• Power outages (to come)
• Wed. Apr, 27 2011

The government has decided not to introduce daylight saving time as a way to address the expected electricity shortage this summer, amid worries about the huge costs involved and social confusion, sources close to the matter said Tuesday.

With the nuclear crisis at the radiation-leaking Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant ongoing, the government has been considering implementing such arrangements nationwide as part of energy saving measures during summer when electricity consumption tends to rise due to the use of air conditioners.

The sources said, however, the government is now seeing the plan as unrealistic because it will cost a huge amount of money to set clocks ahead for all computers and production machinery in Japan, and could create confusion in society.

Instead, the government will continue to urge Japanese companies to take necessary steps on their own.

Among manufacturers, Panasonic Corp and Sony Corp are considering having business hours start earlier than usual to limit electricity consumption in the aftermath of the March 11 earthquake and tsunami.

During a press conference on Tuesday, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yukio Edano responded negatively about the introduction of summertime working hours, and said, 荘It is realistic for each company and industry to discuss it and come up with ways that will have little impact on their business.鋳

ｩ 2011 Kyodo News. All rights reserved. No reproduction or republication without written permission

In the meantime, the capacity usage displayed in the train (this is incredibly nice and worrying to see that in the train at the same time) tells us that we already reach 82% of the capacity... And that long before everybody starts switching on the aircon...
Ah, I almost forgot the alternative initiative:
Lower house members will start wearing casual clothes in parliament under the 荘Cool Biz鋳 summertime energy-saving campaign on May 1, one month earlier than usual, it was determined Wednesday at a House of Representatives panel.

The Cool Biz period, which usually begins in June, will run through Oct 31, one month later than usual, to counter possible electricity shortages in the wake of the nuclear emergency at the Fukushima Daiichi power plant.

The House of Councillors is considering the same measures.

The lower house will give the green light for its members not to wear neckties in the halls of the plenary session, but as in the past, they will be required to have their jackets on.

During the campaign period, the temperature in parliament will be set at 28 C.

ｩ 2011 Kyodo News. All rights reserved. No reproduction or republication without written permission