Sweatin' the Kyoto Cool

Don't call the fashion police just yet. As part of its campaign to reduce greenhouse-gas emissions by 6% of 1990 levels by 2012 (under the Kyoto Protocol), Japan has figured out a way to save energy with style: no tie, no jacket, no buttoning up. Dubbed "Cool Biz" (kuuru bizu), the new casual has officials and executives shedding their signature suits a la Clark Kent this summer and raising office thermostats 5°F, to a wilting 82.4°. Aptly dressed in casual clothes, Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi hopes to save the second largest importer of oil 81 million gal. each summer. But the...

Want the full story?

Subscribe Now

Subscribe
Subscribe

Learn more about the benefits of being a TIME subscriber

If you are already a subscriber sign up — registration is free!