A Japanese municipality was forced to withdraw tips urging women to wear shoes that make them appear "delicate" or choose makeup that looks "demure" in order to secure a partner, after facing accusations of sexism.
The northern Japan region of Iwate faced heavy criticism this week after an online booklet with advice for people looking for marriage caught the attention of a prominent feminist scholar and stoked heated debate on social media.
Featuring a cartoon-like drawing of a slender, long-haired woman with pink-tinted cheeks, the brochure advised women to don pumps and a skirt to accentuate their exposed ankles.
"That way you can exude an air of delicateness," it said, detailing other tips such as "demure" and "elegant" makeup, predominantly white clothes and "beautiful, graceful" hairstyles.
The booklet is "entrenching the division of roles based on gender", cultural anthropologist Tomomi Yamaguchi wrote in one of a series of posts on social media platform X that was viewed more than 6.5 million times.
Iwate removed the booklet from its website on Tuesday, citing complaints that some of its descriptions were "upsetting".
While taking those voices seriously, "we believe information in it was necessary to support people looking for marriage", an Iwate official told AFP on Friday.
"Nowhere did it describe these dress codes as mandatory -- it was just meant to let novice or struggling singles know that this is how many others have been successful" in finding a match, said the official, who declined to be identified.
It wasn't lost on many X users that the fashion advice in the booklet, which was written in 2019, was less demanding for men.
"Keep your shirts wrinkle-free and clean" and "don't go out with bedhead" were among the recommendations for men.
One X user noted: "Talk about the huge pressure imposed on single women in Japan".
"These tips are way more specific for women. It's almost like they are meant to mould women all into the same type," another wrote.
Japan, with the world's oldest population after Monaco, is scrambling for ways to encourage a baby boom, with many cities organising matchmaking events.
The number of births in Japan last year fell below 700,000 for the first time on record, health ministry data released in June said.
As part of efforts to boost birth rates, Tokyo's city government has developed its own dating app that requires users to submit documentation proving they are legally single and to sign a letter stating they are willing to get married.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
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