A Japanese school’s plan to introduce Armani-branded uniforms for its students, at a cost of nearly US$750 each, has sparked complaints and fierce debate, even reaching as far as parliament.
The local education board said that Taimei Elementary School in Tokyo’s Ginza District would adopt the designer uniforms from April, with a full set costing parents about ¥80,000 (US$733).
While the school said the new uniforms are not mandatory, critics said parents would feel compelled to buy them to ensure their children were not left out.
Kyodo news agency said the local education board had received a string of complaints from parents, unconvinced by the school’s explanation that the designer uniform would be good branding.
In a letter announcing the uniform, the administration reportedly said the outfits were a bid to tie the 150-year-old school to the upscale Ginza District where it is located.
However, that did little to sway public opinion.
“This shouldn’t have been about designer brands, or tradition. The officials should have thought about the children and made a decision after holding discussions,” one parent, who did not wish to be identified, told national broadcaster NHK.
“This is outrageous, kids’ sizes change,” one disgruntled commentator wrote online.
The uniform features sharply tailored blazers as well as add-ons like bags that can push the total set’s cost to about ¥90,000, a price another commentator said was “just too expensive for uniforms for fast-growing children.”
Opposition lawmaker Manabu Terada even raised the issue during a parliamentary session, questioning the logic of such an expensive uniform at a public school with students from a range of backgrounds.
Asked to comment on the issue, Japanese Minister of Finance Taro Aso, known for his own tailored Savile Row-style suits, acknowledged that he thought the planned attire was “expensive for an elementary school.”
Italian brand Armani retains a particular nostalgic prestige for some in Japan, who associate it with the boom years of the economy.
However, with those days long past, the pricey uniforms appear all the more incongruous to some.
“These uniforms are far more expensive that the suits I’m wearing,” one commentator said.
SEEKING CHANGE: A hospital worker said she did not vote in previous elections, but ‘now I can see that maybe my vote can change the system and the country’ Voting closed yesterday across the Solomon Islands in the south Pacific nation’s first general election since the government switched diplomatic allegiance from Taiwan to Beijing and struck a secret security pact that has raised fears of the Chinese navy gaining a foothold in the region. The Solomon Islands’ closer relationship with China and a troubled domestic economy weighed on voters’ minds as they cast their ballots. As many as 420,000 registered voters had their say across 50 national seats. For the first time, the national vote also coincided with elections for eight of the 10 local governments. Esther Maeluma cast her vote in the
Nearly half of China’s major cities are suffering “moderate to severe” levels of subsidence, putting millions of people at risk of flooding, especially as sea levels rise, according to a study of nationwide satellite data released yesterday. The authors of the paper, published by the journal Science, found that 45 percent of China’s urban land was sinking faster than 3mm per year, with 16 percent at more than 10mm per year, driven not only by declining water tables, but also the sheer weight of the built environment. With China’s urban population already in excess of 900 million people, “even a small portion
UNSETTLING IMAGES: The scene took place in front of TV crews covering the Trump trial, with a CNN anchor calling it an ‘emotional and unbelievably disturbing moment’ A man who doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire outside the courthouse where former US president Donald Trump is on trial has died, police said yesterday. The New York City Police Department (NYPD) said the man was declared dead by staff at an area hospital. The man was in Collect Pond Park at about 1:30pm on Friday when he took out pamphlets espousing conspiracy theories, tossed them around, then doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire, officials and witnesses said. A large number of police officers were nearby when it happened. Some officers and bystanders rushed
HYPOCRISY? The Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs yesterday asked whether Biden was talking about China or the US when he used the word ‘xenophobic’ US President Joe Biden on Wednesday called for a hike in steel tariffs on China, accusing Beijing of cheating as he spoke at a campaign event in Pennsylvania. Biden accused China of xenophobia, too, in a speech to union members in Pittsburgh. “They’re not competing, they’re cheating. They’re cheating and we’ve seen the damage here in America,” Biden said. Chinese steel companies “don’t need to worry about making a profit because the Chinese government is subsidizing them so heavily,” he said. Biden said he had called for the US Trade Representative to triple the tariff rates for Chinese steel and aluminum if Beijing was