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| 今年の夏も日本のビジネスマンの多くはまだまだスーツにネクタイ姿であった。環境省が推し進めた「クールビズ」はどこまで浸透したであろうか？ |
* 2005/5/25 配信 ALC Newsletter No.12(ALC
International Marketing 発行)より
* クリックできる語句には、語注がついています
Right now in Tokyo, after this year's terribly pollen-filled spring, we're enjoying the refreshing air of early summer. After this comes the clammy rainy season, and then another hot, extremely humid summer! In summer, there's a certain question that's asked every year by people from abroad, who unfortunately happen to visit Japan in our ill-famed season ---"Why are the Japanese office workers always wearing suits and neck-ties in this hot weather?"
The answer is ---
well, of course the answer varies from person to person
--- but I guess that there are mainly three different reasons:
One reason is that by wearing suits, people are trying to
show their dignity,
pride and trustworthiness
to others. There's a saying "Don't judge someone by their
appearance," but the truth is that people DO
judge each other by their clothes. And this trend may be
seen more strongly in the business world. Horiemon (*see
our newsletter No.008) was the typical case. He tried to
establish
a new pro-baseball team last summer, and then tried to takeover
Nippon
Broadcasting System early this year. Although he somewhat
received recognition
for his challenging spirit, it turned
out that he failed in both attempts. Throughout this
period,
he had always been under
criticism of being "dressed improperly."
He wore T-shirts and jeans even at serious meetings (just
like Bill Gates), and that was not accepted by conservative
higher-ups.
Another reason is that some people, hopefully few people, are just too lazy to choose what to wear every morning --- "It's easier to just pick the same suit again and again," they say. And the final reason, probably the most typical one, is that they wear suits because "everybody else in the office does." Sometimes, it's very difficult for the Japanese to become "protruding nails."
However, despite
all the above reasons, there have always been questions,
disputes
and complaints
risen among Japanese office workers --- "Why do we have
to wear suits in this hot summer anyway?" So former
Prime Minister Tsutomu Hata attempted in 90s to introduce
a short-sleeved
suit called Sho-ene Suit (Energy-Saving
Suit) to offices. The aim was to save electricity by
letting office workers work in comfortable clothes so they
wouldn't have to overcool
their offices with air-conditioners. But because the combination
of short-sleeved jacket and long pants didn't look stylish
at all, Japanese office workers never really showed an interest
in Sho-ene Suits, and the idea was gradually forgotten.
So this year, they
skipped episode II and went straight to "Episode III:
Revenge of the Government". The
Ministry of the Environment is now trying to make a
new version of Sho-ene Suits ---this time with even much
more style and have named it, Cool Biz. Among the panel
members is a fashion designer Takeo Kikuchi, and the new
design will be unveiled
on July 5th. Let's see how the Japanese office workers take
to it this summer --- will they be dressed in Cool Biz
suits? Or will there be more office workers who wear T-shirts
and jeans like Horiemon? And please don't tell us "Why are
you guys making all this fuss
over suits? Just wear whatever you want!" Things are never
so clear in Japan.
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