Tokyo schools removed strict rules governing students' hairstyles and underwear

The controversial rules on hairstyles and underwear will be removed in high schools run by the Tokyo metropolitan government, following pressure from students.

Nearly 200 public high schools and other educational institutions will remove five regulations, including one requiring students to have black hair, starting in April, Mainichi Shimbun said, citing official sources.

The newspaper said that the rules designating the color of students' underwear and the ban on “two-block” hairstyle will also be removed: short on the back and sides and longer on the top.

The move comes after a survey conducted last year in 240 schools in the capital found that 216 retained regulations that an increasing number of people in education, including children themselves, say are outdated.

However, some of the rules will remain in certain schools. While some will remove the requirement that students demonstrate that their hair is naturally curly or a color other than black, some will reportedly maintain regulation at the request of students and parents.

Yuto Kitamura, a member of the Tokyo metropolitan board of education, said the decision to remove the most egregious regulations was a “big step forward.”

Another member, Kaori Yamaguchi, praised the move but said it had taken too long to address students' complaints.

“The Japanese have been taught to believe that it is a virtue to simply abide by the rules,” he said. “I hope this will be an opportunity for people to discuss what we need to do to create a society where the rules are observed in a way that is acceptable to all.”

The debate over strict dress codes intensified several years ago after a high school student, then 18 years old, sued Osaka's education authorities after her school told her to dye her natural brown hair black or she would face exclusion.

Last year, Osaka's district court rejected her claim that she had been forced to dye her hair, but said the removal of her desk and her name from the list after she stopped attending classes had been unreasonable. He ordered the board of education to pay him ¥330,000, the equivalent of 2,379 dollars.

Last year, all public high schools in Mie, a prefecture in western Japan, abolished rules governing hairstyles, underwear color and appointments, and local officials admitted that the requirements were “relics” from a different era.

Some schools had told students that they should wear beige, mocha or other colored t-shirts that were not easily visible under their uniforms, while only “monotoned white, gray, navy or black” underwear was allowed.

Some students have successfully campaigned for girls to be allowed to wear pants at school, while others have called for the lifting of bans on makeup and hair products.

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