Japan SDF to soften hairstyle rules as recruit shortage worsens

The Japanese Defense Ministry will allow Self-Defense Forces recruits to have longer hair from April this year as it aims to make the armed services more attractive to young people.The ministry currently requires new troops in training units to have a buzz cut for men and short hair for women, but it will start allowing them longer hairstyles, officials said, reflecting a similar relaxation of rules at public high schools in recent years.From the start of the new fiscal year, the ministry will allow men to have short back and sides with longer hair on top and women to have long hair as long…READ FULL ARTICLE