Schoolgirls Told Skirts Too Short

Guidance counselors at a high school in Niigata, Japan decided that school uniform skirt lengths were getting too short, so the advisors took it upon themselves to design and publish dress-code posters and distribute the posters to all the high schools in their district.

It seems the poster and hemline advice is the first time such a public campaign has been made. Many schools in Japan, from elementary through high school, require students to wear uniforms. Hair length and accessories rules are also enforced.

News outlets learned of the Niigata effort, and reporters were sent onto the streets to grab high school girls and measure the distance of their hemlines from their kneecaps.

From the reports, we learned the secret to instantly raising and lowering the hemline, a school principal revealed what was observed by a railway employee at a train station, and the average distance of school skirts from knee-to-hem for major cities in Japan has been determined.

As random skirt-checks continue at the schools, parents have been sent requests to cooperate in the proper attire campaign.  Girls oppose the efforts. One high school girl said "Short skirts are cute". A 16-year-old high school student walking in front of Niigata Station said about the campaign, "It can't be helped at the moment. It makes little sense. We wear short skirts because everybody does, rather than because they look cute."

Click here to read the full story, read excerpts of school dress-codes, and see more photos and the news report video. Plus see pictures of the classic sailor-suit schoolgirl uniform in Japan.

PHOTOS: Plaid skirt; blue jacket & skirt girls; boys.