UTSUNOMIYA -- Female students at all 25 municipal junior high schools in this east Japan city will be able to choose pants instead of skirts as part of their uniforms from the 2022 academic year onward, as gender diversity and other issues prompt reviews of dress codes.

       According to the Utsunomiya Municipal Government's school education division, 20 municipal junior high schools already allow girls to wear trousers -- a move apparently favored by many students and their guardians.

       The city had been exchanging opinions with school principals since the 2019 academic year, with a view to establishing a system in which female students could wear pants. Officials considered the importance of gender-free viewpoints as well as protection from the cold and safety from crime on the way to and from schools.

       Since Ichijo and Wakamatsuhara junior high schools in the city gave female students the option of wearing pants in April 2020, an increasing number of schools have followed suit. Currently, 20 schools have created uniform trousers for female students. The municipal government's school education division said that a total of 130 girls have worn pants in the last two academic years.

       The remaining five schools that do not already offer pants options for girls are preparing to introduce selective uniform systems from April 2022. At one of these schools, girls now wear boys' pants as a substitute, but the school is apparently preparing a separate version for girls.

       Consideration regarding gender-free uniforms is advancing at junior high schools in the city, which are allowing students to choose either a ribbon or tie as well as their preferred shape of a shirt collar, in addition to uniform bottoms. An official at the school education division commented, "We'd like to continue considering matters related to school life, in addition to uniforms, by hearing opinions from students."

       (Japanese original by Kodai Tamai, Utsunomiya Bureau)

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