A recent study conducted by Business Insider Japan has found that 60% of women in Japan experience employee dress codes that require heels. The study included a survey of 207 people, 184 of them women. Approximately 80 percent of the female participants expressed that wearing heels caused health problems, and a quarter of them recalled learning that heels were part of basic workplace etiquette. The Health, Labor and Welfare Minister has stated that he would not support a heel ban, due to his belief that heels are an important part of workplace decorum and social norms. Discussions took place on Tuesday, as proponents of the ban on workplace dress codes requiring heels, asserted their view that requiring heels is inappropriate.
See "Over 60% of women see rules on heels enforced at work, study finds", The Japan Times, June 12, 2019