Lack of drama everywhere except in Japan (2,5)

I believe the answer is:

no plays

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'everywhere except in japan' is the definition.
I don't know anything about this answer so I can't judge whether it can be defined by this definition.

'lack of drama' is the wordplay.
'lack of' becomes 'no' (lack of money is no money).
'drama' becomes 'plays'.
'no'+'plays'='NO PLAYS'

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I've seen this clue in The Globe and Mail.

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