TOKYO: Tokyo’s latest dress-down campaign is meant to help office workers cope with the brutal summer heat gripping much of Japan.
But the push to shed formal clothing has run into a hairy problem.
Some women have been complaining of “leg hair harassment” or “sunehara”, an online term for the discomfort of having to look at a male colleague’s exposed shin hair.
The Tokyo metropolitan government had in April encouraged workers to replace traditional suits and ties with more casual clothing, including T-shirts, trainers and shorts, under an expanded “Cool Biz” campaign.
“We want to give people more options in the severe heat, not tell them what to wear,” Tokyo environmental official Noboru Watanabe told the BBC. “There should be no issue as long as the work attire is not offensive to anyone.”
Judging what counts as offensive, however, has proved complicated.
A June survey by Gorilla Clinic, a men’s cosmetic treatment chain, found 53.5 per cent of respondents opposed wearing shorts to work, while 46.5 per cent supported it.
Concerns about body shape and body hair were among the main reasons cited by opponents.
Women significantly outnumbered men among respondents, the clinic said, suggesting they may be less enthusiastic about seeing their male colleagues with a forest of shin hair beside the photocopier.
And it goes both ways.
The discussion has also made some men self-conscious.
Akifumi Funatsu, a director at Gorilla Clinic, said more clients are seeking laser hair removal not only for cosmetic reasons but as a matter of “social etiquette when wearing shorts”.
Some men appear to believe that visible leg hair could make their colleagues uncomfortable, he said.
Japan’s shift toward cooler office clothing began in 2005, when Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike, then the environment minister, introduced the original Cool Biz campaign. It encouraged workers to wear short-sleeved shirts and abandon jackets and ties to reduce air-conditioning use.
The campaign gained visibility when then Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi appeared publicly without a tie or jacket.
After the 2011 earthquake and tsunami strained Japan’s power supply, the government launched “Super Cool Biz”, further relaxing workplace dress rules.
Casual attire has since become more common, particularly at start-ups and technology companies. The Tokyo government’s support for shorts has pushed the boundaries further.
The move comes as Japan faces extreme summer temperatures and high humidity, which reduces the body’s ability to cool itself through sweat.
Seven people died of heatstroke and 4,580 were taken to hospitals from July 6 to July 12, according to the Fire and Disaster Management Agency.
Officials are urging residents to stay hydrated, use air-conditioning and gradually acclimatise themselves to the heat. Consumers are also turning to clothing with built-in fans, cooling wipes, heat-blocking umbrellas and portable fans.
As for wearing shorts, it remains to be seen how much leg is too much leg. - The Straits Times/ANN
