Japan minister angers women after saying high heels at work are necessary

A Japanese minister has come under fire for his comments about a common dress code that requires women to wear uncomfortable attire.

Ishikawa is the leader of the #KuToo movement. Picture: Charly Triballeau

The Japanese labour and health minister said it was “necessary and appropriate” to force women to wear high heels to work.

Takumi Nemoto made the comments in response to a petition calling for the government to ban workplaces from enforcing female employees to wear high heels.

“It’s generally accepted by society that (wearing high heels) is necessary and reasonable in workplaces,” Mr Nemoto told a legislative committee on Wednesday.

Nemoto has been labelled as ‘outdated’.

The petition was submitted to the labour ministry earlier this week with nearly 20,000 signatures citing health and other issues.

The group is part of the #KuToo movement — a blend of the #MeToo hashtag with the Japanese words kutsu (shoes) and kutsuu (pain).

A member of the legislative committee, Kanako Otsuji, called the rules “outdated” in the same session.

The #KuToo campaign is led by actor and writer Yumi Ishikawa who says the dress codes in Japanese workplaces are discriminatory and need to be scrapped.

She launched the petition after being forced to wear heels while working at a funeral parlour, the BBC reported.

Ishikawa is the leader of the #KuToo movement. Picture: Charly Triballeau.

The petition has gained traction and support.

“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,” Ms Ishikawa said.

“Today we submitted a petition calling for the introduction of laws banning employers from forcing women to wear heels as sexual discrimination or harassment,” Ms Ishikawa told reporters after delivering the petition.

“It’s the first step forward.”

The petition underlines what many experts say is a deep-seated problem with misogyny in Japan, The Guardian reported.

Ms Ishikawa was inspired to launch her campaign when her tweet about her being forced to wear heels at work went viral.

“As I realised that so many people face the same problem, I decided to launch the campaign,” she said.

1万人を超えました！
メールアドレスとお名前だけで署名ができます。

問題点:
①性別によって同じ職場で強制される服装が違うこと
②健康を害してまで強制されるマナーとは？

「厚生労働省宛: #KuToo　職場でのヒール・パンプスの強制をなくしたい！」 https://t.co/q61K5E2TVw @change_jpより

— 石川優実@#KuToo署名中👞👠 (@ishikawa_yumi) February 21, 2019

Campaigners have claimed the demands to wear heels is akin to modern foot-binding.

Ridiculous statement by Takumi Nemoto - unless he agrees to wear them too. "High heels at work are necessary, says Japan's labour minister" https://t.co/JRmpXpZ1QS #employment #KuToo

— Quick HR (@quickhr) June 5, 2019

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