Japanese pupils told to dye their hair black

Thousands petition for an end to draconian rules that insist on students conforming to set type

JAPANESE school rules that force children to dye their hair black so that they fit in with their classmates are facing a growing backlash, fuelled by a viral video campaign and a fastgrowing petition. What began as a marketing campaign by the Pantene shampoo brand, which coincidentally also sells hair dye, has gained a groundswell of support in an effort to change the rules.

Nearly 10 million people have watched the #Hairwego What’s Wrong With My Hair campaign video, which presents the findings of a survey of 1,000 children and teachers in relation to hair rules in Japanese schools.

The issue of draconian hair rules in Japanese schools was highlighted two years ago when a pupil sued Osaka prefectural government for damages after being continuously forced to dye her naturally brown hair a more uniform black. Critics say the rules reflect a deeply homogenous Japanese society where collective uniformity is valued over individuality.

Pantene’s campaign highlights how 60 per cent of public schools in Japan require that all pupils submit a natural hair certification document that confirms the natural colour and degree of curliness of their hair.

As many as one in 13 schoolchildren surveyed had subsequently been “urged” by their school to dye their naturally brown hair black, according to the survey – despite, in most instances, having strict rules forbidding pupils with naturally black hair from dying or bleaching their hair.

“I was told to cut my brown hair or dye it black,” said one schoolgirl on the video. “Even after submitting a natural hair certificate, I was still told to cut or dye it. I wondered why I need to do this.”

Another added: “My school makes everyone submit a natural hair certificate. We have to write down what colour, how curly our hair is. I want to make sense of why this is necessary.”

The survey found that more than 90 per cent of teachers were keen for school regulations “to change with the times”. One teacher spoke out on the video and said: “I feel like the school says this to make sure you won’t have to deal with more trouble. I personally think it’s unnecessary.”

Japanese schools do not only monitor pupils’ hair colour but also styles and lengths in some instances.

Earlier this year, local media reported that teachers at a school in Toyama prefecture forcibly cut the hair of 44 students after their styles were deemed too long and in violation of school dress codes.

The debate was fuelled further last month, with the launch of a new petition offering a high-profile opposition to hair rule restrictions on schoolchildren in Japan.

The petition, reportedly inspired by the Pantene campaign, attracted more than 10,000 signatures in the first few weeks, with plans to present it to Yuriko Koike, the Tokyo governor.

Pantene Japan is owned by the United States firm Proctor & Gamble.