Japan opponent of mandatory high heels at work fights glasses ban for women, as battle to change country’s sexist office culture hots up

She won broad support for her campaign against compulsory high heels in the workplace – now actress Yuki Ishikawa has another office rule in her sights

Founder of KuToo movement gathers signatures for petition against employer bans on women wearing glasses at work, part of wider fight to change office culture

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Yumi Ishikawa, founder of the #KuToo movement, is campaigning against strict corporate dress codes in Japan that include women not being allowed to wear glasses, and being required to wear high heels, in the workplace. Photo: Reuters

Published: 4:30pm, 4 Dec 2019Updated: 4:49pm, 4 Dec 2019

A Japanese woman whose campaign against mandatory high heels in the workplace won broad public support has stepped up her fight against strict corporate dress codes – including a de facto ban on women wearing glasses.

Actress and freelance writer Yumi Ishikawa shot to prominence this year with her drive against Japanese office culture, in which high heels are seen as near-obligatory when job-hunting or working in the office.

Known by the slogan #KuToo – a play on words from the Japanese word kutsu, meaning shoes, and kutsuu, meaning “pain” – the campaign was chosen on Monday as one of the buzzwords of the year.

Ishikawa’s latest petition to relax the rules, delivered to the labour ministry on Tuesday, has attracted more than 31,000 signatures.

“The root cause of the problem is that [there are companies] that have rules for women only – such as a ban on wearing glasses or a requirement to wear make-up,” the 32-year-old says. “This practice has to be reviewed.”

Ishikawa walks through a business district in Tokyo, Japan. Photo: Reuters

Campaigners submitted a petition to the government in June which called for legislation to declare the obligatory wearing of high heels as harassment.