The issue regarding Taimei Elementary School's set of uniforms, priced at over 80,000 yen each including a hat and a bag, was also taken up by an opposition party lawmaker at a Diet session the same day.
The uniforms in question are school-selected attire and students are not obliged to wear them, the board said.
According to the board, the school principal told the board of its intention to change the design of the uniform last summer. The board instructed the school to decide the matter through sufficient talks with the PTA and local residents.
But five cases of complaints were raised from parents, who said there were no sufficient explanations. One said, "Why Armani?" according to the board.
The school has told the board, "From the intention to make a uniform as a 'school of Ginza,' we went around department stores and Armani accepted designing it as a result."
On 14 October, the Minister in charge of the 2020 Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic Games, Yoshitaka Sakurada was questioned by opposition party members in the Japanese Diet. In one particular exchange with Constitutional Democratic Party member Masato Imai he made a surprising revelation. (soranews24.com) 
A Japanese high court on Wednesday overturned a lower court decision and acquitted a tattooist for operating without a medical license, ruling the process is not a medical practice. (Kyodo) 
Between 260,000 and 340,000 foreign workers are estimated to flow into Japan in the five years from next April through an envisioned immigration control law revision aimed at dealing with the country's serious labor crunch, government sources said Tuesday. (Japan Today) 
Public broadcaster NHK announced Wednesday the lineup for its annual New Year’s Eve music extravaganza, but K-pop group BTS — under fire recently for a controversial T-shirt worn by one of its members — was not included. (Japan Times) 
Japan's economy contracted for the first time in 2 quarters. Government officials say a string of natural disasters in the period dented exports and consumer spending.
(NHK) 
SoftBank Group Corp. is continuing to push money into one of its biggest investments: WeWork Cos. (Japan Times) 
Japan will help countries in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations groom 80,000 manufacturing and digital industry specialists over five years, part of a broader effort by Tokyo toward cooperation in the Indo-Pacific region.
(Nikkei) 
Japan's government has projected up to 47,000 foreign workers could come to the country in fiscal 2019 under proposed revisions to the immigration law.
(NHK) 
The dark side lurking within the Kabukicho red-light district of Shinjuku Ward — today, something like a mix of a theme park and a strip club — can easily get lost amid its blinking lights and the roar of Godzilla. (tokyoreporter.com) 
Health officials in Japan say nearly 2,000 people have contracted rubella, or German measles, this year.
(NHK)