The Tokyo Metropolitan Government’s “Tokyo Cool Biz” initiative, an expansion of Koike’s 2005 national “Cool Biz” energy-saving campaign, has prompted a heated debate over workplace dress codes. While the policy aims to combat rising summer temperatures and reduce energy consumption, it has drawn backlash from female employees who describe the sight of male colleagues’ leg hair as “gross” or leg hair harassment.
Tokyo’s Cool Biz Campaign and Its Controversy
Introduced in April, Tokyo Cool Biz encourages both men and women to adopt more casual attire, including shorts, to stay comfortable during sweltering heat. The policy aligns with broader efforts to address energy costs, but it has intensified discussions about workplace norms. Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike, who previously championed the national Cool Biz campaign, framed the shift as a way to give people more options in the severe heat.
A June survey by Gorilla Clinic, cited by the BBC, found 53.5% of respondents opposed allowing shorts in the office, with women significantly more likely to express discomfort. The clinic’s director, Akifumi Funatsu, noted that clients increasingly seek social etiquette when wearing shorts,
with some women feeling men should have less leg hair.
The initiative, part of a campaign that encourages men and women to dress down with T-shirts, polo shirts, and short-sleeve tops, has triggered debates over how casual is too casual.
Public Reaction and the “Leg Hair Harassment” Debate
The term leg hair harassment,
or “sunehara,” has gained traction online as a descriptor of the discomfort women report.
The Broader Implications of Casual Workwear
The controversy reflects broader shifts in Japanese workplace culture. While startups and tech companies have long embraced casual dress, the government’s endorsement of shorts has normalized it further.
As temperatures continue to rise, the tension between comfort and tradition will likely persist. The Tokyo government’s approach highlights the challenge of balancing climate adaptation with social cohesion, leaving workers to navigate a landscape where casual dress is both a relief and a source of contention.
Japan has long relied on innovation to beat the heat. From the invention of sensu fans that could be folded up into a kimono in the Heian era more than 1,200 years ago, to parasols which in recent years have found users among men as well as women, the country has learned to adapt. But the capital’s government might have gone one innovation too far this year.
The initiative, part of a campaign that encourages men and women alike to dress down and prioritize comfort, including T-shirts, polo shirts and short-sleeve tops, has triggered a debate on how casual is too casual. A recent news segment went viral after vox-pop interviews featuring young women who overwhelmingly declared that having to look at middle-aged men’s legs at the office was “gross.”
When Yuriko Koike was Japan’s environment minister in 2005, she was hailed by legions of salarymen as they shed ties and jackets in summer during the “Cool Biz” national energy-saving campaign that she helped to launch. Now, as Tokyo governor, Koike has taken the idea a step further: shorts in the office. In April, the Tokyo Metropolitan Government said it would allow male employees to arrive for work in shorts, urging businesses across the capital to adopt similarly relaxed dress codes. Tokyo Cool Biz, the city’s update of the original national campaign, is intended to help employees feel more comfortable while potentially reducing electricity consumption amid rising fuel costs.
Temperatures have been climbing across Japan in recent days, and forecasters warn that last summer’s record-breaking heat and humidity are likely to be surpassed this year. The backlash against the relaxed rules has been swift, however. The Gorilla Clinic survey also revealed that body shape and body hair concerns were the primary reasons for opposition, with women outnumbering men in expressing discomfort.
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