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End to strict school rules in Tokyo - 18th April 2022

Significant changes have been made to school rules in Japan. Tokyo high schools have agreed to modernise their regulations about uniforms. The change follows a survey which was given to students, parents and teachers. According to the results, current uniform rules are seen as old-fashioned.

Nearly 200 public high schools will drop five regulations. One of those requires all students to have black hair. Another rule relates to boys' hair, which bans the 'two-block' style – longer on top, and with short back and sides. An additional regulation applies to underwear, which should be a specific colour.

In some institutions, it will still be necessary for pupils to give evidence that their hair is naturally a different colour, or is curly. However, in some high schools, this rule will also be dropped.

Kaori Yamaguchi, from the Tokyo board of education, praised the new regulations but complained that the response to pupils' needs had been very slow. A few years ago, arguments about strict dress codes made the news when a former school student complained.

At 18, a brown-haired girl from Osaka had been instructed to colour her hair black. She was warned that otherwise she'd have to leave the school. After a court case, she received compensation from authorities.

In Mie, western Japan, last year all state secondary schools got rid of rules about hairstyles and regulations on the colour of underwear. Local officials accepted that the rules were from a different time.