Japan Ditches Ties to Increase Green
Sick of wearing a tie to work? Well, move to Japan and you won’t have to… if you don’t mind getting hot.
The presidents of Japan’s three biggest banks announced that their 1,630 branches are abandoning formal attire, including neckties, so they can increase office temperatures to 82 degrees Fahrenheit. The move is being made to conserve energy (and also money).
Everyone including Japan’s prime minister is taking off their ties. Last summer, Japanese department stores started selling shirts that supported the no-tie look.
Some Japanese men refuse to wear a suit without a tie and have decided to stick it out. One such man is Masaki Nishimura.
Masaki Nishimura, a consultant for a human-resources firm in Tokyo, says the offices he visits are often way too hot. But while clients invite him to remove his jacket, “I cannot take it off,” he says. “They are our customers.” He would rather bake in the name of good manners.
Another man, Takeo Nishioka, complained that
casual dress was an affront to the dignity of the chamber, and has stuck to a suit and tie in spite of the heat. “How can parliamentarians be all relaxed when visiting schoolchildren turn up in full uniform?” he said in a session Aug. 9. He suggested making neckties obligatory again, but so far hasn’t won any noticeable support.
If this story has you hot under the collar or you’d just like to learn more about Japan’s new anti tie wearing outlook you can find it here.
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