Keeping cool, Tokyo style, amid sweltering heat: Shorts, sneakers and no ties

TOKYO - When Tokyo Metropolitan Government worker Toru Suda showed up for work in a polo shirt, shorts and sneakers on a sweltering July morning, he was not making a statement.

As Japan braces for another scorching summer, the Tokyo government is encouraging its staff to ditch jackets and ties in favour of shorts, T-shirts and sneakers under the "Tokyo Cool Biz" campaign, aimed at helping staff cope with increasingly severe summer heat and reduce energy costs.

"At first it felt a little strange," said Suda, the 34-year-old public servant in his light blue polo shirt and knee-length navy shorts.

But the sense of awkwardness gradually faded as more colleagues around him started dressing casually, he said at his office in central Tokyo on Tuesday, when temperatures in the capital climbed to around 35 degrees Celsius (95 degrees Fahrenheit) with average humidity of 72%.

Japan is bracing for another hot summer after enduring the hottest summer on record last year, when average nationwide temperatures were 2.36 degrees C above average summer, and heatstroke sent more than 100,000 people to hospital.

On Wednesday, the Japan Meteorological Agency and the Ministry of Environment jointly issued heatstroke alerts for the capital, the first this summer, urging people to limit outdoor activities and use air conditioning.

Tokyo's "Cool Biz" campaign, which builds on a nationwide initiative first launched in 2005, marks one of the boldest endorsements yet of casual office attire in a country where dark suits and white shirts have long been the norm for office workers, even during the hottest months.

While some customer-facing businesses still expect formal dress, a growing number of employers are giving employees greater discretion for dressing down, particularly when they are not meeting clients.

Retailers such as Aeon 8267.T have responded by expanding business-casual lines, while apparel makers including Fast Retailing 9983.T and Aoki 8214.T are promoting lightweight, stretchable and quick-drying clothing aimed at office workers seeking to balance comfort with a professional look.

For Metropolitan Government workers, the shift is practical rather than symbolic.

"Honestly, I've gotten used to this and it's hard to go back," said Noboru Watanabe, who leads Tokyo's team of climate change countermeasures. "That said, formal occasions still require formal attire, so I adjust my clothing according to the task and the situation."

-Reporting by Joseph Campbell; Written by Mariko Katsumura; Editing by Stephen Coates/Reuters