Japan putting all its energy into saving fuel

Compared to U.S., Japan has turned energy efficiency into an art form

KAMIITA, Japan – When the Japanese government issued a national battle cry against soaring global energy prices this winter, no one heeded the call to arms more than this farming town in the misty mountains of western Japan.

To save on energy, local officials shut off the heating system in the town hall, leaving themselves and 100 workers no respite from near-freezing temperatures. On a recent frosty morning, rows of desks were brimming with employees bundled in coats and wool blankets while nursing thermoses of hot tea. To cut back on gasoline use, officials say, most of the town’s 13,000 citizens are strictly obeying a nationwide call to turn off car engines while idling, particularly when stopped at traffic lights.

Takao Iwase, Kamiita’s husky administrative director, joined other locals in switching off the heat at home, too — leaving his family to quickly hustle from steaming nighttime baths to the warm comforters on their traditional futons. “We’re saving [$100] a day at city hall by shutting off the heat,” Iwase, wearing four layers of clothing and a winter coat inside his office, said proudly. “But we no longer see this as just an economic issue. Japan has no natural resources of its own, so saving energy has become our national duty.”

As President Bush calls on Americans to break their addiction to oil and increase energy efficiency in the face of soaring prices, perhaps no people serve as better role models than the energy-miser Japanese.

Washington Post