Japan launches 'Super Cool Biz' to save energy
The Japanese government wants the country's suit-loving salarymen to be bold this summer. Ditch the stuffy jacket and tie. And for the good of the country, go light and casual.
Japan's "Super Cool Biz" campaign kicked off Wednesday with a government-sponsored fashion show featuring outfits appropriate for the office yet cool enough to endure the sweltering heat.
This summer may be especially brutal. Looming for Japan is a potential power crunch, the result of the March 11 tsunami crippling the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant.
To prevent blackouts, the government is asking companies and government offices to cut electricity usage by 15 percent.
(AP, Jun 01)
19 Jun
Revelations earlier this month that a beauty salon scammed hundreds of women met on social-networking site Mixi has Shukan Jitsuwa (June 27) convinced that the alleged crimes represent the type of the iceberg when it comes to frauds pulled on females. (Tokyo Reporter)
19 Jun
In May, Akira Ikoma, the editor of a guide to men’s entertainment called Ore no Tabi (My Journey), said that “Abenomics” had caused a spike in prices at high-end soapland bathhouses in Tokyo. However, the same editor tells Shukan Post (June 28) that the initiative is not impacting the low-end market in the same way. (Tokyo Reporter)
19 Jun
Police said Tuesday that a mummified body was found earlier this month in a storage cabinet in a restaurant in Morioka, Iwate Prefecture. (Japan Today)
19 Jun
Among about 200,000 traffic signals nationwide, 16 percent are being used beyond the end of the expected lifetime of their electrical systems and some have even toppled over due to age, according to the National Police Agency. (Yomiuri)
19 Jun
Mt. Fuji, the tallest mountain in Japan, will likely see its summer "traffic jam" of climbers worsen this year thanks to its expected addition to the UNESCO World Heritage List. (Yomiuri)