#HairWeGo: Japanese campaign against school rule requiring short black hair takes YouTube by storm

In most public schools, only straight, black hair is permitted. Pupils cannot dye or iron it – unless it is light or curly, in which case they must

A petition calling for the rule to be dropped, started by a university student who was forced to dye her hair while at school, has attracted nearly 12,000 signatures

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In most of Japan’s public schools, pupils are only permitted to have straight black hair. Photo: Reuters

Published: 1:55pm, 22 May 2019Updated: 10:42pm, 22 May 2019

A petition calling for Japanese schools to drop a rule that requires schoolchildren to have straight black hair has attracted nearly 12,000 signatures, as part of a campaign that has won support from parents, teachers and even big corporations.

In most of Japan’s public schools, pupils are only permitted to have straight black hair. They cannot bleach, dye or perm it. Conversely, any student whose hair is naturally light or curly can be made to straighten or dye it until it is the required shade of black.

Some schools even require pupils with lighter hair to submit a certificate stating that it is their natural colour – and even then, reserve the right to send them home if they refuse to dye it so it complies with the rules.

Wider debate over the regulations was first provoked in October 2017, when a girl from Osaka sued her school for forcing her to dye her naturally brown hair.

A study conducted in the years since by hair care brand Pantene revealed that one in 13 current and former middle and high school students had been “urged” by their schools to dye their hair black.

It also showed that 87 per cent of teachers interviewed said there was a need for regulations on hair colour to change.