![]() ![]() Ministers stated that high heels were necessary in the workplace for women because of social convention and meeting certain job expectations, even if it meant that they would have to endure physical pain and hardship throughout the day. However, they turned a blind eye to Ishikawa’s request and stated that the high heel policy would remain in place. She collected over 150,000 signatures for a petition to remove the high heel policy, which the government was forced to take into consideration because the petition had more than 100,000 signatures. Ishikawa realized that this policy was part of a larger gender inequality issue that had been ongoing for decades. Once Ishikawa realized how influential her tweet had been, she took further action. Ishikawa had unknowingly started a movement that united women around the world in the context of the workplace. Some even responded to Ishikawa’s post by posting photos of their blistered and bloodied feet due to enduring full-time working hours in high heels as a part of their job. Women agreed with her and voiced their complaints on a large scale, demonstrating their collective voice against the high heel policy. Her relatable complaint quickly went viral, garnering at least 30,000 retweets and 60,000 likes shortly after. #KuToo is a play on words-it references the #MeToo movement (in which women came together against sexual assault in the workplace) and combines it with the Japanese word “kutsu,” which means shoes, and its alternative meaning is also pain. The tweet read, “Someday I want to get rid of the practice of women having to wear heels and pumps at work.” This tweet refers to the high heel policy in the corporate world: for many Japanese businesses, it is part of a woman’s dress code to wear heels of between five and seven centimeters (in height) to work on a daily basis. A very mundane tweet of hers was soon used to fuel the #KuToo movement and Ishikawa became the leader. ![]() In January 2019, Ishikawa founded a massive movement without even realizing it. On the side, she is a freelance writer and even works part time at a funeral parlor as an usher. Ishikawa transitioned into acting four years later in 2008, making appearances in three feature films: ‘Onna no Ana’ (“Woman’s Holes”) (2014), ‘Yuwaku wa Arashi no Yoru ni’ (“The Temptation Came at a Stormy Night”) (2016) and ‘Itsuka no Natsu’ (“Some Summer”) (2018). Since then, she has been featured in at least 30 image DVDs and was even crowned the winner of the Cream Girl competition. She started her career in 2004 as a model. Before being a women’s rights activist, Ishikawa had a very broad job range mainly in the entertainment industry. However, she grew up in Tajimi in Gifu prefecture. ![]() Ishikawa was born on January 1st, 1987, in Komaki, located in Aichi prefecture. In particular, she is notable for standing up against the high heel policy in Japan and discriminatory practices in the workplace and the rest of the corporate world. Besides having a very interesting list of careers, Yumi is known for pioneering the #KuToo movement and fighting sexism. In a patriarchal society still tied to traditional values, Yumi Ishikawa stands out as a progressive feminist dedicated to advocating for women’s rights in Japan. ![]()
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