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Comment by bamboozled | Hacker News Reader

The government of Japan is seriously dated. Everyone who makes decisions is 60+.

It’s only recently there’s been talk of banning weird practices like the mandatory hair dying and underwear colour enforcement for female students in schools.

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Fun fact: the average age of US representatives is about 58 and Senators about 63. Information I’m seeing puts Japan’s Kokkai at only about 56 in comparison. I don’t think you can explain this with age.

Based on a lot of US decision making, I think you can...

I would say the same thing about the US, though.

You might be right, statistically speaking, but Japanese culture is extremely hierarchical. Those who are actually making decisions and setting policy I'm certain would be older than in the USA.

What? Can you elaborate on the hair dying and color enforcement?

https://japantoday.com/category/national/tokyo-public-school...

I feel like in other modern democratic government in the world the government would step in and sort this out.

Edit: Love to know the reason for the down vote here. I don't know of a single modern democratic country on earth where it would be ok for people to be forced to have their hair died black. Correct me please.

Lots of supposedly modern countries can have very restrictive uniform and hairstyle rules. In the US you are unlikely to be asked to dye your hair, but may be made to straighten it.

I don't know why you were downvoted but your comment is as if I wrote "The U.S. has the highest incarceration rate in the world. I feel like in other modern democratic governments in the world the government would step in and sort out the incarceration rate."

It raises the question why you think the government would stop doing "Bad thing" if that's what the voters want.

Color of underwear: https://japantoday.com/category/national/majority-of-nagasak...

Every time I see this, my first question is "How do people know the color of a schoolgirl's underwear?" Then I remember the key point of their dress code - a short skirt.

Fuuuuuu

Not sure if you're joking or being sarcastic or projecting or what, but it's not actually true. Often girls where long skirts, the teachers would check the underwear color.

> teachers would check the underwear color

That's... not better. Not even remotely better.

> it's actually not true.

"Seira fuku (セーラー服 ) is a common style of uniform worn by female middle school students, occasionally by high school students, and even rarely by elementary school students. It was first introduced as a school uniform in 1920 in Heian Jogakuin (平安女学院) and 1921 by the principal of Fukuoka Jo Gakuin University (福岡女学院), Elizabeth Lee. "

Knee length - a common length - is relatively short. It's no mini skirt, but I regularly see men's swim trunks that would cover more leg than those skirts do.

All the Japanese I know have dark brown or black hair. What's the mandatory color, blonde?

Relevant: https://japantoday.com/category/national/tokyo-public-school...

It's dark brown/black. Cause you can't stand out.

No, it's black.

Black.

So, if you are a school child with brown, red, or blond hair, it is likely you will be forced to dye your hair black.

I know Japanese who are born in Japan with mixed race parents and have very fair hair. Common Japan isn't a freaking isolated island anymore, it's not 1830.

Some Japanese are born with brown hair, it's rare but it happens, they'd be forced to die their hair black.

That's an issue with everywhere in the world.

> underwear colour enforcement

Is that being... controlled?

WTF.

> The government of Japan is seriously dated. Everyone who makes decisions is 60+.

That's America too and it's working great??? America in 2022 is super mega fun place #1. I don't get your point.

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