Imagine this: You tell an employee to comply with your company’s grooming standards only to find the local bar association has rallied to his defense.

That’s what has happened in Osaka, Japan, when Japan Post told letter carrier Noboru Nakamura to shave off his moustache.

Nakamura has had the ’stache since 1990. The conflict started after Japan Post introduced new grooming regulations in 2004.

“I have taken care to keep my moustache neat and I don’t think I make my customers feel uncomfortable,” Nakamura told a Japanese newspaper.

The bar association in Osaka said the order against Nakamura violated his human rights. Lawyers are rallying behind the letter carrier.

Many Japanese look down upon facial hair growth, but moustaches and beards have recently become much more fashionable.

Tags: bar association, grooming, moustache