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Sick of formal dress? Japan wants you.

B

brap

macrumors 68000
Original poster
May 10, 2004
1,705
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Nottingham
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Japan's prime minister plans to dress down this summer, and wants millions of Japanese office workers to do the same.

Junichiro Koizumi is asking workers to cast off their collars and ties in a national effort to use less energy on air conditioning.
To show how serious he is, Mr Koizumi has ordered government ministers to shed their suits to set an example.

[...]

"Government officials will not shed their ties unless their bosses do," Mr Koizumi said.
"In principle, I want ministers to wear no ties and jackets this coming summer, as it will help save energy.
"I, too, will go without jackets and ties."

... (more)
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Score one for thinking outside the box :)
 
The last time that I wore a suit on a regular basis, was while working at a funeral home. At that time a suit was perfectly normal. Now a jacket and tie is a very rare occurrence.
 
i have to get dressed up for work today because the regional and district managers are supposed to be there, bleh, i dont feel like it though
 
they keep my office pretty warm during the summer (high 70s) so i refuse to wear a shirt and tie. it's stifling if you do. fortunately my boss doesn't mind!
 
Koizumi san has always been different for a Prime Minister. When I see it I will believe it, they wear uniforms here all the way to High School, many companies here wear uniforms for work (Banks places most people in the west would never think of). The Salary man or office workers wear suits, the office ladys usually wear a uniform. Even I wear a suit here to do business and I am not Japanese.

Brian
 
The company I work for is allowing business casual now too..

About a year and a half ago my comany allowed business casual. Khakis (or similar, but not jeans), collared shirt (shot or long sleeved, but no t-shirts) and non-street shoes (no sneakers or similar) were allowed. If you are visiting a customer you are still required to wear a suit and tie.

I see customers 3 days a week on average, and am usually always in the office on Friday, so I do take advantage of the business casual dress code on Fridays, which is good as I am more relaxed when I go out drinking Friday after work.

I don't think business casual has lowered the motivation levels or created a less productive workforce. Yes it feels more comfortable, but it hasn't made people lazy - so well done Koizumi-san for pushing this initiative, hope it catches on...
 
Egad, it's the end of Japanese society as we know it. What's next, not obscuring people's faces when they give interviews on the news?

If this actually, somehow, works, it'd be a (frighteningly) significant step forward for Japan in more ways than one. Time will tell.

I do find it amusing that I manage to show up for work (in the US) at noon with 3-day stuble in jeans and a t-shirt and still get my job done in a way that's satisfactory to everybody involved. I'm not in customer relations, of course, but I see no reason for office drones or technical people to be stuffed into standardized attire.
 
I hope this works. I really don't see the need for a suit and tie. They're not useful, and quite frankly, I wouldn't be more productive if I was uncomfortable.

Good luck, though. Maybe he should talk directly to heads of companies rather than loosely through the media like this.
 
Makosuke said:
I do find it amusing that I manage to show up for work (in the US) at noon with 3-day stuble in jeans and a t-shirt and still get my job done in a way that's satisfactory to everybody involved.
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Same with me, except I'm not in the US.
 
virividox said:
good idea...lets just hope not everyone starts dressing like harijuku girls hehe
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lol i heard that in that song by eve... (TERRIBLE song, thank you radio for crap) but wtf is a harijuku girl? I always just assumed it was a whore.
 
BrianKonarsMac said:
... but wtf is a harijuku girl? I always just assumed it was a whore.
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I think it's supposed to be "Harajuku" girls; Harajuku is an area of Tokyo.

Here's a picture of some high school girls to give you an idea
 

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scem0 said:
Pop stars are gunna start using this...

Brittney Spears: "I only wore it to conserve energy!"

:rolleyes: :rolleyes: :rolleyes:

scem0
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jeez lets hope not, i hope this does catch on all over, i mean being presentable is one thing, being overly formal isnt always neccissary though
 
5300cs said:
I think it's supposed to be "Harajuku" girls; Harajuku is an area of Tokyo.

Here's a picture of some high school girls to give you an idea
Click to expand...

Why do you have pictures of high school girls on your comp? :p

And I see nothing wrong with these Harajuku girls. ;)
 
i'm supposed to wear shirt and tie to my retail job <-- blah

i stopped wearing a tie, and started rolling my sleeves ... the other part-time guy started doing the same and we get away with it ... the full time guy gets yelled at for it

my new job doesn't have a dress code ... it gets really hot on production night so doctor pants and T-shirt is my choice

office hours i dress a little more casual ... but usually not

i think the rest of the world should follow in japans foot steps

i don't see how a job gets done differently if different cloths are worn --- but thats just this guys opinion
 
No suits yeah!

Not to mention the environmental impact of dry cleaning suits.

Some of the chemicals used in dry cleaning are lethal.

The only rule that should be written into stone is:

"No sweat pants if you have to work with people or meet the public."
 
mtscott said:
The only rule that should be written into stone is:
"No sweat pants if you have to work with people or meet the public."
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Unless you're a plumber, electrician, builder, chippie or someone who actually does something useful with their hands... draw the line at builder's bum, though.
 
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