Japan's Environment Ministry Campaign Encourages People to Save Energy through 'Warm Share'

Since 2005, Japan's Ministry of the Environment has been promoting the "WarmBiz" lifestyle as a way to counter global warming by encouraging people and businesses to set their thermostats to a comfortable room temperature of 20 degrees Celsius. Its new "Warm Share" campaign, which was started in 2012, encourages people to turn off their heaters at home and go out into town to gather with others in warm places to not only reduce energy consumption, but also to encourage people to socialize.

This year's WarmBiz campaign will be carried out from November 1, 2012 to March 31, 2013. A special website was created to promote the campaign, where information related to both WarmBiz and Warm Share can be obtained, as well as various tools such as free, downloadable logos and posters. A "Warm Share Map" has also been launched where municipalities, companies, and individuals can register places in the community where people can casually get together to warm themselves.

Also, with the special cooperation of the Ministry, the Hokkaido ECO Action! bureau will be implementing a "Hokkaido Warm Share" campaign until the end of February 2013. Located in the northernmost part of the Japanese archipelago, Hokkaido uses substantial amounts of energy for heating due to its severely cold winters. For this reason, information on warm share spots and events are posted on a specially set up website and announced in newspapers. Hokkaido is also seeking ideas from the public for keeping oneself warm and running campaigns on promoting the use of places that are registered as warm spots.