Rebellion against school regulations in Japan

In Japan, every school establishment has its own code, but the strict regulations of some of them, which impose everything from head to toe, are the subject of increasing criticism and even lawsuits.

Toshiyuki Kusumoto, a father of two from the southwestern city of Oita, went to court to protect his youngest son from school regulations he described as “irrational.”

The rules concern, above all, the length of the hair, the prohibition of ponytails, braids and low socks, and impose the obligation that shoelaces be white.

“This type of school regulations is contrary to respect for individual freedom and human rights that are guaranteed by the Constitution,” Kusumoto, who is a lawyer by profession and hopes that the codes will be revised, told AFP.

Reforms are already underway in Tokyo, which recently announced that strict rules on issues such as hair color would be abolished in the capital's public schools starting in April.

- The misfortunes of a student -

These types of standards begin to apply when students are about 12 years old.

They appeared after the 1970s, when “violence against teachers became a social problem, and schools tried to control the situation through regulations,” explains Takashi Otsu, professor of education at the Mukogawa Women's University (west).

“Some types of standards are necessary (...) but decisions should be made with transparency and, ideally, involving students ( ... )”, he assures.

In 2017, a Japanese student from the Osaka department (west), who was forced to dye her hair black - which was naturally brown - took the case to trial, claiming compensation of 2.2 million yen (17,000 euros, USD 18,500) for psychological damage.

This issue had a lot of impact and led the Ministry of Education, in 2021, to order the boards of education to check whether school regulations are adapted to real life.

However, the court and a court of appeal ruled that establishments may require that their pupils dye their hair black if it is for “diverse educational” purposes.

The 22-year-old girl has not resigned despite these rulings and filed an appeal to the Supreme Court last November.

- “Feeling of unity” -

Other actions were also launched, such as the petition sent in January by the student branch of the rights organization Voice Up Japan to the Ministry of Education.

It calls on the ministry to encourage schools to discuss changing standards with their students.

“We launched this campaign because some of our members have had unpleasant experiences with school rules,” said 16-year-old Hatsune Sawada, one of the students promoting the initiative.

In Oita, public school students are obliged to wear uniforms that vary according to the sexes, with pants for boys and skirts for girls.

But the local council of education affirms that these rules “allow not only to maintain a sense of unity among students, but also to reduce the economic burden of buying clothes on families.”

Kusumoto disagrees. “The feeling of unity is not something that is imposed, it is something that should be generated spontaneously.” Imposing these types of rules causes “students to stop thinking,” he said.

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