Japan’s Abe Says Women Shouldn’t Be Forced to Wear Heels

(Bloomberg) -- Women can’t be forced to suffer impractical dress codes, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said in response to a question about a social movement to end practices requiring female workers to wear high heels.

It is difficult however for the government to make a decision involving private company rules on the issue, and the matter needs more discussion with the involved parties, he said.

Last year, actor and writer Yumi Ishikawa sparked the #KuToo movement criticizing rules that require women to wear high heels to work. The hashtag plays on the Japanese words for shoe, or kutsu, and pain, kutsuu.

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