Dress Down and Save Energy, Japan's Abe Tells Merkel
Date: 30-Aug-07
Country: JAPAN
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, who met Merkel in Tokyo
to discuss climate change, told the chancellor he had asked his
entourage to take off their ties as part of his "Cool Biz"
campaign to save energy.
Dressed in a red suit, Merkel, Germany's first female
chancellor, who grew up in the communist east, pointed out that
the tie-less dress code didn't apply to her anyway.
"The men are all following the rule, they even seem to be
quite glad," she said.
Japan's "Cool Biz" campaign urges office workers and
politicians to shed their jackets and ties during summer to cut
the use of air-conditioners and reduce electricity use and
related greenhouse gas emissions.