhood that attracts people from all walks of life. While Shinjuku has its music and LGBTQ communities, Kabukicho accepts anyone who has nowhere else to go, regardless of their affiliation.

The number of host and hostess clubs has increased dramatically in the wake of the pandemic. There are now 200 to 300 such clubs, and in Kabukicho alone they’ve become a key industry worth about ¥60 billion. I don’t know whether ‘culture’ is the right word to describe this, but what’s clear is that young people are gathering and doing things on their own. Kabukicho is a place that tolerates this.

While keeping government interference minimal and being accepting of everyone are key aspects, we have also seen an increase in crime, especially among young people. I’m not sure how the local government feels about upholding this delicate balance, but I think the core issue is how to keep things under control.

Tsuchiya: Sometimes our festival does disturb residents. They say the noise is too loud or that the event causes traffic jams. It’s of course important to listen to each and every one of these people, but at the same time, I think we need to do the exact opposite, too. We can never move forward if we say, ‘We can't do it because we can't take responsibility.’ I think it would be a good thing if meetings like this one were to lead to even some measure of deregulation, so that more people could try doing the things they want.

As for festivals receiving protection, the local government of Higashi-Izu in Shizuoka prefecture, where Rainbow Disco Club is held, has been very supportive, with government employees sometimes giving up their Golden Week holidays to help out. This is why we’ve been able to continue organising the festival by working together with the local area.

Apart from that, I remember well how impressed I was when I went to the Dekmantel Festival, an outdoor festival in Amsterdam. It was held in a place where you could ride a bicycle from the centre of the city to the venue, yet it was really loud and had an outstanding number of visitors. I was amazed that such a huge event could be held in an urban area.

It simply isn't possible to do the same thing in the streets of Tokyo. But if it were in Kabukicho, it might work out. They’re already holding music events in the plaza in Kabukicho, and I think things like that are really important to have in Japan.

Hiroyuki Fushitani: As the mayor said, nightlife brings people out into the open, and I think that's very important in that it contributes to people’s wellbeing. On the other hand, the more we try to promote the development of open communities, the more we bring in people from the outside. But that could create overtourism and threaten the livelihood of local people.

In Japan, since before the pandemic, the national government has been trying to promote the tourism industry by setting numerical targets and attracting more tourists from abroad. The nighttime economy has also been promoted for the sake of the tourism industry in this context. Nightlife should contribute to the wellbeing of both residents and tourists, but I believe there has been little discussion from this perspective in Japan.

Based on the discussion today, it’s clear that it’s important to think about the nighttime economy from a balanced perspective, taking into account both locals and tourists as well as both the established and the new. As mayor, how are you connecting the two sides in Amsterdam?

Halsema: You’re absolutely right – it’s about striking a balance. I don’t mean to be antagonistic in terms of tourists versus locals. We are an international city, and cannot survive without tourists, expats, international students – they’re also part of the city’s DNA.

But it’s a matter of numbers, and the balance right now is off. I often joke that if I walk through the city centre, it’s the only place where nobody recognises me because there are no locals left – it’s all tourists.

You also need balance in terms of the kind of tourism you want to attract. Just having people spend money isn’t the answer. You have to respect our culture, and unconventional people are part of our culture. We don’t welcome tourists who don’t respect our culture and arts. It’s very simple.

I guess one of the big fears in Japan about nightlife is about sexuality and drugs. And it’s true; [in nightlife] young people experiment with drugs, with sexuality. That is also a reason why I think it’s so important, because [nightlife] is a place where you can do that relatively safely, and it can be controlled, where other people can help you.

It’s always better to do it in a club than in someone’s living room, where you don’t know what is given and what the circumstances are. It’s important for government to support clubs and other venues to promote safety.

Theo Peters: In my view, the intuitive tendency of government is to regulate things. However, this might stifle creativity. And you want the opposite. We’ve been talking about how it’s better for government to stay out of the way, to leave people in freedom to start doing things and experiment, rather than regulating things right away.

Sabine Gimbrère: Of course, I share what the mayor has said about the importance of nightlife, and continuing to cooperate between Amsterdam and Tokyo would be very beneficial for nightlife in Japan. Something that we can keep collaborating on, for instance, is women in nightlife and how to prevent harassment, which are things Chicks on a Mission are engaged with.

I think there’s a lot we in Amsterdam can learn from Tokyo, too, maybe about smaller venues and the underground, which has to a large extent disappeared in the Netherlands, as well as the avantgarde and experimenting.

Umezawa: To conclude, I’d like to discuss how Amsterdam and Tokyo can collaborate on nightlife and night culture.

Kana Ito: One problem we have is that there’s a gap between the policymakers, the governments, and local communities. I think we need a place where we can all come together to talk.

Halsema: Why don’t you work together with the ADE and create a version for the Asian region? One of the nice things about it, although there’s always a lot of criticism because of drug use, is that it’s also a conference. There’s debate about the future of dance music, electronic music, and scientific development. It bridges conventional society and nightlife.

Have you considered establishing a night mayor position in Japan? Night mayors are figures from the nightlife scene who also speak the language of policymakers. It’s been very helpful to have such a person as a bridge between policy making and nightlife.

In addition, the activities of people in the nightlife scene are also important. In Amsterdam, when people protest in the streets, they sometimes use dance as a means to make their voice heard.

Peters: What if policymakers from the city of Tokyo or from the wards were to visit Amsterdam and see for themselves what happens if you allow various things. What would they think?

We try to be pragmatic about these things rather than normative, solving the various problems so that as many people as possible can be who they are, thereby increasing happiness. I think one of the reasons Holland scores high on happiness is that we are very pragmatic about these things and less normative, creating freedom.

(The Netherlands was the first country in the world to legalise marriage between two members of the same sex, in 2001, and) Amsterdam was the first city where LGBT weddings took place. Of course, this is a big issue in Japan as well. We talk about it a lot as an embassy, too, and the way we talk about it is to show the example of the Netherlands. There’s a lot of fear about the societal problems it might lead to, but we say ‘come to the Netherlands to see how it is, there are not that many problems’.

Naz: Issues such as harassment at night and discrimination against LGBTQ+ are very serious. For that reason, I’d like to see Tokyo and the city of Amsterdam co-host a roundtable on the subjects of promoting understanding of sexual minorities, anti-harassment, and women’s rights, making it a summit like the G7 or G20. Finally, I feel that if we can create a position together for a woman night mayor or nightlife commissioner, we can make great progress on these issues.

Halsema: In 2026, World Pride comes to Amsterdam, and all sorts of discussions will be taking place. I think it’s a very good idea to create an international summit for cities, especially on LGBTQ and women’s rights.

In Amsterdam, we have been discussing the possibility of creating a conference to be held every two years on safety and freedom for the LGBTQ+ community, inviting international speakers to see how things are going. You see a huge emancipation of the LGTBQ+ community, with people being more outspoken and activist, which is very good, but you also see the reaction, a very conservative and nasty reaction, in the Netherlands and internationally.

To conclude, we’ve talked a lot about Amsterdam as being at the forefront of night culture, but we also have problems, and not all things are going as they should.

Over the course of our visit, one thing I’ve found interesting is how in Japan the arts are mixed up in daily life and in the economic sphere. In the Netherlands, art and artists are very isolated and do not have much standing in society. This is a big problem, because it leaks creativity away from the city. We’ve come to Tokyo for a reason, and have learned a lot here this week. We are taking many things back that we’d like to copy in Amsterdam.