It’s difficult to find young workers, so some small businesses in Japan have loosened their behavioral regulations, such as dyeing their hair and painting their nails, to attract employees.
When she moved to Tokyo last year, Hinako Mori, 22, chose to work part-time at discount retail chain Don Quijote, saying they didn’t care about her hair color.
Mori likes to dye his hair every six weeks, having worked at a large Japanese convenience store chain where employees had to have black or dark brown hair. “Once, I dared to dye my hair blonde. But the next day, I was asked to wear a wig or use spray dye. It was stressful,” Mori said.
Things were very different when Mori went for a job interview at Don Quijote, where she confidently revealed her preference for ash blonde hair dotted with different light and dark blue streaks without any complaints.
Hinako Mori works in Don Quijote’s store in Tokyo on October 8. Image: Reuters
Owned by Pan Pacific, retailer Don Quijote relaxed its rules on hair and nail polish three years ago. The chain says nearly a quarter of employees now have brightly dyed hair. When brown is included, 55% of their employees have non-black hair.
This year, as the Japanese labor market becomes increasingly scarce, many companies are starting to follow in Don Quijote’s footsteps. For example, the Fuji Yakuhin pharmacy chain has deregulated many of its non-pharmacist employees.
Now, they allow workers to dye their hair any color, paint their nails, wear heavy makeup, and wear all kinds of rings, whereas before they only allowed wedding rings. Similarly, cosmetics supermarket chain Tokyu Store has relaxed restrictions on hair color and style, accessories, nail polish, and earrings.
Over the past two decades, Japanese businesses have gradually accepted loosening of dress codes. The catalyst was the Ministry of the Environment’s “Cool Biz” campaign in 2005, which encouraged ditching jackets and ties to reduce air conditioning costs in the summer.
Since then, the summer dress code has become more relaxed. Department store employees are not required to have uniforms, and taxi drivers have the option of whether or not they want to wear white gloves.
However, regulatory changes regarding hair color, nail polish and accessories have occurred only recently and mainly at small companies. The reason is because they are facing a more serious labor shortage than large companies and do not have many options to offer competitive salaries.
Not yet open about hair color or nail art, some large businesses have also begun to relax their clothing style. Last week, Japan Airlines, Skymark Airlines and subway operator Tokyo Metro allowed employees to wear sneakers to work.
With rapid aging and limited immigration, Japan has seen its working-age population decline by 16% since its peak in 1995, according to the OECD. This has caused fierce competition in personnel recruitment.
Survey of Reuters shows that two-thirds of Japanese companies say labor shortages are seriously affecting business operations. According to Tokyo Shoko Research, this was the leading cause of bankruptcies in Japan from April to September this year, with the highest number in 12 years.
This has given young people more power, at least when it comes to part-time work. According to an April survey by job information and recruitment company Mynavi, two-thirds of students believe they should have the right to choose their appearance when working part-time. A third said they withdrew job applications because of employers’ dress codes.
“Students don’t just need experience or income, they seem to be looking for something more, like a feeling of freedom or comfort,” said Shota Miyamoto, an expert at Mynavi. However, he added that young workers still admit that they cannot expect freedom of movement in full-time work.
To date, despite being more relaxed, some popular beauty preferences in the West – such as multiple facial piercings – are still generally not accepted by Japanese companies. Even workers with traditional yakuza tattoos are often asked to cover them up so as not to upset customers.
With large and traditional companies, employee behavior is still maintained. For example, Sumitomo Mitsui Banking said there is no policy on hair or nail polish, and employees generally understand that their appearance should not draw attention to others.