Around 80 percent of prefectural high schools in Osaka have requested students whose natural hair color is not black to confirm their original color, according to the results of a recent survey by the Osaka Prefectural Board of Education.

The board was seeking to grasp regulations concerning hair color following a lawsuit filed by a local high school student in October. In the suit, the student is seeking ¥2.2 million in damages from the Osaka Prefectural Government, claiming her school demanded she dye her naturally brown hair black as a condition to attend classes.

The survey, conducted at 137 prefectural high schools, found about 80 percent, or 109 schools, have asked students whose natural hair color was not black to confirm the real color. Of the total, 74 schools sought verbal confirmation while the remaining 35 asked for written documents.