Japan’s jumper plan to save energy has Tokyo governor sticking her polo neck out

Yuriko Koike wants Japanese, including staff, to reduce energy use and costs by wearing a polo neck – or turtleneck – jumper to keep warm

She said keeping the neck warm can make ‘a dramatic difference’ in cold weather, preventing colds and helping to slash power consumption

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Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike speaks at a press conference while wearing a polo neck jumper. Photo: Kyodo

Published: 10:30am, 20 Jan 2023Updated: 3:16pm, 20 Jan 2023

Polo neck jumpers are back in vogue in the Japanese capital’s corridors of power after Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike called on the public to cover up and keep warm during the winter months and urged her staff to set an example.

She stuck her neck out with the fashionable initiative to encourage people to cut energy consumption as costs rise due to the Ukraine war, and help the city reduce emissions.

Metropolitan government officials are showing their solidarity with her campaign by slipping into an item of clothing – also known as the turtleneck – that became iconic decades ago. The so-called Beatnik generation and stars including actress Audrey Hepburn helped to popularise it, followed by the likes of Apple boss Steve Jobs.

Apple Inc. CEO and co-founder Steve Jobs helped to popularise the turtleneck for a new generation. Photo: EPA

The Asahi newspaper reported that “seemingly overnight, staff and senior personnel rushed to purchase turtlenecks to help drive the message home to the public and not to stand out from others by sticking to regular shirt-and-tie attire”.

Virtually every bureaucrat who attended a ceremony marking an agreement between Tokyo and the Japan Photovoltaic Energy Association earlier this month was pictured conspicuously wearing a polo neck.

Koike herself wore a white one when she outlined her campaign, declaring: “keeping the neck warm makes a dramatic difference in cold weather. Colds can be prevented and it is also helpful in slashing power consumption.”

Kentaro Uehara, a spokesman for the metropolitan government, said that previous energy saving campaigns – notably the “Cool Biz” initiative, which encouraged people to ditch formal ties and jackets for open-neck, short-sleeve shirts in the steamy summer months – had proved so successful that the city was seeking new ways to cut energy consumption and emissions.

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