"Wear Only White Underwear"... Controversy Over Underwear Inspections at Junior and Senior High Schools in Nagasaki, Japan

Education Committee Requests Reconsideration from School
Presumed Retention of Previously Established School Rules

On the 5th, NHK reported that about 60% of public junior and senior high schools in Nagasaki Prefecture, Japan, designate white as the color of students' underwear, causing controversy. Photo by NHK website capture.

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Bong-ju] It has been revealed that about 60% of national and public middle and high schools in Nagasaki (長崎) Prefecture, Japan, designate the color of students' underwear as white and censor underwear colors, sparking widespread criticism.

According to NHK on the 5th, the Nagasaki Prefectural Board of Education surveyed the school rules of 238 national and public middle and high schools in the prefecture, and found that 138 schools (58%) designate underwear color as white.

The Nagasaki Prefectural Board of Education requested schools to reconsider this underwear censorship, stating that it could be a human rights issue.

The Child and Student Support Division of the Nagasaki Prefectural Education Office said, "I remember that during a time when schools were strict, underwear color was unified to white to protect public morals. It seems that these school rules, created long ago, still remain," adding, "From the perspective of human rights and changing times, there is a need to actively review the rules accordingly."

Kazuko Ikeya, a professor at the Faculty of Education at Nagasaki University, said, "I don't think it is necessary to regulate underwear color in school rules one by one. There were even acts of actually checking underwear," and argued, "Depending on the method, it can be a human rights issue."

A female middle school student who requested anonymity said in an interview, "According to the school rules, underwear color is designated as white, and regular checks of underwear color are conducted," adding, "During PE class when changing clothes, a female teacher checks underwear in the classroom."

The student stated, "Some underwear stores only sell colors other than white, so insisting on white underwear is not appropriate for the times," and "I also dislike having my underwear color checked."

Meanwhile, it has been pointed out that this controversy is not limited to Nagasaki Prefecture in Japan.

In December last year, the Yomiuri Shimbun reported, citing a lawyers' association in Fukuoka, that a survey of 69 middle schools in the area in August last year found that 57 schools, accounting for 83% of the total, designated underwear colors as white or similar.