Tokyo urges workers to wear shorts due to the energy crisis
The Tokyo government is encouraging employees to wear shorts to work in order to reduce air conditioning use and conserve electricity.
This is part of the updated “Cool Biz” initiative, launched by Japan’s Ministry of the Environment back in 2005, which calls for relaxing office dress codes to conserve energy.
France24 reports this, citing a Japanese official.
The publication notes that there is growing concern in the country over high energy costs caused by the war in the Middle East.
The relaxation of the dress code is part of the updated “Cool Biz” energy-saving initiative, launched by Japan’s Ministry of the Environment in 2005. Bureaucrats were encouraged to ditch ties and jackets in the summer, and some of them came to work in polo shirts.
Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike, who initiated “Cool Biz,” stated that this summer they are encouraging comfortable, casual attire, including polo shirts, T-shirts, and sneakers, as well as—depending on job duties—shorts.
The changes also include an active shift toward remote work and an earlier start to the workday.
According to the Japan Meteorological Agency, last year Japan experienced its hottest summer since records began in 1898.
Temperatures of 40°C and above have become so common that last week the agency introduced an official designation for such extreme days—“extremely hot” or “kokushō.”
The energy crisiscaused by the war in the Middle East has cost the EU over €22 billion.
We previously reported that Brusselsis preparing a series of high-level EU-NATO meetings.
Additionally, the EU has increased imports of Russian LNG amid global energy crises.
Europe faces a jet fuel shortage due to the situation in the Strait of Hormuz — FT.
