Japan has long relied on innovation to beat the heat. From the invention of sensu fans that could be folded up into a kimono in the Heian era more than 1,200 years ago, to parasols which in recent years have found users among men as well as women, the country has learned to adapt.
But the capital¡¯s government might have gone one innovation too far this year. As part of its ¡°Tokyo Cool Biz¡± campaign to deal with increasingly sweltering summers, and with an eye to higher energy prices due to the war in Iran, it¡¯s allowing government workers to wear shorts to the office for the first time ¡ª and encouraging companies to follow suit.
It¡¯s part of a campaign that encourages men and women alike to dress down and prioritize comfort, including T-shirts, polo shirts and short-sleeve tops. It has triggered a debate on how casual is too casual. A recent news segment went viral after vox-pop interviews featuring young women who overwhelmingly declared that having to look at middle-aged men¡¯s legs at the office was ¡°gross.¡±
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