Japan
Inc against daylight savings for the 2020 Olympics: Reuters poll
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[September 14, 2018]
By Tetsushi Kajimoto
TOKYO (Reuters) - Three-quarters of
Japanese firms oppose a proposal to adopt daylight savings time
ahead of the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, a Reuters poll showed on Friday,
citing the time and effort to adjust computer systems as well as
disruptions to public life.
Organizers of the Tokyo Olympics have floated the idea after
scorching heat this summer killed at least 120 people, raising
concerns about the safety of athletes, particularly marathon
runners.
The Games will be held in late July and early August, Japan's
hottest, most humid months. Events such as the marathon, scheduled
for the morning, could be held during cooler hours if clocks were
moved forward by one or two hours.
The Reuters Corporate Survey, conducted Aug. 29-Sept. 10, found 74
percent of companies were against the idea.
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"There are so many disadvantages. Events such as the marathon should
be held at night. The state completely lacks a sense of the cost,"
wrote a manager at a metal products maker in the comments section of
the survey.
Just 17 percent of firms support any permanent adoption, while 9
percent said they were in favor if it was just for 2020.
Asked about the survey results, Masa Takaya, a spokesman for Tokyo
2020, said the organizers understood that the government was
considering daylights savings time as part of Japan's environmental
policy and efforts to achieve a low carbon society.
"We are considering various options if it is adopted, as well as
various options if it is not," he added.
Companies responded anonymously to the survey, which is conducted
for Reuters by Nikkei Research. Of the 482 large and mid-sized
non-financial firms polled, 240 companies responded to the question
on daylight savings.
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![](../images/091418pics/sports51.jpg)
Running track are seen through a clock tower near the construction
site of the New National Stadium, the main stadium of Tokyo 2020
Olympics and Paralympics, in Tokyo, Japan August 6, 2018. REUTERS/Issei
Kato/File Photo
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While there has been much concern on social media that longer days
could result in longer working hours given Japan's labor shortage,
those in favor say daylight savings would help save energy, reduce
emissions and stimulate consumer activity.
Fifty-one percent of the public are in favor of the move to cope
with the heat during the Olympics, an NHK poll in August showed.
Only 12 percent are against, it said, with the rest of respondents
saying they did not know or declining to answer.
Japan is among a handful of major economies that does not use
daylight saving time during the summer, including South Korea -
which set clocks back an hour in 1987 and 1988, when it hosted the
Summer Olympics in Seoul.
In South Korea, people complained that the longer days were hard to
adjust to, and the sense that this was done to coordinate with
foreign television stations left a bad taste for many, leading to it
being scrapped.
(Reporting by Tetsushi Kajimoto; Editing by Edwina Gibbs)
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