InsideJapan News Network

If you see someone having their hair cut in an unusual place on your trip to Japan, there's no need to be alarmed, as the local authorities have changed the rules on where people are allowed to get their locks trimmed.

Evacuation shelters and makeshift shops are now acceptable places for stylists and barbers to set up business, the Yomiuri Shimbun reports.

Previously the only exception to hair cutting in registered salons was for weddings and housebound customers, but Japanese officials have decided to relax this law for the next two years in earthquake-damaged regions, such as the northeast coast.

This rule only covers barbers and beauticians who cannot run their businesses as normal due to damage caused by the March 11th natural disasters.

The local paper added that the law had been changed in response to requests from local people who no longer had enough barber shops or hairdressing salons in their town.

Written by Susan Ballion