Wearing shorts to the office in the middle of summer may not raise too many eyebrows in Australia, but it’s a different story in Japan.

An initiative dubbed “Tokyo Cool Biz” has been encouraging government workers to ditch their traditionally more formal attire of suits, jackets and ties for cooler, more casual garments in a bid to beat soaring temperatures and reduce air-conditioning usage.

It comes after Japan endured its hottest summer on record in 2025 and faces another scorcher this year, with seven people reportedly dying from heatstroke in the second week of July.

The country’s meteorological agency has even coined a specific term for days when temps exceed 40 degrees: “kokusho-bi”, which means “brutally hot” or “cruelly hot”.

The Japan Meteorological Agency announced the first “kokusho-bi” (brutally hot day) on Tuesday, as the mercury hit 40 C in Gujo, Gifu Prefecture.https://t.co/QlXUl3QO5S

— The Japan News (@The_Japan_News) July 21, 2026

The advice to wear T-shirts and shorts – or what some local media refer to as “half pants” – may seem eminently sensible, but Tokyo Cool Biz has sparked debate in traditionally buttoned-up workplaces and on social media about office etiquette and double standards for men and women.

It has even led to another new term being coined. “Sune-hara” – or “leg-hair harassment” – describes “the sense of grievance some women feel when they are forced to observe their male co-workers’ legs”, according to the New York Times.

Although the Tokyo Cool Biz policy is supposed to apply to both genders, in reality attitudes appear to be less relaxed for women, who still feel pressure to cover up by wearing stockings or tights. Academic and online commentator Atsuko Tamada told the newspaper female workers were expected to spend more time and money on both hair removal and clothing.

“If men are now encouraged to wear shorts or sandals, should the same standards of appearance apply to them?” she said.

A survey last month by Tokyo-based Gorilla Clinic – which offers hair-removal treatments – found 53.5 per cent of people questioned were opposed to wearing shorts to work in the summer, while 46.5 per cent were in favour.

The clinic’s director, Akifumi Funatsu, told the BBC he had noticed more clients coming in for hair-removal treatments as a matter of “social etiquette when wearing shorts”, adding that women believe “men should have less leg hair”.

One Japanese content creator has shared an AI-generated clip on TikTok showing a male employee waxing his legs before donning shorts for the office.

A 57-year-old public relations worker who spoke to the NYT took the less painful approach of shaving the exposed parts of his ankles when he recently decided to wear “athletic stretch pants” to work.

Toshio Suzuki said he didn’t want to offend female colleagues by wearing shorts or be seen as sloppy, adding: “In Japan, people don’t have a positive, macho image of hairy legs.”

@user2363043815085 東京クールビズfeat.ハーフパンツおじさん #東京クールビズ #ハーフパンツおじさん #aimusic #suno ♬ オリジナル楽曲 – にんすけ

A younger male government worker interviewed by Reuters while wearing dark-coloured shorts teamed with a white short-sleeved T-shirt said he initially felt “a little strange” in his new office attire.

“But after wearing this kind of outfit several times, and as time passed, I gradually got used to it. Also, more and more of the staff around me started dressing this way, so the sense of awkwardness gradually disappeared.”

While the original Cool Biz campaign dates back almost 20 years and was introduced primarily to cut air-conditioning use, the revamped Tokyo Cool Biz initiative includes not just more relaxed clothing but also encourages working remotely and early-morning shifts to beat the heat.

An even more relaxed dress code dubbed Super Cool Biz was launched in 2011 following power shortages after the Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami, but according to image consultant Keiko Kido it never really caught on.

“Cool Biz is ultimately about subtracting from a suit-based standard,” Kido told Japan Forward newspaper.

“A certain line still needs to be drawn for work attire.”