Japanese women submit anti-high heels petition

June 04, 2019 00:02

Around 19,000 people have signed a petition calling for Japan to end dress codes that require women to wear high heels in the workplace.

The petition was started by Yumi Ishikawa who says she was made to wear high heels while working at a funeral parlour.

Her tweets on the issue went viral with more than 30,000 shares.

In 2015, a London receptionist was sent home from work without pay after she refused to wear high heels.

The campaign is referred to in Japan as #KuToo. It plays on the Japanese words for shoes "kutsu" and pain "kutsuu" and also references the #MeToo movement, according to Kyodo News.

Campaigners say that wearing high heels is seen as obligatory when applying for jobs.

Ishikawa, also an actress, said: "I hope this campaign will change the social norm so that it won't be considered to be bad manners when women wear flat shoes like men."

She added that she had met a ministry official who was "sympathetic" towards the petition.

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