Schoolgirls under threat

Endangered species

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Those adorable Japanese schoolgirl uniforms could become a thing of the past as slacks are slowly becoming part of girls uniform throughout the country. Earlier this year Sapporo Junior High made them compulsory and skirts will only be permitted for three months during the summer.

In Sapporo the reasons are for keeping out the icy winds in winter but elsewhere eliminating the gender gap is being given as one of the reasons for making the switch.

Opinions are divided. Some praise the slacks for their warmth and ease of movement, others complain that they are too hot and make them look geeky,

“I wear trousers all the time normally and they’re easier to get around in, so I don’t feel weird, but everybody notices when we’re outside school,” third-year student Yuka Taniguchi told the Mainichi Daily News

Which do you prefer? (Mainichi)

But second-year student Chika Takami is unrepentant. “Slacks are easier to move around in,” she says. “But there’s a very strong image that schoolgirls wear skirts. And school is the only time in our lives that we can wear these uniforms.”

That’s not strictly true though is it Chika. We can think of plenty of other times that you might like to wear them, can’t we chaps?

Read: Original story