Japan: Black student separated from class during graduation ceremony over hairstyle rules

A Black student in Japan was separated from other students of his class at the graduation ceremony because he was not wearing his hair in accordance to the strict rules in place. The student had reportedly plaited his hair into cornrows to pay tribute to his Black heritage.

The student, who has not been named, was made to sit alone at the back of the hall during a graduation ceremony at his school in Himeji, about 570 km west of Tokyo. He was reportedly told not to stand and respond when his name was called out.

The 18-year-old is the son of an African-American father and Japanese mother. He told Japanese media that he had plaited his naturally curly hair to make them look neater for the graduation ceremony. The boy added that helearned about the cultural significance of cornrows online and from his father.

"I wasn’t able to create happy memories to mark the three years I spent at the school with my friends,"he told the Mainichi Shimbun. "I was frustrated because I felt like I was being told, ‘This is not your special day.’ The hairstyle represented my father’s roots and culture in the Black community."

The school’s vice principal told the newspaper that the student had been segregated simply for failing to observe the rules on haircuts.

The boy reportedly left midway through the ceremony.

The school’s regulations ban the "trendy" hairstyles at its premises, while codifying"clean and appropriate (hair styles) for a high school student". Therules, however, make no mention of braiding.

Schools in Japan often enforce hairstyle, which require students to keep their hair short around the ears and neckline, and forbids fringes of hair that are long enough to touch their eyebrows. A photograph of the desired hairstyle appears in the school’s student handbook, and teachers carry out checks every month,according to the Yomiuri Shimbun.

However, manyJapanese schools in recent past have reviewed their rules on uniforms and hairstyles. This follows a 2017 lawsuit by a female student which claimedthat her high school had told her to dye her naturally brown hair black or face expulsion.

In 2021, Japan's education ministry toldlocal education authoritiesto regularly review their regulations and to adopt a "common sense"approach to "changing times".

(With inputs from agencies)

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