To escape the cold while saving money amid soaring energy prices, Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike recommended donning a turtleneck sweater.
Yuriko Koike, herself wearing a turtleneck under her jacket, encouraged residents of the Japanese capital to resort to warm clothes during the winter, while reducing electricity bills.
“
Warming the neck has a thermal effect.
I myself wear a turtleneck and wearing a scarf also keeps you warm.
This will save electricity
,” Yuriko Koike told reporters on Friday.
"
It's one of the ways to get through the harsh energy climate of winter together
," she said, adding that French President Emmanuel Macron was a loyal fan of these sweaters.
Read alsoEnergy sobriety: "A minister does not have to tell the French how they should dress", delays Bruno Le Maire
Like many countries, Japan - which aims to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050 - has faced a tightening of its energy supply since the start of the war in Ukraine.
In August, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida called for reviving the country's nuclear industry to offset soaring costs of imported energy.
But such a measure would probably be difficult to implement given the Fukushima nuclear disaster in 2011, which led to the suspension of many reactors for safety reasons.
Eleven years later, 10 of Japan's 33 nuclear reactors are back in operation.
These are not operational all year round and the country remains heavily dependent on fossil fuel imports.
