Dirty pools, sunburned students: strict school rules in Japan (6 photos)

It's hot in Japan in the summer, even so - it's VERY HOT in Japan in the summer. The sun is simply scorching there, and given the passion of Asians for white skin, even ten-year-olds don't go for a walk there without sunscreen.





Hot weather in Japan, but their schools have swimming pools, can you imagine? We didn't have...

But there is a huge contradiction that Japanese schools have created with their very strict, sometimes illogical rules. Or are they right this time?

Get sunburned, but don't skip school

The thing is that schools forbid students to use sunscreen, despite the hellish heat. And students go to the pools during the hot months.

In the summer in July in Tokyo it's about 37 degrees, and hot days are almost 40. And it's getting hotter every year, hence many problems - little snow cover on Mount Fuji, problems with cherry blossoms. And here's the third problem - sunburned schoolchildren.



They sometimes have fairly closed bathing suits, but their faces still get sunburned

In such heat, it is really important to protect your skin as best as possible, everyone buys sunscreen. But schools forbid people to put them on on pool days – the water spoils, and the cream dissolves in water.

Makeup was already prohibited at school, and parents agreed with this rule. But protection is already a matter of the child’s health.

29.9% of elementary schools, 31.6% of middle schools, and as many as 48.5% of high schools forbid the use of sunscreen in Japan. The reason is that sunscreen allegedly pollutes the water in the pool.





Girl in anime RUBS HERSELF WITH SUNSCREEN CREAM

Many teachers say that tanning is rather good for health and immunity, so it's okay - they'll put up with it. Although modern science already says that tanning causes premature wrinkles and skin aging.

But old-school teachers continue to scold and even take away tubes of sunscreen from students.

Crazy School Rules

In Japan, there are a lot of outdated and slightly wild rules at school. I already wrote about checking underwear (so that they wear solid colors!). And that girls can't wear their hair in a high ponytail, because it's "too provocative." (For whom??)



To be honest, give Japanese teenagers free rein, and they'll immediately do THIS

And they'll even make you bring a certificate that you've had this hair color since birth if you dare to be anything other than black-haired, like all Japanese girls. Some schools even force children with blond hair to dye it. I wrote about the news about a girl from a mixed marriage who was dyed brunette in her school yearbook photo. Make a fool pray to God, and he'll break his forehead, as they say.

And last winter there was even a scandal that some schools forbid their students... coats in winter!



An indoor pool is a luxury that few schools can afford

Because a coat is not part of the school uniform. In some schools, girls were allowed to wear coats, but boys were forbidden. What kind of blatant, and most importantly, illogical sexism is this?

Moreover, it can be chilly in Japanese schools, and wearing cardigans in winter is also prohibited - they are not in keeping with the uniform.

But maybe it is right not to dirty the pool?



A short story about how much Asians are afraid of sunburn. It is a cloudy day outside

Japanese lawyers say that it is wrong to forbid people to protect their health, this is a direct violation. But schools are of the opinion that the cream from students' bodies spoils the water.

It would seem that in this case you just need to forbid your children to go to the pool and write a note to the teacher, but comfortable Japanese parents do not do this. At least they complain.