Japan Press Weekly

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2021 September 15 - 21 [SOCIAL ISSUES]

Tokyo's Board of Education instructs high schools to review irrational school rules

The Tokyo Metropolitan Board of Education issued a directive to Metropolitan Government-owned high schools to conduct hearings with students, parents, and people in the community in order to review school rules which currently specify students' hairstyle, hair color, and even the color of their underwear, Akahata learned on September 17.

The Japanese Communist Party members of the Tokyo Metropolitan Assembly has repeatedly demanded that school regulations be revised with the participation of students.

Tokyo's Board of Education in its directive dated April 27 called on schools to hold meetings between students and teaching staff by the end of this year based on the "fundamental ordinance on children" adopted unanimously at a Metropolitan Assembly session in March.

It also called on schools to not order students to dye their hair black from their natural hair color, not specify anything about underwear which includes the color, not use vague or misleading descriptions of hairstyle such as "student-like hairstyles" in school rules, and post the school rules on the school website.

JCP Assemblyperson Ikegawa Yuichi said, "The JCP members in Assembly sessions have been demanding that irrational school rules be revised by taking heed of the opinions of students."

He added, "We will continue demanding revisions of school rules so that students' fundamental human rights can be respected and guaranteed in all aspects of their school life."

Past related articles:
> Youth group: Lack of democracy in schools causes Japanese youth to become disillusioned with politics [February 17, 2021]
> Some Japanese school rules allow teachers to check even the color of female students' panties [March 30, 2018]
> Project launched to redress irrational school rules [December 22, 2017]
> Forced dark-dying hair at school violates human rights: JCP Kira [December 6 & 10, 2017]