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

Controversial rules relating to hairstyles and underwear are to be abolished at Tokyo high schools, following pressure from students. The move comes after a survey revealed that an increasing number of people in education – including students themselves – say the regulations are outdated.

Almost 200 public high schools and other educational institutions will drop five requirements. One rule underlines that all students must have black hair, the Japanese newspaper Mainichi Shimbun reports. The rules on the colour of students' underwear and a ban on the 'two-block' hairstyle for boys, where hair is longer on top, will also be ditched.

Some institutions will no longer oblige students to show proof that their hair is a colour other than black, or that it has natural curls. However, certain schools will keep this regulation at the request of students and parents.

Kaori Yamaguchi, a member of the Tokyo board of education, praised the move. However, she commented that it had taken far too long to deal with the students' objections.

"Japanese people have been taught to believe that it is a virtue to simply abide by the rules," she explained. "I hope this will be an opportunity for people to discuss what we should do to create a society where rules are observed in a way that's acceptable to everyone."

The dress code debate intensified several years ago after a high school student, then aged 18, successfully took education authorities in Osaka to court. As a pupil, she'd been forced to dye her naturally brown hair black or be excluded from school.

Last year, in every public high school in the western Japanese district of Mie, all rules regarding hairstyles, underwear colour and dating were dropped. The authorities came to the conclusion that the requirements were behind the times.