A teenager in Japan has taken local authorities to court after her school told her to dye her hair black or face exclusion.
The 18-year-old, who has naturally brown hair, is seeking 2.2m yen (£14,700) in damages from the Osaka prefectural government in western Japan due to anguish caused by repeated commands to colour her hair black.
Her mother told teachers before she started attending Kaifukan high school that her daughter had been born with naturally brown hair and so was not breaking a school rule requiring all students to have black hair.
School staff told her mother they would even ask foreign exchange students with blond hair to comply, according to Kyodo News.
The student has not attended classes since September last year and says she is suffering from pain and irritation caused by the hair dye.
Masahiko Takahashi, Kaifukan’s headteacher, declined to comment on the case but acknowledged that the school also prohibited students from colouring or bleaching their hair.
He did not say whether dyeing brown hair black was a breach of that rule. »
