Japan teen sues local government after school policy forced her to colour her brown hair black

A Japanese teen has filed a law suit against her local government, alleging that her public school forced her to dye her naturally-brown hair black.

The unnamed 18-year-old has sought ¥2.2m ($19,000, £14472) as compensation from the Osaka Prefectural government in the suit. The girl alleged that the local government run Kaifukan High School in Habikino city demanded that she colour her hair black if she wanted to continue attending classes.

The girl alleged that repeated dyeing had damaged her hair and scalp and that she had developed a rash and scalp pain, The Japan Times reported.

The teen's mother claimed that she had informed the school in advance that her daughter's hair was naturally brown. However, teachers repeatedly asked the student to dye her hair black as the school's policy banned students from dyeing or bleaching their hair.

The petition filed against the local government cites a conversation with the girl's mother during which school authorities insisted that even blonde foreign students are asked to dye their hair black because of the rule. The suit added that the "abuse" took a toll on the student's health and she discontinued attending school from September 2016.

Kaifukan's head teacher Masahiko Takahashi refused to comment on the sub judice case. However, the prefectural education board said that rules regarding students' appearance, dress and hair are set by each school differently.

Several schools in Japan also demand that students with naturally brown or light hair submit documents stating their hair is not black. Some schools ask for proof, such as photographs of students as infants, to determine their hair is indeed not black, the BBC reported.