The ¡°Cool Biz¡± casual dress code campaign launched by Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi on June 1 has spread to the bureaucracy, Diet and Supreme Court, but whether the intended effect -- of setting air conditioners at higher levels in cities to reduce carbon dioxide emissions and thus help curb global warming -- will even be measurable is no given.
¡°Everybody is getting familiar with ¡®Cool Biz.¡¯ You feel relaxed without neckties, don¡¯t you?¡± Koizumi asked reporters on June 30. ¡°When the fall comes, I will put on a tie,¡± he said.
¡°Cool Biz¡± has received a bigger response than the ¡°Energy-Saving Look¡± campaign of 1979 did, when then Prime Minister Masayoshi Ohira encouraged people to wear short-sleeved shirts and take ties off in the office to cut down on air-conditioning during the world¡¯s second oil crisis.
With your current subscription plan you can comment on stories. However, before writing your first comment, please create a display name in the Profile section of your subscriber account page.