Anti-high heels campaigner steps up to battle Japan's 'glasses ban'

Actress and freelance writer Yumi Ishikawa, whose campaign against mandatory high heels in the workplace saw broad public support, has stepped up her fight against strict corporate dress codes in Japan to include a ban at some firms on women wearing glasses. Ishikawa shot to prominence this year with her drive against Japanese office culture, in which high heels are seen as near-obligatory when job-hunting or working in the office. Known by the hashtag #KuToo -- a play on words from the Japanese word "kutsu," meaning "shoes," and "kutsuu," meaning "pain" -- the campaign was recognized Monday for having generated one of the buzzwords of the year. Ishikawa's latest petition to relax the rules, delivered to the labor ministry on Tuesday, has attracted more than 31,000 signatures. "The root cause of the problem is that (there are companies) that have rules for women only -- such as a ban on wearing glasses or a requirement to wear make-up," the 32-year-old told reporters.