The president of a Tokyo nightclub where a man was beaten to death on Sept. 2 was arrested on Oct. 1 along with seven others on suspicion of allowing dancing without a license.

Mikito Baba, the 39-year-old president of the firm operating the "Studio Gate" dance club in the capital's Roppongi district, is accused of violating the Act on the Control and Improvement of Amusement Businesses. The law requires establishments where customers can dance to obtain licenses based on strict requirements intended to "maintain virtuous morals and an environment of clean entertainment."

According to the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD), the dance club began operating under the name Studio Gate on Sept. 21. The establishment had been called "Flower," but shut down temporarily and changed its name after a 31-year-old man was beaten to death inside the club by some 10 attackers early on the morning of Sept. 2.

The eight arrested are specifically suspected of setting up a DJ booth and a dance floor at Studio Gate and allowing dancing and drinking without a license between 2:45 and 3 a.m. on the morning of Sept. 30.