Okinawan schoolgirls lose the “shortest skirts in Japan” mantle!
Well I thought I’d stray from normal diving related posts to bring you this vitally important piece of news which has just been forwarded to me. Apparently Okinawa has lost its title of having the shortest average schoolgirl skirt length in Japan (and I’m sure a title the senior highschool girls are destraught to have lost). Instead, the mantle is now being hold by Shiga, in mainland Japan. This news article comes from the Mainichi:
Shiga Prefecture’s schoolgirls boast of skimpiest skirts in Japan
Schoolgirl uniforms in Shiga are so short, they’re less hem than ahem, according to Weekly Playboy (1/29).
The Japanese language Internet is awash with rumors that schoolgirls in the central Japan prefecture wear the skimpiest uniforms of anywhere in the country.
Local schoolboys seem to agree, saying one school in particular is known for its micromini uniforms.
“When the girls from the school all get off the train together in the mornings, it’s a real sight to see,” the schoolboy tells Weekly Playboy, adding that many people deliberately go to look. “We call it the Schoolgirl Rush Hour in these parts.”
Shiga schoolgirls don’t deny their reputation either.
“Shiga’s the sticks, right? Well, long dresses might be popular in the cities, but it takes ages before the trend gets picked up around here. Besides, Shiga girls always wear minis,” one schoolgirl from the prefecture says. “We look good in miniskirts. What’s wrong with that?”
A downside to the propensity for flashing the flesh is that Shiga Prefecture apparently attracts a disproportionate number of perverts who travel from outside the prefecture to track down the short skirts said to be on display.
It’s a trend noticeable in the statistics, where 10 arrests for upskirt photo shots were made of non-Shiga residents last year compared to just three in 2004. Police admit the short schoolgirl skirts are creating problems.
“We don’t know whether the rumor on the Internet ahs anything to do with it, but there has been an increase in concealed camera-related arrests and it’s a bother,” Shigeru Morita, deputy chief of the Shiga Prefectural Police’s Railroad Police Division, tells Weekly Playboy. “We’ve had cases where people have deliberately come all the way from other prefectures just to take secret snapshots in Shiga.”
Shiga education officials are also aware that there are problems.
“We know there was a write-up on the Net about Shiga having the shortest schoolgirl skirts in Japan, but the prefecture hasn’t done a survey on anything of that nature. We are fully aware that some of our students have very short skirts,” a spokesman for the Shiga Prefectural Board of Education says. “We are teaching our students to be aware that there is a danger that people will film up their skirts if they keep the hems so short.”
Shiga’s schoolgirls, however, say that nothing’s going to deprive them of their microminis.
“There’s nothing wrong with wearing a short skirt,” an irate Shiga schoolgirl tells Weekly Playboy. “What’s wrong are those perverts who deliberately look at our panties. Why should we have to change our fashion just because of a bunch of perverted old men?” (By Ryann Connell)
Now I’m sure quite a few of you are amused by this article, but questions must be asked I feel. First of all, who actually goes out and measures these skirt lengths?! And are they emplyed by the government or what? I can just see the ad in the paper now, “professional male/female needed with good tape measure skills to travel the length and breadth of Japan looking for the shortest schoolgirl skirt length…”. In the last article I read about this subject (a large number of column inches in Japan are devoted to it), Okinawa’s average skirt length was 17cm/6.5″ above the knee. Just measure that for a second and I’ll give you a second to lift your jaw off the floor! That’s a hell of a short skirt. The second rather bizarre note is that the last time I read, Hokkaido was number 2 in this list. Now Okinawa being number 1 last year I can kind of understand; it’s a tropical part of the world and you could try to explain that long skirts are too warm. However, in Hokkaido it’s below 0 for a good few months of the year! I’ve just checked the weather reports and it feels like -6 currently in Sapporo. I shudder to imagine how cold that must feel with a coat and gloves on, nevermind a skirt that’s cunningly disguised as a belt.
Actually, at my school the situation has got a lot better (of course, that depends on your point of view!). In my first year here, the students had no rules as regards to skirt length and to be honest they were dangerously short. However, in early 2005 a memo went around to high schools in Okinawa by the prefectural board of education, asking for stricter rules to be implemented on skirt length, as it was getting out of hand. I honestly believe that our school is was the only one to have taken any notice! So, when the school year started again in April, skirt checks were implemented by teachers. These involved a piece of wood being placed on the floor and the girl having to kneel on the floor. If the bottom of the skirt was above this piece of wood then it was too short. It sounds rather bizarre, and it is a strange sight to see! The girls didn’t take it lightly though and there were huge complaints initially about the scheme, and the student guidance teacher who implemented this became hugely unpopular overnight. But as much resistance as there was, as the months passed the rules started being abided by, and after about a year the situation had got under control. A few students still get in trouble because of it but it’s much more respectable now. I will endeavour to try and get a couple of photos next week of the skirt-checking stick in action, but my students have a half-day today because of JHS entrance exams taking place this afternoon.
In other news, and a slight follow-up to the shark story, apparently the shark they caught was a pregnant female with 7 pups. They managed to save the pups and they are currently in the Churaumi Aquarium. Although I’ve heard from a couple of people that great white pups are notoriously difficult to keep in captivity, and most die pretty quickly. Let’s hope these can survive. And the great white was slightly smaller than initially reported, coming in at 7-8m long. And sticking on the subject of sharks, on Tuesday a relatively minute 2m long, 180kg great white was caught off the coast of Ishigaki. It, also, had got caught in nets near the harbour which are used to protect the harbour and swimming area from jellyfish.
Well, those are my main pieces of news for you. Hope you enjoyed reading it. Until next time take care, dive safely, and don’t roll your skirt up!!!
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