Tokyo's Idea Amid Energy Crisis: Put On a Turtleneck

Yuriko Koike, the city's governor, credits French president as an inspiration on how to stay warm
By Jenn Gidman,  Newser Staff
Posted Nov 21, 2022 9:50 AM CST
Tokyo's Idea Amid Energy Crisis: Put On a Turtleneck
Stock photo.   (Getty Images/max-kegfire)

Winter is coming, and amid Japan's energy crisis, Tokyo officials are offering a suggestion to save energy and stay warm in the coming months. "Warming the neck has a thermal effect," Yuriko Koike, the capital city's governor, told reporters Friday, per the Guardian. "I'm wearing a turtleneck myself, and wearing a scarf also keeps you warm." She added that these simple additions to one's attire would help save power, then gave a shoutout to French President Emmanuel Macron for being an inspiration on this front.

The Japan Times notes that Koike was sporting a turtleneck, under her jacket, as she spoke. The nation—which has been facing the same energy issues as other countries since Russia's invasion of Ukraine—took a similar approach over the summer with its "cool biz" initiative, in which casual clothing was encouraged in the office to keep everyone from overheating. This new cold-weather version has, therefore, been dubbed the "warm biz" approach.

Earlier this month, Japanese officials asked residents to start turning off more lights and lowering the heat, starting Dec. 1 through the end of March, reports the BBC. That directive also included a suggestion to layer up indoors. Reaction on social media to the turtleneck concept has been mixed, with some excited about the prospect, others noting winter in Tokyo isn't even that cold, and still others expressing doubt on the idea's effectiveness. "Seriously?" one person wrote. Another piped in, "So basically everyone should dress like Steve Jobs." (More Japan stories.)

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