Japan’s health and labour minister has defended workplaces that require women to wear high heels to work, arguing it is “necessary and appropriate” after a petition was filed against the practice.

The remark came when Takumi Nemoto was asked to comment on a petition by a group of women who want the government to ban workplaces from requiring female jobseekers and employees to wear high heels.

The petition was submitted to the labour ministry on Tuesday. The campaign has been dubbed #KuToo, a play on words from the Japanese word “kutsu”, meaning shoes, and “kutsuu”, meaning “pain”.

The movement was launched by the actor and freelance writer Yumi Ishikawa and quickly won support from thousands of people online.

Campaigners say wearing high heels in Japan is near-obligatory when job hunting or working in many Japanese companies.