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ALTHOUGH SCHOOL UNIFORMS are no longer the required rule of Japanese houses of learning, many of the Japanese youngsters still wear them. The boys' uniform is a nifty outfit. Black coat and pants with buttons of gold and a peaked cap. The kids look like train conductors in miniature.
To the utter humiliation of the United States Naval Forces stationed in the Far East, some of the Japanese girls also wear a school uniform. It is a Navy blue dress with the large, square-cut, sailor collar. Sometimes, in a shop or on a train, a sailor will find himself standing next to a group of the naval clad schoolgirls and he will notice their eyes move from their dresses to his uniform. Their giggles are never quite stifled. And the sailors never quite forgive the Navy for clinging to their clothing traditions.
An American youngster prefers to dash to school outfitted in dungarees, T-shirt, and sneakers. But if his dad has been to Nippon and if his dad has brought his son back a clothing presento (with or without the "o", it's what Japanese girls love to get), the uniform of jeans may be replaced with a new one. The new outfit is not quite as comfortable, perhaps, but it's much more striking.

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