Tokyo Government Workers No Longer Have to Wear Pants

Tokyo's bureaucrats are getting the official OK to bare their knees. In a bid to stay cool and curb electricity use, the Tokyo metropolitan government is urging staff to trade business suits for shorts, polo shirts, T-shirts, and sneakers as another punishing summer looms and energy pressures mount, reports the Guardian. The move builds on Japan's long-running "Cool Biz" campaign, which since 2005 has relaxed dress codes to reduce reliance on air conditioning but had largely kept legs covered. "I was a bit nervous, but it's very comfortable, and I feel like it'll improve my work efficiency," one worker told Yomiuri Shimbun. The war in Iran is adding extra pressure, notes France24.

With Japan heavily dependent on Middle Eastern oil and the conflict-driven disruptions near the Strait of Hormuz threatening supply, officials are now going further. Other Asian countries, including Vietnam and South Korea, are rationing energy or cutting work hours. Tokyo governor Yuriko Koike cited a "severe outlook for electricity supply and demand" in backing the casual shift, which coincides with the start of Japan's heatstroke alert season after the hottest summer on record in 2025. Japan's meteorological agency unveiled a new label for extreme heat: "cruelly hot."