Cool biz campaign starts

May 1, 2018

Tokyo- This year's Cool Biz campaign, designed to encourage office workers to dress lightly to reduce air conditioner use in summer, started at central government offices in the Kasumigaseki district of Tokyo's Chiyoda Ward on Tuesday.

At the Environment Ministry, which spearheads the campaign, many workers showed up without ties and some wore "kariyushi" traditional short-sleeved shirts from the southernmost prefecture of Okinawa.

In the campaign, launched in 2005, the ministry urges offices to set air conditioner temperatures at 28 degrees Celsius for power-saving as a measure against global warming and allow workers to dress casually instead. It also recommends the use of window blinds and the introduction of energy-saving air conditioners.

During last year's Cool Biz campaign, a controversy was caused when complaints were made at a meeting of state ministers that the temperature of 28 degrees is too warm for comfort.

"Instead of getting preoccupied with the temperature level, we want offices not to be cooled excessively by also taking into consideration other factors such as humidity," said Toshihiro Hayashi, head of the Lifestyle Policy Office at the ministry's Global Environment Bureau.

This year's Cool Biz campaign will run through Sept. 30. Jiji Press