Japanese men warm up to 'Cool Biz' drive on dress code

After 5-year campaign, most office workers seem to have embraced 'no necktie, no jacket' concept
Kwan Weng Kin, Straits Times 13 Jul 09;

UNTIL recently, the typical Japanese businessman would not be caught dead in anything less than a suit and tie.

The slavish adoption of Western customs by several generations of Japanese dictated that only a suit and tie was appropriate business wear.

Even today, some Japanese still think that way, judging by the large number of businessmen who insist on fully suiting up despite the generally disagreeable weather during the Japanese summer.

But most of Japan's office workers now seem to have embraced the 'no necktie, no jacket' concept, promoted by the government's aptly dubbed 'Cool Biz' campaign, now in its fifth year.

The campaign aims to save energy and, at the same time, reduce global warming by cutting down on the emission of greenhouse gases.

Before the campaign, Japanese businessmen mostly sweated in suits and ties during the wilting summer months, putting up stoically with the searing heat and enervating humidity.

It was not uncommon to see men - both young and old - whip out folding fans and furiously fan themselves in an effort to lower their body temperatures.

Unlike men in Singapore, who tend to wear nothing under their shirts because of the heat, Japanese men invariably wear undershirts with sleeves as a matter of social etiquette.

Officially, the Cool Biz season runs for four months from June to September, the warmest and most humid months in Tokyo and many parts of Japan.

During this period, government offices and private companies that subscribe to the campaign are expected to keep their thermostats no lower than 28 deg C - hardly a comfortable setting.

Even when maximum daily temperatures are only in the high 20s or low 30s, the need for many Japanese to frequently walk an average of 10 minutes in the open to their destination makes the summer months particularly trying.

This year, Prime Minister Taro Aso set the tone for the Cool Biz season by getting his Cabinet ministers to join him in sporting loose-fitting 'kariyushi' shirts at their June 2 Cabinet meeting.

These are the de facto uniform for government employees, bank workers and many people in the service industries in the warm and humid southern prefecture of Okinawa for more than six months of each year.

The laid-back 'kariyushi' shirt is best described as the Okinawan version of Hawaii's aloha shirt, which typically features flower or butterfly motifs and is worn with its tip hanging loosely over the waists of pants.

Mr Hiroyuki Hosoda, the 65-year-old secretary-general of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, earned the scorn of one sharp-eyed fashion critic for tucking his 'kariyushi' shirt tightly into his trousers.

Not everyone is comfortable with the Cool Biz style though.

Many Japanese of Mr Hosoda's generation or older seem to feel ill at ease without the customary coat and tie. Many of them bow reluctantly to the Cool Biz campaign. They go only as far as removing their ties but cling desperately to their jackets.

With the campaign giving people the perfect excuse to show off their shirts, however, younger Japanese businessmen have responded by increasingly choosing to wear colours other than the traditional white long favoured by the Japanese.

Besides shirts with buttoned-down collars, the 'cleric shirt' with its white collars and cuffs is also often seen these days.

For the discerning few, there are also shirts with collars 0.5cm to 1cm higher than normal, a point that apparel makers say helps to flatter the wearer without the need for a tie.

This year, with the recession in full swing, many Japanese businessmen feel they ought to dress formally even in summer.

Some want to give a good impression to their clients in the hope of snaring an order - something that is hard to come by these days.

Others want to impress their bosses in order to retain their jobs.

So apparel makers have produced suits made of thinner and more 'breathable' material, as well as neckties that are lighter than those worn during the cooler months.

Yet in a measure of the success of the Cool Biz campaign, the suited-up dress code is no longer de rigueur everywhere.

For instance, the tourism sections of many local governments have their staff switch to either polo or aloha shirts during the Cool Biz months, so as to create a holiday mood when they meet with people from the industry.

Courier firm Sagawa Express this year finally relented and introduced knee-length trousers for some 15,000 delivery staff nationwide to ease movement and to guard against heat stroke.

Many companies have also taken to letting their employees dress down for periods that are shorter or longer than the official guidelines.

Major electronics maker Sharp is allowing its employees to dress Cool Biz-style for six months from May to October.

Meanwhile, Nestle Japan found that the 'no necktie, no jacket' regime generated an informal atmosphere among employees that encouraged more active discussions during meetings.

In fact, the company has decided to let its staff say goodbye to neckties the whole year round.