There is a faction arguing for re-opening of the nuclear power stations that were shut down after the tsunami. I don't know to what extent safety measures have been improved in the interim, but there is obviously a large cost to the ongoing hiatus.
However, there has also been opposition, at least according to opinion polls. Also some fairly feeble and poorly-attended marches in Tokyo, though being in Japan that is probably about as revolting as the peasants ever get.
However.
Summer has barely started - in fact officially it hasn't started at all, but it clearly has. Following on from the hottest June day ever, we have also had the hottest late June in 50 years, and now we are into the summer power-saving/heatstroke season and air cons are being switched off, and there are various other power-saving measures, including the shutdown of some of our supercomputers at work.
It's all very spirit-of-the-blitz so far but I wonder how long it will last...
However, there has also been opposition, at least according to opinion polls. Also some fairly feeble and poorly-attended marches in Tokyo, though being in Japan that is probably about as revolting as the peasants ever get.
However.
Summer has barely started - in fact officially it hasn't started at all, but it clearly has. Following on from the hottest June day ever, we have also had the hottest late June in 50 years, and now we are into the summer power-saving/heatstroke season and air cons are being switched off, and there are various other power-saving measures, including the shutdown of some of our supercomputers at work.
It's all very spirit-of-the-blitz so far but I wonder how long it will last...
4 comments:
"It's all very spirit-of-the-blitz for now..."
I'm sure that by the time August rolls around people will be thinking Tokyo firebombing instead!
My wife is in a bit of a bind with these power-saving measures. Apparently if you consume a large amount of electricity you have limits set that if crossed carry a large financial penalty. So factories have to watch the meters - but so does City Hall and Prefectural Centres, where large numbers of people are stuffed cheek-to-jowl in open plan offices.
She tells me that it's already getting intolerable, and to be honest people with health issues and pregnant ladies are probably going to pay a big penalty because of the politicians' inability to apply critical thinking to legislation.
I am sure it is nasty for some, and the need for power savings certainly does not over-ride the need for adequate working conditions.
We are at 28-29C nowadays which I'm actually finding pretty comfortable (though I'm getting through a fair few gallons of iced tea). Walked into a chilly room yesterday and was surprised to find the aircon was only set at 26! Went for a run at the weekend which was ghastly, maybe that helped to acclimatise me to hotter temps?
I'd love to be working in a workplace like your James. Our school has banned air-conditioning, fans - and just keeps the windows open. Might be tolerable if there was a sensible dress policy, but super-cool biz hasn't caught on here in Yamagata. Then again, I've never found the 'cool biz' clothes they sell in Japan to be particularly cool - they're usually made from polyester and designed to keep you 'dry' as opposed to cool.
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