As temperatures rise this summer, Japanese men are baring more leg at work than ever before.
The Tokyo Metropolitan Government is pushing company employees to ditch their usual suit and tie for more casual attire, featuring t-shirts, trainers – and shorts.
Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike introduced “Tokyo Cool Biz” in April, hoping to expand on her signature cool down initiative which has now become a widely recognised annual summer tradition.
Almost four months in, the newly allowed shorts in the office policy is getting mixed reviews.
Some commentators enjoy the relaxed rules, helping them work more comfortably. Others say the policy is unfair to women. Although not an official rule and more about etiquette, women are often still expected to wear tights when their work attire exposes their legs in a traditional Japanese office environment.
And a few women describe the experience of “leg hair harassment” or a term coined online as “sunehara”, referring to the discomfort of being forced to see their colleague’s leg hair.
“We want to give people more options in the severe heat, not tell them what to wear. There should be no issue as long as the work attire is not offensive to anyone,” Tokyo Metropolitan Government environmental official Noboru Watanabe told the BBC.
A June survey by Gorilla Clinic found 53.5% opposed wearing shorts to work in the summer while 46.5% were in favour of the new recommendation.
For those against shorts in the office the main reason, for both genders, was the concern over body shape and body hair. The clinic says women significantly outnumbered men in their response, indicating that women may be more resistant to seeing a male colleague’s bare legs.
Credit: bbc.com
