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Japanese women rebel against high heels

High Heels - Level 0

Women in Japan are fed up with high heels. Actress Yumi Ishikawa started a movement to end this. Her movement means "shoe pain". She tweeted that companies in Japan should not tell women to wear high heels. She also started an online petition. It asks Japan's government to stop companies asking women to wear high heels.

Ishikawa's tweet spread across Asia. She said many women feel like she does, so she started her movement. Many women complain about sore feet, back pain and other issues. A visually impaired woman said it is difficult for her to keep her balance in high heels. Many women who work in Tokyo wear high heels once a week.

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High Heels - Level 1

Women in Japan are fed up with wearing high heels to work. Japanese actress Yumi Ishikawa started a movement to end this. The movement has the hashtag KuToo - a combination of the Japanese words that mean "shoe" and "pain". Ms Ishikawa tweeted that companies in Japan should not require women to wear high heels. She started an online petition. It asks Japan's government to stop employers requiring women to wear high heels.

Ishikawa's tweet is spreading across China and South Korea. She told a magazine: "If there are so many people who feel the same as me, why not start some sort of movement." Many women complain about sore feet, back pain and other issues. A visually impaired woman who has to wear high heels at work said it is difficult for her to keep her balance in high heels. Over 70 per cent of women who work in Tokyo wear high heels once a week.

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High Heels - Level 2

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Women in Japan are fed up with having to wear high-heeled shoes to work. One woman started a movement to end this requirement for female employees. The movement has the hashtag KuToo. This is a combination of the Japanese words that mean "shoe" and "pain". The movement was started by Japanese actress Yumi Ishikawa. She tweeted that employers in Japan should not require female workers to wear high heels. Ms Ishikawa launched an online petition. It asks Japan's government to stop employers requiring women to wear certain types of shoes.

Ishikawa's tweet is spreading across Asia. Women in China and South Korea started their own campaigns against having to wear high heels. Ishikawa told TIME magazine: "I thought that if there are so many people who feel the same as me, why not start some sort of movement." Many women on social media complained about sore feet, back pain and other health issues. A visually impaired woman who has to wear high heels at work said it is difficult for her to keep her balance in high heels. A survey found that over 70 per cent of women working in Tokyo wear high heels once a week.

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11 online activities    |    8-page printable   (PDF)

High Heels - Level 3

Women across Japan are fed up with having to wear high-heeled shoes to work. One woman is so fed up that she started a movement to end the requirement for female employees to wear the shoes. The movement has the hashtag KuToo. This is a combination of the Japanese words "kutsu" (which means shoe) and "kutsuu" (which is the Japanese word for pain). The movement was started by Japanese actress Yumi Ishikawa. She tweeted about her belief that employers in Japan should not require female workers to wear high heels. Ms Ishikawa also launched an online petition. It asks Japan's Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare to forbid employers from requiring women to wear certain types of shoes.

Ishikawa's tweet is now spreading across other parts of Asia. Many women in China and South Korea have started their own campaigns against having to wear high heels. Ishikawa told TIME magazine: "I thought that if there are so many people who feel the same as me, why not start some sort of movement." Many women supported Ishikawa on social media. They complained about sore feet, bleeding heels, back pain and other health issues. A visually impaired woman in her 20s who has to wear high heels at work said it is difficult for her to keep her balance and not fall over. A recent survey found that over 70 per cent of women working in Tokyo wear high heels to work at least once a week.

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